[Rajiv-Bang]

Dont take the Karwar Goa route unless you want to take a detour of 80 kms as the Kali river bridge is closed till february 4/5 ,not sure on the exact date. Other option i understand is pay 400 bucks for getting your car from Karwar to Goa side, there are some small boats for ferrying cars.

[citizen]

NH4 is doable in zen.. parts are bad but nothing which is terrible.. You would have to get off in Kittur and head towards bidi/khanapur and then turn towards goa.. the road just near the border is terrible and you will have to do it real slow... Night driving is a little dangerous.. you need to be careful.

[idofsuresh]

Came from Goa to Bangalore on 4-Jan-2010. Started from Goa - Baga at 5:40 AM, reached Bangalore - MG Road by 6:10 PM.

I read that NH 4A is bad but just wanted to give it a try cause this is the shortest route I could see. I have approx travel time here so you can figure out how the road was objectively. There was no traffic. I am sure someone with a more powerful car than indica can easily do it in 10-15 % lesser time.


For Kms between places please use google maps, I did not note
all the kimometers. Okay, here is the road I took:

======================================

*Goa - Baga@5:40 AM - Panjim (NH 4A) - Mollem@7:15 AM (1 Hr 35 Min)
-- NH-4A, Good roads. Stopped for 10 minutes for fuelling and air.

*Mollem-Londa(Ramnagar)@8:25 AM (1 Hr 10 Min)
-- Around 22 Km, NH-4A, 1 hour 10 minutes drive.
-- Roads were generally okay except the below patches.
-- Terrible for 2.5 kms. Took 10 minutes to drive.
-- Bad for another 2.5 kms. Took 5 minutes to drive.
-- It took an hour because of the ghat sections.

*Londa-Khanapur-Bidi-Kittur@9:40AM (1Hr 15 Min)
-- Good NH-4A till Khanapur
-- Acceptable from Khanapur to Kittur
-- Took this road to reach the NH4(GQ) instead of going to Dharwad directly from Londa. Local people advised it as the road between Londa and Dharwad is apparently too bad. The advice turned out to be good.

*Kittur-Hubli@10:25AM (45 Minutes)
-- Excellent GQ

*Hubli-Sira@2:45 PM ( 4 Hr 20 Min)

*Sira-Tumkur@4:00PM ( 1 Hr 15 Min)
-- Stopped for lunch at Sira for 30 minutes

*Tumkur-MG Road@6:10PM
-- Stopped again in Tumkur for Kamat coffee ( 20 Mins)

====================================

Bottom line, You can definitely take this road if you can bear a very bad 5 kms (15 Minutes drive), the town traffic of Ranebennur, energy sapping construction/dust/diversions at Chitradurga.


If you want to avoid Chitradurga and Ranebennur, the option is Shimoga which is no better than Ranebennur for traffic. But you will have to bear with Karwar-Goa small roads and traffic especially if you are traveling to North Goa. While going I took the Shimoga route(scenic), but the return route was much faster overall (By around 2 hours. Give or take an hour depending on how you drive).

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by Rajiv-Bang

Other option i understand is pay 400 bucks for getting your car from Karwar to Goa side, there are some small boats for ferrying cars.

Hi Rajiv,

Can you shre more information on this ferry service

1. From what time to what time this service is operational everyday ?

2. How much time does it take to cross the river over the ferry ?

3. Price i understand from your post is RS 400/- is it true ?

I need to attend a marriage at South Goa on 31st, We plan to take Bangalore-Kolhapur-Amboli-Goa route for onward journey. But i need to return to Bangalore via Udupi. hence i am exploring this option. If suitable, we reach Udupi by 31st night, and leave for Bangalore on 1st morning.

I see that this option is good vis-a-vis 80 KM detour (6-8 ltrs of fuel plus two hours driving time through not so good roads).

Anyone one else who have availed this facility, please share thier experience

[anuj1237]

I recently drove down from Bangalore to Goa. Left Bangalore on 29th December. 4 of us drove down in a xylo from here. Fabulous car!

We left Mekhri Circle at 6am on 29th December and reached Calangute at 5pm(including a stop of 2 hours including breakfast and lunch)

The route I took was Bangalore-Tumkur-Chitradurga-Sirra-Hubli-Ankola-Karwar-Margaon-Panjim-Calangute. Total of 640 odd kms. This route is very quick compared to many other routes I've heard about. Lot of flyovers are under construction but if its a morning drive then the sign boards are clearly visible so driving is not difficult. I think the roads are bad for about a total of 40-50km. Otherwise the roads are good. The onboard xylo information system told me that my average speed was 102kmph and average fuel efficiency was 13kmpl. I suggest everybody to take this route to Goa. It is excellent!

And for the route which idofsuresh has mentioned in post 933, it is a quick one but it is a bit confusing for 1st timers. I took this route on my way back and ended up in a bit of a mess.

We reached Mollem then Ramnagar and took the right at Ramnagar but instead of taking another right we went straight and ended up the worst stretch of roads I have every driven on. I couldnt get the xylo to go above 20kmph and it was a complete forest area we drove through(Dandeli). After driving 250km, we reached a point at Karwar which was only 100km from Panjim! Proved to be a huge mistake. We ended up stayin at Karwar that night and then left next morning and took the normal way back.

Left Karwar>Ankola>Hubli>Sirra>Chitradurga>Tumkur>Banga lore. Left Karwar at 6am and reached Mekhri Circle at 4pm.

Hope this helps

Cheers-Anuj.

[idofsuresh]

@Anuj-935: I took the road for first time (post 933), I did okay, just asked for route at the major intersections. No major trouble at all. Importantly, its 40 kms lesser overall, which is a big deal in my car.

Looks like you lost the way completely after Londa and went back all the way to Karwar via Dandeli. You would have done fine if you had followed the route I posted.

If I am going to North Goa, I will take the same road as long as the conditions are same or take the Hubli-Ankola road and reach North Goa directly. If I am going to South Goa, I might take the route you took. Driving between Karwar and Panaji is no pleasure with traffic and small roads.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

We plan to take Bangalore-Kolhapur-Amboli-Goa route for onward journey.

Just an observation(unless you have a need to go to Kolhapur),to go to Goa from Blore,you do not need to touch Kolhapur,u divert off NH4 at Belgaum and go onto the Amboli road from Belgaum.

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Just an observation(unless you have a need to go to Kolhapur),to go to Goa from Blore,you do not need to touch Kolhapur,u divert off NH4 at Belgaum and go onto the Amboli road from Belgaum.

Thanks ranjit, for pointing this, i realized this yesterday after posting the question, I was looking at google maps where the direction to Amboli shown was immediately after Belgaum.

Our onward journey plan is now fixed. BLR-BELGAUM-AMBOLI-PONDA

return trip has to be through Karwar, I am waiting for some more information about the ferry service. if anyone can help, it would be great.

[Rajiv-Bang]

[quote=StarVegabond;1681809]Hi Rajiv,

Can you shre more information on this ferry service

1. From what time to what time this service is operational everyday ?

2. How much time does it take to cross the river over the ferry ?

3. Price i understand from your post is RS 400/- is it true ?

The price is correct. I am not sure about the operational timings though.This information is from a relative of mine from Karwar about 3-4 days back, will check with him once he is back from his holidays.

I have travelled by the these boats ferrying cars many years back when Kali bridge was not constructed. It should take 20-30 mins.

Ferryboats are better & safer option. I am not sure if they have introduced any of them. These are different from the boats mentioned above. You can see many of these Ferryboats in Goa

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by Rajiv-Bang

The price is correct. I am not sure about the operational timings though.This information is from a relative of mine from Karwar about 3-4 days back, will check with him once he is back from his holidays.

I have travelled by the these boats ferrying cars many years back when Kali bridge was not constructed. It should take 20-30 mins.

Ferryboats are better & safer option. I am not sure if they have introduced any of them. These are different from the boats mentioned above. You can see many of these Ferryboats in Goa

Thanks Rajiv, It would be a great help if you can check from your relative more details. You may let me know before 28th if you can.
regards,

[Rajiv-Bang]

StarVegabond

Kali bridge has been opened for 4-wheeler as reported in TOI today.

Rajiv

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by Rajiv-Bang

StarVegabond

Kali bridge has been opened for 4-wheeler as reported in TOI today.

Rajiv

Thanks Rajiv for this great news, this solves lot many problems for me.
i could not read TOI as i am traveling outside India right now

regards,

[h_man]

Originally Posted by anuj1237

Left Karwar>Ankola>Hubli>Sirra>Chitradurga>Tumkur>Banga lore. Left Karwar at 6am and reached Mekhri Circle at 4pm.

Anuj - can you please let me know if the Hubli>Ankola stretch is good? Heard that stretch has lots of truck traffic? Thanks!

[sushrutha]

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

i could not read TOI as i am traveling outside India right now

Off topic
@ star,
Well check this link to read TOI ;-)
Welcome - Times Of India ePaper

[goandude]

Originally Posted by h_man

Anuj - can you please let me know if the Hubli>Ankola stretch is good? Heard that stretch has lots of truck traffic? Thanks!

The road surface is good. there is a LOT of mining truck traffic. The heavily loaded ones crawl and the empty ones fly. The drivers of these trucks are rash.