[bullinb]

Originally Posted by Bose

Thanks.
Is the Ramnagar - Ponda route OK for evening drive?
How much time do you expect it will take to reach Belgaum at normal driving speeds? I mean 80-90 kmph. I am starting from whitefield at 6 AM which means I will hit peenya road at around 6.45 AM.

The only concern on the Ramnagar - Ponda route is the mining trucks. I am not sure what is the peak hour for them . Regulars on this route may be able to guide your better. On my way back I was near Mollem around 4PM and it was quite manageable.

You should be able to reach Belgaum in 8 - 9 hours at that speed unless your luck runs out and you get stuck in a traffic jam between Chitradurga - Haveri. I would suggest starting a couple of hours earlier if possible.

[manojgautham]

Looks like this thread will never die. My friends and I plan to travel to Goa on April 15th. After looking at the latest discussions, this seems to be best road to take. Bangalore --> Hubli --> Kittur --> Bidi --> Londa --> Mollem --> Panjim. We plan to travel in a Palio and Optra Magnum. I am a little scared of scraping my car's underbelly. Please let me know if this is the best route now. We plan to leave Bangalore by 4pm, which means most of the traveling will be in dark.
Thanks in advance.

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by manojgautham

Looks like this thread will never die. My friends and I plan to travel to Goa on April 15th. After looking at the latest discussions, this seems to be best road to take. Bangalore --> Hubli --> Kittur --> Bidi --> Londa --> Mollem --> Panjim. We plan to travel in a Palio and Optra Magnum. I am a little scared of scraping my car's underbelly. Please let me know if this is the best route now. We plan to leave Bangalore by 4pm, which means most of the traveling will be in dark.
Thanks in advance.

if you leave Bangalore by 4 PM, then most likely you would reach kittur in 7-8 hours ie. by 11 PM plus some breaks for Tea/Dinner etc

Kittur-Bidi-Londa stretch is full of narrow roads through the forests.
i would not encourage you to travel on this stretch if you are going there first time.

i would suggest you to take Tumkur-Shimoga-Honnavar-Karwar-Panjim stretch or Belgaum - Amboli - Panaji stretch.

[manojgautham]

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

if you leave Bangalore by 4 PM, then most likely you would reach kittur in 7-8 hours ie. by 11 PM plus some breaks for Tea/Dinner etc

Kittur-Bidi-Londa stretch is full of narrow roads through the forests.
i would not encourage you to travel on this stretch if you are going there first time.

i would suggest you to take Tumkur-Shimoga-Honnavar-Karwar-Panjim stretch or Belgaum - Amboli - Panaji stretch.

Thanks for the quick response. I have not travelled in the Kittur Bidi stretch. However I have taken the Shimoga route earlier. I dont like the stretch between Shimoga and Honnavar. How is the Belgaum Amboli road. Can you give me more details on this road?

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by manojgautham

Thanks for the quick response. I have not travelled in the Kittur Bidi stretch. However I have taken the Shimoga route earlier. I dont like the stretch between Shimoga and Honnavar. How is the Belgaum Amboli road. Can you give me more details on this road?

My suggestion is you leave Bangalore at say 9 or 10 PM (instead of 4 PM) after your dinner at home or in some resturant in Bangalore.

You will reach Belgaum say in 8 hours. It is a GQ, so not a big problem
you can catch up sun rise in Amboli Ghats say between 6-7 AM.

You will avoid getting into the small villages/towns on the way. Exiting bangalore would be also easier for you as you will not encounter city traffic and bikers/autos etc.

You can reach Panaji before the city traffic wakes up i.e 9 AM
it is also more safer option.

[manojgautham]

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

My suggestion is you leave Bangalore at say 9 or 10 PM (instead of 4 PM) after your dinner at home or in some resturant in Bangalore.

You will reach Belgaum say in 8 hours. It is a GQ, so not a big problem
you can catch up sun rise in Amboli Ghats say between 6-7 AM.

You will avoid getting into the small villages/towns on the way. Exiting bangalore would be also easier for you as you will not encounter city traffic and bikers/autos etc.

You can reach Panaji before the city traffic wakes up i.e 9 AM
it is also more safer option.

That looks like a good idea. Can you tell me the route after Amboli to Calangute?

[bullinb]

Originally Posted by StarVegabond

My suggestion is you leave Bangalore at say 9 or 10 PM

+1. You will reach Kittur/Belgaum by day break and should be fine from there.

I still maintain that going via Sawantawadi is not worth the extra distance. Just head up to Belgaum, which should take you about 8 hours, and then blindly follow NH4A all the way upto Panjim. The road is very good. From Panjim there are enough sign boards to lead you to Calangute. This is the easiest and least confusing option and most likely the fastest.

I would not recommend Shimoga - Honnavar route at night because I feel it is not safe to drive on undevided two lane highways between 2 and 4AM.

[cool_dube]

Guys,

Just back from Goa via Ponda - Anmod - Londa - Khanapur - Kittur - Dharwad - Davangere - Tumkur. Will post up the latest conditions soon. Stay tuned!!

[manojgautham]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Guys,

Just back from Goa via Ponda - Anmod - Londa - Khanapur - Kittur - Dharwad - Davangere - Tumkur. Will post up the latest conditions soon. Stay tuned!!

I'm tuned. Let us know the road conditions.

[StarVegabond]

@manojgautam

you wanted to know the map fro Belgaum-Amboli-Canagute

you can find it on www.maps.google.com
you can enter names of the palaces in the get directions section

i have attached here a map for your benefit
the distance is approx 156 KMs from Belgaum to Calangut via Amboli.

[praful]

This is route I'll be taking next to next weekend. Might do it in the opposite direction though i.e. the NH4 route for return.

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India to Bengaluru, Karnataka, India - Google Maps

I've done most of this stretch before on two wheels, will be my first on 4 wheels. The only stretch unknown to me is the Dharwad-Panjim stretch. Im more worried about the Dharwad-Ramnagar stretch specifically, basically taking that to avoid going all the way upto Belguam and in the process maybe save some time too.

Any pointers? What is the usual drive time for the NH4/NH4A route and for the NH17/NH206 route. Im not an extremely fast driver will be my first time driving on these narrow highways. On a bike it takes me about 14 hours to reach Panjim via the NH17 route. I am expecting it take me a lot longer in my car!

[yogeshnaik]

Is the NH4 stretch at Chitradurga, Davangere done properly? Anybody knows how is the State Highway stretch from Haveri-Sirsi-Mirjan and to NH-17?

[praful]

Chitradurga-Davangere is still a PITA. There has been not much change in that stretch. Drove down from Mumbai two weeks back on that stretch.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by praful

This is route I'll be taking next to next weekend.

Praful - Few points to note on the Ponda - Dharwad leg:

a. Be prepared to get stuck in a jam of mining lorries on NH4A b/w Tisk and Molem. I was stuck in one for almost an hour last Saturday - never seen so many lorries together in my life If you are lucky, you might not face a jam but definitely some moderate/heavy lorry traffic would be there. Factor for at least an extra half hour/one hour for this.

b. DO NOT TAKE RAMNAGAR - DHARWAD ROAD. Take a left at Ramnagar and continue on NH4A till few kms before Khanapur. You will see a sharp (almost U) right saying 'Yellapur' - take that road till Bidi where again you will have to take a left for Kittur. This is a very inconspicuous turn and you might mistake it for an interior road leading to the village market. There are no signboards here. If confused, ask for directions to Kittur.

c. Road conditions are excellent all the way from Ponda to Khanapur (NH4A). Khanapur - Bidi (18 kms) is good with few rough patches. Bidi to Kittur (15 kms) is mostly rough with potholes and narrow roads but since it is a short stretch, no major issues.

d. You can find ample info on condition of NH4 from Dharwad to Bangalore on this thread.

Overall, you would take around 3-3.5 hours from Ponda to Kittur depending largely on the intensity of the 'lorry jam' that you might face.

Hope this helps.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by praful

Chitradurga-Davangere is still a PITA. There has been not much change in that stretch. Drove down from Mumbai two weeks back on that stretch.

Most painful stretches are the railway crossings and passage through Ranebennur.