[gtonsing]

I am planning to drive to Goa from Bangalore in the last week of October. I am driving with 2 kids (aged 7 and 10) and wife. I am the only driver and have not driven long distance much in south India. I am planning to start early on 28th and come back on 31st. Stay is at Mandrem. Can anyone please advise which route I should take, where should the ideal stops be and when I can expect to reach? I will be starting from HSR layout in Bangalore. A coordinate with marked suggested stops would be best (I know I am asking too much) but if someone can, nothing like it.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by gtonsing

I am planning to drive to Goa from Bangalore in the last week of October. I am driving with 2 kids (aged 7 and 10) and wife. I am the only driver and have not driven long distance much in south India. I am planning to start early on 28th and come back on 31st. Stay is at Mandrem. Can anyone please advise which route I should take, where should the ideal stops be and when I can expect to reach? I will be starting from HSR layout in Bangalore. A coordinate with marked suggested stops would be best (I know I am asking too much) but if someone can, nothing like it.

1. Bangalore-Belgaum-Amboli-Sawantwadi-Malgaon-Kondure-Pernem-Mandrem
Roads are not very good but driveable. Took this option 4 days back. All potholes are filled with mud and not tar. A single heavy rain will expose them back. Ghat section of this road is better than the roads before and after the ghats. May take 11-12 hours.

2. Bangalore-Belgaum-Kinaye-Chorla-Sanquelim-Mandrem
Not tried. Cannot comment on timing. Better to go via Belgaum since other options bypassing Belgaum are not in good condition. Please refer to some recent posts below in same thread. Two BHPians have travelled via Chorla, one in Ciaz and other in Creta.

In any case based on your kids' comfort, you can make a stay at Belgaum and make a break journey.

[arundeepbv]

Originally Posted by gtonsing

I am planning to drive to Goa from Bangalore in the last week of October. I am driving with 2 kids (aged 7 and 10) and wife. I am the only driver and have not driven long distance much in south India. I am planning to start early on 28th and come back on 31st. Stay is at Mandrem. Can anyone please advise which route I should take, where should the ideal stops be and when I can expect to reach? I will be starting from HSR layout in Bangalore. A coordinate with marked suggested stops would be best (I know I am asking too much) but if someone can, nothing like it.

Hi Gtonsing,

Even I will be driving to South Goa on the 28th, along with my family. I'm planning to start at 5 AM and stop at Davanagere for breakfast. After that I'm planning to take the Ramnagar, Anmod route to Goa. May be we can try to catch up some where if possible.

[gtonsing]

Originally Posted by arundeepbv

Hi Gtonsing,
May be we can try to catch up some where if possible.

Excellent! Will PM you with contact details etc. We can sync up drive together!
You dont have PM rights or chose not to receive PMs. Drop me an email at gtonsing@gmail please

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by arundeepbv

Hi Gtonsing,

Even I will be driving to South Goa on the 28th, along with my family. I'm planning to start at 5 AM and stop at Davanagere for breakfast. After that I'm planning to take the Ramnagar, Anmod route to Goa. May be we can try to catch up some where if possible.

Watchout for some huge to very huge potholes in ghat section between anmod and mollem. Also watch for any potholes between ramnagar and anmod. I have not traveled recently but got this info from my relatives in Goa.

[kdp]

Hello,

I plan to do Mumbai-hampi-south Goa (Canacona)-Mumbai. During the Diwali weekend.

My primary question is on the hampi-Canacona route. Google maps seems to oscillate between suggesting
1. Sandur-Haveri-yellapur-ankola-karwar-Canacona
2. Sandur-Hospet-gadag- hubli-yellapur-ankola-karwar-Canacona

We will be leaving around 730am from Sandur. Which of these is a more fuss free route with better road condition? Is there a third route I should look at? Please advise on road and traffic conditions.

Also could you recommend the best way back from Canacona to MUMBAI? From a road condition and safety perspective?

Thank you

[prkiran]

Originally Posted by arundeepbv

Hi Gtonsing,

Even I will be driving to South Goa on the 28th, along with my family. I'm planning to start at 5 AM and stop at Davanagere for breakfast. After that I'm planning to take the Ramnagar, Anmod route to Goa. May be we can try to catch up some where if possible.

If your destination is South Goa it might be better to take Bankapur-Yellapur-Arabail ghats-Ankola-Karwar route. Did this route last week; roads are decent except for the ghat sections which were broken but still driveable. One flipside is the lack of any pitstops for food between Bankapur and Ankola.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by kdp

Hello,
My primary question is on the hampi-Canacona route. Google maps seems to oscillate between suggesting
1. Sandur-Haveri-yellapur-ankola-karwar-Canacona
2. Sandur-Hospet-gadag- hubli-yellapur-ankola-karwar-Canacona

We will be leaving around 730am from Sandur. Which of these is a more fuss free route with better road condition? Is there a third route I should look at? Please advise on road and traffic conditions.

I am not aware of the road condition between Sandur to Haveri or between Sandur to Hubli. Please choose the proper one here. Then once you hit the NH-4, your options are perfect. If option 1 is good from Sandur, please go ahead with that since Hubli to Ankola is southbound and again Ankola to Canacona is northbound, waste of time in driving (unless you like to be behind the wheel forever )

Originally Posted by kdp

Also could you recommend the best way back from Canacona to MUMBAI? From a road condition and safety perspective?
Thank you

Goa-Mumbai road NH-17 is not recommended, you better climb some ghat and then proceed to Mumbai since that will be much faster. Options are
1. Canacona-Madgaon-Panjim-Pernem-Sawantwadi-(ghat section)-Amboli-Belgaum-Kolhapur-Pune-Mumbai
2. Canacona-Madgaon-Mollem-(ghat section)-Anmod-Dharwad-Belgaum-Kolhapur-Pune-Mumbai
3. Canacona-Karwar-Ankola-Hubli-Belgaum-Kolhapur-Pune-Mumbai (This will be the longest but you will get better and broad roads throughout, basically you will be climbing same ghat used to reach Canacona from Hubli/Haveri)

I have not taken option 2 recently but heard of some big pot holes in the ghat section between Mollem and Anmod. Had tried option 1 from Bangalore-Belgaum-Amboli-Sawantwadi-Pernem 4 days back and it was driveable if not great.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by kdp

I plan to do Mumbai-hampi-south Goa (Canacona)-Mumbai. During the Diwali weekend.

My primary question is on the hampi-Canacona route. Google maps seems to oscillate between suggesting
1. Sandur-Haveri-yellapur-ankola-karwar-Canacona
2. Sandur-Hospet-gadag- hubli-yellapur-ankola-karwar-Canacona

We will be leaving around 730am from Sandur. Which of these is a more fuss free route with better road condition?

I'm guessing you're staying at Sandur and hence the dilemma

Most roads around Sandur are concrete roads surrounded by various mining establishments/sites and some of these roads are tolled (the kind that have shacks for toll plazas).

Sandur-Hospet section was good when we visited couple years ago. I'm not aware of the other road connecting Sandur to Haveri. However, Haveri (Bankapura-Mundgod)-Yellapur is also bit narrow, so maybe Hospet-Gadag is a better option. Once you get to NH 4/48, you can go either via Hubli-Yellapur-Ankola-Karwar-Canacona or even take the Anmod route from the Hubli-Dharwad bypass and reach Canacona via Mollem.

[Ertigiat]

Originally Posted by kdp

Hello,

Also could you recommend the best way back from Canacona to MUMBAI? From a road condition and safety perspective?

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Goa-Mumbai road NH-17 is not recommended, you better climb some ghat and then proceed to Mumbai since that will be much faster. Options are
1. Canacona-Madgaon-Panjim-Pernem-Sawantwadi-(ghat section)-Amboli-Belgaum-Kolhapur-Pune-Mumbai
2. Canacona-Madgaon-Mollem-(ghat section)-Anmod-Dharwad-Belgaum-Kolhapur-Pune-Mumbai
3. Canacona-Karwar-Ankola-Hubli-Belgaum-Kolhapur-Pune-Mumbai (This will be the longest but you will get better and broad roads throughout, basically you will be climbing same ghat used to reach Canacona from Hubli/Haveri)

I strongly agree that NH-17 should be avoided.

But I will not recommend any of the options mentioned above.

Reason for option 1 - Canacona to Madgaon road, though is a national highway, it is narrower and consumes lot of time. There after to reach Sawantwadi you will come across lot of road construction work between Madgaon & Panjim. It certainly will slow you down. Once you climb Amboli ghat you need not have to go to Belgaum. You can reach NH-4 through Ajara.

Reason for Option 2 - You aren't required to come to Madgaon to take this option. Also no need to travel to Dharwad from Anmod to reach Belgaum. Take left from Ramangar junction to reach Belgaum.

Reason for Option 3 - Why would you want to travel South when your destination is somewhere in North-west?

The route I recommend,

Canacona - Sanvordem - Mollem - Anmod - Ramanagar - Khanapur - Belgaum - Kolhapur - Pune - Mumbai.

You can reach Mollem from Sanvordem either through Kullem or via Dharbandora.

Again there are 2 routes to reach Belgaum once you cross Anmod check post.You can take narrower route through Bhidgad wildlife sanctuary or you can head straight to Ramanagar.

Roads are good throughout, except roads in Anmod ghat once you enter Karnataka. You need to drive cautiously for those few kms till you reach tableland.

It is breeze thereafter to reach Belgaum & NH-4 all the way till Mumbai.

At what time you plan to start from Canacona? I would not recommend travel after dark as the traffic will be sparse till you reach Belgaum.

[gautamal]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Watchout for some huge to very huge potholes in ghat section between anmod and mollem. Also watch for any potholes between ramnagar and anmod. I have not traveled recently but got this info from my relatives in Goa.

This is correct. I had been to my home last week ,and the road from Goa border/Mollem and Anmod is full of potholes, and very deep ones at places.
So be extra careful on this stretch. Low clearance cars need special handling as always.

[kdp]

Originally Posted by Ertigiat

I strongly agree that NH-17 should be avoided.

Thanks you all, for the feedback.

From the multiplicity of options it's clear that I would need to reach Canacona via the ankola karwar route.

What I didn't mention is that I will be reaching sandur/ Hospet via hubli from Mumbai, so I will get a pretty good idea of the road conditions. I get a sense from locals whether to take the havenur-Haverhill route or reach yellapur or go via hubli. There is a 1km difference in route distance but the time is half and hour less, which probably is the difference of hubli traffic.

For the return, I plan to start from Canacona in the morning, but after sunrise.

I understand what you are saying About north and south, but I would be willing to take a longer route, for a smoother and faster ride. However, going via karwar and hubli looks very much longer in distance as well as time. Google maps is also suggesting that I go via sanvordem. But the two options that you suggested are not evident. In any case, my trust in google maps for uncharted territories is extremely low, after it made me take a "new route" to Jodhpur from udaipaur last year, which had me going through smaller and smaller villages.

So how bad is the road at anmod? Is it Mumbai-in-this year's-rains bad? Or better? Like watch your speed so you can avoid them? And apart from that stretch, is it comparable to the hubli ankola "counter intuitive" route in terms of road quality?

I will plan to be driving a 4x4,but it's a soft roader (and not an off reader) in every sense of the word, right down to the soft, unnecessarily expensive tyres. I hope that explains why I don't mind a few km extra for better roads.

Thank you

Originally Posted by gautamal

This is correct. I had been to my home last week ,and the road from Goa border/Mollem and Anmod is full of potholes, and very deep ones at places.

So be extra careful on this stretch. Low clearance cars need special handling as always.

Thanks for that disconcerting update. Is the rest of the road in good shape?

[gautamal]

Originally Posted by kdp

Thanks for that disconcerting update. Is the rest of the road in good shape?

Between Anmod and Ramnagar also there are occasional potholes ,which are to be expected due to the rainy reason. The rest of the stretch is fine.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by kdp

1. Sandur-Haveri-yellapur-ankola-karwar-Canacona
2. Sandur-Hospet-gadag- hubli-yellapur-ankola-karwar-Canacona

Second is the option with the least risk. Post Hospet till Hubli, even though the road may not be good, but its not an unknown section. Hence would advise against the Sandur-Haveri.

While you are at Sandur, hope you visit the good places around. with recent rains in the past, expect the place to be a green paradise !

[snoozey]

Had a small trip to Goa for 5 days. Came back yesterday. Stayed at Ziva Suites, Bardez. Drove the S-Cross (old model) DDIS200. Total trip of 1735 Kms. Covered Anjuna, Vagator, Baga, Colva beaches. Also drove to Salim Ali bird sanctuary and some sight seeing done in and around Panjim.

Took the Bangalore - Ranebennur - Dharwad - Kittur - Chorla - Goa route.

Onwards Journey: Started at 5:00 AM and reached by 2:30 PM. Two pit stops of 15 mins each.
Return Journey: Started at 6:30 AM and reached Bangalore by 5:30 PM. Two pit stops of 15 mins each.

Couple of points:

1. The roads from Bangalore to Dharwad are pretty much ok. Was able to maintain speeds of 100+ kmph easily. Roads are superb. Construction and doubling work going on in some stretches.

2. Hubli Dharwad Bypass was full of trucks and heavy vehicles. Overtaking was difficult. Speeds ranged from 40 - 60 kmph. Road conditions are superb.

3. Kittur to Chorla was a dream during the return journey, driving through it during the mid morning time. Beautiful scenery all around. Could maintain speeds in range of 40 - 80 kmph depending upon the traffic and road conditions. Roads are decent with some stretches having single narrow roads.

4. Chorla ghats have some broken stretches but nothing really bad. Surprisingly, the section in Karnataka has better roads than in Goa. Comparatively an easy ghat section to drive through.

5. Chorla to Bardez is a superb section. Roads in Goa are beautiful with very few potholes or broken stretches (atleast from what I see), except in some sections in Anjuna (interior roads).

The S-Cross was able to keep up pretty easily during the entire trip.