[Crhysis]

Hi Manish

I normally just drive right through and only stop to fuel up and for comfort breaks.

My usual stops are an Indian Oil Petrol Pump about 250kms out of Bangalore just before Davanagere. There is a CCD next to it. But I have never visited it.
Did also notice a new Shell petrol pump on the Belgaum highway just after Dharwad.

On the way back from Goa I usually fill petrol at Chitradurga opposite Rockfort PU College.

The only restaurant I have stopped at is Kamat's about 10 kms before Hubli. Have been there a handful of times. It is on the opposite side of the road if you are travelling from Bangalore.

From what I could tell most petrol pumps and restuarants were open and it was business as usual.
There are probably others on the forum who would provide better suggestions on places to stop at.

No sign of anything Covid related on the highway. Most people outside of the towns weren't even wearing masks. At the checkpost there was no stopping or checking of any kind.

I am driving back tomorrow via the same route. So in case you want me to keep an eye out for anything in particular let me know.

[jkrishnakj]

Manish - There is Apoorva resorts at Davanagere. Clean wash rooms and some nice hot coffee and Idly/Dosas. They continue to be open.

On your return from Goa, you’ll find a Shell just after Hubli. I had stopped there on my way back from Karwar in July. Clean washrooms. Good coffee. And they have a nicely stacked up snack store too, if you want to fill up on chocolates or chips or ready to eat types of food.

[anarkanu]

Hi all, Planning to go to Varca late Oct'20. Hope to take the Dharwad-Alnavar- Anmod Route.. Is the construction on the stretch from Tinai Ghat- Anmod Checkpost complete as yet or closed. Will have to then take a longer detour in case closed.

let me know the current status of this stretch or suggest a faster route.

thanks..

[Moontan]

I drove from Bangalore to Goa on Sept. 14th and returned on Sept. 21. Going there I took the Bang-Hubli-Karwar-Canacona route as I had to meet people in South Goa. The highway from Tumkur to Hubli is full of flyovers being constructed with many, many deviations full of pot holes. It's a horrible stretch.

On the return leg, I took the Chorla Ghat route. Be warned. The Goa side of the Ghat has completely deteriorated and full of massive potholes every 10-30 mtrs. It is painfully slow. Once you enter Karnataka, the road improves though there still are a couple of car swallowing potholes.

Till they complete the roadworks and repair the roads, this is not a good drive anymore.

No checks at all, except on the return leg. About 10 kms after you enter Karnataka there is an excise post that checks your car thoroughly for anything 'they consider' illegal.

It was a monsoon drive, so that bit was brilliant. Goa was uncluttered and had wonderful Goan restaurants open serving awesome food and drinks. I stayed at Vagator and all the usual old Goan places were open and not at all crowded.

Inspite of the road conditions, I'm happy to report that the F30 328i never bottomed out or scrapped her underside anywhere. Stiffer springs worked their magic here.

[hondafanboy]

Originally Posted by Moontan

I drove from Bangalore to Goa on Sept. 14th and returned on Sept. 21. Going there I took the Bang-Hubli-Karwar-Canacona route as I had to meet people in South Goa. The highway from Tumkur to Hubli is full of flyovers being constructed with many, many deviations full of pot holes. It's a horrible stretch.

On the return leg, I took the Chorla Ghat route. Be warned. The Goa side of the Ghat has completely deteriorated and full of massive potholes every 10-30 mtrs. It is painfully slow. Once you enter Karnataka, the road improves though there still are a couple of car swallowing potholes.

Till they complete the roadworks and repair the roads, this is not a good drive anymore.


No checks at all, except on the return leg. About 10 kms after you enter Karnataka there is an excise post that checks your car thoroughly for anything 'they consider' illegal.

It was a monsoon drive, so that bit was brilliant. Goa was uncluttered and had wonderful Goan restaurants open serving awesome food and drinks. I stayed at Vagator and all the usual old Goan places were open and not at all crowded.

Inspite of the road conditions, I'm happy to report that the F30 328i never bottomed out or scrapped her underside anywhere. Stiffer springs worked their magic here.

How do make decision to travel for leisure in this environment? Were you not worried? Did you travel with the family?

[Moontan]

Originally Posted by hondafanboy

How do make decision to travel for leisure in this environment? Were you not worried? Did you travel with the family?

Well I travelled in my own vehicle back and forth. Goa was also empty of the usual tourists and the ones there were the ones who were stuck right through the lockdown.

Simple decision really.

I'm also driving to Pondy this coming long weekend.

[hondafanboy]

Originally Posted by Moontan

Well I travelled in my own vehicle back and forth. Goa was also empty of the usual tourists and the ones there were the ones who were stuck right through the lockdown.



Simple decision really.



I'm also driving to Pondy this coming long weekend. 😊

I am just happy to know that you are able to do this. Be safe and enjoy the upcoming trip.

[MaNishi]

HI, I think travelling for Leisure during this time has more to do with careful planning and adapting to live with the pandemic.


I an travelling to South Goa on 1st Oct with 2 kids in my Beast, would like to cover Jog falls on the way to Goa.

Request advise from members on the best route options and any other markers for the trip.

Thanks

Manish

[anoop_lamba]

Hello all.

I drove (with my wife & daughter) from Bangalore to Baga/Calangute on 1st Oct and returned on 4th Oct.

I took Tumkur - Kittur - Bidi - Khanapur - Chorla route both the times.

Davanagere - Hubli section has many diversions mostly in bad conditions.
Ghat section on Goa side is in pathetic condition.
Our Punto managed well with no problems whatsoever.

Timings:
ECity, Bangalore to Goa - 4am to 4pm with couple of short breaks
Goa to Bangalore - 12noon to 1am with two breaks of half an hour each

Stayed at hotel Colonia Santa Maria near Baga beach.
Shacks have not been set up. Few restaurants are open on the beach. One can enjoy food, drinks, candle light dinner on the beach

Cheers!!!


Baga beach on the evening of 2nd Oct

[MaNishi]

HI Team,

I just returned from South Goa trip. Overall the journey was enjoyable and road quality is ok. We stayed at Kelinworth resorts, which was pleasant and food quality was awesome through little expensive.


My observations on the route -

While going we took Blr- Hubli- Dharwad- Goa route that passes through Wildlife Sanctuary. This route can be used for both North and South Goa from Bangalore. The newly laid cement road is good, the tarmac is mostly smooth. However the road is not complete, just before Anmod - some 10 kms before, the cement road ends abruptly, google maps will show a right turn before the road ends - its easy to miss that, however that is the narrow road which passes through forest, where supposedly the entry is banned between 6 PM to 6 AM. We entered this stretch at 7 PM in evening, the route can be scary at Night specially if you are travelling alone. On exit near Anmod, where the narrow road again joins the Cement road, there is a forest check-post. They may look to make quick money citing that the road is blocked in evening, I was negotiating with him when multiple vehicles from both sides arrived, he has to reluctantly lift the road barrier to avoid a trafic mess.

Distance -620 km -Whitefield to Kelinworth, South Goa.
Time - 11 Hrs with 2 Breaks of 20 mins.
Eating options - Mysore Cafe - after Chitradurg , CCD at Davangere -can also use restroom.
Car - Hexa XTA

Verdict - The route is highly recommended.

On return route we wanted to explore the Bangalore- Karwar-Ankola Yellapur Hubli Dharwad- Bangalore road. However, I missed a turn at Ankola and ended up driving Via South Goa, Colva, Karwar, Ankola, Kumta- Sirsi- Ranebeddur- Chitradurga Blr. This road can be used to go to Yana Caves and Vibhuti falls - remember seeing a signboard on the route. Since most of the stretch till Ranebeddur passes through Rural Karnataka, the speed was compromised. However nowhere was the road in bad conditions, it was mostly smooth, though some places it passed through village square.

Distance - 687 kms
Time-13 hrs 30 mins with 3 breaks of 20 mins each
Eating Options - We took a 10 min detour to KFC at Davangere- can use restroom; Vinayaka Veg by Ojas restaurant was also good - guess this is Indian oil Petrol bunk before Chitradurg.

Verdict - While the Road is scenic till Sirsi, after that the journey is mostly on rural roads
Not recommended as more time taking- Maybe after Sirsi should have driven directly to Haveri to touch NH4, instead of following map.

Attaching a video that I took on Kali river near Karwar in early morning.

https://youtu.be/XPLsG0A7F20

Cheers.

Manish

[rohitrag]

Hi

I am planning a drive from Bangalore to Goa in Nov 1st week and need to reach Madgaon before dark, preferably around 5 pm. We also need to drop someone on the highway near Dharwad on our way.

I am a little confused on which is the best way to reach Anmod from Dharwad. Gmaps is suggesting i drive further north to Kittur and then approach Anmod from a more north easterly direction. Not sure if the Anmod road is completed or not. Seems like some part of it is under construction, going by a recent post.

Also, if anyone has driven from Bangalore to Dharwad recently, an update on time taken and highway conditions would be much appreciated.

[goandude]

Hi Team, I was going through this thread to find to most appropriate route from Bangalore to Colva, Goa but it has left me with more doubts. My options are (all data from Gmaps):-

1. Bankapur, Mundgod, Yellapur, Karwar, 601 kms/ 12:25 (Mundgod Yellapur road reportedly bad by some)

2. Dharwad, Alnawar, Anmod, Mollem 596 kms/ 12:30 (diversion before Anmod for 15 kms)

3. Kittur, Bidi, Kaundal (2 km south of Khanapur) Anmod Ghat, Mollem, Ponda 604 kms/ 12:30

4. Hubli, Yellapur, Karwar, Goa 659 kms/13:28 (Longest distance and time but better roads throughout)

Any suggestions or comments?

[Throtttle]

Originally Posted by Throtttle

Between Bankapur -> Mundgod -> Yellapur Vs Bankapur -> Tadas -> Kalaghatgi -> Yellapur, with recent info/knowledge, which one is advisable to take? I have never taken Mundgod route but have taken Tadas route last year October. What I am looking for is a time-saver option, but worth the pain of a stressful short cut.

Did Bangalore - Bankapur - Tadas - Kalaghatgi - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - Varca onwards and Varca - Karwar - Ankola - Yellapur - Mundgod - Bankapur - Bangalore on return, on 26th Sept and 4th Oct repsectively. After the first hand experience, and with intent to not influence to create biases, my personal take/preference between Tadas or Mundgod route will be anyday via Tadas. Tadas village route is reasonably wide and you can maintain fair speed there and don't have to worry about oncoming traffic. While Mundgod route though can be 20 to 30 minutes shorter, about 50-55km of the ~70km SH6 route is narrow(SH6 only really broadens after the point where SH1 intersects it, while in direction towards Bankapur) with two cars can cross each other only by getting one tyre off-road mostly. Tadas route is scenic too like Mundgod route, and don't give you feeling of being in too interiors and you are on interiors roads for hardly half an hour. You have feeling of maintaining speed and not really slowing/impeding down while taking bankapur - Tadas - Kalaghatgi - Yellapur route, relative to Bankapur - Mundgod - Yellapur; with interior/village roading is of un-impacting short duration that you wont feel being away from faster highways for long, just at cost of 20 to 30 minutes extra relative to Mundgod route but of more faster & less-stressful drive.

Originally Posted by goandude

1. Bankapur, Mundgod, Yellapur, Karwar, 601 kms/ 12:25 (Mundgod Yellapur road reportedly bad by some)

2. Dharwad, Alnawar, Anmod, Mollem 596 kms/ 12:30 (diversion before Anmod for 15 kms)

3. Kittur, Bidi, Kaundal (2 km south of Khanapur) Anmod Ghat, Mollem, Ponda 604 kms/ 12:30

4. Hubli, Yellapur, Karwar, Goa 659 kms/13:28 (Longest distance and time but better roads throughout)

Any suggestions or comments?

I am in similar dilemma like above for my another drive on 7th november onward & 15th nov backward, because destination this time is Arpora, North Goa, so karwar route is ruled out. Chorla seems to be too bad at some stretch as per feedbacks, it has other impediments too like narrow road stretch, village stretch, longer route, slower stretches, etc, to make it not very opt-able currently. I will prefer/want to take Dharwad-bypass - Alnawar - Ramnagar - Tinai Ghat - Anmod Checkpost - Mollem - Ponda - Old Goa bypass - Panjim - Arpora route, if apart from 16km Tinai Ghat to Anmod Checkpost detour via Varlewadi & Akheti to bypass unconstructed stretch of SH748, rest of the road in Dharwad-bypass to mollem route is even just okay. Will appreciate feedbacks by people taking this route during October, regarding apart from Tinai ghat detour are there more stretches which are to be worried in Dharwad/Alnavar to Mollem route?

[ccnarayanan]

Has anyone travelled Bangalore-Goa via Jog falls recently? How are the road conditions and is it safe to visit Jog falls (from a crowd standpoint)?

[diogo]

Originally Posted by Throtttle

I am in similar dilemma like above for my another drive on 7th november onward & 15th nov backward, because destination this time is Arpora, North Goa,

Since the Chorla route is bad you can try take Anmod route from Khanapur via Bhimgad WLS, google maps shows a difference of only 15KMs between this and the Chorla route. Have seen latest references to this route in the Mumbai-Goa route. Plan to try this out later this month.