[nareshtrao]

Originally Posted by MCR

Latest Circular from Govt. of Goa mandates a Negative RT-PCR report for entry.
I have essentially dropped my plan of visiting Goa now due to this new rule. Don't want to take the risk of trying to procure a RT-PCR report, especially with kids in tow.

I hope better sense prevails and fully vaccinated Citizens are allowed to move freely within India.

Same here. We had planned to visit during 3rd week and have the bookings. However, with ever changing rules and restrictions, now scouting for something within the state to avoid hassles. What a pity.

[shaleenvashisht]

Sharing experience from my recent trip BLR->South Goa ( Palolem )

Based on the feedback in the forum, i choose to not to trust the Google map. The suggested route by the Google map was

Bangalore->Tumkur ->Haveri->Sirsi ->Ankola ->Karwar-> Goa

Instead, i chose to go via this route

Bangalore->Tumkur->Haveri->Tadas->Kalaghatagi->Yellapur->Ankola->Karwar->Goa


I exited the highway near an IOC petrol bunk near Tadas and used a small road to reach the town ( Tadas ). From there, the route to Kalaghatagi was narrow, road was not great. Thankfully, the distance is less. Other option could have been to go till Gabbur and then come back to Kalaghagi- but that would have been longer and would have taken more time.

From Kalaghatagi till Yellapur Road was superb. It was raining throughout, and i maintained 80-100 kmph. Was able to use the cruise mode for long stretches.

Again, From Yellapur till Ankola the road was fine, but still had few broken patches. it was more like flowing water ( due to rains ) had broken up the roads. But it was manageable. If anyone is driving in this direction my advise is to be watchful of the road.

From Ankola till Goa-> It was again a highway, and the road was good. Although, the road widening activity was underway.


I used the same route to return to bangalore as well, didn't want to experiment since the rains must have wrecked the roads of other routes. Interestingly, Apple Map was much more accurate and better in taking me via the above route, in comparison to the Google maps. I was using both simultaneously.


My 4th gen Honda city ( Petrol CVT ) performed really well during the journey. I used the cruise mode for long stretches on highway, and even the state highways. I was able to extract 16.7 kmpl for the entire journey- that involved driving in the ghat sections as well. Interestingly, the mileage was 18.5 from BLR->Goa, probably because we exited bangalore in early morning hours. Also, it is eventually a downhill drive. On return, i used the sports mode to do some spirited driving, and that caused numbers to go down.

[victoriacc]

Just one hour ago, I entered Goa after a 1 week road trip within Karnataka. No one asked for RTPCR. The policemen just confirmed if i am double vaccinated. Showed the certificate and was allowed to go in 30 secs. I am travelling solo, so there wasn't any family-traveller perception benefit as such.

[shaleenvashisht]

Originally Posted by victoriacc

Just one hour ago, I entered Goa after a 1 week road trip within Karnataka. No one asked for RTPCR. The policemen just confirmed if i am double vaccinated. Showed the certificate and was allowed to go in 30 secs. I am travelling solo, so there wasn't any family-traveller perception benefit as such.

Same here. Entered goa without any fuss. Exit was even more seamless( on 5th Dec ) , as i wasnt even stopped at the gate ( not even for liquor check )

[shivasuma]

I am leaving to Palolem tomorrow morning from Bangalore. Will update this thread if I am stopped anywhere.

[Kiyon]

Came back from my trip to Palolem (3rd-6th Dec)

Onward Journey

While going we took the Shivamogga stop over , jog falls route.

Due to some map confusions we took the Bangalore-Chitradurga- Shivamogga route and road every where except last 30 odd kms to Shivamogga was good enough. The last 21 kms nearly took 1 hr in evening traffic and road was bad with repair work near to Shivamogga. (left at 2 PM and reached at 7:15 PM with fuel and a tea break)

(Note: 3-4 Kms near Tumkur bypass the road condition was bad with multiple potholes, but I now see on my return journey they are repairing those stretch.. The work is in progress)


From Shivamogga we left around 5:45 am and road to Jog was very good. With almost zero traffic at that time and scenic route with fog cover was a bliss to drive. Reached Jog at around 7:30 and hardly there were 20-30 people.
Even the BH road till Honnavar has held up rains well and travel at that time was easy and quick.

Honnavar to Palolem road condition was decent/very good at few stretch with multiple diversions and road work in progress. Nothing to worry here.

We reached Palolem at 11:30 AM and no one bothered to stop us for any checks at the entry gate.. Crowd at Palolem seemed very less for this time of the year even on weekends !

Return Journey:

We left Goa on 6th 11 AM and reached Bangalore at 9:15 Pm with multiple stops ..
Entering Karnataka we had the regular liquor check at the post and no one asked anything about Vaccine certificates or RTPCR !

We took the Goa-Karwar-Yellapur-Mundgod-Bankapur-Bangalore .

Ankola Ghat to Yellapur all the Ghat turns are broken completely and the road is in bad state. At that time (12-12:30PM) we had very less traffic fortunately and could still cover it faster. The right lane seemed better than the left while climbing up the ghat and if you drive carefully you can be ok without scrapping the underbelly.

Yellapur to Bankapur narrow road, isolated. Roads are not that great but you can still do 30-40.

Dont miss out the beautiful lake just after Mundgod (Sannavalli Dam in Googlemap)
Also dont follow the Map while joining back the highway. Head straight into Bankpur town and navigate to Hotel Royal Delhi Darbar. Since opposite to the hotel, its a toll plaza you can cross into the left side very easily and safely. This would save some time.

T/Pee breaks on return journey : Shreekrishna Residency Yellapur, Hotel Royal Delhi Darbar Near Bankapur Tool Plaza, Sarvodaya Veg Near Chitradurga.

[shivasuma]

I just crossed into Goa from Karnataka. Only thing they asked was Covid vaccination certificate. They did not even bother to check it properly. Hope this helps.

[Chinmayd]

Originally Posted by nareshtrao

As per News reports yesterday, Goa govt. has made it mandatory to carry RT-PCR report (less than 72 hours) for entry.

Can someone please confirm this as this was not carried on all mainstream media.

Please don't go by one specific news report. Wait for minimum 2 days and you will find multiple versions of the same story across different websites.

We travelled KA to GA in August with 3 RT-PCRs for 3 passengers and they just scanned the top report, barely for a second, at Chorla.
GA to KA in November first week and there was absolutely no check on the Karwar route.

As of December 10 it seems fully vaccinated passengers don't need RT-PCR to travel between KA and GA. Not much clarity though on kids below 10 years. Do they need RT-PCR or are they exempt? Can someone please clarify?

[redCherry]

Originally Posted by Chinmayd

As of December 10 it seems fully vaccinated passengers don't need RT-PCR to travel between KA and GA. Not much clarity though on kids below 10 years. Do they need RT-PCR or are they exempt? Can someone please clarify?

This is exactly my concern too.
No clarity on RT-PCR requirements for kids (My kids are < 10 years too) and I've almost decided to cancel my flight tickets planned for next week .

[HTC]

I'm travelling on sunday to goa(candolim). Me and wife are fully vaccinated. Will be taking rtpcr report for my daughter(10y) and see how it goes.

[victoriacc]

I entered Goa (from Karwar) on 6th Dec and exited Goa (via Ponda-Mollem) to Karnataka on 9th Dec. On both occasions, nobody asked for RTPCR. I wasn't carrying it either. For entry to Goa, they asked vaccination status (wasn't very keen on seeing certificate though). For entry to Karnataka, they did not ask about even vaccination certificate. All they wanted to know was if I was carrying liquor. Though I was carrying it along with permit, I said no - they checked the boot for 20 secs for something glaringly obvious and just let me go without any fuss.

I was travelling solo - and that did not create any difficulty as such, contrary to what I was anticipating.

The travel to Goa was over multiple days & stops.
1. Bangalore to Mangalore. The drive via Charmadi ghats was really nice and hasslefree. Enjoyed the lovely Mangalore cuisine over couple of days - especially the very famous Machali.
2. Mangalore to St. Marys Island
3. To Kollur Mookambika & Murudeshwar Shiva temple
4. Stay at Jog Falls as well as an Airbnb site nearby
5. Couple of days at Kumta - excellent beaches with very little crowd. Totally pleasant.
6. Transit to Goa via Karwar.

The roads in aforementioned circuit were good all through out, except for innocent cattle sometimes jumping out of nowhere into the road once in a while.

The return journey was via Ponda-Mollem route. I took a break at Davangare so as to spend an evening exploring a new town & to enjoy the famous Benne Dose. Sri Guru Kottureshwara did not disappoint as such. Compared to onward journey, the road quality in return journey was a major let down.

1. The road was pretty good until the RTO checkpost. Post which - I picked the main route which Google recommended instead of an alternative road/diversion which Google deemed as ~25 mins slower. This was a grave error, since the stretch for next 20 odd kms was a nightmare with practically non-existent roads which took a toll on my low GC sedan. I drove at perhaps 20-25 kph at best in this stretch and still was finding it uncomfortable.
2. Near Alnavar, suddenly there was a police barricade in the main road and they were forcing all vehicles (barring two wheelers) to take a diversion citing some railway work. This suddenly made me rely on Google again, as this was totally unplanned & out of syllabus. Google suggested a route via few nearby villages. These were roads which are just one vehicle wide mostly, but was inundated with buses, trucks, cars and what not in both directions - probably due to the barricades police had put up at various ingress/egress points in the main route. The road quality wasn't good either and this was a bad surprise by all means. Later somehow I landed in Dharwad-Hubli highway and post which it was a breeze until Davengare and until Tumkur the next day.
3. In the last 3-4 pages in this thread, there are many folks who have complained about potholes /craters later in the Tumkur stretch. That is true - the condition is not good by any means, but certainly manageable without too much frustration. This Tumkur torture would feel like a minor glitch compared to ultimate torture post RTO checkpost and the unplanned/forced diversion at Alnavar.

Had it not been for Davengare Benne Dose , I probably would have taken the return route via Karwar - Jog Falls - Shimoga, since travel time and few extra kms was not a concern for me. In hindsight, that's what I should have done for peace of mind and a comfortable drive. Any ways, Hubli-Davengare-Chitradurga-Tumkur drive was pretty much a breeze and was delightful - especially near Chitradurga region in broad day light.

[mankuthimma]

Originally Posted by Kiyon

...except last 30 odd kms to Shivamogga was good enough. The last 21 kms nearly took 1 hr in evening traffic and road was bad with repair work near to Shivamogga. (left at 2 PM and reached at 7:15 PM with fuel and a tea break)

Thanks for the route update. It is encouraging to see that you were able to reach Shivamogga with ~5 hrs driving time with an afternoon start.

For my upcoming trip to Karwar, initially I had planned for an early morning start, but due to some work that might crop up, most likely my start time would be 2-3 PM which means I need to halt at Shivamogga. I am hoping that I can reach by 8 - 8.30 PM with not so fast driving speeds. Does it sound reasonable ? How bad are the roads on the last stretch to drive in the night ?

On a separate note, question for bhpians familiar with Jayanagar area. On the day of travel, I need to do a pickup around Jayanagar Metro area. I am not so well verse with roads in that region. What would be the best way to reach Tumkur highway ?

[vivek.ks]

Just Completed a trip to South Goa from South Bangalore.

Route taken was the same suggested by google maps (both ways) :

Bangalore - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Davengere - Hubli - Dharwad - Ramnagar - Tinai Ghat - Anmod - Mollem - Goa

Overall bad patches of the road exist only for 15-20km approx. in the overall 600km journey.

1. Bad patch of the road after Tumkur Bypass. Still driveable at 50+ in a sedan, SUV, etc. Hatchbacks might have to slow down.

2. After Ramnagar Toll there is a beautiful cemented road on the Karnataka Side which has been washed away at a couple of places. Just be cautious as broken roads appear without any markers and hence maintain sensible speeds even though roads are wide and you can do good speeds.

3. On the Goa side there is a beautiful asphalt road which is well maintained.

Police Checks in place:

1. Checking for PUC - KA police as usual is trying to make money and randomly stopping cars and asking for the PUC certificate.

2. Checking for vaccination status - A soft check by Goa Police for dual vaccination status.

[raghp74]

Hello BHPians,

I am planning to go on 6 days trip from Bangalore to Goa via Murudeshawar during Christmas time. I will be accompanied by Wife and Kid (6 years)
Day 1-BLR -Murudeshwar (planned start time 4 AM)
Day 2-Stay at Murudeshwar
Day3-Start to Goa (planned start time 9 AM - staying arrangement is done near Calangute)
Day4&5-stay in Goa
Day6 - Start from Goa to Bangalore (planned start time 10 AM)

Need your guidance on
1. Better route from BLR-Murudeshwar-Goa and eating places, clean rest rooms
2. Better route options for Calangute-BLR again with eating options and rest rooms
3. list of beaches and places which are of kind must visit for a family trip
3. Is RTPCR is mandatory for Kids? we both are doubly vaccinated.

Please help.

[xks64]

Just drove from Hubli to South Goa then to Belgaum and then Pune. Here are some reports from 11 December 2021:

1. Hubli - Yellapur is very good;Yellapur to Karwar there are lots of bad patches, especially in the Ghat. The road has been eroded by water/landslide on each hairpin and is painful to drive on. Karwar to Goa is quite good.

2. Anmod (KA) to Mollem (Goa) is a great place to descend the western ghats. Concrete road almost throughout and great surface. Anmod to Ramnagar is very annoying with construction every 300-500m in places.

3. Google Maps suggests a direct route from Anmod to Khanapur like so and road condition looks good, but I have not seen it personally.

4. There was a checkpoint at Anmod just after we climbed the ghat: only liquor check - they did not even ask anything related to Covid; made some small talk while they checked our car. On the MH border (Bangalore-Pune highway) there are no checks either.