[zaks]

Need some feedback for BLR to Goa (Vagator) route. Google shows quickest route to be Hubli-Dharwad (bypass)-Londa-Mollem-Panaji. Any better ones?
BTW I will be going on bike and cover in same day.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by zaks

Need some feedback for BLR to Goa (Vagator) route. Google shows quickest route to be Hubli-Dharwad (bypass)-Londa-Mollem-Panaji.

For Vagator and around, I feel it comes down to personal preference on if to take Chortal route of Ponda/ Mollem route.

I personally like to take Ponda/ Mollem route. Road conditions overall is fine, however few small sections around Castle rock where road work got stopped years ago are still in the same situation.

Nothing to be bothered about unless you are covering it in rain or night. Else, the whole route is in good condition as of this month start.

[SupahN00b]

(Little late update since my membership was still getting approved &#128513

Did Bangalore to Goa via Tumkuru, Hubballi, Yellapur, Ankola, Palolem, Morjim on Oct 29, and took the same route back on Oct 31.



Bangalore (Marathahalli) to Palolem took about 8.5 hours - left at 5 AM, and reached at 1:40 PM. Took this route as I was thoroughly intimidated by the photos of the potholes on the Anmod-Ramnagar route.

Road conditions review based on driving a 330i on this route.

- As has been highlighted by most folks, slow down and drive carefully between Nelamangala and Tumkuru - while I didn't run in to absolute beasts of potholes, nothing I'd want to drive through at highway speeds. Lots of patch work repair of potholes on this stretch

- After Tumkuru all the way up to Hubballi, NH48 is a dream.

- I went into Hubballi town proper in search of an IOC pump with XP95, as I was running on fumes after a spirited drive post Tumkuru. However you can get on the Yellapur - Ankola route from the outskirts itself. Once close by to Hubballi, you can set your navigation to "Hubli bypass Karwar road".

- Hubballi to Yellapur is a sweet drive, but you'll have to be paying attention to surprise potholes. I got caught in a pickle while overtaking someone on this stretch on my return trip - consequently had to go through the pothole and suffer a burst tyre


Yellow represents surprise potholes stretch, Red represents bad patches which may force you to a crawl

- Yellapur to Ankola - I'd call this a very bad but navigable stretch. Can crawl through the bad patches in a low slung sedan; the key is patience and forgeting about the Tumkuru - Hubballi stretch you were on 1-2 hours ago. Be wary of folks coming the wrong way because they were trying to avoid a bad patch on their side of the road.




(some screengrabs from the dashcam of the 'bad patches' between Yellapur and Ankola)

- Ankola to Palolem and beyond - fairly straighforward route. NH66 will keep on fluctuating between being an undivided two lane highway to dual-carriageway 4 to 6 lane highway. Keep in mind that going to from South to North during peak hours in the evening can translate to a near 4 hour sojourn!


Other asides:
- XP95 is available in Hubballi city (didn't find anything on the highway in the 50km before Hubballi. It's also available post the ghats section when you turn from Ankola towards Karwar. You'll have to take a left (i.e. turn south, and go away from Karwar and Goa) and travel for about a km before you spot the IOC COCO pump there.

- IOC COCO in Goa seem to plug XP100 instead of 95. Definitely keeping something like proctane as a backup for my next long trip

- While limping back home on the space-saver, decided to spend the night in Davanagere, at Apoorva Resorts. It was going to be a slow and monotonous trip back to Bangalore, wanted to ensure that I was fresh and alert. The receptionist at Apoorva Resort offered a 10% discount when I informed him I'd be leaving far earlier than the breakfast timings

- The 8.5 hrs time had no stops for meals, although there was a 10 min stop every 1-1.5 hrs for, ahem, stretching one's legs.

[anvancy]

Hello folks.

Well I am not planning my drive from Bangalore but from Hampi towards Goa as part of my roadtrip.

Google shows Tinai Londa Anmod from Dharwad. The trip is in first week of January and I will be driving a Kia Sonet.

I myself was at Chorla Ghat in the first week of October so I have an idea of the pothole sizes and craters and the overall Ghat condition.

Given that my wife and I will be traveling what will be a comfortable drive?
Plan to leave Hampi post breakfast and reach Goa for relaxation.

Thanks for the help!

[shreedharan]

Originally Posted by anvancy

Hello folks.

Well I am not planning my drive from Bangalore but from Hampi towards Goa as part of my roadtrip.

Google shows Tinai Londa Anmod from Dharwad. The trip is in first week of January and I will be driving a Kia Sonet.

I myself was at Chorla Ghat in the first week of October so I have an idea of the pothole sizes and craters and the overall Ghat condition.

Given that my wife and I will be traveling what will be a comfortable drive?
Plan to leave Hampi post breakfast and reach Goa for relaxation.

Thanks for the help!

You can easily do the Dharwad - Panjim in about 3hrs. Roads are better. Just a stretch has concrete road laying work going on. So, keep a note of it. I went in a sedan and didn't get the underbody hurt more than once. SO, you should scrape through easily. Just keep an eye out.

Another thing. Just after Mollem checkpost, don't speed when you see open / empty roads till Hotel Amigos. You'll be welcomed by Goa Cops. 60 is the speedlimit. But, they'd say it is 70-75. Gradient is slightly down. So, you might actually end up at 70 without wanting to. I realized it when they stopped me for 70kmph. Can tell you I was doing sedated 60 after the break at Mollem. They only take money and no receipts would be issued. Don't even try to argue. They didn't listen to me that I am ready to pay 1000/- fine through card payment. It is just worthless. Rest within Goa it is very nice.

Hope this helps.

[anvancy]

Originally Posted by shreedharan

You can easily do the Dharwad - Panjim in about 3hrs. Roads are better. Just a stretch has concrete road laying work going on. So, keep a note of it. I went in a sedan and didn't get the underbody hurt more than once. SO, you should scrape through easily. Just keep an eye out.

Hope this helps.

Thank you. So by my calcs Hampi to Dharwad is 3-4hours and Dharwad to Panji another 4 hours. Follow the 67-748 Highway?
If i leave post breakfast from Hampi what time should I leave if i have to cover the ghat before Sundown? As in do the stretch and finish the ghat in light which should be safe?

Thanks.

[mpksuhas]

anvancy, had done this last year end, road work was ongoing at small sections then, which would only have improved the conditions now.

You can see the details here (Hyderabad - Hubli : Route Queries).

[itwasntme]

Thank God for small mercies!

Khanapur to Anmod work resumes.

https://belagaviinfra.co.in/finally-...retch-resumes/

[HighRevving]

Drove Bangalore - North Goa and back over the weekend in the 330i.

Bangalore - Belgaum:

The infamous stretch between Tumkur and Chitradurga on Tumkur side still has pits. Some of them are deep and definitely not good for sedans. So take it easy as you enter the 6-lane road for about 5-10 KMs and then it is a breeze till Davanagere.

Between Davanagere and Hubli there are exactly two detours, so if you are driving in the night, keep and eye out as the road just before the diversion is bad.

Hubli to Belgaum is perfectly fine, just that the 30KM stretch initially is single lane with trucks crawling at really slow speeds.

Belgaum to North Goa (Mapusa)

There are 3 options:

- Through Khanapur: I did not take this route as the road in the reserve forest of about 20 KMs is supposed to be terrible. Though rest would have made up for time, I could not think of dropping my 18" wheels in the kind of craters I heard exist in the forest.
- Through Amboli (recommended): I took this route in my onward journey - the roads are average with some bad patches. Definitely manageable even with 18" low profile tyres as long as you keep an eye on the speedo. Longer road, by about 25 KMs or so but the best road to get to north Goa from Belgaum.
- Through Chorla: Took this on the way back. The 20-30 KMs on Goa side road is butter smooth. Had some good fun around the bends in the Bimmer, which did not last very long. The moment I entered Karnataka, the road started to degrade and to an extent I did not imagine. Multiple craters are sometimes next to each other and it is impossible to navigate the car without dropping it in some scarily big ones. Low GC cars will scrape bottom here. I must have spent over an hour to cover 5 KMs after which the craters appeared intermittently. Some of them were so bad, a Bolero guy had his head out of the window wondering what line to take. The road eventually gets better towards Belgaum but the bit in between can give you shivers if you have an expensive sedan. If you take this route in the evening try and cross Chorla before 5 PM or the Hyderabad bound buses will exert incredible pressure to move fast on terrible roads.

The road between Hubli - Yellapur - Ankola is supposed to be reasonably good condition with surprise potholes but we were in no mood to come back to Hubli then climb to north Goa all the way over from Ankola.

If you are driving from Bangalore to north Goa, you have to choose between the slow drive through Amboli or go through Ankola - Karwar and South Goa. Driving through South Goa is a pain in itself so the Belgaum - Amboli route may be a better option.

[ant_vas]

Did a Bangalore - Goa - Bangalore trip between 26 - 29 Nov in Carens. The Tumkur stretch is still filled with potholes, one needs to drive a little carefully.

2 flyovers post Davanagere are still in the same state, no work seems to be happening and now those flyovers are filled with weeds! The roads besides them are really bad.

After the turn-off at Dharwad for Goa, the roads are a mixed bag. Some stretches are really good concrete surface, where as some are filled with pot holes. There are a few Half constructed flyovers and the roads at those places are really bad. Sedans are sure to scrape their bottom. No such worries with Carens though. One needs to be careful especially in Anumod ghat section. Once you cross the border, the roads in Goa are excellent and the tar quality is superb.

Took the same route on the way back as well. over all we drove at a leisure pace with good number of breaks and completed the stretch in around 10 hours each side.

[vint]

Hi friends, planning for a Rod trip to Goa from Bangalore with family, sometime towards end of the month. Tentative dates: 26/dec-30/dec.

I’m looking for staying at one of the beach resorts preferably with a private beach, suggestions are welcome.

Need some help on :

1. Best place to halt for the night, including suggestion for a decent hotel (both ways) as I don’t want to drive in one go.

2. Best route to take considering safety and road quality as I would be travelling with family.

3. Pit stops for fuel and good restaurants to have breakfast and lunch.

Thanks in advance

[sumannandy]

Originally Posted by vint

Hi friends, planning for a Rod trip to Goa from Bangalore with family, sometime towards end of the month. Tentative dates: 26/dec-30/dec.

I’m looking for staying at one of the beach resorts preferably with a private beach, suggestions are welcome.

Need some help on :

1. Best place to halt for the night, including suggestion for a decent hotel (both ways) as I don’t want to drive in one go.

2. Best route to take considering safety and road quality as I would be travelling with family.

3. Pit stops for fuel and good restaurants to have breakfast and lunch.

Thanks in advance

You may try the following.

Day 1 - You may stay at Sharavathi backwaters JLR. Good experience.
Day 2 - Drive to South Goa, stay there.
Day 3 - North Goa.
Day 4 - leave by afternoon and stay at Hubli.
Day 5 - Back to Bangalore

[KeeepDriiiving]

Hotel Naveen at Hubli is a 4-star. It's located next to a huge lake. Walk within the hotel takes you next to the lake with an amazing view and many birds.

[shreedharan]

Originally Posted by vint

Hi friends, planning for a Rod trip to Goa from Bangalore with family, sometime towards end of the month. Tentative dates: 26/dec-30/dec.

I’m looking for staying at one of the beach resorts preferably with a private beach, suggestions are welcome.

Need some help on :

1. Best place to halt for the night, including suggestion for a decent hotel (both ways) as I don’t want to drive in one go.

2. Best route to take considering safety and road quality as I would be travelling with family.

3. Pit stops for fuel and good restaurants to have breakfast and lunch.

Thanks in advance

Hey - you can do a single leg easily. Takes about 10-11hrs, if you take usual Hubli - Dharwad - Ponda route.

If you still want to do it with a halt, why don't you consider taking Karwar route? It is scenic as well. You won't regret it those misty hills. Shimoga - Karwar is through villages and hills. Ghat sections are quite well maintained. Then, when you descend on the other side of western ghats, you get a fantastic highway and scenic sea. Sunrise / sunset near highway is complimentary.

[kedar_GT]

Update on the Anmod section:
Drove back from Goa to Bangalore yesterday via Ponda/Anmod/Ramnagar/Hubli bypass. Was pleasantly surprised to note the mud-patch work done on the dreaded Anmod section. This will last for some time unless there are heavy downpours.
The elevation changes between the concrete and the tar/mud section have now been smoothened out and should not pose a problem for low-slung vehicles.