[Rahul Bhalgat]

Traveled from Pune to Hyderabad and back.

Route:
Pune - Solapur - Akkalkot - Aland - Gulbarga - Chevella - Hyderabad.

Started at 12:45 pm on Friday, 17th June from Pune. Reached Lakdi Ka Pul at 11:45 in the night. This time included 3 tea breaks of 15 min each, a lunch break of 45 min and a visit to Akkalkot Temple for 20 min.

Returned to Pune on Sunday, 19th June. Started from Lakdi Ka Pul at 6 am and reached Pune at 5 pm, taking the same route. This included 3 tea breaks of 15 min each and a lunch break of 1 hour.

This was the second time I traveled to Hyderabad by car. Same route taken on both the trips. Akkalkot to Hyderabad is a pleasant journey through the countryside.

Places to eat:

While traveling to Hyderabad, you can eat at Vitthal Kamat at Mohol and Jagadamba Veg at Tembhurni. Both are right on the highway and the food was good. Jagadamba is immediately after crossing Tembhurni. Watch out when you cross (bypass) Temburni, I had missed it.

While traveling to Pune, one can take lunch in Solapur or at Tembhurni. Just before Tembhurni, there is a veg hotel (Atithi) opposite to Jagadamba Veg.

No good place to eat between Akkalkot and Hyderabad. Carry your own food or buy packaged dry snacks like chips etc. Or rely on Tea and biscuits. Since we started from Hyderabad at 6 am, we did not have the breakfast. So, we tried at Sedam, near the bus stand. But it was avoidable. Not clean and hygienic, no quality and taste too.

You can get tender coconut at few places like Kodangal, in the daytime. You can get fruits too.

Road between Akkalkot to Wagdari has rough 3 patches, each 200-300 m long. Though it is rough, it shall not scrape the car. And these patches are under construction.

Also saw many Volvo buses taking this route, Shirdi - Hyderabad, Panaji - Hyderabad etc.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Also saw many Volvo buses taking this route, Shirdi - Hyderabad, Panaji - Hyderabad etc.

Panaji-Hyderabad volvo need to take this route only as there is hardly any other option.

The Mahboobnagar - Raichur road is closed for June and July as the bridge over river Krishna is under repairs.

That leaves only the option of using Hyderabad - Pargi - Sedam - Gulbarga - Bijapur - Bagalkot - Goa.

[Sachi]

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Traveled from Pune to Hyderabad and back.

Route:
Pune - Solapur - Akkalkot - Aland - Gulbarga - Chevella - Hyderabad.

Started at 12:45 pm on Friday, 17th June from Pune. Reached Lakdi Ka Pul at 11:45 in the night. This time included 3 tea breaks of 15 min each, a lunch break of 45 min and a visit to Akkalkot Temple for 20 min.

Returned to Pune on Sunday, 19th June. Started from Lakdi Ka Pul at 6 am and reached Pune at 5 pm, taking the same route. This included 3 tea breaks of 15 min each and a lunch break of 1 hour.

This was the second time I traveled to Hyderabad by car. Same route taken on both the trips. Akkalkot to Hyderabad is a pleasant journey through the countryside.

Places to eat:

While traveling to Hyderabad, you can eat at Vitthal Kamat at Mohol and Jagadamba Veg at Tembhurni. Both are right on the highway and the food was good. Jagadamba is immediately after crossing Tembhurni. Watch out when you cross (bypass) Temburni, I had missed it.

While traveling to Pune, one can take lunch in Solapur or at Tembhurni. Just before Tembhurni, there is a veg hotel (Atithi) opposite to Jagadamba Veg.

No good place to eat between Akkalkot and Hyderabad. Carry your own food or buy packaged dry snacks like chips etc. Or rely on Tea and biscuits. Since we started from Hyderabad at 6 am, we did not have the breakfast. So, we tried at Sedam, near the bus stand. But it was avoidable. Not clean and hygienic, no quality and taste too.

You can get tender coconut at few places like Kodangal, in the daytime. You can get fruits too.

Road between Akkalkot to Wagdari has rough 3 patches, each 200-300 m long. Though it is rough, it shall not scrape the car. And these patches are under construction.

Also saw many Volvo buses taking this route, Shirdi - Hyderabad, Panaji - Hyderabad etc.

Many thanks Rahul for this update. This, along with the other updates just before you, give credit to the fact that the Gulbarg route is better at this time to commute between Pune an Hyderabad. I am myself planning to drive down to Pune sometime in August.

I just have a few quick questions for my information:
1. Which car were you driving?
2. What was your average speed between Pune-Solapur stretch and Solapur-Gulbarg-Hyderabad stretch?

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by Sachi

Many thanks Rahul for this update. This, along with the other updates just before you, give credit to the fact that the Gulbarg route is better at this time to commute between Pune an Hyderabad. I am myself planning to drive down to Pune sometime in August.

I just have a few quick questions for my information:
1. Which car were you driving?
2. What was your average speed between Pune-Solapur stretch and Solapur-Gulbarg-Hyderabad stretch?

I had Wagon R of my friend.

On Pune - Solapur route you can easily maintain 90 to 120; though I kept around 100.

Solapur to Akkalkot: Maintained average 55 - 60 kmph.

After Akkalkot, I maintained 70 - 90 kmph. For time calculation, you can consider average 60 - 65 kmph + time for halts.

At Pargi, the signboard shows wrong direction for Kodangal. Please be careful and check with the local people.

It will be a pleasure to do Hyderabad - Akkalkot. Good road condition, good countryside, good nature.

[paharino1]

For driving from Hyd to Mahabaleshwar ( via Satara) - Is is advisable to do Hyd - Akkalkot - Solapur -Pandharpur - Satara route ?
Is there an alternate route ( eg from Hyd drive right up to Bijapur) - is there a good /comparable road to Satara from Bijapur ?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by paharino1

For driving from Hyd to Mahabaleshwar ( via Satara) - Is is advisable to do Hyd - Akkalkot - Solapur -Pandharpur - Satara route ?
Is there an alternate route ( eg from Hyd drive right up to Bijapur) - is there a good /comparable road to Satara from Bijapur ?

Going via Solapur is the quickest.Via Bijapur etc is going to add up kilometers ofcourse time and no sizeable improvement in road conditions..With the above reports saying that Akkalkot route is manageable,my suggestion for you would be to go via solapur-mohol-pandharpur-mhaswad-gondawale-pusegaon-satara-medha-m'baleshwar.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by paharino1

For driving from Hyd to Mahabaleshwar ( via Satara) - Is is advisable to do Hyd - Akkalkot - Solapur -Pandharpur - Satara route ?
Is there an alternate route ( eg from Hyd drive right up to Bijapur) - is there a good /comparable road to Satara from Bijapur ?

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Going via Solapur is the quickest.Via Bijapur etc is going to add up kilometers ofcourse time and no sizeable improvement in road conditions..With the above reports saying that Akkalkot route is manageable,my suggestion for you would be to go via solapur-mohol-pandharpur-mhaswad-gondawale-pusegaon-satara-medha-m'baleshwar.

Hyderabad - Pargi - Sedam - Gulbarga - Bijapur - Athani - Miraj - Sangli - NH4 (some place [forgetting name] north of Kolhapur and south of Karad) - Satara - Mahabaleshwar.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

Hyderabad - Pargi - Sedam - Gulbarga - Bijapur - Athani - Miraj - Sangli - NH4 (some place [forgetting name] north of Kolhapur and south of Karad) - Satara - Mahabaleshwar.

The name of that place is ''Peth Naka'' (Naka meaning cross). Sangli--Peth Naka is a good 2 lane road and a standard route used for Sangli-Pune

[mayuresh]

I am looking for overnight travel option from Pune to Hyderabad and back.

Looks like trains require advance planning as for nearby dates getting seats is difficult. Also, larger number of trains go to Secundarabad adding to local transport if you wan to come to Hyderabad.

So looking for good bus options with sleeper coach. Are there good bus services (govt/private) that are reliable in terms of timeliness, cleanliness, travel comfort etc?

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

I am looking for overnight travel option from Pune to Hyderabad and back.

Looks like trains require advance planning as for nearby dates getting seats is difficult. Also, larger number of trains go to Secundarabad adding to local transport if you wan to come to Hyderabad.

So looking for good bus options with sleeper coach. Are there good bus services (govt/private) that are reliable in terms of timeliness, cleanliness, travel comfort etc?

Hi There is no Govt.owned Sleeper bus on this route but there are two multiaxle Volvo semisleeper buses operated by TSRTC,Telangana from Pune to Hyderabad and you can book tickets through their web portal. One bus originates from Mumbai and other from Pune itself. I have not travelled in a bus on this particular route but I am well aware that Mumbai-Pune-Hyderabad has a hell lot of Volvo/Mercedes/Scania buses plying everyday. Kesineni, Orange, Transit, SVR, HKB travels are few popular ones that come to my mind. Most of these are AC semisleeper buses with some of them being AC sleeper buses and most of them originate from Mumbai. A certain Transit Travels with so-called ''business class'' AC sleeper coach and another Orange Travels AC sleeper ply exclusively between Pune and Hyderabad and these are quite popular amongst people travelling on this route as far as I know. My suggestion is to book in that bus which starts from Pune itself rather than the one that originates from Mumbai. In these monsoons you never know when there would be a landslide on Mumbai--Pune Expressway disrupting the traffic, resulting in delayed arrival of all buses to Pune. I can't confirm which one is highly reliable as I have not travelled myself on this particular route. Hope others reply.

[nitinbs]

I have travelled multiple times between Pune and Hyderabad in HKB travel Volvo buses. The staff is rude but the the service is pretty punctual and also reasonable as compared to other operators. HKB is probably the only one to provide water bottle and snacks (a packet ot biscuit and chips packet). The other operator i have used is Kesineni, good buses but sometimes take more time.

Hope that helps.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

I am looking for overnight travel option from Pune to Hyderabad and back.

Looks like trains require advance planning as for nearby dates getting seats is difficult. Also, larger number of trains go to Secundarabad adding to local transport if you wan to come to Hyderabad.

So looking for good bus options with sleeper coach. Are there good bus services (govt/private) that are reliable in terms of timeliness, cleanliness, travel comfort etc?

The Secunderabad Mumbai Duronto Express of Indian Railways which was a no-passenger-halt train has now been given a halt at Pune. Passengers can book Pune - Secunderabad (2am - 11am) or Secunderabad - Pune (11pm - 8am) tickets in this fully A/C train. Caution : it is not a daily train.

[mayuresh]

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

The Secunderabad Mumbai Duronto Express of Indian Railways which was a no-passenger-halt train has now been given a halt at Pune. Passengers can book Pune - Secunderabad (2am - 11am) or Secunderabad - Pune (11pm - 8am) tickets in this fully A/C train. Caution : it is not a daily train.

Thanks. Any idea how good the local train in Hyd is. I want to go to Gachibowli, whose nearest local station is Lingampally.

I think it will save time and money both to go to Lingampally by local train and then take a cab.

Particularly are the locals crowded like in Mumbai?

[nitinbs]

BTW, You will almost all the time get ticket in Pune- Hyd Shatabdi Express which departs from Pune @5:55 AM and reaches Secunderabad @ around 2:30 PM. This also halts at Begumpet from where Gachibowli would be closer.

Did not suggest this earlier because the requirement was of overnight journey.

[21Archer84]

Originally Posted by mayuresh

Thanks. Any idea how good the local train in Hyd is. I want to go to Gachibowli, whose nearest local station is Lingampally.

I think it will save time and money both to go to Lingampally by local train and then take a cab.

Particularly are the locals crowded like in Mumbai?

Not sure what you meant by good, but they are in no way as crowded as Mumbai locals. It will definitely save time and money.