[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

follow the Pune - Hubli - Satara - Pune - By Pass- Nagar Road- Enter Nagar- Shirdi?

Well, right 2 posts above yours, I have given details on one of the options to bypass Satara - Pune section entirely.

However, this was in the month of March. I have had a colleague drive last month in his Grand i10 and he reported the conditions to have deteriorated.

Hence, in the interest of avoiding probable bad roads, you can stick to Pune - Nagar - Shirdi keeping in mind that you avoid turning left before Nagar for the dreaded bypass and instead enter Nagar to reach the road to Shirdi.

I plan to leave around 10.30 am from Blr and halt the night at Shirdi. Hope to reach Shirdi around 1.30 am or earlier, with sedate driving.

1030am departure works very well because you will spend lesser time to bypass Pune as it will be 2130/2200 when you do this.

Refer to this post: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post4167328

[jkrishnakj]

Thanks heaps Parag. And yes, will keep that map link that you shared, handy, in an offline mode before i depart.

[jkrishnakj]

Update on the Trip :

Plan got changed and we had to leave early on the Friday from Bangalore.

Left Blr at 4.30 am ( one hour delay wrt plan ), and we made good progress. Benne Dosa at Davangere, and Thali at Karad at Naivedyam restaurant was perfect.

We got caught by the Maharashtra Traffic police just out of the Sangli toll, and where i got stumped was when they demanded for the PuC document, which i didn't have. Wasted half hour there.

It was about 4 pm when we crossed Satara and we took the decision to bypass Pune, by taking the road that Parag shared here. The roads are just about decent. Lots of work happening to make it better though. Some parts are real bad with the surfaces missing, but by and large, its manageable. We avoided the Nagar by pass and went through Nagar town as advised by people here.

We reached Shirdi by 8.30 pm. Had good Darshan and retired for the night at Keys ( 3000 per room , break fast included, taxes included)

Had one more Darshan at 7.30 am on Saturday (2nd dec ) and departed to Blr via Pune. As always, crossing Pune wasn't easy, and ofcourse we had to make a stop at the famous Chitale Bandhu Mithai shops as well. Lunch was at Joshi Vadewale before Satara. Dinner at Hubli Kamath at 9 pm, and we reached home at Bangalore by 1.45 am.

Overall, a good trip.

[SydNaz]

Hello everyone,

I intend to do a Shirdi tour early next week (Monday). I will be driving with my parents in a '14 Swift petrol.

The presumed itinerary is as follows-
1. Leave at 0600 hrs, Monday from Bangalore and reach Kolhapur. We wish to visit the Mahalakshmi temple over there and halt for the night.

2. Leave for Shirdi, the next morning again at 0600 hrs. From what I've gathered from this thread the Pune-Ahmednagar-Shirdi route seems to be the best bet. Hope to reach Shirdi by afternoon or early evening and do the darshan the same evening.

3. Well, this part is doubtful and the feasibility of it will be evaluated probably during the course of our stay in Shirdi. Anyway, we also intend to visit Bhimashankar which apparently is about 180km from Shirdi and after darshan at Bhimashankar, we'd be driving down to Mahabaleshwar and halt.

4. If in case we decide to give Bhimashankar a miss, we'd be driving straight down to Mahabaleshwar and halt, and then the next day, return to Bangalore from Mahabaleshwar.

Seek your feedback regarding this itinerary and also have a few questions-

1. Is reasonably good accommodation preferably close to the temple available in Kolhapur?

2. The Ahmednagar bypass seems to be really dreadful looking at the previous posts and therefore do I need to ignore the blue signboard asking us to take left and instead head straight into town?

3. Is online booking mandatory for darshan at the Shirdi temple and how's the accommodation in Shirdi?

4. Is the suggested google maps route from Shirdi to Bhimashankar (via Sangamner-Narayangaon) in a good state and similarly the Bhimashankar to Mahabaleshwar route?

5. Again regarding the availability of accommodation in Mahabaleshwar?

Thanks very much for the patient read and invaluable suggestions.

[jkrishnakj]

I can answer part of your questions. Stay out of the by-pass. It's a lot better to go through the Nagar City.

For Shirdi darshan , it's easier and faster if you have booked online. At the best of crowds you'll still finish darshan in 15 mins.

I stayed at Keys at Shirdi last month , negotiated directly with them over phone for Rs. 3000/- including taxes. Breakfast was on the house.

As for M'war, I typically prefer staying at Panchgani. The accommodations seem better here to my mind instead of at m'war.

I plan a similar program for March and I'm exploring accommodation at AirBnB. I've had good experiences with AirBnB so far.

[mahesh_sn]

Originally Posted by SydNaz

Hello everyone,

Seek your feedback regarding this itinerary and also have a few questions-

1. Is reasonably good accommodation preferably close to the temple available in Kolhapur?

2. The Ahmednagar bypass seems to be really dreadful looking at the previous posts and therefore do I need to ignore the blue signboard asking us to take left and instead head straight into town?

3. Is online booking mandatory for darshan at the Shirdi temple and how's the accommodation in Shirdi?

4. Is the suggested google maps route from Shirdi to Bhimashankar (via Sangamner-Narayangaon) in a good state and similarly the Bhimashankar to Mahabaleshwar route?

5. Again regarding the availability of accommodation in Mahabaleshwar?

Thanks very much for the patient read and invaluable suggestions.

2. Avoid Nagar bypass and head straight into the town.

3. Online booking is not mandatory. Although you have to register yourself in the kiosks set up just outside the temple. They give you a temporary photo ID with a barcode and next available time slot when you can have darshan. Accommodation is not a problem in Shirdi.

4. Gmap suggested route is generally good. Shirdi to Sangamner would be patchy at certain places. Sangamner to Alephata is a fantastic and newly laid four lane toll road. Alephata to N'Gaon to Manchar where you take right for Bhimashankar is a good two lane highway but with lot of truck traffic to negotiate. Expect traffic jam in N'Gaon town. Manchar to Bhimashankar is a two lane state highway and i drove through a part of that road recently and it was good. To reach Mahabaleshawar, you will have to go through outskirts of Pune city and may encounter traffic jams on the towns en route, especially Khed, Chakan, Bhosari etc

5. On a weekday, availablity of accommodation should not be a problem. Panchgani has good stay options too.

Hope this helps. Have a safe journey

[SydNaz]

Originally Posted by mahesh_sn

4. Gmap suggested route is generally good. Shirdi to Sangamner would be patchy at certain places. Sangamner to Alephata is a fantastic and newly laid four lane toll road. Alephata to N'Gaon to Manchar where you take right for Bhimashankar is a good two lane highway but with lot of truck traffic to negotiate. Expect traffic jam in N'Gaon town. Manchar to Bhimashankar is a two lane state highway and i drove through a part of that road recently and it was good. To reach Mahabaleshawar, you will have to go through outskirts of Pune city and may encounter traffic jams on the towns en route, especially Khed, Chakan, Bhosari etc

Which would be the ideal route to Mahabaleshwar directly from Shirdi?
Would it be the Sangamner-Alephata-Narayangaon-Pune route or the Ahmednagar-Pune route?

[mahesh_sn]

Originally Posted by SydNaz

Which would be the ideal route to Mahabaleshwar directly from Shirdi?
Would it be the Sangamner-Alephata-Narayangaon-Pune route or the Ahmednagar-Pune route?

Dont get me wrong. You would get through in 10 minuntes max from the congestion points I mentioned. So, do visit Bhimashankar. If you are planning to go to Mahabaleshawar directly, check gmap and take the appropriate route.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by SydNaz

Which would be the ideal route to Mahabaleshwar directly from Shirdi?
Would it be the Sangamner-Alephata-Narayangaon-Pune route or the Ahmednagar-Pune route?

If you ask me, I will stick the Pune route.

Positives:

• 4/6 lane divided route all the way (Nagar - Pune - Wai)
• 6 lane work nearly complete with very few diversions between Pune and Wai
• Easier to drive compared to crossing petty towns and villages on any bypass that you take
• A lot of facilities all throughout the route in case you are driving with family and kids
• You really don't have to worry much about tailgating beeline of traffic on the other 2 lane roads suggested by any alternate routes

Negatives:

• Shirur - Pune if done during morning/evening peak hours is more irritating than traversing through Pune city itself
• As a first timer, you must strictly follow the maps to get out of the city
• As a driver you would be waiting for that moment to hit the highway soon

Just a week before, when I was reaching my destination at Hadapsar, maps smartly showed me to divert near Kapurhol (Before Khedshivpur) to reach there but I ignored as the difference was mere 10 minutes.

Knowing Pune routes fairly well from my association with it, I took the city route and still reached my destination before what Google predicted via the bypass route and this with am ambulance with us in tow from Bangalore without any special privilege like a siren or free passage!

Also, please take note of this when hitting Nagar road from Pune Bypass:

You have 2 choices here:

1. Pune Bypass - Shinghagad Road - Saras Baug - Laxminarayan Theatre - Swargate - Shankarsheth Road - Camp - Sholapur Road - Race Course - Kharadi Bypass - Wagholi - Nagar Road
   
2. Pune Bypass - Shinghagad Road - LB Shastri Road - Sancheti Hospital - Sangamwadi Road - Bund Garden - Yerawada - Wagholi

Between the 2 above, my suggestion is to take the second one if you are reaching Pune bypass (For Bangalore) and first one if you are headed to Shirdi from Pune bypass.

[SJM1214]

Shiradi Ghat expected to open to traffic in April end, three months ahead of schedule!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Shiradi Ghat expected to open to traffic in April end, three months ahead of schedule!

You seem to be confused between Shiradi (She-Raa-Di) & Shirdi (Shir-Di).

The report you have posted is a Ghat on the Bangalore - Mangalore highway in Karnataka and Shirdi is (as you know) in the State of Maharashtra.

Ideally, your update should belong here (The art of travelling between Bangalore - Mangalore/Udupi).

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

You seem to be confused between Shiradi (She-Raa-Di) & Shirdi (Shir-Di).

The report you have posted is a Ghat on the Bangalore - Mangalore highway in Karnataka and Shirdi is (as you know) in the State of Maharashtra.

Yup. I got confused between Shirdi and Shiradi. Thanks for Pointing this out.

Mods. Please move this update in the appropriate thread (As suggested by paragsachania).

[karthikbhat8923]

Hey Guys,
We are planning to travel to shirdi from bangalore in a single day.
1) Is it possible provided we leave early in the morning from Bangalore?
2) Hotel options to have food along the way?
3) Route options from Bangalore to shirdi?
PS: Vehicle is a 2017 Honda City petrol

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by karthikbhat8923

We are planning to travel to shirdi from bangalore in a single day.

Yes you can, but it will be a very long drive (18 hour drive + 2-3 hr breaks). It'll be a early morning start and late night reaching time. Leave Bangalore early like 4am or earlier, that'll save lot of energy early on in the trip.

There is only one option, Bangalore-Pune-Nagar-Shirdi if your intention is only visiting Shirdi.

For food, fuel options refer the Bangalore-Bombay thread.

[karthikbhat8923]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Yes you can, but it will be a very long drive (18 hour drive + 2-3 hr breaks). It'll be a early morning start and late night reaching time. Leave Bangalore early like 4am or earlier, that'll save lot of energy early on in the trip.

There is only one option, Bangalore-Pune-Nagar-Shirdi if your intention is only visiting Shirdi.

For food, fuel options refer the Bangalore-Bombay thread.

Intention is directly visiting Shirdi first. Later on visiting Shani-Shingnapur and Ajanta-Ellora caves or Mahabaleshwar. We plan on doing this in 4days totally (to and fro with 2 drivers)

1) Can you please elaborate on the route from Satara-Pune-Ahmednagar?
2) GMaps is showing another route - Satara-Lonand-Supe-Ahmednagar. How is this
compared to the Satara-Pune-Ahmednagar route?
3) How are the road conditions (Vehicle- 2017 City)?