[ninjatalli]

Here's an update post the trip.

- NH 17 is in excellent shape! Except for the first 100 odd kms from Mumbai to Pen, which sees a lot of slow truck traffic which thankfully clears off after that. The rest of the stretch is picture-perfect with hardly any cracks ever on the roads.
- Due to certain reasons, on the return we decided to go via NH-204 (Pali - Kolhapur/Karad). All ye clamoring about Amboli ghat won't give it another thought once you try this highway. It might not have the waterfalls of the Amboli ghat, but for someone who's interested in the twisties of ghat roads, this is the highway to take. Again the stretch is in excellent condition, in comparison to NH17, the road is cracking up slightly at places, but easily doable for a sedan/hatchback without any issues.

[Dodge_Viper]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Here's an update post the trip.

- NH 17 is in excellent shape! Except for the first 100 odd kms from Mumbai to Pen, which sees a lot of slow truck traffic which thankfully clears off after that. The rest of the stretch is picture-perfect with hardly any cracks ever on the roads.
- Due to certain reasons, on the return we decided to go via NH-204 (Pali - Kolhapur/Karad). All ye clamoring about Amboli ghat won't give it another thought once you try this highway. It might not have the waterfalls of the Amboli ghat, but for someone who's interested in the twisties of ghat roads, this is the highway to take. Again the stretch is in excellent condition, in comparison to NH17, the road is cracking up slightly at places, but easily doable for a sedan/hatchback without any issues.

This is good. Thanks ninja. What about the road repair works around Pen. Is it still going on?

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

This is good. Thanks ninja. What about the road repair works around Pen. Is it still going on?

Didn't see actual repair works going on when I passed by that place (around 7 in the morning), however the pace was slow. In retrospect, a slightly longer, but better route would be taking the expressway and quitting at the Khed-Shivapur toll gate and joining NH17 after Pen.

[heman_369]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Here's an update post the trip.
- Due to certain reasons, on the return we decided to go via NH-204 (Pali - Kolhapur/Karad). All ye clamoring about Amboli ghat won't give it another thought once you try this highway. It might not have the waterfalls of the Amboli ghat, but for someone who's interested in the twisties of ghat roads, this is the highway to take. Again the stretch is in excellent condition, in comparison to NH17, the road is cracking up slightly at places, but easily doable for a sedan/hatchback without any issues.

The Pali-Karad road via Amba ghat, Malkapur, Kokrud is easily the best ghat road to reach NH 17 from NH4 if you consider a drivers perspective. Sparse traffic, excellent old style double lane tree lined road, super twisties. I travel on this road once every 3 months to reach my native place close to Sakharpa. Travelling in aug-september will leave you spell bound by the greenery.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by heman_369

The Pali-Karad road via Amba ghat, Malkapur, Kokrud is easily the best ghat road to reach NH 17 from NH4 if you consider a drivers perspective. Sparse traffic, excellent old style double lane tree lined road, super twisties. I travel on this road once every 3 months to reach my native place close to Sakharpa. Travelling in aug-september will leave you spell bound by the greenery.

And that's exactly the route that I took on the return.

OT: Nice place to have a native place. Btw between Pali and Devla, we passed by a hill-top placed building which had a huge crowd/setup on the roads like one would see outside a big temple. Care to share any info on this? Didn't see any boards giving info on this.

[thebluez]

@ninjatalli

Good to know the condition of NH-17 is good. Was planning a trip down to Goa next week.
Is the Sawantwadi-Banda bypass road ready? How many kilometres before Sawantwadi town does it exactly start? Request even HVK saar to give his inputs! Thanks!

[scofield]

I would say the best road to reach goa is - > - Mumbai - Pune - Satara - Kolhapur - Nipani - Belgaum(All NH4), then take the route to Chorla (via Belgaum City) - Chorla Ghat - - Sanqelim - Mapusa.

We have just 100 mtr - kacha road enroute to Chorla Ghat from Belgaon.

I recently did a goa trip and my travelling time (in motion and including halts at toll) was 5 hours and a break of 1 hour.
So, in flat 6 hours I was in Sanqelim,Goa.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by scofield

I would say the best road to reach goa is - > - Mumbai - Pune - Satara - Kolhapur - Nipani - Belgaum(All NH4), then take the route to Chorla (via Belgaum City) - Chorla Ghat - - Sanqelim - Mapusa.

We have just 100 mtr - kacha road enroute to Chorla Ghat from Belgaon.

I recently did a goa trip and my travelling time (in motion and including halts at toll) was 5 hours and a break of 1 hour.
So, in flat 6 hours I was in Sanqelim,Goa.

Maulik,
We weren't discussing time based routes, rather the focus was on getting the best ghat roads with enough time to spare. IMHO, I hate using the NH4 - having used that highway atleast 10+ times, I find it really boring.

OT: Btw I believe your 5 hour drive is for Pune to Goa. And even for that, I find it a bit too hard to believe as I do with a lot of other "facts" of yours

Edit: W.r.t the superb handling capabilities of the Punto, you should try the NH17 instead next time.

[scofield]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Maulik,
We weren't discussing time based routes, rather the focus was on getting the best ghat roads with enough time to spare. IMHO, I hate using the NH4 - having used that highway atleast 10+ times, I find it really boring.

OT: Btw I believe your 5 hour drive is for Pune to Goa. And even for that, I find it a bit too hard to believe as I do with a lot of other "facts" of yours

Edit: W.r.t the superb handling capabilities of the Punto, you should try the NH17 instead next time.

Ninja - time is what really important to me when i drive on the highway , I wont stop on the highway untill a much needed bio/hunger break, and my intend was to tell the best route I felt.

And coming to facts - yes I know you find it difficult to believe because lucky you, as you havent come accross some one like me on the highway, else you would have been the beleiver of them.

NH17 for sure buddy.

Lets catch up soon.

[moralfibre]

You did Pune - Chorla - Sanquelim - Goa, a distance of 453 kms in 5 hours (drive time). That's an average speed of 90kmph! Drive safe I'd say. Not quite the speed you should be at on the highways or arterial roads.

[thebluez]

For those who have done Mumbai-Goa on NH17 recently, is the Sawantwadi-Banda bypass road ready? And how many kilometres before Sawantwadi town does the bypass start? Kindly reply at the earliest. Haven't seen a single post in this thread talking about the bypass. Thanks!

[Darryl.Burke]

Originally Posted by thebluez

For those who have done Mumbai-Goa on NH17 recently, is the Sawantwadi-Banda bypass road ready? And how many kilometres before Sawantwadi town does the bypass start? Kindly reply at the earliest. Haven't seen a single post in this thread talking about the bypass. Thanks!

It's been mentioned here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3031768

[thebluez]

Originally Posted by Darryl.Burke

It's been mentioned here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3031768

Thanks Darryl. Guess I'll be driving on NH-17 to Goa next week then. Will keep you all updated on the road conditions.

[Tigger]

Hi All,

I am duplicating this post on this thread too after posting it on the Mumbai-Kohlapur-Goa thread as it is equally relevant on both threads. It gives my take on the choice of route between the NH4 and the NH17.

In the past six weeks I have done both the HH4 and the NH 17 routes between Goa and Mumbai. The Mumbai (Andheri West) to Goa (Siolim) trip happened on the 28th of February.

I would like to put my experiences regarding both the NH4 and the NH17 routes on the table. I personally had a lot of questions about both the routes since there was so much confusing information about them both. So, I am putting down the latest information from my side on both the routes connecting Mumbai with Goa. Please note that my destination in Goa is North Goa and I travel by an XUV 500, always with family.

NH 4 Route Via Pune Kolhapur - The highway is great, especially the Mumbai Pune Expressway. The road after that is also pretty good right till my recommended turn-off at Sankleshwar, towards Sawantwadi. I hate the crossing of Pune which has Traffic lights and loads of traffic, so too other population centres enroute, on a lesser scale. The road is excellent for the most part and one can maintain high speeds. The last 150 Km of this route after the turn-off, is ghats and winding roads. Time and money are both spent at the seemingly un-ending Toll booths.
For the turnoff: I will strongly recommend only the Sankleshwar turn off from under the bridge to Sawantwadi/NH17. The road via Gadhinglaj, Ajra, Amboli, etc. is the only one which is in a good condition at this time. No second thoughts on this one!

NH 17 Route Via Pune Kolhapur - This Highway via Pen, Chiplun and Ratnagiri is in a super condition. For the most part the road is like butter (or as the Punjabi Dhaba guy said to me "Top o Top hai ji")! Where the road gets bad, its just rough, nothing more. Definitely no pot-holes and I did not see any diversions of note. The road is well marked and in excellent condition. Very scenic and one can maintain a speed of about 100 kmph at most places. You do get caught behind some truck huffing and puffing up some ghat and have to form a small convoy behind it, until one gets to over take. I had a 6am start at Mumbai and found traffic of note only for the first 90 Kms, till I turned off to the left leaving the road to Alibaug. After that the traffic was not worth writing home about. All the convoy traps were also within this distance, but nothing much to speak off. The total toll I paid on the entire route apart from the Vashi bridge toll of Rs. 30, which is applicable to both highways was a mere Rs 15. Rs 10 at one place and Rs 5 at another. The road was also about 40 Km shorter than the NH4 route.
I followed the copybook routing from Andheri west via Juhu, Western Express Highway, Sion, Chembur, Vashi, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, Pen etc. No short cuts. The total distance covered by me was 562 Km and the travel time was 9 hours at comfortable speeds, with an additional 30 minutes for breakfast and breaks.

My Summation: If you want to Cruise take the NH4 route, but if you want to drive, then definitely take the NH17 one! The time taken on both routes is the same.The NH17 route is 40 to 50 Kms shorter, more scenic and about Rs 535 lighter on the pocket, in terms of Tolls. Economically speaking I saved a Total of about Rs 750 on this route, which includes the Tolls and 4 Litres of Diesel.

Economics aside, I loved the drive. So, I for one, am going to stick with the NH 17 route for the future, till circumstances change again!

[Tigger]

The Sawantwadi - Banda bypass is not ready as yet and ne still has to pass through Sawantwadi at this time.