[pyrodrive]

Wow !
Campervan sounds good. Reminds me of the program "One man and his campervan" on fox traveller. Cant wait to see the pics !

[dyer_made]

Thanks Jayant.
Hey Pyro, The van in the "Man in his campervan" is a VW bus. The Van I shall be using looks like this. Here are some pictures from a brochure.

[motomaverick]

Would love to see the real pictures of this campervan, first time reading it in Team-bhp at least for me. So was this modified in India or imported from aboard? If made in India then can you share details of the firm which did it and for how much.

[dyer_made]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Would love to see the real pictures of this campervan, first time reading it in Team-bhp at least for me. So was this modified in India or imported from aboard? If made in India then can you share details of the firm which did it and for how much.

Hello Maverick,
Yes, even I can't wait to get hold of the real thing. I believe there are a few threads about campervans and expedition vehicles on team bhp.

I myself participated in a dream thread which discussed overlanding to Europe. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...aris-road.html. Though there has been no serious update on that one.

This vehicle was imported from Thailand. The firm which imported it have imported a few more kits which they plan to plonk on Isuzu Dmax chassis once that is launched. They were earlier planning to do so on Mahindras.

The costs of outright import have proven to be prohibitive, upwards of 30 lakhs, but right now we are in the process of indigenous development of the vans. I will keep you posted.

Meanwhile there are a huge number of expedition threads on ih8mud and expeditionportal that you may like to check out in case you already haven't done so.

Regards
dyer_made

[Tigger]

Gentlemen,

Nh4 or NH17, the continuing story.

I did Goa to Mumbai on NH17, the scenic monsoon ride, very recently. It was raining, green and pleasant, but the road sucks now!! The heavy duty traffic combined with the heavier monsoon has taken the heaviest toll of the highway. The last 150 Kms are almost rutted tracks in places. The double carriageway work under process adds to the nightmare. The Jams into Panvel are deathly.

So in case you are of two minds in the near future about the Mumbai Goa routes. Please stick to the NH4 one until some intrepid adventurer updates an all clear on the NH 17, which going by the condition of the road will not be any time soon.

So, for now and the near future NH17 is avoidable, unless you want to join it post Pune, if doing Mumbai Goa route; and reverse if going the other way.

If doing the NH4 route, the advisable turn-off still remains the Sankleshwer under bridge turn to the right towards Sawantwadi/NH17.

I will be going down this route around the 10th of Aug. Will update.

[rakesh_r]

Fellow Team Bhpians,
I with my wife plan to goto Goa (candolim beach) on August 15th on my swift di.We plan to take the NH4.How are the roads now,considering the heavy monsoon? From where exactly should i deviate from NH-4?

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Fellow Team Bhpians,
I with my wife plan to goto Goa (candolim beach) on August 15th on my swift di.We plan to take the NH4.How are the roads now,considering the heavy monsoon? From where exactly should i deviate from NH-4?

You could go via the chorla ghat. So in that case you turn off at belgaum Check in this thread from the last post/page backwards for all the details. Ranjit will confirm which route is the best. Expect traffic and a crowd at all hotels in Candolim. Enjoy your stay

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Fellow Team Bhpians,
I with my wife plan to goto Goa (candolim beach) on August 15th on my swift di.We plan to take the NH4.How are the roads now,considering the heavy monsoon? From where exactly should i deviate from NH-4?

Originally Posted by deutscheafrikar

You could go via the chorla ghat. So in that case you turn off at belgaum Check in this thread from the last post/page backwards for all the details. Ranjit will confirm which route is the best. Expect traffic and a crowd at all hotels in Candolim. Enjoy your stay

Deviate into Belgaum and take the Khanapur road till Piranwadi and then the Chorla road till Sanquelim and then onto Mapusa via Bicholim and then onto the Calangute road.If you plot these places on google maps,it should show you the route.

http://goo.gl/maps/MjENf

Deutsche,Chorla route is still the best and the route is holding good inspite of all the rains its taking in.

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

......

We plan to take the NH4.How are the roads now,considering the heavy monsoon? From where exactly should i deviate from NH-4?

Hi Rakesh! We are presently in Goa and drove down this Sunday from Mumbai. We started late on Saturday with the plan to stopover at Satara, however since it was getting late we broke the journey at Pune. Started early morning at 0445 and reached Panjim at 1300, with 45min break for breakfast, and several stops for photos on the way.

Rain have abated since the last Saturday, and the Road updates are good.

We took the Pune - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Chorla - Sanquelim - Panjim Route.

Pune to Satara: NH4 has several diversions, the road shoulders at these places are in bad condition and some service roads are deeply rutted - but these are far and few in between. Inspite of this you can maintain 60-80Kmph easily.
Roads, about 20Km to the north of Satara and 12-15km after Satara are bad and you will have to continuously play pacman with potholes, however if you maintain a decent speed they are easily avoidable. I would not suggest doing this stretch after dark. It is doable in dark but will be much easier and less stressful during daylight hours.

Satara to Belgaum: Abt 12-15kms after Satara, the roads are "fantastic" and you can practically do any speed you consider safe.
The turn off from NH4 for Belgaum city is tricky and not marked. The board after the turn off also has collapsed (the one just under the NH4). Suggest you go through the several posts left in this thread and look out for Windmills!!

Belgaum City: Got lost here for about 30mins, roads are fairly ok. The turn off for Piranwadi is badly potholed!!

Belgaum to Chorla: Great roads and beautiful scenery. However, it is all single carriageway so be careful of oncoming traffic.
Chorla to Goa Entrance Toll: Roads will increasingly deteriorate once you start descending from Chorla and some places are in a pretty bad condition.

One things I would like to say here, though the roads go from bad to fantastic on this route, if you are driving regularly in mumbai, especially in places like WEH, Central Mumbai, Vashi Toll etc - Pune to Goa will be a cakewalk. We encountered fairly sparse traffic (you are travelling on a long weekend, so things will be different) and the traffic was also more disciplined and easy to drive in.

Have a great time!! We are!!

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by deutscheafrikar

You could go via the chorla ghat. So in that case you turn off at belgaum Check in this thread from the last post/page backwards for all the details. Ranjit will confirm which route is the best. Expect traffic and a crowd at all hotels in Candolim. Enjoy your stay

Thanks for the updates.Already booked the hotel last week

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Deviate into Belgaum and take the Khanapur road till Piranwadi and then the Chorla road till Sanquelim and then onto Mapusa via Bicholim and then onto the Calangute road.If you plot these places on google maps,it should show you the route.

http://goo.gl/maps/MjENf

Deutsche,Chorla route is still the best and the route is holding good inspite of all the rains its taking in.

Thanks for the updates.Will surely look at Google maps.

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Hi Rakesh! We are presently in Goa and drove down this Sunday from Mumbai. We started late on Saturday with the plan to stopover at Satara, however since it was getting late we broke the journey at Pune. Started early morning at 0445 and reached Panjim at 1300, with 45min break for breakfast, and several stops for photos on the way.

Rain have abated since the last Saturday, and the Road updates are good.

We took the Pune - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Chorla - Sanquelim - Panjim Route.

Pune to Satara: NH4 has several diversions, the road shoulders at these places are in bad condition and some service roads are deeply rutted - but these are far and few in between. Inspite of this you can maintain 60-80Kmph easily.
Roads, about 20Km to the north of Satara and 12-15km after Satara are bad and you will have to continuously play pacman with potholes, however if you maintain a decent speed they are easily avoidable. I would not suggest doing this stretch after dark. It is doable in dark but will be much easier and less stressful during daylight hours.

Satara to Belgaum: Abt 12-15kms after Satara, the roads are "fantastic" and you can practically do any speed you consider safe.
The turn off from NH4 for Belgaum city is tricky and not marked. The board after the turn off also has collapsed (the one just under the NH4). Suggest you go through the several posts left in this thread and look out for Windmills!!

Belgaum City: Got lost here for about 30mins, roads are fairly ok. The turn off for Piranwadi is badly potholed!!

Belgaum to Chorla: Great roads and beautiful scenery. However, it is all single carriageway so be careful of oncoming traffic.
Chorla to Goa Entrance Toll: Roads will increasingly deteriorate once you start descending from Chorla and some places are in a pretty bad condition.

One things I would like to say here, though the roads go from bad to fantastic on this route, if you are driving regularly in mumbai, especially in places like WEH, Central Mumbai, Vashi Toll etc - Pune to Goa will be a cakewalk. We encountered fairly sparse traffic (you are travelling on a long weekend, so things will be different) and the traffic was also more disciplined and easy to drive in.

Have a great time!! We are!!

Thanks a ton for the update.I was expecting bad roads anyways due to the heavy monsoons this year.You are right,a long weekend,the road might be a wee bit crowded.Thanks again and have a great stay.

[PGNarain]

Hi all!!

Finally got back from Goa yesterday.

Mumbai to Goa we took the NH4 for which the road update is posted earlier.

While coming back we took a mix of the MSH4 and NH17. Using the NH17 mostly and again I am glad to say that the road updates are largely good.

The NH17 is great, in very good condition almost throughout!! Only exceptions are once the road approaches major towns / cities. We got some bad sections near Kankavli, Chiplun and a little bit near Khed.

Also, the section of the road between Managaon and Chiplun has several rumble strips which appear at every village, and on either ends of the villages you pass through and though there are a safety feature they totally killed my buzz!

Poladpur ghats are in amazing condition and driving on them was an absolute joy!
However, do keep in mind that there is one particular section on the ghats, abt 30mts, where the road has washed out and if you miss it and approach it at speed, you can kiss your suspension / tyres / underbody goodbye!!

The real fun starts north of Managaon, from about 10km north of Managaon all the way to Panvel, we got traffic and double-laning works ensured that roads are in a bad condition, with several diversions and the service roads being even worse!! Roads were specially bad at Nagothane and Pen Industrial Areas. However, if you proceed nice and slow there the entire stretch can be navigated without much fuss. We had planned to arrive on saturday and avoid the holiday rush back into mumbai so did not encounter too much traffic or any jams, except at two places.
Once about 8km north of managaon - due to a tempo accident and once more
about 12 km north of Vadhkal Naka where a Petrol Tanker had skidded of the Road. The resulting jam was not caused due the tanker itself but due to commuters / drivers and our great countrymen bailing their cars on the road-side and tanking up the petrol which was spilling out in anything they could find.

Overall if you do decide to take the NH17, leave early and just patiently wait out the stretch till Managaon - you will be rewarded with a superlative driving experience second to none. Long straights, tight corners, long corners flowing into one another. Gives me the goose bumps just thinking of it now!! I will be penning the travelogue soon, just don't expect too many pictures of the NH17 coz I was having way too much fun thrashing my Linea!!!

[S.Marine]

Gentlemen,

I was inducted into this group today (feeling JUBILANT for that ) and this is my first post so kindly excuse the violations, if any.

I'll be visiting my native place in Kankavli for Ganesh festival and intend to start my journey (first long drive on my Wagon R) from Mumbai in the first week of September. My first choice was the Mumbai-Goa highway but was strongly advised against this decision by many friends citing road repair operations and excessive potholes after the monsoons.

I am now thinking of taking the Pune-Kolhapur-Gaganbawda-Kankavli or the Pune-Kolhapur-Radhanagari-Phonda-Kankavli routes. But the latest update from a relative is that the Gaganbawda route is HORRIBLE to say the least. 50+ kms of pure hell.

I am in a dilemma now. Can anyone who has traveled on these routes recently offer a suggestion? Is it wise to stick to the Mumbai-Goa road? I'll be leaving at 4:00 in the morning from Andheri as I intend to complete most of the journey past Panvel in daylight and do not gun my Waggie past the 80kmph mark even on highways.

Thanks in advance...

[thebluez]

Originally Posted by S.Marine

I am in a dilemma now. Can anyone who has traveled on these routes recently offer a suggestion? Is it wise to stick to the Mumbai-Goa road? I'll be leaving at 4:00 in the morning from Andheri as I intend to complete most of the journey past Panvel in daylight and do not gun my Waggie past the 80kmph mark even on highways.

Welcome to the group S.Marine!

I normally drive down to Goa during the summers and if I were you and however tempted I would've been, I'd never take a chance with the NH17 during the monsoons given the potholes right from Panvel/Karnala upto Vadkhal Naka plus the ongoing four-laning work and trucks/ST buses driving at top speed down narrow ghats in slippery, foggy monsoon conditions. And now that you state that the Gaganbawda route is bad, another alternative albeit a little circuitous and longer would be to take the Pune-Kolhapur-(Nippani-Uttur/Sankeshwar-Gadhinglaj depending on where you turn off from NH4)-Ajra-Amboli Ghat-Sawantwadi route and then go straight and turn right from the Sawantwadi junction to head northwards towards Kankavali. With the exception of the Amboli Ghat which might be a bit rough/potholed for a distance you can expect most of the other roads (apart from NH4) to be in fair condition. Anyone who's travelled recently on this route can give you a better idea though!

Enjoy your drive, drive safely and wish you a Happy Ganesh Chaturthi in advance!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by S.Marine

I am now thinking of taking the Pune-Kolhapur-Gaganbawda-Kankavli or the Pune-Kolhapur-Radhanagari-Phonda-Kankavli routes. But the latest update from a relative is that the Gaganbawda route is HORRIBLE to say the least. 50+ kms of pure hell.

Gaganbawda itself is a desolate stretch. I would take the Radhanagari option. But good to get an update on this stretch as well.
Also you dont lose any distance.

[S.Marine]

Originally Posted by thebluez

Welcome to the group S.Marine!

another alternative albeit a little circuitous and longer would be to take the Pune-Kolhapur-(Nippani-Uttur/Sankeshwar-Gadhinglaj depending on where you turn off from NH4)-Ajra-Amboli Ghat-Sawantwadi route and then go straight and turn right from the Sawantwadi junction to head northwards towards Kankavali. With the exception of the Amboli Ghat which might be a bit rough/potholed for a distance you can expect most of the other roads (apart from NH4) to be in fair condition. Anyone who's travelled recently on this route can give you a better idea though!

Enjoy your drive, drive safely and wish you a Happy Ganesh Chaturthi in advance!

Originally Posted by ampere

Gaganbawda itself is a desolate stretch. I would take the Radhanagari option. But good to get an update on this stretch as well.
Also you dont lose any distance.

I've had the Amboli route suggested by a relative as well. Have currently finalized this route. I suppose the extra kms will be rewarded with a view of the magnificent waterfalls. Planning to take the Radhanagari route when I return, after getting the opinions of the locals around there.

Thanks for your advice, gentlemen.