[S.Marine]

Originally Posted by 1lokesh

So, another visit to Goa is on the cards. Leaving on 02-Oct-2015.
Can anyone please confirm on the road conditions. Last time I took Belgaum-Chorla route and ended up prolonging my drive by a couple of hours, though the drive was fantastic.
This time, I would want to take Nipani-Sawantwadi route. Anyone has driven recently on that stretch? How are the ghat sections around sawantwadi after the Monsoon rains?

I've done Mumbai-kankawli-Mapusa last week so i can only update you abt the NH17 road conditions. I suppose you'll take the Amboli ghat and join Sawantwadi bypass road. The bypass road is in excellent condition. There were slightly rough patches past Banda before Goa's State entry fee collection booth but quite manageble and nothing to worry about. Once you enter Goa, the roads are excellent.
Although do get an update about the amboli ghat because i'd done that route last year during heavy rains and had to deal with dense fog in addition to bad roads.

Have a safe trip.

[ameyawaghmare]

I am planning for a Pune to South Goa trip on the coming long weekend. (2 Oct to 5 Oct)

A few quick queries:
i) Lots and lots and lots of people seemed to have planned for Goa on this long weekend. Our fellow BHPian vitzrxi mentioned that 4 groups from his company alone have planned for Goa. I guess the number of people combined from Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore alone would be very large. Anything to keep in mind considering this great crowd, that would also crowd up at toll plazas and across the hotels?!?
ii) Which is the best route? We are thinking of Palolem or Agonda on the first day. If time permits, may be something remote like Talpona or Galgibaga beach. Our dear Google Maps shows route via Mollem ghat after Londa. I've been through Chorla multiple times recently and I'm thoroughly impressed with the quality of KA roads bt not sure about Mollem at all. Any recent experiences on Mollem Ghat and suggestions coming there from?
iii) Ideal departure time considering the need to beat Pune - Kolhapur two wheeler traffic and other miscellaneous local traffic? plus the hoards of crowd departing on the same day?

We are driving in a Fiat Punto basic petrol model. I'm okay taking Nipani - Amboli route if the road conditions are worth it. No problems with night driving, or ghat driving but I am not going to risk driving in the night through a wildlife sanctuary like Chorla/Angad/Mollem!

[1lokesh]

Originally Posted by S.Marine

I've done Mumbai-kankawli-Mapusa last week so i can only update you abt the NH17 road conditions. I suppose you'll take the Amboli ghat and join Sawantwadi bypass road. The bypass road is in excellent condition. There were slightly rough patches past Banda before Goa's State entry fee collection booth but quite manageble and nothing to worry about. Once you enter Goa, the roads are excellent.
Although do get an update about the amboli ghat because i'd done that route last year during heavy rains and had to deal with dense fog in addition to bad roads.

Have a safe trip.

Thanks S.Marine for the info. How was NH17? Is the road good enough for a comfortable ride with a toddler in tow? I don't mind taking this route given the peril of traffic expected due to long weekend. Please share as much details as you can on road conditions, travel time, enroute eateries, precautions etc...
Thanks again.

[ameyawaghmare]

Originally Posted by 1lokesh

Thanks S.Marine for the info. How was NH17? Is the road good enough for a comfortable ride with a toddler in tow? I don't mind taking this route given the peril of traffic expected due to long weekend. Please share as much details as you can on road conditions, travel time, enroute eateries, precautions etc...
Thanks again.

I did Goa - Dapoli - Thane all the way on NH17 in August 2nd week. NH17 is a pure driver's delight and the road was pretty well paved. If you enjoy a leisurely, slow drive on scenic road, this would be a fun drive but long distances on this 2-laned road can become boring.

There were patches that seem to have got affected due to recent rains and I had to swerve to the other lane (opposite lane on a 2-laned road) to avoid them. Of course, this was done only when the other side was empty. The only such bad road that I remember was near Chiplun-Khed where we had to ask a person if we are indeed on the Mumbai highway or have we starting moving somewhere towards the coast/internal roads. The rain-affected patches that I mentioned above were near Poladpur.

With a toddler, I would suggest to keep a strict control on speed. On a relatively long straight road, we were able to touch above 100 in the Khed to Mahad stretch and that's where ghats come unnoticed after this long high-speed drive and without any of the regular 'ghat start' boards. A sudden surprise like this may lead to unnecessary swerving at the least! All throughout the roads, please drive slow to avoid those fast movements of the car that may wake up the baby or make it feel uncomfortable.

Travel time: From Mumbai, take in account a good 13 hours end-to-end till North Goa. Any traffic pile up would lead to higher times. Since this road is 2-laned, it take one accident or one argument inside a village to halt traffic temporarily. Ideal road for relaxed driving, not for time saving at all. Considering long weekend, the absence of tolls would surely save your time as we can imagine what is going to happen across toll plazas on NH4!

En-route eateries: For good washrooms, I can remember that the decent air-conditioned restaurants that you see at Chiplun would be the only option. We had stopped at a lodge that housed an AC restaurant-cum-bar with good washroom. No decent eateries, all old-style dhabas that may serve good spicy food but won't have good washrooms.

Precautions: Not many hygienic hotels en-route so stop at any of the Chiplun hotels. There is something peculiar that I've felt about NH17 across all my drives on it. You get a good straight patch where you get to speed, there are villages on the highway where one cannot predict how slow or how fast one should be, and the ghats are again a little unpredictable with varying width of the road at places with not so steep curves. Another thing to note is that all the local villages have their best restaurants and bars right on the national highway. A portion of the local drivers could very well be sloshed and then driving on the highway.

Hope this helped. Happy driving.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by 1lokesh

Thanks S.Marine for the info. How was NH17? Is the road good enough for a comfortable ride with a toddler in tow? I don't mind taking this route given the peril of traffic expected due to long weekend. Please share as much details as you can on road conditions, travel time, enroute eateries, precautions etc...
Thanks again.

Wow, Mumbai Goa trip in a Civic is cool. Let me share my experiences even though I have done this road several times more than a decade ago in much simpler Maruti 800. We would leave early from Mumbai at 4 Am in the morning to reach our native place Vengurla using the Nh17 route. We would reach there approx 4:30 to 5:30 PM in the afternoon with steady speeds of 70 to 80 kmph. We would reach Vadkhal Naka approx. 8:30 Am – 9 Am and have breakfast there. After that there is a long stretch all the way to Mahad with arrow straight roads. This stretch is best avoided at night times as it’s difficult to overtake slow moving vehicles with continuous streaming of traffic from the opposite direction. We would have lunch at Chiplun , I believe the restaurant was Abhishek and is popular for fish food. Also fill up at Chiplun as well. This was the only village/town which had a traffic signal at the crossroad.

During those days (before 2002, yes it’s been that long I have been on that road) the roads upto Chiplun were not that good and would getter once you get past Chiplun. Be ready for mesmerizing ghat sections Kashedi, Parshuram etc which would be a treat to drive a Civic on. Our strategy was simple. Go during day time as presence of heavy vehicles like trucks & buses was minimal as in the Ghat sections the overloaded trucks etc would heat up quickly. You will find local buses though. Keep speeds at 70 kmph , most smaller vehicles present would be at 80 kmph and would overtake you and the slower & bigger ones would be around 60 so you can overtake them easy. At this speed you will spend less time on the wrong side of the lane overtaking etc. There are plenty of narrow bridges and always be wary of oncoming traffic and animals which suddenly cross the road. Overall it’s a great drive on NH17 provided one does not overspeed and is careful on the ghat sections which has plenty of blind turns.

[1lokesh]

Thank you so much for the inputs, Ameya and Sumeet.

I am now thinking to stick to the Pune-Kolhapur-Nipani-Amboli-Swantwadi route.

NH17 can be tricky given its 2 lane and as pointed out that one conflict will be enough to push me back by a couple of hours if caught at a wrong place. And I am running by the clock in this trip.

Another thing that makes me favour pune kolhapur route is the fact that Maha Govt has recently exempted private cars from paying tolls across the state except Mumbai entry points.

I hope I'm correct in my assumptions, fingers crossed.

[ameyawaghmare]

Originally Posted by 1lokesh

Thank you so much for the inputs, Ameya and Sumeet.

I am now thinking to stick to the Pune-Kolhapur-Nipani-Amboli-Swantwadi route.

NH17 can be tricky given its 2 lane and as pointed out that one conflict will be enough to push me back by a couple of hours if caught at a wrong place. And I am running by the clock in this trip.

Another thing that makes me favour pune kolhapur route is the fact that Maha Govt has recently exempted private cars from paying tolls across the state except Mumbai entry points.

I hope I'm correct in my assumptions, fingers crossed.

Yes, with a time constraint that you seem to have along with a toddler, an early start and sticking to the Pune-NH4-Goa route would make sense.

I happened to pay toll at the Khedshivapur toll, same old 80/- for one way and 120/- for return. This was on Sunday, 20th of September, 2015, hardly 4 days ago. I trust our government so much that I am sure that the tolls ahead at Kini, Anewadi, etc. would be doing their normal business as usual! The exemption in my view is only at entry/exit points to Mumbai.

Any specific reason why you are not taking the Chorla route? While going in the Mumbai - Goa direction, I took Belgaum - Chorla - Calangute route and the roads beyond MH border would surely impress you. Especially the Kagal to Belgaon section (section falling in Karnataka) of 110 kms is a superb drive with toll amounts not exceeding 30/-!! Chorla is in excellent condition as well but I am hunting for information on Mollem route here since my destination is southern Goa this time.

[1lokesh]

Originally Posted by ameyawaghmare

Yes, with a time constraint that you seem to have along with a toddler, an early start and sticking to the Pune-NH4-Goa route would make sense.



I happened to pay toll at the Khedshivapur toll, same old 80/- for one way and 120/- for return. This was on Sunday, 20th of September, 2015, hardly 4 days ago. I trust our government so much that I am sure that the tolls ahead at Kini, Anewadi, etc. would be doing their normal business as usual! The exemption in my view is only at entry/exit points to Mumbai.



Any specific reason why you are not taking the Chorla route? While going in the Mumbai - Goa direction, I took Belgaum - Chorla - Calangute route and the roads beyond MH border would surely impress you. Especially the Kagal to Belgaon section (section falling in Karnataka) of 110 kms is a superb drive with toll amounts not exceeding 30/-!! Chorla is in excellent condition as well but I am hunting for information on Mollem route here since my destination is southern Goa this time.

Mumbai entry/exit points are not covered for exemption, that I'm sure of because I pay toll everyday in form of ETC Tag cum monthly pass. May be I'll hunt for the news clip of exemption announcement and carry a printout with me to avoid confusion with toll people :-)

I'm not taking chorla route since my destination is candolim. Last time when I did that route, I ended up with additional travel time of 1.5hrs mainly due to Belgaum city and extra kms. The drive is excellent, no doubt in that.

[S.Marine]

Originally Posted by 1lokesh

Thanks S.Marine for the info. How was NH17? Is the road good enough for a comfortable ride with a toddler in tow? I don't mind taking this route given the peril of traffic expected due to long weekend. Please share as much details as you can on road conditions, travel time, enroute eateries, precautions etc...
Thanks again.

Nh17... As others have rightly pointed out is an absolute delight. Long straights, winding ghats, abundant greenery are some of the factors that make the journey ever pleasant. I have taken the mumbai-kolhapur-radhanagri-kankawli, the amboli ghat, and the chorla ghat route on three different occasion, but i prefer the NH 17 for it's scenic beauty. Barring a few rough patches around major towns, the roads are pretty decent. I was in my Wagon R and was able to do 90-100kmph with ease. Eateries are not a problem, most major towns on the way have decent hotels with parking lots so your car can cool off too.

One big problem, as pointed out by ppl above is getting stuck in a jam. Last tuesday, when i was on my way, a container truck had dropped it's container near Lanja and repair operations were being carried out so we were stuck in a motionless queue for almost 1.5hrs. This threw my plans awry and i ended up reaching my destination well after nightfall... And driving on that road in the dark is definitely not advisable.

To cut the long story short, as you also have a toddler in tow, you'd be well advised to stick to the pune route. It's much safer. Plan accordingly and take the amboli ghat in broad daylight.

Have a good trip

[funkyjerk]

Hi,

I'm a regular reader, but since I do not drive to Goa that often, never commented. I guess the day has come now - I'm from Mumbai and a friend is from Pune. We have to reach Goa on Oct 2 (Palolem). We may leave on Oct 1 or 2, that's fluid. Now, I have a few of questions that I cannot find a response to:

1. What road is better between Mumbai - Goa NH17 and Mumbai - Pune - Goa NH4? I'd prefer a generic route since we hope to squeeze in some photography also on the way, but NH17, like someone noted above, is going to be highly unpredictable. In that sense, shall NH4 be a faster, better option?

2. Again, as someone mentioned above - too many people have planned for Goa the same weekend. What road will be less crowded to do a Goa road trip. Given that we want to halt for photography, NH17 would again be difficult, right?

3. Is a night journey recommended? Only I will be driving and will be working through the week (including 1st). The idea is to not get stuck in traffic. Also, night journey = barely any photography.

Lastly, I will be driving and SX4, so comfort is not that big an issue.

Thanks,


PS: If someone wants to hop in and carpool, you're welcome to join.

[Darryl.Burke]

Originally Posted by ameyawaghmare

Chorla is in excellent condition as well but I am hunting for information on Mollem route here since my destination is southern Goa this time.

Where in S. Goa? According to Google Maps, Belgaum to Margao via Chorla is 127 km (3 h. 1 m.) and via Anmod/Mollem it is 141 km. (3h. 18m.)

I'll be driving from Margao to Pune on 21 October and plan to take the Chorla route.

[TaurusAl]

My answers to your queries in Bold.

Originally Posted by funkyjerk

Hi,

I'm a regular reader, but since I do not drive to Goa that often, never commented. I guess the day has come now - I'm from Mumbai and a friend is from Pune. We have to reach Goa on Oct 2 (Palolem). We may leave on Oct 1 or 2, that's fluid. Now, I have a few of questions that I cannot find a response to:

1. What road is better between Mumbai - Goa NH17 and Mumbai - Pune - Goa NH4? I'd prefer a generic route since we hope to squeeze in some photography also on the way, but NH17, like someone noted above, is going to be highly unpredictable. In that sense, shall NH4 be a faster, better option?

NH4 is definitely faster than NH17. You will save a couple of hours.

2. Again, as someone mentioned above - too many people have planned for Goa the same weekend. What road will be less crowded to do a Goa road trip. Given that we want to halt for photography, NH17 would again be difficult, right?

NH4 will be less crowded as it is a Toll road. However expect long queues at Toll Booths.

3. Is a night journey recommended? Only I will be driving and will be working through the week (including 1st). The idea is to not get stuck in traffic. Also, night journey = barely any photography.

No one will ever recommend night journey for obvious safety reasons. And more because only you going to be driving.

Lastly, I will be driving and SX4, so comfort is not that big an issue.

Thanks,


PS: If someone wants to hop in and carpool, you're welcome to join.

[esskay08]

Hello everyone,

Wanted to let you guys know about the NH4 - Nippani-Ajara route to Goa. We took it for our to and fro journeys and it and hasslefree. Thanks once again for your suggestions.

While going from Thane to Sinquerim (North Goa), it took us 12 hours, almost on the dot, with four short breaks, only one of which was around half an hour, at Kamat's. Guess our travel time helped, since we left at 4.30 am on the 23rd Sep.

On our return, it took us a little 10 hours, we left at 6.20 am and were home by 4.40 pm, with 3 very short breaks, on 27th Sep.

The roads were mostly smooth, scenic too. There were diversions on the Pune-Satara-Kohlapur route, with speedbreakers under the flyovers being constructed but given the traffic was thin, was not a problem. Just look out for the cuts/crossings on the highway, with errant local bikers and suicidal pedestrians.

There were rough patches between Ajara and the Amboli Ghats...but nothing that the Bombay roads hadn't prepared us for. Also, it has helpful signs of villages ahead, so you can be on your guard at those crossings.

The Nippani-Karnataka road was super smooth.

We drove at 80-100 kmph.

Packing nibbles for both the journeys helped, of course, with the time.

The toll booths traffic was relatively well-behaved too.

[ameyawaghmare]

Originally Posted by Darryl.Burke

Where in S. Goa? According to Google Maps, Belgaum to Margao via Chorla is 127 km (3 h. 1 m.) and via Anmod/Mollem it is 141 km. (3h. 18m.)

I'll be driving from Margao to Pune on 21 October and plan to take the Chorla route.

In all likelihood, Palolem/Agonda or any beaches further to its south. This purely depends on where we get bookings but Palolem would be a good point to act as the target.

Option 2 would be Colva beach as the target.

[ameyawaghmare]

Dear friends, I did a day trip from Pune to Wai on Sunday, 27th of September departing Pune at 4 AM.

I got to experience dense fog around the town of Shirwal and across the Khambatki ghats in the Pune - Bangalore direction. Almost all vehicles were running with hazard lights on. Although a lot of roadwork is already done in the Pune - Satara stretch, the lane markings are not complete across most of the section. This adds up further to your problem and you need to be careful to not hit the divider. I encountered this fog around 5 AM.

Hope this helps to any of you planning to drive down around that time of the day.