[Figopian]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

I hope the following picture removes your confusion. I guess you must have been confused by what I said "you really do not travel against traffic". This is true. ]

Now it is clear, much clear.
Thanks a lot again, biju!!

[Figopian]

It seems that I may have to go to Kolhapur from Murud-Janjira. I am planning to take NH17 till Chiplun and then via Kumbharli ghat -> Karad to Kolhapur. Any updates on this road?
From Murud, I can join NH17 at Indapur directly or I can join it at Khed via Mhasala. Via Mhasala, it would be all internal roads till Khed. Any suggestions? Which one would be better? In general how is the road condition on NH17 between Indapur/Mangaon to Chiplun? I will be driving on Monday afternoon.

Another option is to drive to Nivdi all the way on NH17 and then take Devrukh -> Amba -> Kolhapur route. Distance wise all three route look the same @ 330Km.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Figopian

It seems that I may have to go to Kolhapur from Murud-Janjira. I am planning to take NH17 till Chiplun and then via Kumbharli ghat -> Karad to Kolhapur. Any updates on this road?
From Murud, I can join NH17 at Indapur directly or I can join it at Khed via Mhasala. Via Mhasala, it would be all internal roads till Khed. Any suggestions? Which one would be better? In general how is the road condition on NH17 between Indapur/Mangaon to Chiplun? I will be driving on Monday afternoon.

Another option is to drive to Nivdi all the way on NH17 and then take Devrukh -> Amba -> Kolhapur route. Distance wise all three route look the same @ 330Km.

I travelled to Ratnagiri via Amba ghat 3 weeks ago, and the road condition is more than decent. My return trip was via Kumbharli, and that is also not too bad, except for a few intermittent rough patches. But, you will have to pass through Patan town, where ongoing road widening work and the resultant traffic jams can slow you down.

Cheers,
Vikram

[Figopian]

Guys,
I came back from Murud this Monday. Took the Khalapur -> Pen -> Alibaug -> Murud road. Complete road is in excellent condition, no hassles, same route while coming back. If I sans the traffic congestion at Vadkhal Naka, which is a regular affair there, the travel was good. At one time on NH17 just before Vadkhal, there were 5 lanes of vehicles going towards Goa with no space for vehicles coming towards Mumbai, no wonder there was a big jam!!

No issues while getting onto Pen road at Khalapur toll naka
I did not take the Pen by-pass, went straight through the Pen town and it still was ok. I was just scared of continuing on NH17 while coming back as well!!

Plan to drive to Kolhapur didnt go through, so returned to Pune.

[Figopian]

Reviving an old thread to check some information on Pune - Dapoli road. I am plannning to visit Karde in the last week of December. I have decided to take the Mulshi - Tamhini route to reach Mangaon and need some input on the road I should take thereafter. Has anyone taken the Mangaon - Ambet - Dapoli road recently? Or is it worth to travel all the way to Khed and then to Dapoli?

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Figopian

I have decided to take the Mulshi - Tamhini route to reach Mangaon and need some input on the road I should take thereafter. Has anyone taken the Mangaon - Ambet - Dapoli road recently? Or is it worth to travel all the way to Khed and then to Dapoli?

I'd gone to the Quick Bite restaurant just before Tamhini Ghat a couple of weekends ago, and the road after Tata Power till Quick Bite is just horrible [don't know how it is after this point]. So, please adjust your start times accordingly, as you will be at crawling speeds on this patch.

After Tamhini, you can go via Vile MIDC - Mangaon - Veer - right turn after Veer - Ambet - Dapoli.

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr=Pune,+Maharashtra&daddr=Tamhini,+Mahara shtra+to:18.110162,73.3341448+toapoli,+Maharasht ra&hl=en&ll=18.051867,73.369789&spn=0.11996,0.1543 24&sll=18.051867,73.369789&sspn=0.239921,0.308647& geocode=FW6ZGgEd6PZmBCkBEUZnLr_COzFD456dv0ONgg%3BF Td6GQEdEHZgBCnd26r1iB_oOzETNIwXTYUuQg%3BFdJWFAEdgP 1eBCkJmnOY-SzoOzEv2qL2NQ6sxw%3BFRjkDgEd3sJcBCl7TV9m3sPpOzE06F Ee2TIaQQ&oq=ambet&mra=dpe&mrsp=2&sz=12&via=2&t=m&z =13

Cheers,
Vikram

[Figopian]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

I'd gone to the Quick Bite restaurant just before Tamhini Ghat a couple of weekends ago, and the road after Tata Power till Quick Bite is just horrible [don't know how it is after this point]. So, please adjust your start times accordingly, as you will be at crawling speeds on this patch.

After Tamhini, you can go via Vile MIDC - Mangaon - Veer - right turn after Veer - Ambet - Dapoli.

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr=Pune,+Maharashtra&daddr=Tamhini,+Mahara shtra+to:18.110162,73.3341448+toapoli,+Maharasht ra&hl=en&ll=18.051867,73.369789&spn=0.11996,0.1543 24&sll=18.051867,73.369789&sspn=0.239921,0.308647& geocode=FW6ZGgEd6PZmBCkBEUZnLr_COzFD456dv0ONgg%3BF Td6GQEdEHZgBCnd26r1iB_oOzETNIwXTYUuQg%3BFdJWFAEdgP 1eBCkJmnOY-SzoOzEv2qL2NQ6sxw%3BFRjkDgEd3sJcBCl7TV9m3sPpOzE06F Ee2TIaQQ&oq=ambet&mra=dpe&mrsp=2&sz=12&via=2&t=m&z =13

Cheers,
Vikram

Thanks, Vikram. I know this road via Veer -> Ambet -> Dapoli. Had taken this road in October 2011. I am checking if this road is in a good condition to drive. A bit scared after your update on the road till Tamhini, it was okay last year (in fact I did go to Mulshi during monsoon and was still good), looks like it has deteriorated now.

[kaushik60]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

...the road after Tata Power till Quick Bite is just horrible [don't know how it is after this point]...

I second that.

I just did a Pune-Tamhini-Mangaon-Shrivardhan-Diveagar-Mangaon-Mahad-Varandha-Pune trip on Saturday 8th Dec. The road conditions are as follows:

1. Pune-Tamhini-Vile MIDC: Very bad till the actual ghat starts. After that it is smooth tarmac with only very short occasional bad patches.
2. Vile-MIDC-Mangaon: Good roads, no problems at all.

I think that covers what you will need.

If the Mangaon-Mahad stretch interests you, it's in prime condition.

Oh, I must add, that after the pathetic condition of the Tamhini ghat, we were really looking forward to Varandha. "It can't get any worse than Tamhini" we though. Oh boy, we were SO wrong! Varandha is equally pathetic!

[Figopian]

Originally Posted by kaushik60

I second that.

I just did a Pune-Tamhini-Mangaon-Shrivardhan-Diveagar-Mangaon-Mahad-Varandha-Pune trip on Saturday 8th Dec. The road conditions are as follows:

1. Pune-Tamhini-Vile MIDC: Very bad till the actual ghat starts. After that it is smooth tarmac with only very short occasional bad patches.
2. Vile-MIDC-Mangaon: Good roads, no problems at all.

I think that covers what you will need.

If the Mangaon-Mahad stretch interests you, it's in prime condition.

Oh, I must add, that after the pathetic condition of the Tamhini ghat, we were really looking forward to Varandha. "It can't get any worse than Tamhini" we though. Oh boy, we were SO wrong! Varandha is equally pathetic!

I had experienced this last year. Once you go through Varandha, you feel its okay to take the Tamhini route. Its difficult to pick which one is bad, I will choose Tamhini since at least the roads are little wider and less chances of scrapping the underbody.

[coriollis]

I just did Pune- Dapoli via Mahabaleshwar..
Excellent roads. But was unable to utilise the advantage.
Horrible traffic jam in panchgani and Mahabaleshwar as well, messed with our timings.
My usual timings are:
Pune- Mahabaleshwar 2 hours
Mahabaleshwar - Dapoli( Kolthare) 3 hours.

That day, it took almost 7 hours.

So now, if the drive is on weekends, I prefer Pune- khopoli- pali- wakan- mangaon- ambet- Dapoli road.
It adds almost 40 extra kilometers, but saves a lot of hassle.

Cheers,
Abhijeet.

[chinmaybaikar]

Originally Posted by Figopian

Reviving an old thread to check some information on Pune - Dapoli road. I am plannning to visit Karde in the last week of December. I have decided to take the Mulshi - Tamhini route to reach Mangaon and need some input on the road I should take thereafter. Has anyone taken the Mangaon - Ambet - Dapoli road recently? Or is it worth to travel all the way to Khed and then to Dapoli?

Take the right after the Veer station. That's called Tol phata. The road is pretty much good till Dapoli. Just a 10-15 min bad patch.

[Figopian]

Originally Posted by coriollis

I just did Pune- Dapoli via Mahabaleshwar..
Excellent roads. But was unable to utilise the advantage.
Horrible traffic jam in panchgani and Mahabaleshwar as well, messed with our timings.
My usual timings are:
Pune- Mahabaleshwar 2 hours
Mahabaleshwar - Dapoli( Kolthare) 3 hours.

That day, it took almost 7 hours.

So now, if the drive is on weekends, I prefer Pune- khopoli- pali- wakan- mangaon- ambet- Dapoli road.
It adds almost 40 extra kilometers, but saves a lot of hassle.

Cheers,
Abhijeet.

I took this road once but it seems to be longer, it took me 6+ hours without any traffic as well (Maybe I drive too slow!!) Also, this road has the maximum ghat section, my wife doesnot like it :(

Originally Posted by chinmaybaikar

Take the right after the Veer station. That's called Tol phata. The road is pretty much good till Dapoli. Just a 10-15 min bad patch.

Thanks, mate! Thats the precise road update I was expecting. I do plan to take this same route but was unsure about the road condition as it was very bad when I travelled on this same route a year ago.

[chinmaybaikar]

Originally Posted by Figopian

Thanks, mate! Thats the precise road update I was expecting. I do plan to take this same route but was unsure about the road condition as it was very bad when I travelled on this same route a year ago.

Certain patches are bad. But nothing worse as such. That's what i felt when we went to dapoli in summer that too with 5 people in an Alto with the boot space completely packed. And my village is exatcly 15 kms from Dapoli. Many bhpians frequent here. Had spotted a spark last year with LTD.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by Figopian

I do plan to take this same route but was unsure about the road condition as it was very bad when I travelled on this same route a year ago.

All things considered, I'd pick the Tamhini - Mangaon - Veer - Dapoli route if I were you. Judging from all reports, the road seems to be quite okay, apart from the bad patch from Tata Power till start of the ghat. You'll only need to budget for a little extra time to navigate that.

Cheers,
Vikram

[Figopian]

Originally Posted by chinmaybaikar

Take the right after the Veer station. That's called Tol phata. The road is pretty much good till Dapoli. Just a 10-15 min bad patch.

Originally Posted by chinmaybaikar

Certain patches are bad. But nothing worse as such. That's what i felt when we went to dapoli in summer that too with 5 people in an Alto with the boot space completely packed. And my village is exatcly 15 kms from Dapoli. Many bhpians frequent here. Had spotted a spark last year with LTD.

Well, it will be much easy for me I guess with just 3 people in my Figo. Although Figo's GC is nothing to talk about and hence the caution. Thanks anyway!!

Btw, I will be driving to Karde beach.

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

All things considered, I'd pick the Tamhini - Mangaon - Veer - Dapoli route if I were you. Judging from all reports, the road seems to be quite okay, apart from the bad patch from Tata Power till start of the ghat. You'll only need to budget for a little extra time to navigate that.

Cheers,
Vikram

Yes, thats my pick as well. Hope this turns out good