[VivOverland]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Guys, recommendation for a place to stay overnight in Belgaum please?
I don't have enough time to drive straight through to Goa.

I tried to book with Sanman deluxe, but they asked me to come over and check. Apparently it is off season and rooms would be available. I don't want to end up having a situation where I land there with family and no rooms available. Any other suggestions as backup would be helpful. Clean room for 2 adults + 2 kids. Will leave the next morning for Goa

Why not check AirBnB? We found an excellent pocket friendly, family safe homestay in Kolhapur this way.

[abhypras]

Originally Posted by VivOverland

As a thrice yearly traveller to Goa, I would strongly recommend you avoid this road. Unless you like following slow trucks on dual carriageway, at 20-40 kph over cratered roads, traffic jams at every village intersection (at least 40 of those), and roadworks coming up as well!



The NH17 has been ignored by our politicians and is now mainly a truck route for short inter village runs, and for those avoiding tolls on NH4.

Hey thanks for the info. But I am not taking the usual Mumbai Goa highway. I am taking a different one as mentioned in my main message above. It is known as Sagari Mahamarg.

[Engine_Roars]

Hi Guys,

I will be driving to Goa(North Goa, Baga) from Pune starting tomorrow morning. I will have my family with me(ladies & Kids), any recent updates on route to be taken would be of great help.

Thanks,

[ritzy]

Originally Posted by Engine_Roars

Hi Guys,

I will be driving to Goa(North Goa, Baga) from Pune starting tomorrow morning. I will have my family with me(ladies & Kids), any recent updates on route to be taken would be of great help.

Thanks,

I did Pune to Goa road trip with my friends in the last week. Based on recommendation on this thread, we opted for Chorla ghat route. The drive was very good with only a few bad patches and we could do this stretch in about 9.5 hours with a few breaks including lunch at Belgaum.

While returning, we took the same route. We faced diversion in Belgaum city due to road construction work. It was foggy in the ghat section but very scenic.

Amboli Ghat is in bad condition as per the reports on this thread.

[sidpunjabi]

Originally Posted by sidpunjabi

Hey guys,

This is my 1st time driving down to Goa from Mumbai.

After Pune, I'll be taking the Satara - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Chorla - Mapusa - Calangute route, which also seems to be the preferred way on the forum.

There's already a lot of information about restaurants and routes, so the only point of doubt that remains for me is on the the download side - washrooms & toilets.

Which places/spots/restaurants have clean toilets along the way, especially between Satara and Kolhapur?

I finally did this, leaving Mumbai post dinner. A lot has already been said about the route so I'll just stick to what I found different in the over-night journey vs a day-time.journey.

1. Truck traffic (especially on the Mumbai-Pune expressway) increases significantly at night, with trucks driving, swerving and lane-cutting across all the lanes. This will slow you down considerably along the route and expect truck-traffic-jams on the Lonavala ghat.

2. Most of the restaurants / cafes at the New Truck terminal are shut by 1-1:30 am. In fact nearly all the restaurants/hotels that are mentioned on this group are likely to be shut at those hours. To compensate, there are plenty of roadside stalls which will give you the basic tea, biscuit, maggi. However, hygenic toilets will be a bit hard to come by.

3. Post Hinjewadi, the road till Khambatki Ghat (1-way ghat before the Wai turn-off) will test your suspensions with multiple diversions on to un-finished service roads complemented with potholes on the main road. Post Wai-turn-off, the roads are buttery-smooth and the traffic reduces letting one hit triple digit speeds comfortably, all the way till the Balgaum exit.

4. Night drive = cooler weather = better engine performance - 'nuff said.

[CANPUSH]

I drove down to Goa on 19th and returned on 21st with different routes. Here are updates.

While going I took Pune - Belgavi - Ramnagar - Anmod - Ponda route. Left Pune at 6 am and reached Ponda around 3 pm with 4 stops (two for eating, one for washroom and one for fuel)
Till you reach Pirawadi junction in Belgavi road is good. Next 3 kms till end of Belgavi Municipal Corpn almost no road. Very bad condition. Later upto Ramnagar Road is Good. Ramnagar to Anmod there are few bad patches. As the ghat begins, till Karnataka Border, 4-5 kms road is very bad. Once you enter Goa road improves and is good later throughout. May be road condition is important for Goa but last priority for Karnataka.

On return I had few visits in Sindhudurg district. Hence return route was-

Ponda - Panaji - Patradevi - Zarap - Pinguli - Nerur - Malvan - Aachra - Munge - Dahibav - Lingdal - Nandgaon - Talere - Gaganbavda - Kolhapur - Pune.

Near Panaji bridge, road is very bad but later it is ok till Patradevi. But this section needs urgent upgrade to four lane between Mapusa and Pernem(Satarda exit). Traffic in both direction is very dense. You can not travel at more than 50 kmph. Zarap-Patradevi is excellent condition. After Zarap four laning work for NH66 (Mumbai-Goa road) is going on. As a result many diversions and bad surface. You start crawling at 30-35 kmph.
I left NH66 at Pinguli. From there till Nandgaon I traveled partly on interior roads and partly on proposed coastal highway. Road is two lane sometimes even narrower through villages, but road condition is good. may be you reach Nandgaon faster than on NH66.
between Nandgaon and Talere again four laning work going on but in parts it is completed hence not as bad as Zarap Kalmath section. From Talere till Gaganbavda road is very good. Gaganbavda to Salvan, approx 20 kms road surface is washed out in heavy rains. Although no potholes, still surface is bad and dusty. Cars get slow and ST buses travel at full speed throwing up clouds of dust. Between Salvan and Kolhapur road improves with few washed out sections. As soon as you enter Kolhapur road is very bad for first 2 kms.

Between Kolhapur and Pune Road is good but Not so good between Satara and Pune.

I also noticed that at Khed-Shivapur and Anewadi toll plazas although there are lanes for Fastag users, anybody and everybody gets in despite warning that non Fastag users will be charged double toll (which is never charged) and hence it takes same time as other users. However, on all other plazas there is a person posted who will only allow Fastag users to enter the lane and we can just zip through.

[selfdrive]

Feedback on my trip to Goa this past week. Common section for outward and return trip: Pune - Satara - Karad - Kolhapur - Kagal - Belgaum.

Pune to Shirwal still has upmteen diversions. Road from Khambatki onwards is good. For the returns section, it continues to be a pain to drive from Khambatki towards Pune at night. The road itself has poor visibility; made worse by the bright distracting lights from the roadside dhabas. Extremely poor planning if at all that has been done.

Outward route from Belgaum - Chorla - Sankhali - Ponda - Borim - Madgaon
Streets and traffic within Belgaum was usual chaos. There are a lot of speedbreakers all the way upto VTU on the Chorla route. There are a couple of bad patches before the start of the ghat. The ghat roads are broken almost throughout. For a change, I was really irritated with this route, even though there was very less traffic in the afternoon. Some sections from Sankhali to Ponda were filled with mud. Total driving time to Madgaon 8 hours (of which 3.5 hours was from Belgaum to Madgaon).

Return route: Madgaon - Ponda - Mollem - Anmod - Bhimgad - Khanapur - Belgaum
Fantastic route till Mollem and made up a lot of time which I would have otherwise lost if I had returned via Chorla. The ghat has some broken roads but doable in my Jazz. The truck/ trailer traffic in the ghats was a bit annoying, especially as it got difficult to overtake the longer trailers. My original plan was to return via Ramnagar as I was unsure if the Bhimgad route surface would be kind to my low GC fully loaded Jazz. As a minor irritant I was stopped at the Anmod excise point. On hindsight, it proved to be a blessing. I asked the guys there if the Bhimgad route was doable and they said it was the same as the route I had just taken.
They were absolutely wrong; it was much much better! The Bhimgad route is only wide enough for one car, but there was very less oncoming traffic and one of the most enjoyable sections of this trip to drive. After Khanapur, the few kms till the Chorla turnoff have really bad roads. Time taken from Madgaon to Belgaum 2h40, of which 10 mins wasted due to bad roads at Khanapur. I saved 45 minutes over the Chorla option. It seems I found myself a better option than Chorla for South Goa trips.

Thanks to bhpians @comfortablynumb and @rahulrao for the suggestions about the route.
My suggestions according to current road conditions:
1. Belgaum - Bhimgad - Mollem - South Goa
2. As option 1 above
3. Belgaum - Chorla - Sankhali - North Goa
4. Don't go via road/ wait till Ajra - Amboli is redone.

Only if someone could now build a suitable bypass to Belgaum; maybe from Sankeshwar towards the Chorla turnoff.

Suggestion for awesome food in Belgaum: Tumkur Thatte Idli (in a small lane diagonally opposite Hotel Ramdev)
Tried the thatte idli, medu vada, ragi dosa and bisi bele bhath, all of which was yummy. Parking not available, a place has to be found on the main road itself.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,
Drove down to Goa from Bombay on the 17th. September.
Departed Bombay (joined WEH at Andheri) at 03:00 hrs so had a fairly clear run till Satara. Actually passed through Poona without seeing a single two wheeler!!
The toll booths were also fairly clear. We reached Kolhapur in 5 hours and 15 minutes.
There are now only 5 diversions between Poona and Satara. The last one has some really nasty potholes. The others are OK. Khambatki ghat is in excellent condition. Sad to see the trucks hogging all 3 lanes!
Stopped at Nipani (Kaveri Hotel) for breakfast and a rest. The dosa's were pretty awful. However, the Mutton Handi was good. Washrooms were clean.
On to Belgaum which we breezed through in 30 minutes. Used the Chorla road as usual after Belgaum. Good to see that 5 speed breakers near the exit of Belgaum and near the College have been removed. A few rough stretches before Jamboti but pretty good after that till one exits Karnataka. The Goa section is bad. In fact, I have never seen the Chorla Ghat road in such a poor condition. Lots of potholes. Some fairly deep. It slowed us down considerably. However, I did notice some smaller hatchbacks flying over the same broken roads. Wonder what condition their suspension's must have been in. Once you pass the Goa Entry point the roads are better but narrow roads and heavy traffic make it impossible to overtake. We made a few stops on this stretch as I was really tired (not having slept at all the previous night) and my back was playing up. Took me a total of 10 hours and 10 minutes. Till the roads are repaired, I think I will just stick to air travel.
Regards,
SS

[ASHISHPALLOD]

After going through last few posts about Goa route details, i am little confused about which route should be taken for travel between calangut to Kolhapur ? Onward journey will be via Belgaum_ Khanapur_ Bhimgad _ Madagaon.
Return journey will start from Calangut.
As per Selfdrive's post, Anmod ghat is better than Chorla. What about Amboli ghat ? Which section of the road via Amboli ghat is in bad condition?

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Route update :
Belgaum_ khanapur_Bhimgad_Anmod ghat_Ponda_Madgaon_ Colva.

As selfdrive already updated, after chorla turn on Belgaum Khanapur road, 3 km section of road toward khanapur is really bad. After that, till khanapur, excellent wide road. As suggested by selfdrive, travelled on Khanapur_ Bhimgad_ Anmod section and this is the best part of Belgaum_ colva journey, best road condition though narrow road, the travel through forest is best part.
After Anmod, though ghat section is wide and good, heavy Vehicles traffic may irritate the car driver. After discending the ghat, at Mollem, there was non functional toll / entry fee booth. Some cops standing before the toll booth but they just waved me to go ahead. Is entry fees in Goa still applicable ?
Worst part of this route is traffic jam before and after overbridge construction site just before Ponda town. This traffic jam may waste your time. Ponda to Colva via Madagaon is good road. Traffic jam near Madagaon stadium may cause wastage of time.

Mhapsa_ Chorla ghat_ Belgaum.

Without looking at alternate route suggestions, I blindly followed gmap suggest from Mhapsa to Chorla and i made the mistake. Anyway, after passing through narrow lanes for good 45 mins, i touched the wide Road at Bicholim. Chorla ghat has some rough section which can be managed easily by any hatchback, no worries. After entering Karnataka, the beautiful wide winding road make your journey easier. Absolutely no problem afterwards to Belgaum.
Of course Belgaum crossing will slowdown your speed with wastage of time.

Overall, both routes are equally good.
So, for North Goa, its Chorla route and for South Goa its Anmod ghat via Bhimgad.

[nitinralli]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

Route update :
Mhapsa_ Chorla ghat_ Belgaum.

Without looking at alternate route suggestions, I blindly followed gmap suggest from Mhapsa to Chorla and i made the mistake. Anyway, after passing through narrow lanes for good 45 mins, i touched the wide Road at Bicholim. Chorla ghat has some rough section which can be managed easily by any hatchback, no worries. After entering Karnataka, the beautiful wide winding road make your journey easier. Absolutely no problem afterwards to Belgaum.
Of course Belgaum crossing will slowdown your speed with wastage of time.

Overall, both routes are equally good.
So, for North Goa, its Chorla route and for South Goa its Anmod ghat via Bhimgad.

Thanks for your update here. I will be driving down to Goa next week from Pune. So do you recommend taking Chorla Route and not Amboli as GPS shows through Amboli only? Is it worth going through this Chorla route which i believe is longer? I am going to North (Calangute)

Also how was the road condition on the rest of the route like Kolhapur to Pune especially satara to Pune which i heard had many diversions which slows you down. Is it so?

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by nitinralli

So do you recommend taking Chorla Route and not Amboli as GPS shows through Amboli only? Is it worth going through this Chorla route which i believe is longer? I am going to North (Calangute)

Also how was the road condition on the rest of the route like Kolhapur to Pune especially satara to Pune which i heard had many diversions which slows you down. Is it so?

1) For Pune guys, Amboli route is nearest and dearest. But past few posts here warned about very bad condition of Ajra to Amboli road. So, never thought to try it though i have traveled on that route many times in the past. As i was going to south Goa, I preferred Anmod ghat. While coming back from Calangut, I preferred Chorla route. Chorla route is much more scenic than Amboli route. Though Amboli road is more wide wrt Chorla road, traffic on Amboli route is also more. I am not sure about Amboli route condition currently. I suggest, go via Amboli route and come back via Chorla route or vice versa. ( And update here about Amboli road condition ).

2) From satara, I diverted for my destination toward eastern side while coming back. So, no comments on Satara_ Pune route. Belgaum to Satara throughout good Road except some bumpy rough section 5 km before Satara.

[distiller]

I had travelled via Amboli route quite a time ago and then also the roads were not in that good condition.
I will prefer Pune-Kolhapur-Belgaum and then take the Chorla route. This April I had taken this route & it was quite good.

[selfdrive]

It is high time that Indian railways starts the Roll on Roll off ferry service for cars from Bombay/ Pune to Satara at the least.
It would definitely have a regular customer in me. The convenience of avoiding the rubbish traffic till Satara but then being able to drive your car later would be awesome.
I would say the section from Pune expressway exit till Khambatki ghat would currently be the worst section on the Mumbai Bangalore highway.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Pune to Shirwal still has upmteen diversions. Road from Khambatki onwards is good. For the returns section, it continues to be a pain to drive from Khambatki towards Pune at night. The road itself has poor visibility; made worse by the bright distracting lights from the roadside dhabas. Extremely poor planning if at all that has been done.
....
My suggestions according to current road conditions:
1. Belgaum - Bhimgad - Mollem - South Goa
2. As option 1 above
3. Belgaum - Chorla - Sankhali - North Goa
4. Don't go via road/ wait till Ajra - Amboli is redone.

Originally Posted by nitinralli

Also how was the road condition on the rest of the route like Kolhapur to Pune especially satara to Pune which i heard had many diversions which slows you down. Is it so?

For North Goa, Chorla is definitely better option than Bhimgad/ Anmod. Answers to your other questions (Pune Satara section) are addressed in my earlier post that I have quoted here.

As suggested by Ashish, you can try Amboli ghat on your way out. Considering the road surface this season, many of us have been avoiding that route till date.

[anand.shankar82]

Sorry if this is a repeat question

Planning to drive down to South Goa from Pune next week in a Hyundai Verna

The plan for route is Satara - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Anmod - Mollem

However, wanted to check if this road is in good shape or should I go with Satara - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Chorla - Sankhali route?

Please advise