[Mika fan]

Did a Pune – Goa – Pune road trip in our Hexa XTA.

Pune Goa on 10 Feb.
ETD from my home in Salisbury park was 7 am. For some reason, we always depart ETD + 2 or 3 hrs when leaving home 😊. Left at 9:15 am. First stop was 15 min for PUC check and tanking up at a petrol pump near Katraj. Next stop was 5 min to buy fastag from Paytm kiosk just after Shivapur toll booth. Next stop was 10 mins drive thru at MacD near Shivapur, so 3 stops within first 30 kms. Tummies filled, kids got busy with online school / college and the Hexa stretched her legs. A fairly fast run saw us halt in Belgaum city for lunch at 2:15 pm, just as the online classes ended. After lunch, we drove to Wildernest, a resort in Chorla ghat and reached there at 4 pm. NH48 road condition is good. Road from Belgaum to Wildernest was mostly good with some mildly rough patches. After a 2 days break at Wildernest, drove down to South Goa on 12th Feb. Road condition for about 5-7 kms after Swapnagandha resort is poor. If you are driving a SUV or a car with high ground clearance, no problems, 5-7 kms of bad roads is small price to pay for 400 kms of good one 😊. Good roads again after Keri checkpost.

Goa Pune on 23 Feb.
After 5 days in South Goa and 5 days in North, it was time to head back home. We had a farewell brunch in Infantaria Calangute and left at 11:00 am. Drove back via Baga, Siolim, Pedne, Sawatnwadi, Amboli, Ajra, Nipani, Kolhapur. Road condition was mostly good to excellent with few rough patches. No problems at either Banda or Kagal chack posts. Reached home at 7 pm with two 15 min tea breaks at Nipani and near Surur phata.

Overall, happy with the way Hexa handles good as well as bad roads. Good road presence, tons of space if you fold down the 3rd row seats, comfortable seats. Pretty powerful engine. Biggest soar point is the massive A pillar which hinders right side visibility on twisting roads. Overall was a fun workation and kids are already chirping that we should drive to the mountains of North India for another workation soon.

Bye for now.
Adwait.

[T.S.]

BHPians,

I am driving to Ajra (Kolhpaur) tomorrow and just realized Karantaka's mandatory test requirement for passengers from Maharashtra. I usually take the right from Nipani (Hotel Goa Ways) when travelling to Ajra. Two questions; Are the covid results being checked on the Kognoli toll for Karnataka entry or the one ahead of it? If not Nipani, what are my other route options to reach Ajra from Kolhapur or Kagal? Any information will be appreciated.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by T.S.

If not Nipani, what are my other route options to reach Ajra from Kolhapur or Kagal? Any information will be appreciated.

Check post #3220 on page 215 of this thread. He used the following route (in the opposite direction) to join NH4 near Kagal while returning from Goa:

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ka...16.1158553!3e0

[T.S.]

comfortablynumb;5009837]Check post #3220 on page 215 of this thread. He used the following route (in the opposite direction) to join NH4 near Kagal while returning from Goa:

Thanks for pointing it out! I should have read the recent pages carefully. While I inquired here, also spoke to my brother in law who is in Ajra. He went earlier with a private transport bus and this is the route, i.e. through Gargoti, is what the buses to Ajra usually take. He advised me of one more route through Kagal i.e. to get down from the highway to the Kagal ST stand on left, take a right from little ahead under the highway and then an immediate left on the service road and then right from 500 meters ahead. He says this route is via Uttur and saves time as against going to Gargoti. I will try either of these two tomorrow and if its the Uttur one, will update this forum on the same.

[dsnaveen21]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Joecons Resort (Benaulim) are some options which I had evaluated over the last couple of years.

Hi,
How is the Joecons resort in Benaulim, is it good to with family and is the beach near by.

Thanks,

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by dsnaveen21

Hi,
How is the Joecons resort in Benaulim, is it good to with family and is the beach near by.

Thanks,

Sorry, I have never stayed in Joecons, but just checked it out as an option. Seems to have decent reviews on tripadvisor. I have stayed at Nanu Beach Resort in Betalbatim and Majestic in Varca. Both are good places for family, with the beach at walking distance.

[abhatt]

Originally Posted by T.S.

He went earlier with a private transport bus and this is the route, i.e. through Gargoti, is what the buses to Ajra usually take. He advised me of one more route through Kagal i.e. to get down from the highway to the Kagal ST stand on left, take a right from little ahead under the highway and then an immediate left on the service road and then right from 500 meters ahead. He says this route is via Uttur and saves time as against going to Gargoti. I will try either of these two tomorrow and if its the Uttur one, will update this forum on the same.

Any update sir?

I am travelling in 10 days and would like to avoid Nippani/Karnataka if possible.

I drove from Bangalore to Mumbai on Saturday and saw that they were checking every private vehicle at Kagal before their entry into Karnataka.

Also, going from Goa to Maharashtra via KA seems like a better option as well to avoid checks.

[T.S.]

Originally Posted by T.S.

I will try either of these two tomorrow and if its the Uttur one, will update this forum on the same.

Hello all,

Here are the directions of the road that I took to Ajra last week. I have tried to mark it on map with the prime spot villages that I remember; just dont follow it to the T. Dont enter the villages and stay on the main road. There are villages at regular intervals and locals know the way in case you are unsure and need to inquire. The road is single lane throughout, in excellent condition, and picturesque. Sugarcane and other fields throughout on both sides; refreshed my memories of my drive to Amritsar from Bhatinda. It was good drive on the otherwise uneventful and boring highway till Kolhapur from Mumbai.

https://goo.gl/maps/dbEJ1vrEJ7Lrv2PWA

[adriansarita]

Originally Posted by T.S.

Thanks for pointing it out! I should have read the recent pages carefully. While I inquired here, also spoke to my brother in law who is in Ajra. He went earlier with a private transport bus and this is the route, i.e. through Gargoti, is what the buses to Ajra usually take. He advised me of one more route through Kagal i.e. to get down from the highway to the Kagal ST stand on left, take a right from little ahead under the highway and then an immediate left on the service road and then right from 500 meters ahead. He says this route is via Uttur and saves time as against going to Gargoti. I will try either of these two tomorrow and if its the Uttur one, will update this forum on the same.

Any update on the Kagal border requirements. I'm traveling on Saturday to Goa from Mumbai and wondering if I should take the Nipani route or the Gaganbawda route.

Just completed a 19 day trip from Goa to Srinagar via Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Srinagar and back. Will put up a small report once I'm back in Goa. Roads were awesome all over except for Jammu Srinagar and we were lucky to get out without any major jams.

Looking forward to the Kagal border update

[T.S.]

Originally Posted by adriansarita

Any update on the Kagal border requirements.

News from 3 days back is Covid negative report is still mandatory to enter KA from MH. Does not seem that will change till MH starts recording lower numbers again. Check out the below link to my post (#3233) for the route I took from Kagal to Ajra avoiding Nipani and Kognoli toll. Or else you have the Gaganbawda route from Kolhapur.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post5012128 (Mumbai - Pune - Kolhapur - Goa : Route Queries)

[abhatt]

Originally Posted by T.S.

News from 3 days back is Covid negative report is still mandatory to enter KA from MH. Does not seem that will change till MH starts recording lower numbers again. Check out the below link to my post (#3233) for the route I took from Kagal to Ajra avoiding Nipani and Kognoli toll. Or else you have the Gaganbawda route from Kolhapur.

With every post I learn a new route. Which one is a better road for a fully loaded Polo which has a habit of scraping larger speed bumps?

Gaganbawda seems longer by 20 kms but almost takes the same time.

I would prefer to travel the known route which you had taken if the roads are decent, which you have confirmed and if it does not have a lot of speed breakers to deal with.

[abhatt]

Btw...I got a feedback from around 10 people who travelled from MH to KA by flights stating that they were never checked for the Covid certificate anywhere on the airports. It would be very helpful if someone here can confirm if they were checked for one at Nipani. If not, that route just seems a better choice as it saves 30 mins which is a big blessing when you are travelling with an infant.

[riddlealmeida]

We did Colva (South Goa) to Wakad (Pune) on Feb 27th, 2021.

Route taken - Colva -> Panaji -> Mapusa -> Banda -> Amboli -> Ajara -> Nipani -> Kolhapur -> Satara -> Wakad

Started : 7.20 AM
Reached : 4.30 PM

Total break duration : 20 minutes

The route through goa - NH66 is under construction and full of diversions. Life becomes easier once you enter Maharashtra.

Upon entering Maharashtra, there was a right turn suggested by Google maps near Majgaon, which I think isn't the usual route that people take. Highlighting that in the map below. It is a single lane road through some villages and it'll be trouble some if you encounter another car coming from the opposite direction. It is a small detour of around 10 km, since it was morning, we decided to take it anyways, but you can choose to go for better road.

Other than that, entire highway is good - mostly 4 lane and we encountered moderate traffic - trucks and cars.

On Covid front - There was no checking anywhere. It could be because we entered Maharashtra early in the morning - somewhere between 8-9AM.

[T.S.]

Originally Posted by abhatt

I would prefer to travel the known route which you had taken if the roads are decent, which you have confirmed and if it does not have a lot of speed breakers to deal with.

I cannot comment on Gaganbawda as have not travelled it anytime. The one that I took, like I said, is in excellent condition. I do not recollect encountering many and troublesome speed breakers.

Originally Posted by abhatt

Btw...I got a feedback from around 10 people who travelled from MH to KA by flights stating that they were never checked for the Covid certificate anywhere on the airports.

Possible as Covid checking on airports is mostly managed by the relevant airport authorities and not the local government administration. They are mostly understaffed to have dedicated checking personnel for so many arrivals. I experienced a very scanty and irregular checking at MH airport when I had returned from GA in Nov; it’s when MH had imposed Covid report restrictions on GA and 4 other states. On the other hand, the highway check posts are directly managed by local police and government authorities. Hence, I believe it will be checked more diligently than what happens at the airports.

[lalifatte]

Hi All
Checking at the border was virtually non existent. Even at airports the rule is virtually on paper but there may come a day when they suddenly become strict and check. As of now the borders are relatively unchecked .
While going to Goa I was sent through the anmod ghat as the maps weren’t showing the route through chorla and was easily the biggest mistake of my life . The roads were virtually non existent . On the return leg too the maps weren’t showing the chorla route , I called up a couple of resorts in the chorla belt to check whether roads were motor able and they said they were pretty ok . I drove through chorla on the return leg and the drive was a breeze, very few bad patches but not back breaking and with heavy vehicles banned the roads is relatively empty . So my take , wherever u heading in Goa take the chorla route and if heading to south Goa then this should be your best option avoid the anmod ghat.