[adi.mariner]

Hello,
Planning to travel to Goa next week for a vacation. Is a PCR Test required for entry into Goa and then back into Maharashtra? We would be travelling by road. Any particular route to take/avoid.

[SILVER-ARROW]

Originally Posted by adi.mariner

Hello,
Planning to travel to Goa next week for a vacation. Is a PCR Test required for entry into Goa and then back into Maharashtra? We would be travelling by road. Any particular route to take/avoid.

Either Vaccinated status on Arogya setu if one is vaccinated or Negative PCR test is required (if you are not vaccinated) to enter Goa. Try using the Anmod route via Belagavi.

We did a trip last week to goa and back. As the travelers were vaccinated the status on Arogya Setu was sufficient and Cops did allow us to enter both Karnataka and then Goa.

Have a safe Journey!

[bagman]

Originally Posted by SILVER-ARROW

Either Vaccinated status on Arogya setu if one is vaccinated or Negative PCR test is required (if you are not vaccinated) to enter Goa. Try using the Anmod route via Belagavi.

We did a trip last week to goa and back. As the travelers were vaccinated the status on Arogya Setu was sufficient and Cops did allow us to enter both Karnataka and then Goa.

Have a safe Journey!

Hi,
I am planning to travel this coming weekend from Mumbai. Some questions:

a. I will be carrying my RTPCR-Negative and also have first dose of vaccination certificate. Would these suffice for transiting through Karnataka (Belgaum) and entering Goa?

b. At the Goa check-post were you stopped and asked any questions, other than being asked to show your RTPCR?

Thanks very much in advance...

[SILVER-ARROW]

Originally Posted by bagman

Hi,
I am planning to travel this coming weekend from Mumbai. Some questions:

a. I will be carrying my RTPCR-Negative and also have first dose of vaccination certificate. Would these suffice for transiting through Karnataka (Belgaum) and entering Goa?

b. At the Goa check-post were you stopped and asked any questions, other than being asked to show your RTPCR?

Thanks very much in advance...

Hi Bagman,

Negative -RTPCR is sufficient at both Karnataka and Goa check posts.

At goa checkpost only questions asked were about the COVID reports. As you will be carrying RTPCR reports you should be good.(Kindly ensure that the time you reach the checkpost is within the 72 hours from taking the test. Once of my friends had to undergo at test again at COVID center in Goa as he had reached the checkpost after 72 hours had passed).

Have a safe journey!

[CapKoura]

I'm planning on traveling to Goa on the 15th. Had a few questions:

1) What is the situation at the border? Is a negative RTPCR test sufficient?

2) How are the road conditions on this route? It's been a while since we drove to Goa.

3) Are the roadside eateries/dhabas along the way operational now? (We'll probably carry a packed lunch anyways.)

[bagman]

Originally Posted by CapKoura

I'm planning on traveling to Goa on the 15th. Had a few questions:

1) What is the situation at the border? Is a negative RTPCR test sufficient?

2) How are the road conditions on this route? It's been a while since we drove to Goa.

3) Are the roadside eateries/dhabas along the way operational now? (We'll probably carry a packed lunch anyways.)

Hi CapKoura,
1. Negative RT-PCR will be sufficient. Just take care to reach the border within 72 hours of its validity.

2. Roads are largely Ok. There are some mysterious potholes that show up from the Satara to Kolhapur stretch but nothing 'under-carriage' shaking. Dhabas are open but not at the pre-pandemic scale. Nevertheless, carry your own food.

3. Take the road via Belgaum -- Bhimgad -- Mollem -- Goa. You will pass through the national park. The road is 80% ok here but the calmness and the pass through the Ghat is a scenic drive. Just ensure you enter during the day time and exit through the same time.

[blackwasp]

Did a Mumbai Kolhapur trip on Tuesday and returned back last night. Overall the roads are much better than before.

Pune outskirts to Kolhapur driving time was around 3 hours. We left around 7.30 pm and had a 30 min break at the Khed Shivapur McDonalds. Was surprised to see the Khed Shivapur toll completely empty. It was a peaceful drive with good average speed and FE.

Kolhapur Pune trip was done in the day time - left around 2.30 pm and reached pune around 5.15 pm. Could maintain a good average speed, but the traffic killed the FE.

Lot of stretches don't have any lane markings, making me believe they were freshly laid. No potholes either.

Nothing much to write about the Mumbai - Pune leg except that have been encountering fog around Lonavala stretches at night recently. When the road surface gets wet, visibility drops severely in the ghat section.

[CapKoura]

Just completed Pune - Panjim. Left at 5:45 am and entered Goa around 1pm, with just one 20 mins break. Checking of RT-PCR certificate at the border took around 15 minutes. They just registered passenger details and let us through.

The road from Pune till Satara is riddled with potholes at quite a few places. From there onwards it's fairly decent. Faced very heavy fog in Amboli Ghat, visibility was reduced to 15 metres at most. Barely any traffic.

Roads entering into Goa are just downright bad at the moment. The diversions on the highway are close to an off-road trail (made worse by the continuous rain).

[Hayek]

Drove down to Candolim area from Bombay earlier today. Left home at 5 am and reached at 4 pm via Nipani - Ajra - Amboli.

Faced heavy rains while heading out of Bombay, and plenty of fog on the Khandala Ghat. Roads were by and large good - some broken patches on the Sawantwadi bypass road, and then broken highway from the Goa border. Diverted following Google maps from Pernem through some narrow country roads - got stuck behind two trucks at one point but surface was good and we made Pernem to Candolim in less than an hour.

Fastag worked well at most tolls bar one where we got stuck in a lane with two cars who did not have working Fastags and kept debating and blocking traffic for a while. RT PCR certificate checks were done at three locations - just before Kognoli toll at the KA border, in Amboli and then at the GA border. Also had to get off the car for some formalities at the GA border - did not seem a good idea since it was crowded and people were not maintaining social distance but managed to get through that ok.

Overall a great drive / first time in the Tiguan to Goa.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Fastag worked well at most tolls bar one where we got stuck in a lane with two cars who did not have working Fastags and kept debating and blocking traffic for a while. RT PCR certificate checks were done at three locations - just before Kognoli toll at the KA border, in Amboli and then at the GA border. Also had to get off the car for some formalities at the GA border - did not seem a good idea since it was crowded and people were not maintaining social distance but managed to get through that ok.

Overall a great drive / first time in the Tiguan to Goa.

That Amboli checkpost is a farce! I had traveled in peak lockdown to pickup my mom from Goa. All district crossings enroute simply checked my e-pass and waved me through. The Amboli one made me step out and register myself.

Thereafter they insisted that I do a rapid Anti-gen test which I politely refused.
They said that they won't let me through to which I insisted that they produce a copy of the order. The desk person's take was that they have verbal orders from the collector. I requested for the collector's phone number and then they shutup and let me through.

Congrats on the Tiguan.

[IamNikhil]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

That Amboli checkpost is a farce! I had traveled in peak lockdown to pickup my mom from Goa. All district crossings enroute simply checked my e-pass and waved me through. The Amboli one made me step out and register myself.

Thereafter they insisted that I do a rapid Anti-gen test which I politely refused.
They said that they won't let me through to which I insisted that they produce a copy of the order. The desk person's take was that they have verbal orders from the collector. I requested for the collector's phone number and then they shutup and let me through.

Encountered the same issue at the Amboli checkpost when I went last in April. But it has now been dispensed with, as told by parents who drove down on 17th July, accompanied by uncle and aunt. They had carried RT-PCR reports and all 4 are also vaccinated with two doses, this was checked at the Maharashtra-Karnataka border at Kognoli Toll Plaza and subsequently at the Banda Excise Checkpost while entering Goa limits (this seemed to be a surprise check since it looked like a temporary nakabandi according to Dad). The Pune-Satara stretch is still shoddy (been like this since years now, no one has ever gotten around to fix this unfortunately!) and the entry into Goa is also pretty messed-up due to the road-widening work in progress. My folks were rather jittery because they were driving down in my uncle's 2 month-old Hyundai Venue DCT.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Drove down to Candolim area from Bombay earlier today. Left home at 5 am and reached at 4 pm via Nipani - Ajra - Amboli.

Faced heavy rains while heading out of Bombay, and plenty of fog on the Khandala Ghat.

Overall a great drive / first time in the Tiguan to Goa.

Nice!! Have a good vacation. Seems like both of us love our Goa driving holidays. I think last year we had driven to Goa at about the same time of the year (Xmas break). If I’m not mistaken you had taken the X3 on that trip so a short comparison on doing Bbay Goa in an X3 vs Tiguan will make an interesting read (if you feel so inclined).

We are doing our next short break to Panchgani come mid-August. Will enjoy the GT once again on part of this route.

[1lokesh]

Hi Guys!

Planning to drive down to Goa (south), from Mumbai this weekend with the family. Route on mind - Kolhapur - Belgavi - Anmod Ghat. We are 3 in the group, 2 adults and one 11 YO.

While we 2 adults have 1st dose vaccinated, the kid obviously doesn't. So a couple of quick questions:

1. Route check - all good with the route? and
2. Is RTPCR mandatory to enter KA and GA thereon? I know it will be when we return back to Mumbai, for which we plan to get it done in Goa right before we leave.

Thanks much in advance
Cheers!

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by 1lokesh

While we 2 adults have 1st dose vaccinated, the kid obviously doesn't. So a couple of quick questions:

1. Route check - all good with the route? and
2. Is RTPCR mandatory to enter KA and GA thereon? I know it will be when we return back to Mumbai, for which we plan to get it done in Goa right before we leave.

Thanks much in advance
Cheers!

1. All good with the route.
2. I am sure that you'll need a negative RT-PCR for the adults in your car to enter Goa. The only exceptions are if you are fully vaccinated and have a business or family reason to enter Goa. For general leisure, negative RT-PCR is mandatory for vaccinated folks too.

[aashishnb]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Roads in Kolhapur district are flooded and some of them have been blocked by the district administration due to incessant rains in the last few days. Please check local conditions before traveling. Rains have still not abated as of today.

Also, due to this flooding, fuel in Kolhapur district is being sold only to essential service providers, so please tank up before entering (as an added advantage Petrol is cheaper in Karnataka than Maharashtra, for those traveling south to north).