[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

Hello BHPIANS!
My Goa trip is on! Have booked a nice resort at Varca, South Goa!
I've got some confusion, the standard route for Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Nipani-Ajra-Amboli-Sawantwadi-Goa is tje most discussed one on tbhp forums. When I search for a route from Mumbai to Varca, South Goa on Google Maps, it shows this route: Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Belgaum-Khanapur-Ramnagar-Mulem-Churchorem-Varca (south Goa)
Would this be the correct route to take for South Goa or should I stick to the normal route i.e. via Sawantwadi?

Stick to Sawantwadi route.The NH4a route via Khanapur Mollem is in a bad condition.

[fuel_addict]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

Hello BHPIANS!
My Goa trip is on! Have booked a nice resort at Varca, South Goa!
I've got some confusion, the standard route for Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Nipani-Ajra-Amboli-Sawantwadi-Goa is tje most discussed one on tbhp forums. When I search for a route from Mumbai to Varca, South Goa on Google Maps, it shows this route: Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Belgaum-Khanapur-Ramnagar-Mulem-Churchorem-Varca (south Goa)
Would this be the correct route to take for South Goa or should I stick to the normal route i.e. via Sawantwadi?

You can consider the Mumbai-Ratnagiri-Sawantwadi-Goa route on NH 17 which runs along the Konkani belt all the way. This route is much more scenic than the Mumbai-Pune-Kolhapur-Goa route although your average speeds will be lower due to slightly narrower roads. Whichever route you choose, going via Sawantwadi is recommended any day over the Belgaum route. There is a connection via Kolhapur that takes you through Gadhinglaj (I would have misspelt it) and eventually gets you on the NH 17 route which passes through Amboli & Sawantwadi.

[nishantbhatia84]

Hello BHPIANS!
My Goa trip is on! I'm taking an overnight halt at Kolhapur and will leave for Goa from there, early morning! Any idea how long it takes to reach Goa from there?
I'm leaving at around 4pm on 23rd & halting at Kolhapur. Approx what time would i reach Goa if i leave from Kolhapur at 6am?

[mb_jg]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

Hello BHPIANS!
My Goa trip is on! I'm taking an overnight halt at Kolhapur and will leave for Goa from there, early morning! Any idea how long it takes to reach Goa from there?
I'm leaving at around 4pm on 23rd & halting at Kolhapur. Approx what time would i reach Goa if i leave from Kolhapur at 6am?

Kol to Goa should not take you more than 4-5 hours tops. If you leave Kol by 6am you should be in Goa by 10am since the morning traffic is sparse.

I suggest you take in the view & not rush to reach Goa.

[CANPUSH]

For Kolhapur - Kanakvali which road is better these days? Phonda ghat Radhanagari or Karul ghat - Gagan bawda?

If any one has recently (After monsoons) traveled on these routes please update.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by CANPUSH

For Kolhapur - Kanakvali which road is better these days? Phonda ghat Radhanagari or Karul ghat - Gagan bawda?

If any one has recently (After monsoons) traveled on these routes please update.

Both are more or less in the same condition,with good to bad to excellent at different sections.

[carmayogi]

Hi guys,

Admittedly, I haven't read many of the recent replies, but I am updating this thread with my experiences.

Drove on 21st October to attend a wedding. Made super-slow progress because the car following me (2008 Civic) was loaded with wedding decorations, some made of glass. My 2012 Swift Zdi was also full.

Bombay-Panvel - road condition as normal. Many paver block parts, but road in decent shape and is predictable with no unexpected bumpy sections. Used Palm Beach road through New Bombay.

Panvel-Pune Bypass - again, nothing to report, expressway remains reliably semi-smooth. Concrete is always slightly up and down. Max speed achieved 135 km/h.

Pune Bypass - at least 3 under construction underpasses. Expect delays if travelling during any sort of peak hour. Recommend to try and cross Pune by 8am. Else, surface in good to excellent shape.

Pune-Satara - Highway in just average shape. Lots of recently filled potholes. The ghat before Satara has some MASSIVE potholes, some up to a foot deep (no exaggeration.) However, 95% potholes are in the slow lane, so stick to the right side and overtake the struggling trucks, buses, Tata Ace's and general janta. (Note: Turbo is almost a must on this section for max progress. Created a 30 minute gap with the following Civic by overtaking some slow traffic here).

Satara - Sankeshwar - Road is EXCELLENT. Traffic reduced, surface is near perfect, max speeds are possible. Maintained 100km/h easily.

Sankeshwar - Sawantwadi - Average to poor sections. Some areas can maintain 20-30 km/h, some stretchescan be done at approx 40 km/h with occasional relief (up to 60-65 km/h due to traffic and single lanes) in between. Total mixed bag. Amboli ghat, same story. Lots of sudden patches of damaged tarmac. This stretch was a PAIN in the luggage-loaded civic. Progress slowed to 5-10 km/h at times for extra caution.

NOTE: DO NOT take the short-cut marked to the left just before Sawantwadi. It saves 9 km but will add 9000 km of tyre wear and suspension wear/damage. Absolute No.

Sawantwadi - Goa, good road surface once you're in Goa, but single lane for most of the way, so overtaking needs to be judged carefully. Again, turbo is very useful to maximise use of small gaps. Most driving fun was in Goa with always twisty roads and excellent surface. Drivers are also well trained and do not behave unexpectedly.

Total trip time : 14 hrs (10 hrs driving, 4 hrs halts to wait for Civic to catch up + Police demanding a bribe for carrying luggage. Police failed to get any, btw). Total F.E. 24.0 km/l as per on board display, 23.6 as per tank to tank calculation. Lots of in-gear coasting and engine braking helps massively for F.E.

Hope this post is detailed enough, but not too long

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by carmayogi

Hi guys,

NOTE: DO NOT take the short-cut marked to the left just before Sawantwadi. It saves 9 km but will add 9000 km of tyre wear and suspension wear/damage. Absolute No.

+ Police demanding a bribe for carrying luggage. Police failed to get any, btw

Hope this post is detailed enough, but not too long

I like your warning on the 9000 km tyre wear.
So where was this police bribe demand and was there so much luggage on the seats that they stopped you?
Cheers

[carmayogi]

Originally Posted by deutscheafrikar

I like your warning on the 9000 km tyre wear.
So where was this police bribe demand and was there so much luggage on the seats that they stopped you?
Cheers

The bribe demand was at the toll plaza before Kohlapur. As you know, the Swift has miserable luggage space, so rear seat was folded with luggage. Luggage was only up to window level, with clear view out of the back & sides. That is totally legal (else seats would not be made foldable). Guy tried to accuse me of speeding, no seatbelt, illegal luggage, but I kept refusing and arguing till he left and warned me of consequences. None occurred. Change will only occur if we stop paying bribes just to get away quickly. 15 mins wasted, but was worth it.

[deutscheafrikar]

Okay that's good to know. Need to take a mattress and a couple of carpets too in my M 800. I've carried a lot of stuff earlier in my indigo right up to the roof but never been stopped on the highway. City, yes been through what you've mentioned.
Best

Originally Posted by carmayogi

The bribe demand was at the toll plaza before Kohlapur. As you know, the Swift has miserable luggage space, so rear seat was folded with luggage. Luggage was only up to window level, with clear view out of the back & sides. That is totally legal (else seats would not be made foldable). Guy tried to accuse me of speeding, no seatbelt, illegal luggage, but I kept refusing and arguing till he left and warned me of consequences. None occurred. Change will only occur if we stop paying bribes just to get away quickly. 15 mins wasted, but was worth it.

[carmayogi]

Update: Return leg from Goa to Bombay on 25th & 26th October (stopped overnight in Pune to visit friends).

Return roadway is a little better between Satara and Pune. A lot of the section is being widened to 3 lanes as well as construction on the Wai - Mahabaleshwar exit (forgot to mention earlier). These could be minor points of concern for travellers. Suggestion to avoid night driving on this section as visibility of road works is miserably poor. Also, the ongoing work means that it is difficult to see the median as the reflectors are all dirty/damaged/missing. Return trip F.E. 21.5 km/l with drive time of 10 hrs to Vashi (cumulative) from Mapusa. If driving by day it is possible to shave at least an hour off the time.

[AvonA7]

Just completed a Pune-Goa-Pune road trip.

Nh4 - Gadhinglaj - Ajra - Amboli - Sawantwadi => 100kms, 2.5 hrs with total 20mins break - 80% good roads, 10% bad roads, 10% very bad roads (< 20kms/hr). Few Petrol Pumps (HP, BP) available. Hotel Minerva after few hundred mtrs. from Ajra towards Amboli on the left side, missed Kamat twice near Amboli. Every 25-30kms there are villages, so few shops with bottled water etc available.

Pune (Hadapsar) - NH4 (turn to Gadhinglaj) - Excellent roads, better to keep an eye for potholes and diversion between Pune to Satara.

Sawantwadi - Goa (North) --> Good drive, two lane but excellent road surface.

Goa roads - as mentioned here in this thread, excellent, two lane roads but very good surface - panaji-miramar-dona paula/panaji-margao-colva etc.

Pune - Goa (north) - 08hrs 30mins with 06 am start and 25mins+20mins. break

Return (same route) - 9hrs 40mins. with 08:35am start from North Goa (Khed shivapur toll : 15mins, bharti vidyapeeth-swargate-hadapsar : ~45mins), break time of ~50mins total.

Shall try and post some pics.
Thanks for sharing information in this thread and to Google Maps. Driving to Goa is so much better than travelling by Volvo

[S_U_N]

Just got back from a trip - Pune - Murudeshwar - Goa - (and back via) Mollem - Khanapur - Pune.


The shortcut from Anmod check post to Khanapur (33 KM) is best avoided. I took advise from locals and make a mistake of driving through that route. There is virtually no road from perhaps 10-15 KM in that jungle.
Other than that the overall route is fine. Karnataka roads are bad compare to Goa routes.

Attaching one pic of a bad road.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

Just got back to Bombay from Goa. Used the usual road i.e. Mapuca, Sawantwadi, Amboli (Ghat), Ajra, Gadhinglaj, Sankeshwar, Kolhapur, Poona, Bombay. The SH 121 is in a worse condition than when I used it last a month and a half ago. Stopped by police at S'wadi for usual check. Nothing found. Sawantwadi to Amboli had quite a few bad patches. Worst section is from Amboli to Ajra with some rough patches and large potholes on the ghats. Not an enjoyable drive. Initially I was slowing down for all the potholes but was losing a lot of time so finally decided to just fly over them. The SX4 does this well! The section from 10 Kms before Gadhinglaj to Sankeshwar has had some repairs so is the best section. Once on the main highway at Sankeshwar, things were back to normal. Great roads though be careful of road widening work and diversions near Satara. Usual queues at Tiswade and the one before Anmode (I think) toll nakas. When will those guys get their act together? Stopped at McDonald's Kolhapur for lunch. Usual fare. Total driving time 8 hrs 30 mins.

SS

[sumannandy]

Be careful around Satara. There are some nasty potholes. Just passed through on Oct 31. There are multiple diversions.