[recker_us]

I might pass through the same route 2 days from now(on wednesday, 8th Nov).
How much time should I plan for the stretch between Kolhapur and Pune?

Also any recommendations on places on Kolhapur or nearby for few hours of night sleep? I might reach Kolhapur late night(around 10pm)

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by recker_us

I might pass through the same route 2 days from now(on wednesday, 8th Nov).
How much time should I plan for the stretch between Kolhapur and Pune?

Also any recommendations on places on Kolhapur or nearby for few hours of night sleep? I might reach Kolhapur late night(around 10pm)

Kolhapur pune budget for 5hours dependent on jams at khed shivapur toll gate

Belgaum sankam residency,kolhapur opal should be your stay options.All on NH4

[FlyingSpur]

Planning to do a chill drive to Goa this weekend. Will leave at 6:00 am to beat as much traffic as I can. Did the same trip 2 years ago, took Mum - Pune - Kop - Nipani (right) - Ajara - Amboli - Sawantwadi - North Goa and was quite happy with the way things went. Any changes suggested in the route?

While suggesting, kindly factor in the fact that two years ago we took an SX4 (just me and my friend), and we were slightly liberal with the bad roads (as Suzuki San was with his SX4 a few posts earlier). This time, most likely it will be a car which has several tens of mm lesser ground clearance. And a space saver, not a full sized spare ...or should I avoid taking the 320d ?

[CANPUSH]

Originally Posted by FlyingSpur

Planning to do a chill drive to Goa this weekend. Will leave at 6:00 am to beat as much traffic as I can. Did the same trip 2 years ago, took Mum - Pune - Kop - Nipani (right) - Ajara - Amboli - Sawantwadi - North Goa and was quite happy with the way things went. Any changes suggested in the route?

While suggesting, kindly factor in the fact that two years ago we took an SX4 (just me and my friend), and we were slightly liberal with the bad roads (as Suzuki San was with his SX4 a few posts earlier). This time, most likely it will be a car which has several tens of mm lesser ground clearance. And a space saver, not a full sized spare ...or should I avoid taking the 320d ?

Route is no problem for any car. However, avoid NH4 exit from Tawandi ghat i.e. Goa Ves. Instead go via Sankeshwar-Gadhinglaj road. Also, Banda-Patradevi section is still in bad shape.

IMO beating traffic might be an issue since you will be travelling Pune-Kolhapur section almost in peak hours. Add to that holiday traffic for Dipawali.

Take care and Happy journey!!

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by FlyingSpur

Planning to do a chill drive to Goa this weekend. Will leave at 6:00 am to beat as much traffic as I can. Did the same trip 2 years ago, took Mum - Pune - Kop - Nipani (right) - Ajara - Amboli - Sawantwadi - North Goa and was quite happy with the way things went. Any changes suggested in the route?

While suggesting, kindly factor in the fact that two years ago we took an SX4 (just me and my friend), and we were slightly liberal with the bad roads (as Suzuki San was with his SX4 a few posts earlier). This time, most likely it will be a car which has several tens of mm lesser ground clearance. And a space saver, not a full sized spare ...or should I avoid taking the 320d ?

Hi A,

Would suggest you leave earlier. Latest 0430 hrs or else you will get the Poona traffic and get stuck at the toll nakas after Poona. Really frustrating. As "Canpush" has suggested, avoid turning off at Nipani (Hotel Goa Ves) but proceed on for another 11 Kms past the villages of Hitni and Holli Halli to Sankeshwar and turn off there. There is a green sign saying "Gadhinglaj" and you need to leave the highway there. There is a small hotel with a blue roof - Hotel Sai I think - at the turn off. Slide off the highway go down parallel to the highway for about 150 m (mind the speed breaker at the end) and then turn hard right to pass under the highway. Be careful - this is a service road and you may get traffic coming down the other side. Proceed straight on to Gadhinglaj, Ajra etc. etc. The Banda section is much improved from six months ago but be careful as still some nasty potholes. Make sure you use the elevated road immediately after the RTO check point.

Enjoy the drive.

K

[arunkmar]

Thanks folks. This is really useful. I'll be driving with my family to Candolim from Pune on the morning of the 10th in my Versa. I've got a bad back and need to be very cautious on the bad stretches as I will be strapped up with an orthopaedic corset. One of my friends travelled on the Tawandi - Nipani-Uttur-Amboli road last week and said that there were some stretches where the road was practically non-existent and advised me against using it. I therefore was contemplating whether I should take the longer route via Belgaum. But as the Sankeshwar Gadinglaj - Amboli route seems motorable, I might opt for the same unless there is some feedback over the next 24 hours advising me against it. Rgds, Arun

[CANPUSH]

Originally Posted by arunkmar

Thanks folks. This is really useful. I'll be driving with my family to Candolim from Pune on the morning of the 10th in my Versa. I've got a bad back and need to be very cautious on the bad stretches as I will be strapped up with an orthopaedic corset. One of my friends travelled on the Tawandi - Nipani-Uttur-Amboli road last week and said that there were some stretches where the road was practically non-existent and advised me against using it. I therefore was contemplating whether I should take the longer route via Belgaum. But as the Sankeshwar Gadinglaj - Amboli route seems motorable, I might opt for the same unless there is some feedback over the next 24 hours advising me against it. Rgds, Arun

Sankeshwar-Gadhinglaj-Ajra-Amboli is surely better option. There may be some patches of broken tarmac (not potholes) just before Gadhinglaj. Also between Banda and Patradevi road is in bad condition where you need to be careful. Rest all road as I believe is fine.

Looking forward to your post on return regarding latest road conditions..

[vkaul1]

Originally Posted by CANPUSH

Sankeshwar-Gadhinglaj-Ajra-Amboli is surely better option. There may be some patches of broken tarmac (not potholes) just before Gadhinglaj. Also between Banda and Patradevi road is in bad condition where you need to be careful. Rest all road as I believe is fine.

Looking forward to your post on return regarding latest road conditions..

Thanks. I too am planning to drive down to Goa next weekend (17th Nov) with family. Will share my experience once am back.

[mwzd]

Is the Pune - Satara - Kolhapur route safe to travel currently?

Was planning on using this route for my Mumbai - Goa trip, but news reports have me worried, specially since I'm travelling with small kids / family.

Any update would be appreciated.

Besides MSRTC buses, many private vehicles including private buses, were set on fire at various locations on the Kolhapur highway.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/17201329.cms

[livetodrive]

Hi All,

I drove to Goa with my wife in my Santro on 10th of November from Pune and returned on 14th. This was my first drive to Goa from Pune. Previously I drove from Bangalore since I was staying there and used to reach South Goa through NH4 followed by NH67.

This time I tried to follow Google maps and planned to take the SH135 route from Nipani. Somehow I missed it and landed at Belgaum around 11 in the morning after starting from Vishrantwadi, Pune at 6. After reaching Belgaum railway station, came to know that Panaji is only 130 KMs far, so I thought I could make it by 2-2:30 PM, but the road condition was awful and my average dipped to 30-40 KMPH in this stretch. Ultimately reached Dona Paula beach at 4PM.

Spent 3 nights at Goa, it was a lovely experience, did para sailing at Sinquerim beach and enjoyed great food at Brittos in Baga beach. Visited Fort Aguada. Missed the sunset cruise at Miramar, will do it next time for sure.

On the day of Diwali, we initially planned to visit Old Goa churches and drive back to Pune. Later we changed our mind and planned to visit Palolem Beach. Zoomed 70KMs through NH66 in just one hour, had our lunch and enjoyed a lovely sunset at this calm and quiet beach. We thought we will spend our night at Palolem but again switched our mind and thought to drive back to Pune itself. And there we made our mistake.

At 6 PM we started from Palolem, reached Panaji at 7:15, crossed Old Mandovi Bridge and joined NH17 and decided to continue on this road since it was showing "Panvel". I was just expecting that NH17 would lead me to NH4 somewhere and from there I could safely reach home. While driving through dark roads, I reached Lanja at 11 PM at a hotel completely alone and found almost no one to ask how to reach from Pune from there. The waiter told that its Diwali night and I would find no one in the road, the only way to reach NH4 is take a right from Pali which was 18 KMs far from Lanja. I was in a fix. Should I stay back and start next day morning or should I take a chance at 11 PM and be in more trouble?

What I guessed was if I continue in NH17 I would reach Panvel, and from there I have to drive back to Pune. We had no other way but to rely on the GPS, we switched it on our Galaxy note and it nicely guided us to NH4 through Malkapur and Kale at 4am. Need not to say that this stretch was also completely desserted and anything wrong could happen.

From NH4 it was 150KMs which we managed to reach in two and half hours. Later after coming back safely at home I searched and found that I could continue on NH17 itself and reach Lonavla taking a right turn and then come back through Mumbai Pune road. Dont know whether it could be a right or wrong decision.

We were lucky indeed, but one thing needs a mention, the stretch between Panaji and Lanja is the best single lane I have ever drove in India. I can only remember the road to Munnar after crossing Salem and other one should be the East Coast road from Chennai to Pondicherry which are equally good to this road.

Thanks.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by livetodrive

From NH4 it was 150KMs which we managed to reach in two and half hours. Later after coming back safely at home I searched and found that I could continue on NH17 itself and reach Lonavla taking a right turn and then come back through Mumbai Pune road. Dont know whether it could be a right or wrong decision.

Well anytime you get lost on your way back from Goa,always ask for the route back to Kolhapur thats the easiest way to get back to NH4.

[livetodrive]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Well anytime you get lost on your way back from Goa,always ask for the route back to Kolhapur thats the easiest way to get back to NH4.

Yes Ranjit, while driving through NH17, in the entire 200 KM stretch from Panaji to Lanja I could notice sign boards towards Kolhapur at different points. Since all the points were showing almost same distance (almost 100 KMs) I could figure out that I am running through a parallel road to NH4 and Kolhapur is the only nearest city to this road.

[arunkmar]

My apologies for not reverting earlier.

I took the Sankeshwar ->Gadhinglaj ->Ajra ->Amboli ->Sawantwadi route on 10th morning and found it to be quite motorable. There are some rough patches before Gadhinglaj and some more between Ajra and Amboli. My GPS for some strange reason did not record the onward journey and the return which I discovered to my consternation when I reached Amboli on the way back !!. So I used My tracks on my Android to record the Amboli to Kolhapur section on my return.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=...371085f9001d1d

Created by My Tracks on Android.
Name: 14/11/2012 11:57
Activity type: driving car
Description: Amboli to Kolhapur (McDonalds)
Total distance: 122.24 km (76.0 mi)
Total time: 2:39:03
Moving time: 2:15:42
Average speed: 46.11 km/h (28.7 mi/h)
Average moving speed: 54.05 km/h (33.6 mi/h)
Max speed: 112.26 km/h (69.8 mi/h)
Average pace: 1.30 min/km (2.1 min/mi)
Average moving pace: 1.11 min/km (1.8 min/mi)
Fastest pace: 0.53 min/km (0.9 min/mile)
Max elevation: 727 m (2384 ft)
Min elevation: 467 m (1531 ft)
Elevation gain: 1067 m (3499 ft)
Max grade: 9 %
Min grade: -12 %
Recorded: 14/11/2012 11:57

The attached graph will show my speed on the section. The rough patches are the ones where my speed really comes down. On the good stetches, there are two or three isolated pot holes which can take you by surprise as you do not expect them.

The good news is that there is pathwork going on on this road (Amboli to Ajra) - many of the potholes have been filled with bricks and compounded. On some sections, they have started filling up the potholes with gravel and tar. I noticed an active stone crushing plant a few kms after Amboli before Gevase which portends well for the road being re-surfaced or patched up properly.

The strtech from Gadhinglaj to NH4 (Sankeshwar) too is a bit patchy but should not pose any problems.

I found the return stretch from Satara to Pune a bit better than the onward one, perhaps because the truck traffic was lesser and the 6 laning on this side of the highway was in a more advanced stage of completion than the Pune Satara stretch.

I took the new Katraj tunnel hoping to cut down driving time to Wanowrie where I live but to my dissapointment found that the right turn where the tunnel bye-pass meets the Dehu Road Katraj section of NH4 has been blocked due to the 6 laning work. I had to drive onwards to Warje and take a U turn.

I've also attached a log of my trip. The reference points were the various tolls. By the way, the time taken at the tolls on the way out was not too bad. However on the way back, it took almost 10 mts at the Khalapur toll mainly because somebody a few cars ahead of me produced an id card I think which needed to be verified by a toll supervisor - who appeared to reject it and that led to some sort of discussion !! Then there is the issue of some drivers who cut lanes and try to muscle in. They usually succeed because people do not want a collission or altercation and let these blighters get in.

I've decided that for my future trips to Goa, I will only use this route.

Happy driving folks,

Regards, Arun

[CANPUSH]

@Arunkumar, Thanks for update. i have to travel on this road in second week of December.

Your post gives me assurance of road conditions.

[vkaul1]

Originally Posted by arunkmar

My apologies for not reverting earlier.

I took the Sankeshwar ->Gadhinglaj ->Ajra ->Amboli ->Sawantwadi route on 10th morning and found it to be quite motorable...

.. I've decided that for my future trips to Goa, I will only use this route.

Happy driving folks,

Regards, Arun

Originally Posted by CANPUSH

@Arunkumar, Thanks for update. i have to travel on this road in second week of December.

Your post gives me assurance of road conditions.

Thanks Arun.

I just came back yesterday from a drive to Goa & completely agree with your views.

A couple of points that I wanted to share -

1. Instead of taking the right towards gadhalganj from NH4 @ Sankeshwar, I took the right ahead of Nipani & going through Uttur. It is as good / bad as the gadhalganj road & shorter by a good 15 Kms.

2. Even though the GPS (mine was at the fastest route setting) would send you through "sawantwadi bypass" - a road going left before sawantwadi. The strong advice would be to continue down the road. Even though it is longer the roads are in good condition - while the bypass is more of lunar surface than a road. I had taken the main road on the way to Goa but on the way back took the direct road marked "Amboli" & it took me through this one & it is "Not to be taken". I met a few police people on that road & on inquiring from them they said "this road is not for you sir"