[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by richie4u

Hi guys,

I plan to do a Goa-Pune trip next weekend along with my family and I would like your advise on the best route to take. The route that I decided is Ponda>Sanquelim>Chorla Ghat>Belgaum>Kolhapur>Satara>Pune. I am the designated driver for the whole route and my navigation partners are MMI V8.0 and Ovi maps. So how reliable are the navigation devices according to you? Also is the route that I have chosen good in terms of road quality? I have read that the road gets bad in certain areas of Satara and there are many diversions so are there chances of getting lost in these areas?

I plan to leave Goa on the 23rd by 4am so how long do you guys think it will take me to reach Pune by the above mentioned route considering total break time of 1 hour?

9-10hrs.No way you would lose your way in satara.diversions are on the highway itself.roads are bad around satara.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,
Arrived in Goa on the 14th. But could not find the time to update this thread till today. Also keyboard is kaput so using a touch screen which is painful.
Will split the report into two parts. Mods, please do the needful if you feel I am breaking the rules.

Road condition from Bombay to Panvel is as reported last time - rubbish!
After the expressway there are a total of 13 diversions where you have to use the service roads which are pathetic.

After Satara and halfway to Karad, roads are excellent all the way to Belgaum.

Going through Belgaum will cost you at least 45 minutes and maybe more if you get stuck at the railway crossing waiting for a train to pass.

After Belgaum head for Peeranwadi, Jamboti and the Chorla ghat.

Set your tripmeter at Peeranwadi where you turn off the main Belgaum Khanapur road. There is a bad patch at the 30km mark, another at the 47km mark and from the 50km mark till the 63km mark - Goa entry point - the roads are bad. Some deep potholes, some craters. The bad section about 500m before the Goa tax booth is now terrible. You need to literally crawl over this or else you will destroy your car and will be walking - not driving - into Goa!!

After the check point / tax booth the roads are much better but watch out for speed breakers. I counted 39 breakers between the entry point and Mapuca.

I will give detailed directions on how to enter and pass through Belgaum in my next post.

Regards,
SS

[richie4u]

@suzukisan, how are the roads at satara, I read on the pages before that it had couple of diversions is it true? And what was the distance you covered between Pune and Belgaum and how long did it take you?

[enragz]

Originally Posted by richie4u

Hi guys,

I plan to do a Goa-Pune trip next weekend along with my family and I would like your advise on the best route to take. The route that I decided is Ponda>Sanquelim>Chorla Ghat>Belgaum>Kolhapur>Satara>Pune. I am the designated driver for the whole route and my navigation partners are MMI V8.0 and Ovi maps. So how reliable are the navigation devices according to you? Also is the route that I have chosen good in terms of road quality? I have read that the road gets bad in certain areas of Satara and there are many diversions so are there chances of getting lost in these areas?

I plan to leave Goa on the 23rd by 4am so how long do you guys think it will take me to reach Pune by the above mentioned route considering total break time of 1 hour?

I did Candolim - Belgaum through Chorla Ghats, on 16th. The first 50 km the roads are narrow and lot of traffic. So its a good idea to start early in the morning.
The road as you get closer to the ghat gets bad. but then as you cross the Wildernest resort (at 63 km mark) its gets pretty good and wide and the traffic has also reduced.
The traffic gets bad again just before and in belgaum, but its manageable. Managed an average speed of about 45 kmph on this route.

I was using MMI supported by google maps. These two devices differed on the exit to Chorla (from the goa-mumbai highway). I went with google maps.

Met a couple who had travelled from Pune to Goa and they recommended taking the Chorla Ghat instead of Amboli ghat one.

[riteshritesh]

I just returned last night to Mumbai from Goa ( South ) and though we had planned to take the Belgaum route, we changed the plan and turned at Hotel GoaWays/Kaveri turn after Nipani to take the Amboli Ghat.( We were told that the Belgaum roads are bad due to the Bauxite mining trucks plying on those roads )
No problem in the road and it was quiet and scenic.
Took almost 14 hrs to reach Dadar from Varca in South on our return.
Started at 9 am from Zuri Resorts. Wasted 30 minutes in Panjim looking for Zantyes, which was closed. Stopped for Duty Free Diesel at Pernem. 2-3 pee breaks for Kids. Lunch stop at Kaveri ( avoidable non veg food, Veg thali seemed decent.). Drive-in coffee pickup at McD Kolhapur. Break for 15 mins at Kailash Bhel. Then Dinner stop at Khopoli Foodcourt for 45 min. Got stuck before CBD belapur in the insane traffic at 11.30 pm. Reached Dadar by 12 am.

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Guys,
Arrived in Goa on the 14th. But could not find the time to update this thread till today.
Regards,
SS

SS

I was there too, We should have met this time.

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

Wasted 30 minutes in Panjim looking for Zantyes, which was closed. .

Probably since it was a Sunday? Just wondeing if the shop at Calangute might have been open on a Sunday .

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

Susegad . We did find a Kamat Cashews shop open. ( And after so many years, I have realised that buying cashews from Goa is a not worth it. Y.

You have a point. But I feel Zantyes is worth it. By the way I picked up 4 packets from Mapuca on my trip this time :P

[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by deutscheafrikar

SS


Probably since it was a Sunday? Just wondeing if the shop at Calangute might have been open on a Sunday .

Susegad . We did find a Kamat Cashews shop open. ( There was a Neeta Volvo stop there). And after so many years, I have realised that buying cashews from Goa is a not worth it. You get the same stuff at Royal Dryfruits in Crawford Market, probably even cheaper.
Alcohol and Fuel are totally worth it.

[mikon]

I was at Goa from 15th to 18th August.

Route taken : Pune - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Chorla - Candolim

Time taken :
Ongoing > Started from home at 0430 hours, reached hotel at 1300 hours (includes 1.5 hours of stopovers and finding directions)

Return > Started from hotel at 1130 hours, reached home at 2000 hours
(includes 2 hours of stopovers, refuelling etc)

Would strongly suggest to take this route.

I saw a lot of team-bhp stickered cars, flashed-honked, no response. Then kept quiet

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by richie4u

@suzukisan, how are the roads at satara, I read on the pages before that it had couple of diversions is it true? And what was the distance you covered between Pune and Belgaum and how long did it take you?

Hi Richie,

The roads at Satara are not good but you can keep swerving between potholes - being very careful of other traffic - and when you encounter the diversions, just slow down and crawl along till you get back on the main road. It's totally doable in a normal car with 160+mm of ground clearance but a bit dicey in cars with less GC than that. After Karad you can easily maintain 120+ speeds all the way to Belgaum.

From Bombay to Poona took 2.7 Hrs. (150kms)
From Poona to Belgaum took 5.5 Hrs. (350 kms)
From Belgaum to Goa took 2.3 Hrs. (100 kms)
Total : 10.5 hours including stops for breakfast, lunch and refueling.
This was one of my slowest runs due traffic jam at Airoli, railway crossing at Belgaum and two stops for meals.

Regards,
SS

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by nikesh

quick road updates between pune-goa :

Both the below routes are in good drivable conditions:
1- via kohlapur-nipani-sankeshwar-ajra-amboli-sawantwadi-goa(via sankeshwar)
2- via kohlapur-nipani-ajra-amboli-sawantwadi-goa(right turn from Goa Ves hotel after nipani toll)

No need to go via sankeshwar now as the standard route from Goa Ves restaurant and Amar hotel on crossing nipani toll is repaired now with a slight bad patch but average speeds of 70+ can be maintained easily before ajra. After Ajra there are few countable potholes but can be easily avoided if driven in daylight. Night driving not suitable yet!

Hi Guys,

Just returned to Bombay and on the recommendation of Nikesh decided to use his option 2.
I am sorry to say that I do not agree with his assessment of the road condition.
Yes! The road from Nipani - where you turn off at "Goa Ways" (used to be Goa Ves) restaurant to Uttur and then down to the main road which comes in from Gadhinglaj and goes on to Ajra is pretty good. The first 3 Kms are a bit rough but like he said after that one can maintain speeds of 70+.
However, after Ajra, the road is bad with numerous potholes - certainly not countable - unless one has a lot of fingers!!! You have to either keep swinging between potholes, slow down for them or increase speed and just fly over them and hope for the best.
The Amboli ghat road is so-so. Not as bad as Ajra to Amboli. I would class it as a "drivable" road but certainly not a "good drivable" road.
One good point is that the landslide area has been widened and concretised and there are supports on the side to prevent further landslides.
I encountered dense fog/low cloud on the ghats this morning.
Once you descend the Amboli ghats the roads are excellent all the way from Sawantwadi to Goa. What a relief to see that this stretch has finally been done.

So, the options now are :

1. The above road.
2. Via Belgaum and the Chorla Ghat where you have excellent roads all the way till Belgaum, 50 Kms of excellent (but lonely) roads on the Chorla ghat and just 13 Kms of bad roads (see my previous post) and not to forget the 39 speed breakers in Goa.

I have worked out that the distance via Belgaum is approx. 20 Kms more than Nipani - Sawantwadi.

Regards,
SS

[ampere]

Originally Posted by mikon

Ongoing > Started from home at 0430 hours, reached hotel at 1300 hours (includes 1.5 hours of stopovers and finding directions)

Can you please post a break-up of timings? Last week it took me 6 hours to reach Belgaum from Pine (2:30 PM at NH4 4-lane to 8:30 Belgaum NH4 exit).

I drive quite sedately. 90-100 is mostly what I do. Just wanted to understand if the timings are too high. Because as you per what you said if you were at Goa in 8.5 hours you must have covered NH4 part of the stretch quite fast. Hence my question.

[bigwheelz]

Originally Posted by ampere

Can you please post a break-up of timings. Because as you per what you said if you were at Goa in 8.5 hours you must have covered NH4 part of the stretch quite fast. Hence my question.

It matters what time you start from Pune. A early morning start (around 4am) means absolutely no traffic till you reach goa city. Even tolls are done without much delay. I also did pune-belgaum-chorla-varca in 8.5 hrs in july last month.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by bigwheelz

It matters what time you start from Pune. A early morning start (around 4am) means absolutely no traffic till you reach goa city. Even tolls are done without much delay. I also did pune-belgaum-chorla-varca in 8.5 hrs in july last month.

On the whole drive the only toll where I spent about 15-20 minutes (max) was the one at Satara. Rest all were fast. And we had a half an hour tea break. I thought the timing was a bit on the higher side, because the stretch I am referring to is only the 4-lane section of about 330km. I should do at least an average of 70, which should give about 4.5 to 5 hours. Some slowdown can happen at the ghats.

[mikon]

Originally Posted by ampere

Can you please post a break-up of timings? Last week it took me 6 hours to reach Belgaum from Pine (2:30 PM at NH4 4-lane to 8:30 Belgaum NH4 exit).

I drive quite sedately. 90-100 is mostly what I do. Just wanted to understand if the timings are too high. Because as you per what you said if you were at Goa in 8.5 hours you must have covered NH4 part of the stretch quite fast. Hence my question.

Sure thing, here it goes :

4:30 AM : Left home
5:15 AM : Crossed first the toll-booth crossing from pune, No traffic
7:30 AM : Entered Kolhapur McDonalds, Mild traffic
8:30 AM : Left Kolhapur McDonalds.
10:00 AM : Entered Belgaum, got lost inside the city, heavy traffic.
11:30 AM : Photo-shoot at Chorla Ghat
1:10 PM : Checked in at hotel, Candolim, Goa

11:30 AM : Left Candolim, Goa
1:30 PM : Entered Belgaum (Via Chorla), encountered traffic
2:30 PM : Stopped for Lunch, Nipani
3:30 PM : Left Nipani
4:15 PM : Stopped for Mc Flurry, McDonalds, Kolhapur
4:45 PM : Left McDonalds, encountered heavy traffic at each toll
7:30 PM : Entered the toll gate for Pune, jam packed traffic at toll gate
8:30 PM : Reached home

Yes, I was doing triple-digit speeds on NH4 most of the time. Most of the time i was driving at a heavy-foot.
Average Mileage : 17.4 kmpl

[ampere]

Originally Posted by mikon

4:30 AM : Left home
5:15 AM : Crossed first the toll-booth crossing from pune, No traffic
7:30 AM : Entered Kolhapur McDonalds, Mild traffic
8:30 AM : Left Kolhapur McDonalds.
10:00 AM : Entered Belgaum, got lost inside the city, heavy traffic.
11:30 AM : Photo-shoot at Chorla Ghat
1:10 PM : Checked in at hotel, Candolim, Goa

Thanks. That validates my thoughts at least. About 4 hours to Kolhapur and 5.5 to Belgaum. Since I drive a bit slow, I would take some more time.