[prateekm]

Last month when I rode to Goa, I took the Nipani - Sawantwadi route and it is not in a good condition. When returning, I tried the Goa - Chorla ghat - Belgaum route, which is very good except for a few km before the Goa border. Might be a bit of a detour but the road is much better compared to the Sawantwadi route.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Here's a tentative plan: instead of flying down there, I am thinking of driving down there. The route via Pune - Kolhapur - Nipani - Sawantwadi

Will you take the Nano? Here is a proposed plan:
Day1: Start late morning and reach Belgaum. Halt for the night.
Day2: Start early morning and reach Goa via Chorla. Check into a hotel. Halt for the night.
Day3: Spend the day in Goa. Halt for the night.
Day4: Check out from the hotel at around noon and start the return journey. Reach Satara and halt for the night. If you can drive on, reach Pune
Day5: Start early morning and reach home.

We did the drive in September, but we took the Jazz. We halted at Amboli on the way out, but it was not that interesting. When we go next, we would prefer to stop at Belgaum. For the route, you should check the thread Mumbai - Pune - Kolhapur - Goa.

It rained a lot so we had to drive at more reasonable speeds, considering the kind of traffic around us. Driving times were:
Pune to Amboli - about 6.5 hours. time not included for breakfast at Shirwal and lunch at Sai International before Kolhapur
Amboli to North Goa - about 3 hours. time not included for photo stop at Sawantwadi and another after entering Goa
Goa to Pune - about 9 hours. Heavy rain and crater filled roads after Satara to Pune. Time does not include multiple photo stops in Chorla ghat, lunch stop at Belgaum and tea stop at Satara

I presume the Nano would take a bit longer.

You may want to decide if you want to stay in North/ South Goa or Panaji. this is more subjective, depends on what you want to do really.

Drive safe and have fun!

[honeybee]

The Nano can easily maintain 80-100 on clear stretches. Plus rains are over and Chorla route is expected to be easily motorable. So I think journey times wouldn't change significantly.

If I have to make the most of the available time I have to start in the evening, around 7. Can't hope to reach Belgaum then.

[ashkamath]

Guys, will be driving to Kolhapur from Goa on early morning 2nd Jan. Will take the Chorla route (first time) always took the Amboli route during my earlier trips. So the question is at Belgaum, does one pass through the city or is there a by pass? How much city traffic could one expect at Belgaum? I mean what is the time needed to pass through the city? Tnx

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by honeybee

The Nano can easily maintain 80-100 on clear stretches. Plus rains are over and Chorla route is expected to be easily motorable. So I think journey times wouldn't change significantly.

I dont doubt the Nano's capabilities on clear stretches.
on clear stretches with the jazz we were doing a little more than 100, perhaps the road was clear of two wheeler traffic due to rains. but we also had good lead cars that we could keep up with.

you might also encounter additional truck/ trailer traffic due to the sugarcane harvest

[swarnava.m]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

Guys, will be driving to Kolhapur from Goa on early morning 2nd Jan. Will take the Chorla route (first time) always took the Amboli route during my earlier trips. So the question is at Belgaum, does one pass through the city or is there a by pass? How much city traffic could one expect at Belgaum? I mean what is the time needed to pass through the city? Tnx

When I did this route in September, I started from Margao at 5.30 am and was at Belgaum before 8 am. Took the Chorla route. At Belgaum, you do pass through parts of the city, cross a couple of major junctions. But trust me, it is not a major headache. If you can reach there by 8 or so, traffic is less dense. You should be in and out of Belgaum in 15 minutes. Once out of Belgaum, you hit the NH4 straightaway.

However, I would strongly suggest you follow a navigation map if you are not familiar with Belgaum roads. A couple of turns are a little confusing. I used Google Maps with Voice Nav and managed just fine, driving solo. Drive a little slow and comprehend the directions well, you should be good.

Last weekend I drove into Goa via Chorla and drove out via Amboli. And honestly the Chorla route is way better. For one, you drive more on the NH4 than smaller roads, and 2ndly the Amboli road is in quite a dilapidated condition. The ghats are also more challenging and risky. I had an easy enjoyable drive via Chorla, not to forget the scenery en route.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

So the question is at Belgaum, does one pass through the city or is there a by pass? How much city traffic could one expect at Belgaum? I mean what is the time needed to pass through the city? Tnx

I do know there's a bypass which I took when driving to Ankola. I don't know if it connects to the Chorla route. End to end it should be a matter of a few minutes to cross Belgaum.

[pankaj09]

i did a Mumbai Goa trip in the last of december via Pune - NH4 - Nipani - Uttur - Ajara - Amboli - Sawantwadi - Candolim.

1. Mumbai Pune Bypass between Pune - Karad has about 10 - 11 diversions due to ongoing work for flyovers. this is about 140kms odd stretch - avg speed was about 75kmph

2. Once you hit the GQ the road is just awesome. i i could manage speeds between 90 to 120.

3. Once on the NH4 at Nipani the road until Sawantwadi is bumpy. Confortable travel speed i found was 70kph. But there were cars that were travelling much faster.

4. Amboli Ghats is in bad shape. huge potholes while entering it from Nipani side. as you drive forward the condition improves but nothing great. Avg speed in the ghats was 30kph since my wife and kid have motion sickness.

5. Road between Sawantwadi and Goa are good.

6. on the way back came via Sankeshwar. But this route too the roads where ok. Same as the Nipani Uttur Ajara road. There arent any potholes but its gets bumpy above 80kph.

It took me 10hrs to over some 470kms between Pune and Candolim without any traffic. Reason being - i was driving slow to ensure comfort for the passengers.

it was my first drive to Goa and i found the route to be pretty good and well posted with directions.

[maverick78]

I did the Pune Goa road trip in the 1st week of December and below are my 2 cents

1) The road conditions from Pune to Nippani have been discussed at length. So won't get into details here. The essential thing is to make sure that you leave Pune before 6 am so as to avoid the traffic at the tolls (We left at 5 am)
2)Since I was travelling to Vasco, decided to take the Chorla route as recommended by many members here. Boy was I glad I did this. The route is not only scenic but also reduces the time considerably for all those going to South Goa. I have taken both the Ajra- Uttur and the Sankeshwar Gadhinglaj route in the past and both these routes have been okay (nothing much to write home about). The Chorla ghats are absolutely fantastic with just the right amount of twisties. Just not recommended for guys with bouts of motion sickness. Thankfully my wife is not one of them.
3) Stopped for breakfast at our usual place (Virangula). This is a small hotel just before Satara and recommended for Maharashtrian breakfast like poha etc. The hotel opens at 6:30 in the morning.
4) Reached Belgaum at 11:15 am. Guys heading to Chorla need to ensure they pass through 3 circles on the way (Rani Chennamma, Bogarves and Gogte). After crossing the Gogte circle, head to Peeranwadi cross (Nagshanti Hyundai showroom on the right as a landmark to ensure that you are on the right track). At Peeranwadi, the road forks left to head towards Khanapur , and right towards Jambotti, Kankumbi, Chorla.
5) Beautiful roads all the way to Keri on the Goa border, where the road gets bad for about 15 kms or so. You pay the Goa entry tax here.
6) Proceeded to Vasco via Sanquelim, Amona, Banastarim, Pilar, Agacaim, Cortalim, Vasco. Took me 9.5 hrs for the overall trip with breaks for breakfast and lunch totalling to 1.5 hrs.

[Sawyer]

Even going to South Goa, I am not sure that Chorla is faster. Getting into Goa from Sawantwadi, one can be on wider/faster roads all the way till Margao for sure. Hinterland Goa roads from Sanquelim in any direction are narrow, pass through many villages, and allow for much slower progress.

The road quality of the Ajra route versus the Chorla route is comparable overall, and one avoids Belgaum traffic completely.

[ashkamath]

Yesterday, I drove from Vasco, Goa to Kolhapur for a temple visit and returned same day.

I took the Chorla route to Kolhapur and the Ajra-Amboli route to return back.
The route: Vasco-Cortalim-Agassaim-took small bypass towards Old Goa (did not touch Pilar junction)-Neura-Mandur-Karmali ( right turn to bypass Old Goa and Corlim)-Banastari-Amona-Sanquelim-Chorla-Jambuti-Belgaum-NH4-Nippani-Kolhapur.

The Belgaum city pass took 20 minutes as we were there right in the rush hour. But it is a simple straight road to NH4. Not much confusion. It is easy way out.

The Chorla ghat is an absolute delight to drive with smooth roads.
It is a ghat where overtaking a slower moving vehicle could test your patience and time. I mean at the Ghat, there are very few straight stretches where one can plan to overtake a slow moving vehicle. But once the ghats are over it is a dream drive. I saw some cars parked on road side with people vomiting from Nausea induced ( I think this road induces more motion sickness more than any other road I have been on recently.)

This route is for a soft engaging drive (read cars), beautiful scenery,

While returning I was tempted to drive back through the Chorla route, but as my friend had to a visit at Pernem, we decided to take the Sawantwadi route.
The Ajra route can be best described as a perpetual mini rumblers with the sugarcane tractors as the speed breakers. These sugarcane tractors cover the whole lane and I one has to be very careful while driving around these trucks. and in Sawantwadi one has to pass through the old road ( not the new bypass which you get while driving down from Vengurla side) and this will take some of your time and patience again.


The Sawantwadi route is more for a SUV type of drive, a little rough, lot of rumbling (my car has developed suspension bush sound now), decent speeds, definitely more traffic than the Chorla route.

Traffic is heavy in the Sawantwadi route as it appears to be the more preferred route than Chorla.

I shall be driving to Shirdi with the same friends soon and I think this time I will stick to CHorla for both going and coming for the sheer pleasure of the smooth roads and lesser traffic.(Even from Sanquelim-Banastari-Old Goa side to Panjim or Vasco the traffic is much lesser compared to the Panjim-Mapusa-Sawantwadi route).

Distance from Vasco (my home) to Kolhapur Mahalaxmi temple via Chorla route: 249.3 Kms
Distance from Kolhapur to Vasco (my home) via Amboli-Sawantwadi route: 251.2 Kms.
So the difference in Kilometer between 2 routes as per my car odo is 2 Km.

Conclusion: Both distances are same.

Infact the Sawantwadi route should have been about 5-10 Kms shorter, but instead of the normal Dhargal-Mapusa-panjim route, I entered Goa through Pernem-Tuem-Chopdem-Siolim-Arpora-Sangolda-Porvorim-Panjim-Bambolim-Cortalim-Vasco. I did so because my friend had a small work at his cousin's house enroute.

In doing the above route, we bypassed the new Rs. 250/- toll for outside registration vehicles at Dhargal.(Though I stay at Goa, my car is Karnataka registered).

Distance: We started at 06:45 AM from Vasco and reached Kolhapur Temple at about 12:15 PM. i.e. 5 hours and 30 Minutes with one break fast break of 30 Minutes
return trip started at 2:45 PM and reached vasco at 9:00 PM 6 Hours 15 Minutes ( we had more stops and some visit to friend's home enroute) 3 stops totally about 1 hour.

So time wise I feel the Sawantwadi road congestion compensates for the Belgaum city transit and the deteriorated condition of the sawantwadi route compensates for the turns and twists of the Chorla route. But depending upon the type of driver you are, the time taken through both routes could also be very similar and so are the distances as mentioned above.

I would rate Chorla route 8/10 and Sawantwadi route 6/10 in driver experience.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by prateekm

Last month when I rode to Goa, I took the Nipani - Sawantwadi route and it is not in a good condition. When returning, I tried the Goa - Chorla ghat - Belgaum route, which is very good except for a few km before the Goa border. Might be a bit of a detour but the road is much better compared to the Sawantwadi route.

Prateek,

that thought mentioned above is echoed by many drivers coming from Mumbai side, that Chorla is longer / detour. But during my yesterday drive, I found that Chorla route and Sawantwadi route distances are identical, but then the advantage lies in Chorla route because.
1. The roads are smoother for most distance ( except for a few Km at Goa border)- even that is perfectly motorable.
2. Traffic is very thin in this route (Perception as mentioned above). It appears lot of people are not aware of this route.
3. with reference to Kolhapur ( a common point at NH4 towards Mumbai), the distance from Belgaum is 111 Kms whereas the (Sawantwadi )Ajra road junction from NH4 is about 50 Kms from Kolhapur. So if one choses Chorla route, he will be driving about 60 Kms more on the NH4 and less in the SH and narrow roads. That translates to faster speed, better timings.
4. Passing through Belgaum is not an issue. If one is not passing it at the rush hour ( 8 to 10AM or say 5-8 PM) then one can pass it in a jiffy (15 Mins)
5. Sawantwadi to Panjim (50+ Kms ) is again a heavy traffic route where the NH17 traffic joins. Where as Chorla route inside Goa (Sanquelim-Amona-Banastari-Old Goa) is also very thin traffic (relatively)and this compensates for the narrow roads. Using GPS helps here

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

4. Passing through Belgaum is not an issue. If one is not passing it at the rush hour ( 8 to 10AM or say 5-8 PM) then one can pass it in a jiffy (15 Mins)

Timing might be the difference. I did Pune Calangute Pune last month, departures at 5 am. Via Chorla I got there by 2.30 pm, coming back to Pune via Amboli, I was home by 1 pm. 45 minute stops both times.

Coming back, I was at Kolhapur by 9 am, and must have passed through Uttur-Ajra before the said sugarcane traffic started. Likewise, no traffic at 6 am passing through Sawantwadi.

Going, I went through Belgaum at around 11 am, and lots of traffic, took me 30 minutes to go through.

The Ajra road is better than it has ever been, though Chorla is certainly more scenic.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Timing might be the difference. I did Pune Calangute Pune last month, departures at 5 am. Via Chorla I got there by 2.30 pm, coming back to Pune via Amboli, I was home by 1 pm. 45 minute stops both times.

Coming back, I was at Kolhapur by 9 am, and must have passed through Uttur-Ajra before the said sugarcane traffic started. Likewise, no traffic at 6 am passing through Sawantwadi.

Going, I went through Belgaum at around 11 am, and lots of traffic, took me 30 minutes to go through.

The Ajra road is better than it has ever been, though Chorla is certainly more scenic.

I agree Sawyer. My drive started from Vasco at 6:45 AM which means I had traffic all through. The return at Sawantwadi was around 7:00 PMish and so again heavy traffic. then I did not enter through the normal Dhargal-Mapusa road. I went interior -coastal road and I lost some time there due to narrow roads-traffic. So the time you leave and time you pass through some cities make a difference. earlier you leave, better timings one has.

I had made some inquiries about Belgaum city and had a fair idea what to expect and the roads. So I could drive through without much asking around or
getting confused. But it was fairly less congested than I had expected it to be.

second is driving style. I am a very sedate driver. Even on the NH4, my max speed was around 100 and not more. I am very cautious during overtaking and hence take my own time for the right opportune moments.

Third is the car that you driving. I was driving my 10 year Old Indica V2 DLS and the diesel engine could only do so much. A better car should do better timings ( Lot of D'Zire/Fortuners/Innovas etc overtook me during my drive).

Ajra road is definitely better than earlier days. The pot holes have been filled up, but job is not done professionally. So I said it is like driving on a perpetual small rumbler strips. The roads were wider with more straights. But considering all the factors I feel Chorla ghat road is better for the sheer quality of the road.

And finally one curious factor. Has any one observed that returning trip is always faster than the arriving trip? I have observed this a couple of times. For some reason that I am not aware of, my return trip timings have always been faster than the arrival timings. May be the mind is free and relaxed during the return trip or being on the road for some days, you are naturally faster or you are aware of the road conditions better as you have passed it just a couple of days ago or whatever.

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

Third is the car that you driving. I was driving my 10 year Old Indica V2 DLS and the diesel engine could only do so much. A better car should do better timings ( Lot of D'Zire/Fortuners/Innovas etc overtook me during my drive).

True, I was driving a Civic both ways, with high average speeds, without ever exceeding 115.
Thinking of another drive later this month, but for the fun of it, I will take the Nano. Probably do the same thing I did - Chorla on the way out and Amboli return.