[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by honeybee

I saw it accidentally. Rather my wife saw it. It's near a 90 degree righthander en route from Amboli to Sawantwadi, much after the ghat. There's a rusted sign pointing to Banda. Will try and post the exact location on the map later.

Ahh, thanks, it is after getting down to Konkan. An idea of approx kilometres from where the ghat ends to the right turn would help.

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Ahh, thanks, it is after getting down to Konkan. An idea of approx kilometres from where the ghat ends to the right turn would help.

Sawyer
This turn is a little after the amboli ghat ends and just after the village called Danoli you will see a sign board stating kms to mapusa, panjim which is much less compared to what you'd clock if you went to sawantwadi and turned. A left turn take you to Banda

you will see more of this in the earlier pages
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2569767

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2744903

Here is the Map

[sschivate]

Originally Posted by honeybee

I saw it accidentally. Rather my wife saw it. It's near a 90 degree righthander en route from Amboli to Sawantwadi, much after the ghat. There's a rusted sign pointing to Banda. Will try and post the exact location on the map later.

I am sure you mean a left turn while coming from Amboli. I remember seeing the signboard, and as mentioned by @deutscheafrikar, it has a signboard for Panjim, showing some 15-20km less. I did not take that road for the fear that it would be bad (August 2013), and we had planned a lunch in Sawantwadi

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by sschivate

I am sure you mean a left turn while coming from Amboli. I remember seeing the signboard, and as mentioned by @deutscheafrikar, it has a signboard for Panjim, showing some 15-20km less.

sschivate Yes the fork is about 1km after danoli, left turn as you come down.
I had noticed this in 2009
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post1329176
but never drove on it. It was bad then and couple of members said so. Later on it got better Ashish P. had clicked photos when he drove there.
Sawyer here is a pic of the turn and the signboard... thanks to Ashish Pallod
Earlier the distance to Panjim was visible as 62 kms I think... later on it was painted up and not so visible as in this pic

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by deutscheafrikar

Sawyer
This turn is a little after the amboli ghat ends and just after the village called Danoli you will see a sign board stating kms to mapusa, panjim which is much less compared to what you'd clock if you went to sawantwadi and turned. A left turn take you to Banda

Thanks - I think this must be what I remember seeing on the way to the ghats from Goa, a right turn that had Panjim on the board, looking in the dark like it was heading off into the jungle! So this would be the ideal way to get to Goa in the day time if one wanted to miss the Sawantwadi traffic and the narrow road from there to the highway.

[tiger_stripes]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Guys,
Leaving for Goa in a couple of days time and would appreciate some updates on the road conditions. A friend of mine drove down three days ago via Sankeshwar - Amboli and said the road was pretty good except for the Amboli ghat section which was "rough" but driveable.

If you plan to go via Amboli, you can skip going to Sankeshwar-Gadhinglaj and take the Nipani route. I went by it last week and its very good now. Not much traffic and will take you to Ajara. Rest of the route is also good enough except some parts of Amboli ghat.

[TaurusAl]

Just back from Goa trip. The journey from Pune till Karad was absolutely horrible inspite of paying crazy toll prices. No street lights at night in major parts on the outskirts of Pune and beyond. Road uneven and diverted in many areas. Also the Amboli ghat is very long and boring after a long drive from Mumbai, you are left with no mood to enjoy the scenes. My Views!

While coming I took the old Mum-Goa highway, reason being, I knew what to expect. No street lights, oncoming vehicular traffic in the same lane threatening to hit you head on.

But guess that's the price you pay to reach Mumbai via a no toll road.

With the road widening work almost through from Pen till Mangaon, I guess the current traffic jams situation can be under control in the near future.

But if you ask me, Ill stick to old Goa highway for my next trip. But make sure you are an experienced driver before you get on this highway.

[Musaafir]

Originally Posted by TaurusAl

Just back from Goa trip. The journey from Pune till Karad was absolutely horrible inspite of paying crazy toll prices. No street lights at night in major parts on the outskirts of Pune and beyond. Road uneven and diverted in many areas. Also the Amboli ghat is very long and boring after a long drive from Mumbai, you are left with no mood to enjoy the scenes. My Views!

While coming I took the old Mum-Goa highway, reason being, I knew what to expect. No street lights, oncoming vehicular traffic in the same lane threatening to hit you head on.

But guess that's the price you pay to reach Mumbai via a no toll road.

With the road widening work almost through from Pen till Mangaon, I guess the current traffic jams situation can be under control in the near future.

But if you ask me, Ill stick to old Goa highway for my next trip. But make sure you are an experienced driver before you get on this highway.

TaurusAl,

What was your travel time to Goa via-Pune? And then on return via Goa-Mumbai Highway? Was the return travel materially shorter/enjoyable to bear the agony of a two-lane-no-divider road?

[TaurusAl]

Originally Posted by Musaafir

TaurusAl,

What was your travel time to Goa via-Pune? And then on return via Goa-Mumbai Highway? Was the return travel materially shorter/enjoyable to bear the agony of a two-lane-no-divider road?

Absolutely the same. Here's the comparison -

3 months back - old highway

Left Andheri at 3 AM - Reached Goa at 2.30 PM - Travel Time : 11.5 hours (Halt - One Misal Pav break at Chiplun Omega INN for approx 45 mins)

This time taking the expressway

Left Andheri 10.30 PM - Reached Goa 9 AM - Travel Time : 11 hours (Halts - Toll both every now and then. 1 break at Kolhapur toll naka for tea of 5 mins, felt sleepy in Amboli, another halt of 10 mins for tea to get me going)

Overall no saving on time whatsoever. But as I told you, if you prefer safer road, dont even look at the Old road. Especially if you have a weak heart and cant see a Volvo charging at you with blinding lights.

Where enjoyment is concerned. I dont see any enjoyment while driving on Indian roads. On expressway, majority of bus drivers drove in the right lane and overtaking them became a pain. Besides the highway is dead without any scenic view.

On the old Goa highway, if you enjoy ghats and the views they provide then you will enjoy that road.

Infrastructure is poor on both highways in terms of toilet breaks for ladies and good eating places.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

Arrived in Goa yesterday afternoon. Left at 0530. Arrived 14.45.
Took the Mumbai - Poona - Kolhapur - Sankeshwar - Ajra - Amboli - Dhanoli (shortcut) - Mapuca route.
Enough has been said on this thread about the highway. It is still the same. Pathetic from Poona to about 30 Kms before Karad with numerous diversions and a rough, sometimes potholed surface. I will however say that the service roads at the sides of the diversions have been improved since I last used this route 8 months ago. From Karad to Sankeshwar - no problem at all. Pedal to the metal!!! SH 121 - Sankeshwar to Amboli/Sawantwadi is as lumpy a ride as ever though I have to say that the roads have improved as far as potholes go. From Ajra to Amboli the road is good but again a bouncy ride. The Amboli ghats are in a pathetic state. Roads badly rutted. After Amboli, going on "HoneyBee's" experience I decide to use the Dhanoli shortcut. It is a left turn soon after you descend from the Amboli ghat - pic in post below. The road is vastly improved from when I last used it about 18 months ago. Quite driveable except for 2 or 3 sections of 50 to 100 m each which are potholed - exactly as Honeybee described - but not really a problem. A few rough sections where the topcoat of tar has not been applied to the surface but again, not really an issue. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it is a better road than the Amboli ghat section. However, again it is a bouncy ride all the way and after Amboli ghats and this shortcut, my better half was thoroughly car sick by the time we reached Banda. There is one small section (about 2 Kms long) where it is difficult for two vehicles to pass. Needless to say I ended up "face-to face" with an ST bus just here. No prizes for guessing who had to reverse out of the way!!! All in all not a pleasant drive from Sankeshwar to Sawantwadi/Banda. Total driving time from Mumbai to Mapuca was 9 hours 15 minutes including two stops of about 45 minutes total. Will use the Chorla ghat on the return journey and keep you guys updated.

Regards,
SS

[honeybee]

Ha ha yes the road doesn't always allow two vehicles to pass comfortably. However if you mark the shoulder space beforehand and pull up there to let the oncoming vehicle pass, it shouldn't be much problem. It does force you to wait those few seconds out.

[comfortablynumb]

Hi Folks!

I'm travelling to Goa tomorrow. Plan is Pune-Belgaum tomorrow, stopover at Belgaum to meet some relatives, then Belgaum-Goa via Chorla on Sunday. My destination is Farmagudi Residency (Donshiwado, POnda, Goa 403404) run by GTDC. Could anyone tell me the route to this place after Sanquelim?

Cheers,
Vikram

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Hi Folks!
then Belgaum-Goa via Chorla on Sunday. My destination is Farmagudi Residency (Donshiwado, POnda, Goa 403404) run by GTDC. Could anyone tell me the route to this place after Sanquelim?

Cheers,
Vikram

I think this will show you both options
via Chorla
https://goo.gl/maps/dhnh8

Via Mollem
https://goo.gl/maps/ZP08D

[noopster]

This is an excellent thread!

Drove in a cavalcade of taxis with a huge group from Pune to Goa recently. Our destination was Panaji so Amboli route would have made most sense, but our drivers told us that the cabs lacked Karnataka permits (something about them being hiked to 18000/- per car per year) so we were forced to stay in Maharashtra throughout. Which meant we took the Kolhapur-Gaganbawda-Kankavali-Sawantwadi-Panaji route. Google maps estimates the duration to be just under 8 hours.

Started from Pune city at 5 a.m., picked up various folks and regrouped after the Katraj tunnel shortly after 6, then drove straight on with a stop around 9.30 for breakfast. But our driver missed the left turn in Kolhapur towards Gaganbawda so we wasted an hour trying to catch up with the rest of the group. The road is quite smooth but the detour through Kolhapur town adds too much time to the trip. We stopped at a posh-looking resort on NH17 near Kankavali for a very satisfying lunch.

The drive from then on along NH17 was a breeze. We cruised through Sawantwadi through to the Goa border. I thought it was smoother than even the Amboli route which is my default route to Goa. The border checks (for taxis) add an element of uncertainty to the trip that you don't normally factor in, however. In our case our timing was unfortunate since they had caught a Sumo returning from Goa carrying some contraband. The border officials were in a bad mood and super alert. They harassed our drivers for not wearing regulation whites (they were in their company uniform) and generally delayed us for at least an hour. Plus traffic in Goa was heavy and we needed navigation aids to get us to our hotel, the Panjim Inn. Having budgeted arriving by 4 p.m. it was closer to six p.m. when we reached, and that sent the plans for the evening in a tizzy. Still the drive itself was very comfortable, which helped because we had a couple of very bad travellers, heavily doped on Avomine, in one of the cabs.

Return was much better- same route, no issues at the border, we left just before 8 a.m. and I was home at Chandani Chowk before 6, after a couple of food/bio breaks. It isn't easy travelling in peak summer but a comfortable car (new Innova with captain seats and excellent AC) made it infinitely more bearable!

Edit: Post edited for Rule #11 violation.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by noopster

Which meant we took the Kolhapur-Gaganbawda-Kankavali-Sawantwadi-Panaji route. Google maps estimates the duration to be just under 8 hours.

Started from Pune city at 5 a.m., picked up various folks and regrouped after the Katraj tunnel shortly after 6, then drove straight on with a stop around 9.30 for breakfast. But our driver missed the left turn in Kolhapur towards Gaganbawda so we wasted an hour trying to catch up with the rest of the group.

Not sure which road you guys took to cross Kolhapur towards Radhanagari The best way in my opinion, if you are coming from Pune/Satara side; is to not enter the city. Go past, take the bypass and then come back into the city from the Belgaum side. Then go round the university and you are onto the Radhanahari road.

Route Link


Another option can be not exit at Kolhapur, but drive till Nippani. Exit on the bypass to take the road to Radhanagari.

Route Link

(Of course that beats your purpose as you have to enter KA. ) But its a good option at a cost of 30km. I remember reading about Nippani Radhanagari road being good. I think it was a TL on Malvan.

Here is the link:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...nt-malvan.html