[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Is this mapping of the above route correct?

https://goo.gl/maps/DKkmE9mNtBE2

Cheers,
Vikram

Yes this is correct. But, if you manage to do Nippani - Amboli in your car, the road down via Insuli won't seem so bad.

[Sawyer]

@ post 2190 above - Vikram:
Yep, that's the one. The white marked road through Insuli is also seen on the map, the hypotenuse I referred to. That one is shorter and is the usual road one takes leaving Sawantwadi for Goa, but even with good surfaces when present, is slower because it is narrower/twistier. A couple of weeks ago, the shattered surface made it even slower.
And there is no need to bypass Uttur, the roads are ok there; it is Ajra Amboli that needs slow driving. But my Civic did not bottom once, and I would not go all the way to Chorla to avoid just this and add more time for North Goa by doing so.

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by sukiwa

Absolutely correct.

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Yes this is correct. But, if you manage to do Nippani - Amboli in your car, the road down via Insuli won't seem so bad.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

@ post 2190 above - Vikram:
Yep, that's the one.

Thanks folks. My usual route is either Anmod or Chorla, but taking Amboli tomorrow as we are staying in the Calangute area this time.

The in-depth research on options with decent road conditions is mainly driven by a wish to keep the "I told you so" dialogues from the bitter half to a minimum, and not so much by consideration for the vehicle.

Cheers,
Vikram

[Sawyer]

Lol. Good luck with that. The customer is always right philosophy you learnt at work applies here as well, with a small mod.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Just checked Nippani - Sankeshwar - Gadhinglaj - Amboli - Sawantwadi, adds only 9 kms compared to going via Nippani - Uttur - Ajra - Amboli - Sawantwadi

If you have decided to travel via Amboli, then avoid the Sankeshwar Gadhinglaj route. The road is just too narrow and there are too many interruptions along the way.

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

The in-depth research on options with decent road conditions is mainly driven by a wish to keep the "I told you so" dialogues from the bitter half to a minimum, and not so much by consideration for the vehicle.

I presume you will be driving in your Scorpio, so the ride cannot be much worse. In fact the ground clearance will only help.

For me the most tedious section while driving to/ from Goa is the section Pune to/ from Shirwal (and perhaps the Kolhapur bypass). Too many diversions and a lot of idiots crossing the median in all sizes of vehicles. Maybe once I am away from the urban sprawl, my patience increases

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

For me the most tedious section while driving to/ from Goa is the section Pune to/ from Shirwal (and perhaps the Kolhapur bypass). Too many diversions and a lot of idiots crossing the median in all sizes of vehicles.

That section is a lot better on the return drive, so I agree with you. And leaving Pune before 5 am, the two wheeler commuters one meets at 8 am while entering the Kolhapur area require extreme alertness that can be tiring. That continues till the left turn to MIDC Kagal after which there is always a sigh of relief.

[vivek95]

Adding to all the above, presently Belgaum city is experiencing heavy traffic on Congress road ( that leads on to Chorla/Goa highway eventually ) because of umpteen diversions following a demolition of an old ROB. Congress road itself is broken at many places that slows down the traffic. Thus it is better to avoid Chorla route if you are coming from Mumbai/Pune and heading towards North Goa. Stick to Amboli route.

[abeerbagul]

Going thru Gadhinglaj is not a good idea, the town is always crowded and the highway going in and out of the town sees a lot of local traffic.

Going via Uttur, the road surface is pretty good and this road is mostly used by people going to Goa so the traffic moves fast.

[Chinmayd]

Last Sunday Panjim to Bandra took 15 long hours... It started with the horrible road conditions on the Sawantwadi - Ajra - Nipani route and got worse with huge traffic jams on the Satara - Pune stretch. Guess there was additional Sunday traffic as well.
The road expansion work between Satara and Pune meant there were some 5 spots where we had bumper to bumper traffic for a km at least. At one point spent 20 mins between neutral and first gear; this on a stretch we have covered at 80 kmph many times in the past.
Guess driving back on Sunday was not a smart decision either. Anyone with similar plans...please make a note.

[CANPUSH]

Originally Posted by Chinmayd

Guess driving back on Sunday was not a smart decision either. Anyone with similar plans...please make a note.

Last Sunday there were traffic issues in entire western Maharashtra!

Usually the Road between Satara and Pune has this congestion issue on last day of long weekends and holidays.

[Sawyer]

That is usually because of people returning from Mahabaleshwar/Panchgani. This has been so for quite some time and is a time to avoid; starting from the afternoon of the Sunday.

[harryputtar]

Back from a relaxing Goa trip on Saturday late night folks.

Took the Goa Ves, Ajara, Amboli, Sawantwadi, NH-17 route to North Goa this time, and touched our resort in Vagator in 10 and a half hours, which is slow I know, but is 1 and a half hours faster than our previous best (12 hours via Chorla). Ajara to Amboli was slow, and had killer potholes as others pointed out, but nothing you cannot avoid if you drive past carefully. My Jetta did OK on this route, we had a few close ones, and few pothole crunches, but nothing which left any lasting effect on the Jetta.

On the way back from Goa, I made the mistake of straying from NH-17 on the way to Sawantwadi, and went under a subway to join the road to Banda, half an hour into the really bad road I realised my mistake and turned back to re-join NH-17. Unfortunately I lost almost an hour in the process.

Anyway, stopped at Hotel Minerva for a tea break, and at Sangam Hotel in Karad for a dinner break. All in all, touched home in exactly 12 hours, with about 2 hours in breaks. The timing was annoying, as I was hoping to improve on the way back as well. But I guess the hour-long distraction proved costly.

Anyway, the drive was not bad at all, and I would like to thank the forum members for giving me the confidence to try a new route.

[comfortablynumb]

Well, as they say, the best laid plans of mice & men...

At the last moment, I had to reduce the duration of my stay to 3 days and started on Saturday instead of Friday. That meant taking the 1st stop at our family deity near Sanquelim, which necessitated going via Chorla rather than Amboli. Road condition is still pretty good all through, and surprisingly, crossing Belgaum wasn't too much of a pain. Return journey was also via Chorla.

Cheers,
Vikram

[harryputtar]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Road condition is still pretty good all through, and surprisingly, crossing Belgaum wasn't too much of a pain. Return journey was also via Chorla.

What did your timelines look like and whats your ride? Sorry to pry, but really curious

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by harryputtar

What did your timelines look like and whats your ride? Sorry to pry, but really curious

No problem. I drive a Scorpio, and started at 5:30 AM from Kothrud, reached Narve (near Bicholim) around 2:30 PM. Spent some time at the temple there and took another hour from there to Calangute. So a total of approx. 10 hours (including tea and lunch break) from my house till the resort, excluding time spent at the temple. Total time taken on the return leg was almost the same, but split in 2 stages as we stayed in Kolhapur to visit the Mahalaxmi temple.

Do bear in mind though, that I am quite a sedate driver. So, when folks say that they do the same route in 8.5 - 9 hours, it is quite possible for a fast driver in a better handling vehicle.

Cheers,
Vikram