[Nabodit]

I did Pune-Goa on last weekend (13th Apr) with 4 friends, via Amboli ghat. Lots of diversions till Satara although road condition is good, after that excellent road till Kolhapur. Numerous toll booths in this section is a little irritating. Kolhapur to Goa via Amboli is good too, ghat section gives one driving pleasure as always. We started at 1am midnight and reached Bagha beach at 8-30 in the morning. Enough time to have some beer and enjoy the morning sun in beach before checking into hotel at 11 am. Return journey was through same route. We started at 12pm and reached Pune by 10pm, with a 1-30 hour halt at Patlacha wada, Kolhapur for a sumptuous late lunch of mutton biryani and sol kadi.

[CANPUSH]

Anyone traveled to Goa/ Malvan via Phonda/ Gagan bawda ghat recently?

What is road condition? particularly Vaibhavwadi - Talere section?

[pokerface23]

Travelled to Goa 3 weeks ago from Mumbai via Pune - Kolhapur - Gaganbawda - Kankavli - Sawantwadi - Arambol (destination). Left Mumbai at night 9:30 pm. Reached Arambol by 8:30. Took many breaks for dinner, tea, smoke etc. Also had to detour to Hinjewadi to pick a friend. Last patch of 30-odd kms before Kankavli on the Gaganbawda route is bad. Roads full of moon-craters. Otherwise, this is a good route. But I personally prefer the Nipani - Ajara - Amboli - Sawantwadi route if you are travelling to North Goa from Mumbai. Have been taking this route for the last 6-odd years. Have travelled at practically every hour of the day on this route. Night driving is relatively safe if you are used to it. Good roads. Ample places to take breaks for food/tea/smoke etc. My 2 cents if you are driving at night - please take halt only at places where there is ample light and people around. The safe bets are toll plazas, petrol pumps and restaurants. I have heard of instances of kidnapping and robbery around Nipani where people have halted on the highway to take a leak.

My general itinerary for a night drive from Mumbai (Chembur) to Goa is as follows. This may be of help for those who plan to do a night drive. I'd suggest leaving Mumbai by around 7 pm. I stay in Chembur so have been able to exit the city and hit the Mumbai Pune expressway by 8:15 pm. This section is a breeze and can be done easily without breaks. Just before the Khed - Shivapur toll plaza after Pune, there are 2-3 restaurants on either side of the highway which serve mutton bhakri. Jai Bhawani and Jagdamba are the more famous ones. It's a good place for dinner and for the first break. Hope to reach here by around 10 pm. Post a sumptuous dinner, Khed-shivapur to Nipani is a breeze and you can expect to cover this distance in little below 4 hours if you are used to driving continuously. The next break can be taken at the turning ahead of Nipani towards Amboli where you leave NH4. There are shops/restaurants open through the night serving tea and selling cigarettes. A break here is a must because the next 100-odd kms would be through dense forest and winding roads and a few ghat sections as well. Expect to reach here by 3 am. You can expect to see a beautiful sunrise on the ghats. Expect to reach North Goa by 7:30. I drive a wagonR and usually drive steady at 100-120 kmph. These timings are in a wagonR. Bigger cars can surely make it quicker. The Satara - Kolhapur - Nipani section is an absolute peach of a stretch of tarmac. Happy revving

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[JohnnyBoss]

I will be visiting Goa with family next week and staying at Candolim. Planning a drive to Tiracol and then to Malvan via Vengurla, Tarkrali (the coastal route). Is the route scenic and roads good? Since it will be my first drive to that area, anything to be specifically taken care of?

TIA

Posting this again as it is felt that my earlier post was in wrong thread.

[libranof1987]

This weekend: 28/29th (onward) and 1-May (return) is the Times Womens' Drive so there'll be about 200-250 cars on the road going from Mumbai/Pune to Goa. Good luck!

Similar from Hyd/Bangalore.

[CANPUSH]

Originally Posted by pokerface23

Travelled to Goa 3 weeks ago from Mumbai via Pune - Kolhapur - Gaganbawda - Kankavli - Sawantwadi - Arambol (destination). Left Mumbai at night 9:30 pm. Reached Arambol by 8:30. Took many breaks for dinner, tea, smoke etc. Also had to detour to Hinjewadi to pick a friend. Last patch of 30-odd kms before Kankavli on the Gaganbawda route is bad. Roads full of moon-craters. Otherwise, this is a good route. [/url].[/b]

You mean road between Vaibhav wadi and Talere is still in bad shape.

Thanks for information.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

This weekend: 28/29th (onward) and 1-May (return) is the Times Womens' Drive so there'll be about 200-250 cars on the road going from Mumbai/Pune to Goa.

Just did the trip. Went via Pune-Kolhapur-Nippani-Ajara-Amboli-Sawantwadi to reach Panaji. Took about 10 hrs in all excluding the breaks. There was some traffic due to diversions between the Pune-Satara stretch, but Fastag saved the day as most places they were not allowing non fastag vehicles in the lanes.

Return was on Sunday and left Goa at 11am and reached home by 10.30pm after taking the Chorla route. On the way back, spent about an hr or so in Pune. Return saw very less traffic on the roads and made it a relaxed drive back home.

Hands down the Chorla route is the best. Less traffic, more curves and greenery. The Amboli route is like a long suspension testing track. I think whatever time was saved thanks to it being shorter than Chorla was wasted due to bad roads.

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Hands down the Chorla route is the best. Less traffic, more curves and greenery. The Amboli route is like a long suspension testing track. I think whatever time was saved thanks to it being shorter than Chorla was wasted due to bad roads.

Hah! Finally someone who agrees with me!! I have been saying the above for the last 5 years. Glad to hear you enjoyed the drive Blackwasp.

Regards,
SS

[Who_are_you]

Completed Pune - Goa trip via different route last weekend.

To : Pune - Satara - Kholapur -- Belgaum -- Dharwad - Anmod -- Mollem - Ponda by pass - cavelossim, Goa

Roads are in good shape, many check post in Karnataka due to the election. The speed limit on Goa highways in 60 Kmph and police is suspending the license of offenders for 3 months.


Fro: cavelossim-- Cabo de rama -- Palolem --Talpona -- Dandeli -- Dharwad -- Belgaum - Kohlapur -- Satara -- Pune

Roads are good, few unmarked speed breakers in Karnataka.

All tolls are accepting Fastag and few have a dedicated lane for fastag users.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

Follow up to the post below.

A friend of mine just drove down to Goa a few days ago. He was driving a Goa registered car.
He was stopped just after crossing the Colvale Bridge (Coming in from Amboli / Sawantwadi) by Traffic Police for speeding.
The bridge has a speed limit of 40Kmph and he claims he was doing 45-46 Kmph.
He had to pay a fine Rs. 300 and his license was confiscated. His license was issued in Poona and the Goa Police have told him that it will be delivered to his home address in Poona after about a month. A receipt was issued for the same.

I really don't see the point of confiscating the license. He is still driving on the receipt and has paid the fine so what are they achieving? Just more hassle for the driver if the license is lost en route to his home city.

This Colvale bridge has been a favourite place of the Goa Police for years now. There used to be a female police inspector there with an Esteem "Interceptor" who would wait for all the Bombay cars to come in in the afternoon and catch them one by one.
Would advise all BHP'ians to be extra cautious and maintain speed limits when driving in Goa - especially on bridges. The two main bridges over the Mandovi (Panjim) and Zuari now have traffic cameras installed and "Speeding" challans are sent directly to your home address.

Regards,
SS

[Dodge_Viper]

Thanks for the info guys. I hope all the speed limits are mentioned on all roads.

[vishy76]

Hello folks.

Planning a trip from Vadodara to Goa in May (around 20th). Will be taking a break in Bombay for 2 days and then leave for Goa. Need route suggestions accordingly:

- The main purpose is to beat the heat associated with this part of India in May.

- Traffic should be less and roads should be good

Taking these into consideration, should we take the NH4 or the coastal route? If coastal route, please do elaborate a bit in detail.

Thanks in advance.

[CANPUSH]

Originally Posted by vishy76

Hello folks.

Planning a trip from Vadodara to Goa in May (around 20th). Will be taking a break in Bombay for 2 days and then leave for Goa. Need route suggestions accordingly:

- The main purpose is to beat the heat associated with this part of India in May.

- Traffic should be less and roads should be good

Taking these into consideration, should we take the NH4 or the coastal route? If coastal route, please do elaborate a bit in detail.

Thanks in advance.

Traffic should be less is high hope!

The Mumbai - Goa Highway (NH66) that passes through Panvel-Chiplun is scenic but quite a winding two lane road with good amount of traffic. That makes the progress slow! Very rarely you can travel at 80 kmph for a while.

Most of Mumbai people take Pune - Kolhapur - Nipani - Ajra - Amboli - Sawantwadi - Goa (NH48) route
or Kolhapur - Belgaum - Jamboti - Chorla - Goa route.

This route is fast being four lane divided highway but not scenic until you leave the highway and travel towards hills.

Coastal road is not complete but you can enjoy the completed stretch between Vengurla and Ratnagiri/ Ganpatipule. For that if you wish to travel while going, you need to leave Mumbai Bangalore highway at Kolhapur and descend via Amba ghat to reach Ratnagiri/ Ganpatipule. The coastal part is strictly one and half lane but scenic.

Rough estimate of time.

Mumbai Goa by NH 66 should take close to 18 hours. Add another couple of hours if you divert to coastal road.

NH48 via Chorla should take Max. 12 hours.

Happy trip!

[deutscheafrikar]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Guys,

Would advise all BHP'ians to be extra cautious and maintain speed limits when driving in Goa - especially on bridges. The two main bridges over the Mandovi (Panjim) and Zuari now have traffic cameras installed and "Speeding" challans are sent directly to your home address.

Regards,
SS

Got caught once on the Zuari bridge way back in '98 where the cops had a speed gun and said I was over the limit. They were going to fine me 400/-. Let me off with a hundred. Guess I was lucky. Times have changed now.

[moralfibre]

Drove to Wildernest in Chorla ghat for a weekend trip with family. The pain of passing Belgaum city traffic and hundreds of speed breakers all the way till Chorla can't be expressed. I continue to believe that Amboli is the best bet to Goa.

Chorla route is good if you can live with the array of speed bumps everywhere and can manage to route through the painful traffic of Belgaum and Piranwadi.