[praveen789]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

3. Carry all original car documents in a file as you will be crossing state borders.

Hi! Is this some new requirement asked by the cops off late? I have travelled multiple times in the past (last was in early 2022) and been checked multiple times as well but they are satisfied with the Digilocker/mParivahan digital copies. I am wary of carrying originals in case it gets misplaced.

[suzuki san]

Originally Posted by praveen789

Hi! Is this some new requirement asked by the cops off late? I have travelled multiple times in the past (last was in early 2022) and been checked multiple times as well but they are satisfied with the Digilocker/mParivahan digital copies. I am wary of carrying originals in case it gets misplaced.

Hi Praveen,

When travelling by road, I make a small file with copies of all my car documents, personal ID, driving license and Covid vaccination certificates. All in individual see through plastic envelopes in the file.
I just hand over the file to the police and end the story. Original car file is in my suitcase.
I rather not hand over my phone and then start hunting for documents and wasting time with Digilocker etc. Believe me, you give them the file and you will be clear in 2 minutes or less.
Regards,
SS.

[Pras92003]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Pras92003


10. Keep G Maps on at all times. Carry a good car charger. Carry a few of those cheap black stick on sunshades. Carry a good music playlist or USB with you. Carry snacks and plenty of water. Do a thorough check of your XL6 at least a week before departure. Check tyre pressure in all 5 tyres. If any belts are suspect, change them.

Regards,
SS

Thank you very much. So much detail. I can't appreciate enough Suzuki San. Take a bow. I will be careful and am much better equipped now to handle my first long road trip. ☺️☺️

[s4ch]

Originally Posted by s4ch

Did Pune > Karad > Anuskura > Karepatan > NH66 route yesterday Dec 12, 2022 in a Scorpio.

My hot take:

...

Will I take this route again?

Agonda > Anusukura Ghat > Karad > Pune

So I took this route on the way back on December 22, 2022, with a slight modification.

Agonda - started at 7am, took the main highway NH66 to Panjim, slow going because of single lane roads and some morning traffic, reached Panjim at 9am. Stopped at Cremeux for breakfast and packed some lunch for the journey. Recommended stop as just 5 mins off the highway, parking available in the morning just outside.

Panjim > Oni via NH66: Once out of Panjim the roads are good for the most part with at least 4 lanes. Small stretches with single lanes just before the MH border where work is ongoing but nothing to worry about.

Note: I strongly suggest to ignore the Google Maps suggestion to cut off NH66 at Kharepatan and join State Highways till Anuskura. The roads are terrible and seem like a never ending journey. Instead stay on NH66, cross Rajapur and head towards Oni, nice 4/6 laned highways, except a small stretch under construction. This route is slightly longer km wise, but MUCH easier to drive.

Oni > Anuskura Ghat: Once you exit NH66 around Oni, it is only 15 mins till you join the point where GMaps earlier suggested to exit at Kharepatan to join this same road. Roads from Oni to the ghat have improved drastically over the last 10 days, road works are ongoing and gravel roads have been flattened and are in finishing stages. Pretty smooth to drive on. Anuskura ghat can be crossed in about 25 mins, roads are a little rough but no craters.

Anuskura > Karad: Beautiful smooth roads, relaxed driving all the way.

Karad > Pune: Nice and easy as always. Once you cross Karad, there is a Shell petrol pump on the left side which has clean toilets and sells snacks. Diesel is 115rs though. A few km further on the left is a new Vitthal Kamat, big and spacious, fast food and coffee.

TL;DR: Overall this is a good route but it is long. Without stops and non stop driving you are looking at 10 hours. However roads are good for the most part (especially if sticking to NH66 via Oni) and it is a stress free drive. Recommended if you want to avoid Belgaum and KA/MH border areas with the recent unrest.

Suggestions:

1) Between Oni and Karad, there are very few petrol pumps, so recommend to fill up somewhere on NH66. Not too many places but one at least every 30-40km so plan accordingly.

2) There are speed interceptors around Kankavali in both directions, so watch your speed. Speed limit is 80 I think.

3) This route has 5 ghats in total, so keep in mind if you have passengers who get motion sickness. If you take it slow then shouldn't be a problem.

4) No mobile network in patches for approx 20km in the section between Oni and Karad, so download offline maps in advance.

5) We were not stopped anywhere however did see some MH12 cars being stopped for checking, supposedly for carrying alcohol.

6) As of December 22, 2022 there are no tolls being collected on the entire NH66 stretch from Agonda to Oni. So total toll expenditure on this route was Rs260 only from the 3 tolls on NH48 (110+75+75). So did not feel rough filling up at Shell as it balanced out!

[PGNarain]

Drove down to Goa for our annual trip on Friday,23rd Dec.

Started from Belapur, Navi Mumbai at 3.45am and reached Betalbatim, South Goa at 3.50pm, almost exactly 12 hours later! Stopped for 15 mins at Pune by-pass, 10mins at Shell Pump after the Khed-Shibpur Toll, 30mins at Sai International Kolhapur for Breakfast, 10mins before Uttur for Tea, 30mins at Amboli ghat for Maggi and Tea Lunch

Got held up in bad traffic jams at Lonavala Ghats for about 15-20 mins and then again just before Kolhapur (due to a truck breaking down) for about 15 mins. On entering Goa, I kept real slow and never once crossed 70kmph at any time for fear of speed challans as advised here, even though it was painfully frustrating!

No checking for car docs or stopping vehicles anywhere throughout the trip.

Took the Belapur - Pune - Karad - Kolhapur - Nippani - Uttur - Ajra - Amboli - Banda - Goa route as recommended by Gmaps and on most replies here. Our usual route to South Goa, via the Bhimgadh WLS was showing almost the same time but decided to try Amboli Ghat and will use the Anmod Ghat Road on the way back!

Road condition throughout is very good and nothing really to worry about! Road leading upto Amboli Ghats has a few bad patches but for small sections only. What bothered me more were some long sections of patched roads which will make your car dance about and happen to come up suddenly. Also, getting stuck behind slow moving trucks, sugar carts, buses makes progress slow. A fair bit of passenger traffic was also very unruly, wrong lane driving, overtaking on blind curves et al.

Drive Safe and enjoy!

[darkcloud84]

Hi,

I am planning to travel from Pune to Goa next week in my own car (MH registered). Do I need to apply for any any permit for driving own car in Goa?

Thanks.

[rohansd]

Any reccomendations for breakfast place in or around Rajapur or Kankavali ?

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by darkcloud84

I am planning to travel from Pune to Goa next week in my own car (MH registered). Do I need to apply for any any permit for driving own car in Goa?

No; just drive. Ensure you have the PUC up to date, have all the main documents (RC, DL) on DigiLocker / original physical, and follow speed limits.

[NFS2024]

Folks - which is the better route from Belgaum to North Goa, Candolim these days.

Also given the year end rush, what are the possibilities of getting stuck in long jams. Have an infant, hence these questions. Anybody traveled very recently, please share your inputs.

[rohansd]

Here is my update.
I drove from a resort in Amba ghat to Madgaon yesterday. Anuskura would have taken me an extra 20 kms so I decided to go down Amba ghat. Luckily Amba ghat has been resurfaced and I didnt find any bad patch or potholes except at one point where road widening has been in progress for a while now. That would be hardly 50 m patch.
After Amba ghat, 17 kms strip from Dabhole to Lanja has some bad patches and I made it to Lanjha in 1 hr .The NH66 highway patch between Lanjha and Rajapur is still under construction and it was mostly 2 lane patches of concrete with many diversions..
After Rajapur the road is a 4 lane highway and I made it to Kankanvali in 2 hrs and upto Panaji in 5 hrs 15 mins.On my way to Madgaon, I got stuck in a 20 mins jam at the Zuari bridge due to its closure and the rest of the journey was uneventful.
On my way back, I may exit NH66 at Watul and take SH175 to avoid the under construction Rajapur Lanjha
section of NH66 and go via Amba ghat , Kokrud, Karad upto Pune

[rohansd]

Hi friends,
What would be recommended places for breakfast and washroom breaka on NH66 around Sawantwadi or Kankavli? I will be starting tomorrow morning from Colva.

[PGNarain]

Happy New Year Everyone…

Originally Posted by PGNarain

…. and will use the Anmod Ghat Road on the way back!

So, we drove down from South Goa and took the Betalbatim - Ponda - Anmod Ghat -Bhimgadh WLS - Khanapur - Belgaum - Navi Mumbai route, stopping overnight at Belgaum.

For anyone travelling to or from South Goa to Mumbai / Pune, I would seriously recommend taking Anmod Ghat simply because the Ghat roads are just too much fun to drive on. The tar section of Anmod is a smooth, well marked and an amazing twisty ribbon through the Ghats. I had a blast pushing my Carens (in sports mode) up the Ghats! The concrete section too is not bad, but just not as good as the tarred section.

The only bad patches on this route are of course the stretch in the Bhimgadh WLS after, which starts after Rangarok Village and is about 4kms only! Perfectly manageable and I really babied my Caren through and yet completed it within 20mins.


After this, about a kilometre stretch on either side of the railway crossing just before you reach Khanapur is bad and the route is otherwise great, even within the WLS

Only other downsides are single lane roads can make progress slow if you get stuck behind a slow moving bus, truck and safe overtakes are difficult to say the least! Also, saw a lot of heavy traffic and much more than previous years resulting in tight passes like the one below.


Other than this, saw speed guns and traffic police out in full force within Goa, but they seemed to only be targeting traffic coming into Goa.

[Figopian]

Drove from Utorda, South Goa to Pune in the last week of December, took Amboli ghat road both ways and the roads are all good. Even the roads near Ajra Amboli stretch are redone and no real issues. Pune -> Nipani -> Uttur -> Ajra -> Amboli -> Danoli Market -> Banda -> Panjim -> Utorda.

Heavy traffic near Zuari bridge as the bridge is still incomplete, but otherwise a very nice drive.

OT - For everyone coming or going via Anmod ghat, Mollem into or out of Goa, there is a place called 'Amigos' near Dharbandora, this is a must try for all fish lovers!

[comfortablynumb]

Originally Posted by PGNarain

So, we drove down from South Goa and took the Betalbatim - Ponda - Anmod Ghat -Bhimgadh WLS - Khanapur - Belgaum - Navi Mumbai route, stopping overnight at Belgaum..

Hello, while using this route, did you face any issues because of the protests that were happening on the highway some days ago due to the KA - MH border dispute? Or is the situation ok to travel via Belgaum now?

[PGNarain]

Originally Posted by comfortablynumb

Hello, while using this route, did you face any issues because of the protests that were happening on the highway...

I did notice some picketing (small crowds and pandals) near the highway just outside Belgaum, but can't confirm if it was due to the ongoing tussle between MH and KA or something else all together. We, however did not have any issues and neither encountered any traffic jam, traffic barriers etc whatsoever.

To be clear, we did not transit through Belgaum and came directly from Khanapur up the highway and stayed at Fairfield Belgaum, reached in the evening after dark around 7pm and left the next morning around 4.30am for Mumbai!