[me@fiat]

Thanks mate, sure i will update here. I am taking my Punto and yes will be driving alone. also it seems like you missed my Serene wood Point*

Originally Posted by saildrive

me@fiat

Have a great and safe drive. I am hoping you are driving a fiat (punto, linea, what have you?). Are you driving alone etc.

Do post your feedback on the trip so that we get to learn a few things from it!

Cheers
S

[ampere]

Originally Posted by saildrive

1) Read about the roads, have driven to Mangalore and Bangalore to Mumbai twice when I had a Xeta GLS 2007 & 2012, but times have changed - dont know how much the roads have?

They have only improved over time.

2) I have a 3 year old and so am planning to start at 5/5.30 am on 3rd drive upto Kolhapur/Hubli - stay and then head out to Coorg next morning. Is it advisable for one driver (myself) to take the brunt of the road and any city that I have to be careful about

If you can make it to Hubli then great. Else Belgaum (Sankam)

Second day: Belgaum-Hubli-Ranebennur-Shimoga-Arsikere-CR Patna-Holenarasipur-Arkalgud-Shaniwarsanthe-Somwarpet-Madikeri

4) What are the sightseeing options in Coorg (3 nights) and Nagarhole (planning for 1 night) in both these places. As it feels that I will be driving for 4 days and staying in the above places for 4 nights and doing a sizeable amount of driving too. What options or suggestions do the experts feel on the above will be extremely helpful.

It will be hot. So you need to factor that in.

I am keen to drive, wife is a bit concerned since I will be driving alone etc. etc. But now that my flight options have gone out the window I think it (road trip) was meant to be!
Look forward to hearing from you guys soon

Its quite possible. A sedate driving on the highway can still take you places. You dont have to push it too far. I follow the same rule.

Originally Posted by me@fiat

[*]Day 5 - Start back for Pune (Same route)

Same route back? Do you plan to catch up with friends on the way back too? If no then you should go via Shimoga

[me@fiat]

Thanks Ampere!!
Yes I would have loved to tried the suggested route but we plan to take a hault in Gokarna again. Still you never know there can be last min changes to the plan.

[saildrive]

Thanks Ampere!

Will make sure I follow the route to the T.

I am thinking of doing a detour to Goa it would be great if you could share some info on that front

Thanks again
S

[saildrive]

Originally Posted by me@fiat

I am starting my drive tomorrow evening from Pune to Madikeri. I will be taking my Punto.
As of now, this is what i have in a mind:

1. Pune-Kolhapur : start from pune around 5 pm and reach Kolhapur atleast by 9 pm take a hault in Kolhapur
2. Day 2 - Start early morning from Kolhapur and reach Gokarna, Take a hault at Gokarna
3. Day 3- Start from Gokarna and reach madikeri Via Mangaluru, Stay at Madikeri for atleast 2 days
4. Day 5 - Start back for Pune (Same route)

Dont want to rush in any stretch, as I plan to catch up with few friends at Gokarna and Mangaluru. What I have heard from a friend of mine, is that the roads till Udupi are really nice. Where as we all know current conditions of roads till Kolhapur.

Also, If you dont mind then can you please share the per day charge for Serene woods? That property looks really fab.[its 5500 per night (double occupancy)]

me@fiat
Its 5500 per night (double occupancy with breakfast and dinner)

[ampere]

Originally Posted by saildrive

I am thinking of doing a detour to Goa it would be great if you could share some info on that front

If you hit Goa then : NH17 is the best option to Madikeri.

Madgao-Karwar-Ankola-Murdeshwar-Udupi-Mangalore-Puttur-Jalsoor-Sullia-Madikeri

[me@fiat]

1) Pune - Satara: Nothing to write about. Avg road conditions lots of diversions. Toll: approx. INR 150
2) Satara – Kolhapur: Road quality improves drastically. Nice road and we can really drive at high speed. Toll: INR 139.
3) Kolhapur – Hubballi/Dharwad Bypass: Fantastic roads. Road quality is simply outstanding. This complete stretch is very nicely maintained unlike our Maharashtra roads. Toll: apprx INR 140
4) Hubballi/Dharwad Bypass – Kalghatgi: Single lane road but road quality is still excellent.
You have to take a sharp left near Yerikoppa Village. Toll: INR 50. On this toll naka you don’t need to pay any additional toll just show them the toll receipt from previous toll. They will tear it in to half and handover the part of it. Road conditions are good, we can do a high speed in most of the stretches but expect speed breakers while passing through the villages. So, Be careful.
5) Kalghatgi- Yellapur-Baleguli cross: Undoubtedly this is the best stretch. Lovely laid tar road passing through forest area twists and turns. Fantastic road to drive on. My Punto was on her home ground. I did a really high speed on this stretch. It was a cake walk for Punto and experience was mind-blowing. Toll: No toll. I was so surprised. If this would have been Maharashtra we could have end up paying at least INR 150. That too without roads.
6) Baleguli cross – Ankola - Gokarna – Kumta – Murudeshwar – Bhatkal – Udupi – Mangaluru:
There is lot of road construction work going on this complete stretch. But, roads are still drivable. In few sections they are so-so. But the more you move towards Mangaluru road conditions improves. In few stretches they have two lane road with proper dividers and surface is really smooth. But expect quite a many diversions. Toll: Once again not even a single Rupee. But, can see that in near future there will be at least couple of tolls on this route. But, It would be worth Paying for.

Will update more on my Itinerary, places to halt, food joints and Fuel stations in my next post with possibly with some pics. Hope this helps.

[saildrive]

me@fiat

Great update. Would be great if you tell us about the time you took at each of the sections and any halts you took. What were the timings - you started, in between halts and stopovers (overnight).

Any hotels that you stayed in, charges, service etc.

As I had informed you - I am driving with my kids and wife, just wanna make sure I soak in the roads and the beautiful landscapes at the best time of the day.

I intend to leave Mumbai (Mira Road) at about 5 am in the morning and drive upto Hubli if I am not too tired. Mira Road to Hubli is 9 hours & Hubli to Madekeri is 8 hours so depending upon how all things pan out plan to hit the bed early and start early too.

Have a safe drive!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by saildrive

me@fiat

Great update. Would be great if you tell us about the time you took at each of the sections and any halts you took. What were the timings - you started, in between halts and stopovers (overnight).

Please note he has taken a different route to Madikeri, because had to go to Gokarna/Bangalore.

For you it would be pretty much mile crunching till Hubli and the same the second day as well. You can see nice country side once you are off the four lane towards Shimoga from Ranebennur.

[me@fiat]

For you it would be pretty much mile crunching till Hubli and the same the second day as well. You can see nice country side once you are off the four lane towards Shimoga from Ranebennur.[/quote]

correct saildrive do consider this!!!

I started on wednesday around 4.pm from pune and reached olhapur around 7.30. decided to take a halt in Kolhapur, so that will be able to take Mahalaxmi darshan as well. Saw a Hotel Landmark, near dabholkar corner, did a quick room check and booked an AC room. Didn't wanted to spend much of a time in visiting different hotels. INR 1100/-.

Dumped my luggage in the room parked a car and took a rick to Mahalaxmi temple. While coming back had a dinner in ‘ Hotel Rajpurush’ which is bang opposite to Kolhapur station. The food was just awesome, authentic Maharashtrian Veg food. It’s actually very famous and quite a many Marathi actors have already visited this place. Their THALI section is MUST try!!!



On next day morning we started from Kolhapur and reached Gokarna around 1.00pm. My best friend has his ancestral home in Gokarna, so went straight to his home got fresh and spent some time at his home.

In the evening we went to a place called Ram-teertha.


It was so beautiful, so peaceful, after a long time I was feeling so relaxed. We didn't spoke much we just sat for couple of hours and on our way back enjoyed a windy beach walk.

By the time we were in love with Gokarna and we decided to call out or Madikeri plans. So the plan was to catch up with my best buddy and spend a time which we would remember for a rest of our life.

We spent two days full days in Gokarna had a great time in this small village. In these two days we visited in and around places, the best one out of the lot was OM beach.







It was just fantastic, there is a cafe called Namaste Cafe its bang on place. We spent close to 6 hours in this caffee once again very few words were exchanged we were completely at peace.

In the evening once again went to Ramtheertha and enjoyed a mesmerizing sunset.

On Saturday we started for Mangalore and reached Mangalore in another 4-5 hours of a time. In Mangalore we stayed at Hotel Moti Mahal.

On Sunday while returning back did a quick visit of Murudeshwar and then we returned back to Gokarna and spent time in leisure.


On Monday we started back for pune. On the way back we were looking for a nice resto for a quick breakfast and fortunately we decided to stop at Hotel Kokan Spice (2.4 kms from baleguli cross towards Yellapur).

While travelling from Kolhapur to Gokarna we had faced a tough time to find a good resto which would cool down our bellies. So, i was not very sure about how this resto would be, but saw couple of MH-15 cars parked in the resto and it’s name and decided to take a chance. But, let me tell you this place is really excellent. It’s a savior place for a travelers on this stretch. Lovely group of owners, extremely fresh and testy food and VFM. Nicely maintained restrooms, covered parking for your car.



Nice view and good service. So, people those who are travelling on this stretch should not miss this place. Once had a breakfast we once again started for Pune and continued till pune with couple of bio breaks. So, all in all it was a fantastic, relaxing trip. Though we initially started for Madikeri we finally ended up a destination that we would remember for rest of my life.

[me@fiat]

ooops the order of the pictures got screwed up royally.

[Ashokkp]

Hello ALL

Planning to drive with family from Mumbai to Coorg via Mysore.

Plan:

Day 1 halt at Davanagere
Day 2 at Mysore-- couple of nights
Day 3 at Coorg- Couple of nights and then onwards to my hometown Palakkad in Kerala,

Google maps throws up 3 options for Davengere to Mysore viz 1)Via NH150 & NH4- Diversion from AH47 at Hiriyur.

2. Via NH4- Diversion from Tumkuru via Kudur, Kunighal etc

3. Via NH4 and NH275- Diversion from Dabaspete.

A)Which route would you recommend as my prime consideration is good roads with less chance of getting lost. I would like to avoid single lane roads.

B) Is my travel plan workable? I am reasonably confident of reaching Davanagere on the first day; but have no clue about the other legs of the journey.

C) Is May first week a good time to spend time in Mysore and Coorg?

D) I am planning to stick with Airbnb options for accommodation in Mysore and Coorg. Any good hotel in Davanagere for overnite?

E) I do not wish to drive after sun down.



Regards
Ashok

NB: I am driving in my 1.9TDi Octavia Elegance.

[MSMILES]

Originally Posted by Ashokkp

Hello ALL

Planning to drive with family from Mumbai to Coorg via Mysore....driving in my 1.9TDi Octavia Elegance.

Taking all those criteria into consideration, the best route would be to stick to NH4 all the way to Nice Road Junction after Nelamangala, join Mysore Road and take the Bangalore Mysore road. The road till Nelamangala is a breeze and will not tire you at all. The Bangalore Mysore road is also a 4 lane road with dividers. You also have plenty of pitstops on the Bangalore Mysore road for any intended breaks.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Ashokkp

Via NH150 & NH4- Diversion from AH47 at Hiriyur.

Take this first option. Davanagere-Hiriyur-Huliar-Neligere-Nagamangala-Srirangapatna-Mysore.

- This was a SH which now has been turned to a NH.
- Its a 2-lane road with around villages/towns. But a pleasure to drive.
- Since you start early from Davanagere on a fresh day, it would be easy to cover.

Taking all those criteria into consideration, the best route would be to stick to NH4 all the way to Nice Road Junction after Nelamangala, join Mysore Road and take the Bangalore Mysore road. The road till Nelamangala is a breeze and will not tire you at all. The Bangalore Mysore road is also a 4 lane road with dividers. You also have plenty of pitstops on the Bangalore Mysore road for any intended breaks.

I think it does not make sense. Its easily 100km extra. You dont gain much from the 4-lane. And on top; the moment you hit Tumkur, traffic goes up big time. Its again chaos till you reach Nelamangala. Add to it time spent in two toll booths before Nelamangala. I think it much better to take Hiriyur-Neligere-Srirangaptna.

If you need to break for food:
Once you hit Neligere (the point on the 4-laned Bangalore-Hassan road), right adjacent to toll booth, take right towards Hassan. Within a few km you have a Coffee Day.

[Klub Class]

Originally Posted by Ashokkp

Google maps throws up 3 options for Davengere to Mysore

I usually do Mysore - Srirangapatna - Pandavapura Nagamangala - Nelligere - Turuvekere -Kibbanahalli Cross - Chikkanayakanahalli - Huliyar - Hiriyur - Davangere. My last drive on 26th January took me 5 hours and 35 minutes including few bio-breaks and a refuel break. You can easily maintain an average of 50+ kmph

There are few potholes, craters, broken patches, speedbreakers etc but overall the roads are good and still remains the fastest route connecting NH4 and Mysore. The Huliyar to Hiriyur roads have deteriorated compared to my last - but nothing to worry about. They were resurfacing the bad sections

But have no clue about the other legs of the journey

Sharing the timings based on my drive in October 2015 as I believe you'll be leaving Davangere around 0700-0800 :

Davangere 0720 | Hiriyur 0825 | Huliyar 0930 | Chikanayakanahalli 1000 | Bellur Cross 1100 | Nagamangala 1115 | Srirangapatna 1205 | Columbia Asia Hospital 1215

D) Any good hotel in Davanagere for overnite?

You can try Apoorva Resorts along the NH4. If you want a cheaper place for a night's halt, try Hotel Sai International or Hotel Pooja International along the PB Road

In case if you want to know anything more, feel free to ask