[Roan J]

Originally Posted by rahul1407

Hi Folks,

I am planning to take the Gurgaon-Mumbai trip next weekend using the new DME on 23-Dec with a night halt planned for somewhere near Vadodara. For the next day, we were thinking of making a quick visit to the Statue of Unity and then resuming our journey to our destination....Can someone please guide me on a good route they have taken recently and guide me on the route that I should be taking?

This may not be relevant if you need to go to Vadodara after exiting the DME at Thandla. I did the DME-Thandla-SOU in October.

You are probably aware that DME is officially open between Sohna-Lalsot and Bhanpura-Thandla. Earlier this week, I was passing through Kota and a truck driver told me that both sides of the DME stretch between Lalsot and Sawai Madhopur is available to users but tolling has not begun. However, with family, it may not be advisable to take this part.

Kothun-Kota-Jhalawar-Pipaliya-Bhanpura interchange can be a route to use to cover the DME gap after exiting at Lalsot. After Mukundra, Google Maps might suggest the Suket-Ramganj Mandi-Ledi route but it was narrow, potholed and being constructed in some parts and not advisable.

Make sure that the fuel tank is topped, water and food stocked - before getting back on DME in Bhanpura (there were not operational fuel pumps or restaurants in this section unlike the Sohna-Dausa section). After exiting at Thandla interchange, there is a narrow stretch of 7 km and then you reach Thandla.

From South Delhi to Thandla, it took me a little more than 12 hours (6.15 am to 6.20 pm).

In Thandla, I stayed at Om Residency, a decent hotel with a good restaurant. Not very fancy but good for an overnight halt.

The next day, I opted to go directly to SOU using the route suggested by Google Maps. It was a combination of single, double and four lane roads and took me about five hours. Started from SOU at 3.45 pm after a short nap in the car at the parking lot. I was headed to Valsad, but Vadodara is probably closer.

Hope this info helps, have a good trip.

[sinharishi]

Not sure why folks are wanting to try the new stretch. The exit from NH23 and the entry on the mew stretch till Thandla and they beyond to Vadodra is approx 16 hrs as per google maps, that too when I checked at 1am.

This does not make sense vs NH48 at all. You can easily reach Ahmedabad in under 15 hrs from Delhi with enough breaks!

I am leaving for Mumbai on the 24th and not inclined at all to try the new stretch of DME!

Going to stick to: NE4- Jaipur Exit-Jaipur bypass-NH48-Bhilwara-Rajasmand-Udaipir-Shmalaji-Ahemdabad-Vadodra-Mumbai

[rahul1407]

Originally Posted by Roan J

This may not be relevant if you need to go to Vadodara after exiting the DME at Thandla. I did the DME-Thandla-SOU in October.

Hope this info helps, have a good trip.

Originally Posted by sinharishi

This does not make sense vs NH48 at all. You can easily reach Ahmedabad in under 15 hrs from Delhi with enough breaks!

Going to stick to: NE4- Jaipur Exit-Jaipur bypass-NH48-Bhilwara-Rajasmand-Udaipir-Shmalaji-Ahemdabad-Vadodra-Mumbai

Thanks to both of you for the inputs. I am doing this leg for the first time and I dont have much context on the route or its intricacies. I decided to stop at Vadodara instead of Ahmedabad since total time increased from my start location to Vodadara instead of Ahmedabad would be an hour approx.

However, the lateral journey duration from Ahmedabad to Vadodara would be 2 hours. I am not sure how feasible would that be and I may change my course after covering a reasonable amount of common routes.

Similarly, Thandla's stopover at Day may seem comfortable but it would set me off by a few more hours on Day 2 which I don't want to do.

Please refer my understanding is based on the dependence I am making on Google Maps while trying to get first hand information from folks who actually travel on these routes.

Gurgaon to Ahmedabad


Gurgaon to Vadodara


Ahmedabad to Vadodara

[Roan J]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

Not sure why folks are wanting to try the new stretch.

Personally, I've just moved to an automatic. Using cruise control at 119 kmph for 200 km without having to weave through trucks spread accross lanes is enjoyable. For years, I have had to weave through trucks in Indian Highways, changing gears, this new experience on the Expressway and the opportunity to enjoy the lush rural landscapes is a plus for me.

Unfortunately, the Dausa-Sohna stretch of the Expressway is now being taken over by trucks using all four lanes, so only the MP stretch still offers some enjoyable driving experience for me.

[SinghBHP]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

Going to stick to: NE4- Jaipur Exit-Jaipur bypass-NH48-Bhilwara-Rajasmand-Udaipir-Shmalaji-Ahemdabad-Vadodra-Mumbai

Originally Posted by rahul1407

Hi Folks,

I am planning to take the Gurgaon-Mumbai trip next weekend using the new DME on 23-Dec with a night halt planned for somewhere near Vadodara.

@rahul1407 - I am also leaving for Mumbai from GZB on 23rd Dec. Upon looking at multiple videos and now at TBHP thread this is what I am planning to do. Since I have a small kid 1.5 years and will be my first drive beyond 650 KMS .....

Day 1: Drive for around 750 - 800 KMs on first day. Which means I stop near Shamlaji or may be Himmatnagar if my Kid allows and I am not too tired.
Route : Though I was thinking to drive first stretch of DME for maximum till Udaipur and take traditional route to Mumbai. But after reading this feedback from sinharishi ,I will follow his advice and exit at Jaipur and hit NH48 for Udaipur and beyond till Mumbai.

Day 2 : Complete rest of the journey till Chembur where I am planning to visit my relatives.

Taking DME side of route is not good as per feedback , its missing basic amenities like Petrol Pumps and Dhabas. Also, Some of the in-city and connecting roads are like State highway single roads.

[rahul1407]

Originally Posted by SinghBHP

I am also leaving for Mumbai from GZB on 23rd Dec. Upon looking at multiple videos and now at TBHP thread this is what I am planning to do. Since I have a small kid 1.5 years and will be my first drive beyond 650 KMS.

Hey, good to know that a bhpian is travelling along on same date, just to make the trip feel less overwhelming and less intimidating. Even for me, the maximum distance I had driven before had hovered around ~600 kms so this will be a bit challenging.

Regarding route, I am unable to decide on a route ahead of NE4's Jaipur stretch at the moment but I intend to cover more distance on Day1 to reach Ahmedabad or Vadodara so that the 2nd Day is less tiring and we can take more breaks with ease.

I initially thought of covering SOU in the journey but I may drop it as that adds 3 hours of driving as per GMaps something which we will see depending on our energy levels on day2

[sinharishi]

Folks,

I noticed couple of stops that I would expect clean toilets - especially for ladies and good place for breakfast and coffee.

There is a new highway king on NH48 after you exit Jaipur bypass:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/P3H3twTyrTgr9GdSA?g_st=ic

Alternatively, there is one at Bagru on the opposite side as well.

Starbucks, Burger King and CCD. CCD has been here since ages now, Starbucks and BK are new additions.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XcAV6ATvxWQLNpGLA?g_st=ic

These two places can make a perfect second stop when driving towards Udaipur.

Safe travels to all!

[SinghBHP]

Originally Posted by rahul1407

Hey, good to know that a bhpian is travelling along on same date, just to make the trip feel less overwhelming and less intimidating. Even for me, the maximum distance I had driven before had hovered around ~600 kms so this will be a bit challenging.

Regarding route, I am unable to decide on a route ahead of NE4's Jaipur stretch at the moment but I intend to cover more distance on Day1 to reach Ahmedabad or Vadodara so that the 2nd Day is less tiring and we can take more breaks with ease.

I initially thought of covering SOU in the journey but I may drop it as that adds 3 hours of driving as per GMaps something which we will see depending on our energy levels on day2

Hi Rahul - reading the above comments it seems you are reading my mind . I am also planning same, cover the stretch to max on first day. I read that there is too much of heavy vehicles traffic once you cross Rajasthan border. So second stretch will be more challenging than first. Also I am not sure if we will be able to leave as early on second day as on first like 5 or 6 am.

PM me in case interested in connecting 1-1 ?

[mauryan]

Originally Posted by SinghBHP

@rahul1407 - I am also leaving for Mumbai from GZB on 23rd Dec. Upon looking at multiple ......

Hello dear @rahul1407, @singhBHP,

I am also planning to go to Surat from Noida on the 29th of December with a 2.5-year-old kid. Can you help me with your current excursion?

Did you take DME or the Lalsot.. Udaipur .. Godhra.. Vadodara route?

Thank you in advance.

Also, while returning, will it be a good option to take the Thandla-Kota DME section?

Regards,
Neeraj

[Rahkehs]

Originally Posted by mauryan

Hello dear @rahul1407, @singhBHP,

I am also planning to go to Surat from Noida on the 29th of December with a 2.5-year-old kid. Can you help me with your current excursion?

Did you take DME or the Lalsot.. Udaipur .. Godhra.. Vadodara route?

Thank you in advance.

Also, while returning, will it be a good option to take the Thandla-Kota DME section?

Regards,
Neeraj

I traveled to Vadodara from Dehradun on 22/23rd Dec and took the two completed sections of NE-4.
It took 4 Hrs driving time from Start of NE-4 to Bundi via NE-4 (till Lalsot)-NH23 to connect to NH-52 at Kothun. Roads are excellent and you can maintain decent speeds.

From, Bundi you can touch Indore Ahmedabad Highway at Phoolmal Chauraha in 5 hrs and it will take 2.5 Hrs drive via Godhra-Halol to touch NH-48 at Vadodara. I left NH-52 at Jhalwar bypass and took SH to connect to MP section of NE-4. This road is good on RJ side but bad on MP side, takes around 35-40mins to touch NE-4.
SH from Thandla Exit of NE-4 is average to bad and will take approx 50 mins to touch Highway near Jhabua.
Hope it helps!

[rahul1407]

Originally Posted by mauryan

Hello dear @rahul1407, @singhBHP,

I am also planning to go to Surat from Noida on the 29th of December with a 2.5-year-old kid. Can you help me with your current excursion?

I took the NE4 Till Dausa Exit, then headed towards Kisangarh via Jaipur ring Road. I then crossed Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Valsad, and finally reached Mumbai. I left GGN at 6 AM and managed to reach Ahmedabad by 11:30 pm where we called it a day and stayed at a budgeted hotel. This journey is considering 4.5 hours of breaks so Google's 14 hours of ETA was quite accurate.

On the next day, we left Ahmedabad at 10 am and managed to reach Vile Parle, Mumbai by 10 pm. This is again with extended breaks with the kid.

While driving the first day was a breeze with me covering the first 200 Kms in less than 2 hours on NE4 with an overall journey of almost 950 Kms, the second-day stretch of 500 Kms was very tiring with the onslaught of heavy trucks right from entering the NE1 Highway (Ahmedabad to Vadodara) to almost Dahisar in Mumbai effectively slowing us down quite often.

For return, I plan to complete this in 3 days where we will halt at Udaipur for a day and then leave for GGN so mostly going to follow the same route from the other side.

Overall, the roads on NH48 (Current Route) are quite good and well paved. However, I would not attempt it again until the connectivity on NE4 from Delhi to Mumbai is completed as the current journey duration affected my kid's schedule so can't see him getting so drained/physically exerted.

[mauryan]

Originally Posted by Rahkehs

I traveled to Vadodara from Dehradun on 22/23rd Dec and took the two completed sections of NE-4.
It took 4 Hrs driving time from Start of NE-4 to Bundi via NE-4 (till Lalsot)-NH23 to connect to NH-52 at Kothun. Roads are excellent and you can maintain decent speeds.
Hope it helps!

Thank you @Rahkehs, While starting from Gr. Noida, I plan to make a stop at Kota and then will decide if I use the NE4 or go thru the usual Udaipur, Godhra Vadodara route.

Originally Posted by rahul1407

I then crossed Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Valsad, and finally reached Mumbai. I left GGN at 6 AM and managed to reach Ahmedabad by 11:30 pm ...

thank you, @rahul1407; quick question: why via Ahmedabad to Vadodara from Udaipur.. I traveled in 2022 to Vadodara from Udaipur, and the GJ Cops told me to take the Modasa, Godhra route, and it was a breeze that saved me around 2 Hrs. Not sure now about the road conditions

Originally Posted by rahul1407

I left GGN at 6 AM and managed to reach Ahmedabad by 11:30 pm where we called it a day

I can't think of driving 18hrs in a day. I always call it a day after 600 kms or 11 Hours just to avoid exertion.

Originally Posted by rahul1407

.......
until the connectivity on NE4 from Delhi to Mumbai is completed as the current journey duration affected my kid's schedule so can't see him getting so drained/physically exerted.

I second you on the kids' schedule. It actually drains them. I ensure that they are hydrated as the AC is continuously running... I routinely do Gr. Noida to Varanasi once every 2 months. (YME, ALE/newly opened Kanpur Prayagraj Highway.

[SinghBHP]

Originally Posted by mauryan

Hello dear @rahul1407, @singhBHP,

I am also planning to go to Surat from Noida on the 29th of December with a 2.5-year-old kid. Can you help me with your current excursion?

Did you take DME or the Lalsot.. Udaipur .. Godhra.. Vadodara route?

Thank you in advance.

Also, while returning, will it be a good option to take the Thandla-Kota DME section?

Regards,
Neeraj

Hi mauryan, below are the details of my travel...



I left from GZB at 4:40AM , followed Google and it took me to Faridabad bypass road to enter towards DME. Since you are leaving from Greater Noida
google will ask you the same to use Kalindi ->> Faridbad bypass. After reaching near Jaipur Bypass I wanted to take the route which @rahul1407 took however, lost focus, got double minded because of speed I was in and continued travelling till lalsot exit. Finally here is the complete route from there On......

Saturday / 23rd Dec
DME -> Took a break on only available rest house -> Lalsot exit(8:30 AM) -> SH road Kothun, though SH but there was no traffic in morning and road was awesome -> Hit Tonk Road NH52 -> Boondi road -> From here we hit a SH again , it was single road of 45 KMs, but good views, moderate traffic -> exit as Bijoliya and then we hit NH again -> 4 lane awesome drive -> Bhilwara outer road -> Udaipur (3:30 PM) -> Took Udaipur Bypass -> took a break where this bypass ended -> By this time I decided to finally break at Himmat nagar ->> Drove all the way straight passing Dungarpur, Shamlaji outer highway roads and Reached Himmatnager at 6:30 PM.

Since I was travelling with Kid and Senior citizens , this is what all I could , manage and stopped here finally.

Sunday / 24th Dec

Start at 6:40 AM from Himmat Nagar -> Ahmedabad -> Vadodra Bypass (took break at end of this expway in wonderful Gurajti canteen) -> Bharuch -> Surat , reached here at 1 PM took 45mins break -> Navsari, Vapi -> Palghar -> Virar - > Thane -> Chembur/Mumbai(7 PM).

On your query to Rahul on why not via Modasa : Assume his end destination was Ahmedabad on GoogleMaps. Same with me - I was stopping at Himmat nagar which is 90KM before Ahmedabad. If you put your end destination as Surat on GoogleMaps it will take you via Modasa only. Atleast I followed it because of lack of knowledge of the complete route. Had I drove via Modasa then I might have saved about 90KMs of travel to my end destination (Chembur/Mum).

The roads are awesome. However, post HimmatNagar you will have to deal with heavy truck vehicles all driving like Kings covering every possible lane on road. For me this reduced after Vapi and sort of ended only after crossing Virar.

Experience: Out of the world for me , but yes Tiring. It is not easy to travel with Kids, Senior citizens, heavy luggage, on such long trip.

Passenger count: 5 Adults+1Kid with luggage at every possible corner of car. Surely not suggested for such long drive. I had some unavoidable reasons for such heavy load.

MyDrive : XUV700 AX7/P , Avg- 13:5 KMs/L


I plan to return via MP (Indore/Gwl/Agra) route as I have to drop my parents in Agra.

[youknowitbetter]

Hi all - Just writing here out of sheer curiosity. Reading the posts of fellow members who have recently done or are planning to do Delhi - Mumbai (vice-versa), it appears to be taking about 20-22 hours-ish drive. While I know that the section till Vadodra is still in works, but once the whole thing is operational, will it possible to cover the entire journey in a day i.e. about 15-16 hours. Asking since the total length of the highway is about 1,350 kms. Assuming an average speed of 90 KMPH (on a 120 KPMH highway speed limit to factor in fatigue breaks), it should be on paper doable to cover the entire stretch within a day.

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

Going to stick to: NE4- Jaipur Exit-Jaipur bypass-NH48-Bhilwara-Rajasmand-Udaipir-Shmalaji-Ahemdabad-Vadodra-Mumbai

Update:

• Left G.Noida at 4:30am. Joined EPE from Sirsa, encountered very heavy fog all the way till Jaipur! It took us 6 hrs only to reach Bagru. Visibility was very very poor. Usually we do this in 3 hrs.
  
  
• Stopped for breakfast @ Hotel Highway King, Bagru.
  
  
• Resumed towards Udaipur via Bhilwara-Rajasmand. Stopped for lunch at The Marutinandan Grand, Nathdwara.
  
  
• Took the new Udaipur bypass and joined Ahmedabad highway. Stopped for evening tea/snacks at Honest @ Shamlaji.
  
  
• Finally after 17 hrs we checked into Double Tree @ Ahmedabad. Fog really played a spoil sport.
  
  
• Day-2: Left Ahemdabad at 9am. Stopped for breakfast at Jagdish snacks factory outlet @ Vadodra bypass.
  
  
• Stopped for lunch at Sugan N Spice @ valsad. Entered mumbai at 5:30pm. Caution: Post virar toll, they are repairing the highway, making it concrete. Better to avoid e tering Mumbai on Sunday evenings. Fountain South bound flyover is finally open! Reached home at 7:30pm. We were standing still at one place on Kashimira bridge. My in-laws were with me and visiting mumbai for the first time.
  
  
• 6-laned: EPE, Jaipur ring road, NH48 between Jaipur bypass exit and Bhilwara, NH48 Udaipir bypass till Ahemdabad, NH48 Vadodra to Mumbai.
  
  
• 4-laned: Bhilwara-Udaipur, NE1.
  
  
• 8-laned: DME.
  
  
• Route taken: G.Noida-EPE-DME-Dausa-Jaipir Bypass-Bhilwara-Rajasmand-Udaipur bypass-Shamlaji-Himmatnagar-Ahmedabad (Halt)-NE1-Vadodra-Bharuch-Surat-Mumbai.
  
  
• Car: Harrier BS6.1 MT. We were 4 adults, one infant and one 8 year old kid.

Fog on DME and EPE







Jaipur-Agra highway. Much better Visibility.



Entering Mumbai.