Team-BHP - Delhi - Mumbai : Route Queries

I am right now on a road trip from Mumbai to Delhi. I decided to take it easy, making stops Vadodara, Udaipur and Jaipur (writing this from Jaipur).

Day 1 - The stretch from Mumbai to Vadodara was mostly okay (Mumbai - Silvassa - Surat - Vadodara). Got a bit of traffic exiting Mumbai on the Vasai creek as was expected. After that the highway right till Vadodara was pretty good. Truck traffic is heavy even in day time and they do not stick to the left lane so one had to dodge them to maintain good speeds. I also got stuck in a jam for about half an hour around a small town called Vesma (just before Kadodara) at a badly managed intersection. Managed to cover 400+ Kms. from Mumbai to Vadodara in about 7 and a half hours with one stop for lunch.

Day 2 - Driving from Vadodara to Udaipur, I decided to avoid Ahmedabad and drove through Halol, Godhra, Modasa and Samalji (thanks to this thread). This stretch was a pleasure to drive on with minimal truck traffic, great tarmac on a 4 lane highway. Then I entered Rajasthan at Samalji and things changed quite dramatically. Huge traffic jam just as I entered Rajasthan. The three lanes on each side of the highway converge into two lanes in all which are more or less like a dirt track. It seemed they have recently exploded part of the surrounding hills with huge rocks covering both sides of the road just where the traffic converged. Once I got out of the jam the roads became better but I wouldn't call them good. All the way till Udaipur several flyovers are under construction and hence there are a million diversions along the route. Managed to cover about 350 Kms. from Vadodara to Udaipur in just under 7 hours.

Day 3 - Udaipur to Jaipur, I drove through Rajasmand, Beawar, Kishangarh and then into Jaipur. The roads are quite good throughout this stretch. 4 lane highway with good tarmac from Udaipur till Beawar and from Beawar to Jaipur it becomes a 6 lane highway with decent tarmac. Managed to cover about 400+ Kms. in about 6 hours. Also got a speeding ticket around Kishangarh and paid 400 bucks!

Day 4 - Well that's tomorrow. I'll be driving from Jaipur to Delhi and I am hoping to avoid the peak hour traffic between Gurgaon and Delhi.

Just got back from Mumbai today. Took the following route both ways:

New Delhi-Jaipur Bypass-Beawar-Rajasmand-Nathdwara-Udaipur-Shamlaji-Modassa-Godhra Bypass-Vadodra-Surat-Mumbai

To summarize the trip:

Took night halt at Udaipur, both sides, makes a relaxing 10.5 to 11 hrs drive each day.
I still prefer taking the Beawar route, gives a break from the boring 6-laned Delhi-Beawar highway.
A lot of progress has been made on the Udaipur to Shamlaji side of the highway since my last trip in January, I wish I could say the same thing for Shamlaji to Udaipur.
Shamlaji-Godhra Bypass is just superb! Once you leave Godhra Bypass, there are a couple of busy towns one has to pass but not something which slows down progress considerably.
Vadodra-Surat-Vapi-Manor-Dahisar was very frustrating this time, locals are oblivious to the fact that is a national highway! Wrong side driving is another norm. I don't know why but saw more than usual traffic on the highway this time, especially on return.
Entering Mumbai is so frustrating, right from Versova bridge to Dahisar. I stay in Dahisar, else would love to try the Nasik-Indore route.
Jaipur-Delhi remains to be the worst part of the drive, the fast lane is a joke! So many potholes, uneven surfaces. :Frustrati:Frustrati
New Delhi to Udaipur took 11 hrs, Udaipur to Mumbai took 11.5 hrs.
Mumbai to Udaipur took 11 hrs, Udaipur to New Delhi took 10 hrs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinharishi (Post 4586792)

Planning to drive down to Mumbai in the following week, wanted to enquire if this route is suitable for driving at night? Going to drive at a stretch with some tea and food breaks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bking (Post 4597991)

Planning to drive down to Mumbai in the following week, wanted to enquire if this route is suitable for driving at night? Going to drive at a stretch with some tea and food breaks.

It all depends on the time you start from Delhi, if you start early around 4am you can reach Vadodra by late evening via Godhra. Add anywhere between 5 to 6 hrs for Vadodra-Mumbai, suitable for night drive. You may encounter lots of trucks but you won't have private vehicles who are seen in large numbers in this stretch during the day.

This is the busiest stretch of the entire drive and have lots of options to stop for tea/food.

Alternatively, you can do Delhi to Udaipur at night. Avoid Udaipur to Vadodra at night, the most isolated stretch of the drive. Udaipur-Shamlaji stretch is undergoing road widening work, lots of diversions, many unmarked.

Have a safe trip!

Quote:

Originally Posted by revvedup (Post 4607153)

Hello

Planning to do the Delhi Mumbai route with a stopover at Udaipur and Vadodara. Longest distance in a car in day has been 400kms before this. Advisable to do the journey with two stops or one ? How tiring or monotonous can the drive be if you are doing it solo, any pointers ?

You can do this easily with one stop at Udaipur, which will require you to drive 10 to 12 hrs on each day. Udaipur is the ideal place to halt for the ones who don't want to stretch the drive, have been doing this since ages now, except for a couple of trips where we stretched till Ahmedabad.

Stop at every 200-250 KMs, drink plenty of water. If you feel tired, take early halt. Just keep in mind, once you cross kishangarh, there are not many good hotel options on the highway. On day 2, once you cross Vadodra, you will find plenty of options to crash and resume journey the other day.

All the best.

I am planning a trip with the family, wife and three kids from Vadodara to Chittorgarh to Agra to Gurgaon.

Leg 1: Vadodara - Godhra - Limkheda - Limbdi - Banswara - Chittorgarh
Leg 2: Chittorgarh - Tonk - Dausa - Bharatpur - Agra
Leg 3: Agra - Gurgaon

Here's the Google Map link:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/CZAPP9bwrfvabpkf6

Quite a few detours from the standard Mumbai - Delhi route, but thought this thread to be the most apt.

Will be doing daytime drives only. Has anyone done this route - solicit safety and road quality views.

Cheers!

Just started keenly following this thread which seems a bit dated.

Planning to do a mumbai to delhi and back trip in Dec 2019.

Considering I have already seen Udaipur, want to avoid it.

In terms of time, I have 4 nights and 5 days available for the Mumbai to delhi route including sight seeing. On the return trip, want to include places to see in RJ (Except Udaipur) on the way back and have a week available.

What do the experts suggest as the route considering the current situation and weather in Dec.

This trip will be with family so would definately want it to be avoiding night driving

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by ishlinea7260 (Post 4679718)

Am also planning to drive to Mumbai from Chandigarh.
Can fellow frequent travellers shed some light on the present road condition and best route to take?

I did this trip in March via Vadodara, halt at Udaipur, the direct to Chandigarh via Jaipur, Rohtak, Panipat. And in Feb 2015 via Indore (halt) and rest in one go as above. Jaipur Rohtak Panipat was horrible.

I'd prefer the Indore route, then try the new road from Ajmer to Chandigarh direct.