Thanks Rajnish for such helpful replies.

I am driving on Sunday, so will there be traffic jams in evening around 7-8 PM?

For breakfast, I was planning to stop at MP Tourism motel at Dhmanod.

Also please advise if the route is safe for driving alone?

Cheers!
Irish

Planning a Mumbai to Bhopal Trip.
Google map showing about 14 hours 35 minutes.
Is it so or it takes little less time.
What is the recent road conditions?
Thanks and regards
Subrat

You can reach it in a little less time. Take 2 or 3 small stops. Roads are good with excellent en-route facilities.

M P roads are relatively better than Maharashtra. Bhopal is my hometown. I drive from Navi Mumbai twice a year.

Regards
Samdarshi

Hi Subrat,

I drove from Mumbai to Bhopal two weeks ago. I left at 5.15am and reached at 8pm. I took two long breaks (total 90 mins) and drove cautiously, so you may take less time than me.

When exiting Mumbai, you’ll hit traffic near Bhiwandi for sure so be sure to try and cross that stretch as early as possible.

Mumbai-Nasik is a beautiful stretch but be warned that there are speed cameras along the way. You may stop at the Taj Gateway hotel in Ambad for clean washrooms. They also have a decent breakfast buffet at ₹900 per person, although no one will stop you if you drive in, use the restrooms, hang out in their lovely garden, and leave.

You’ll hit some bad stretches at Nasik due to flyover construction. There’s a Shell petrol pump on the highway right after Nasik too, in case you want to use that for fuel.

Nasik to Dhule has mostly good roads, nothing too stressful. Dhule to Palasner (the Maharashtra border) is average with lots of places that don’t have a smooth tarmac.

Once you cross into MP you have amazing roads all the way to Bhopal. You may stop at Foodie restaurant right after Narmada river for decent washrooms.

In the evening I was a bit tired and found the wait times at tolls near Indore bypass to be high. Indore to Bhopal has great roads but there is one toll that doesn’t accept Fastag so do carry some cash.

I hope this helped. Have a safe journey.

Thank you very much for your reply. Really helpful.

Has anyone done this route (or even Mumbai-Indore) recently? I just want to know if you need RT-PCR negative report or an E-Pass to exit Maharashtra and enter MP. Any random checking along the way in Maharashtra?

Any update would really help. I plan to go to Bhopal this weekend and I’m not returning until 3-4 weeks later. The question is just about the onward journey.

Hey Crow,

I was supposed to go on 18-20 June to Bhopal & back for some work but that got postponed last minute.
Based on my research, it was advisable to carry RT-PCR negative as the checking is sporadic.
No ePass was needed, atleast when I asked MH/Mumbai police about it and MP government didnt have a directive on ePass.

I might be going around 8-10 July (the new date). In case you did reach Indore/Bhopal, please do share your experience?

I drove the Bhopal - Indore - Mumbai stretch in Nov-Dec 2020, and it was largely fine (MH roads near Ojhar-Nasik, and some between Dhule/Malegaon were undergoing pavement work). Hope your drive was smooth.

Cheers!

Thanks for the response! My trip got pushed by a week. I’m travelling this Saturday (June 26), and I’ll let you know how it goes. So based on my research, RT-PCR isn’t needed to enter MP. Nasik district is the only stretch I’m concerned about with regards to RTPCR checking. If they lower the positivity rates, it should be a breeze.

Funnily enough, I did this in October and December 2020 too. I enjoyed the drive both times, apart from the stretches you mentioned.

Hey Crow,

In that case, I look forward to hearing your experience :-)

I might still carry RT_PCR to be on the safe side. Just not worth the hassle with police folks if they stop you.

Since you are a regular on this route, would you agree that we need a proper expressway on this stretch? I think the traffic definitely warrants one (and those annoying speedbreakers!!).

Once Mumbai-Nagpur expressway comes up, hopefully they look into Nasik - Indore stretch. Will really help bring Southern MP into convenient travelling distance from Mumbai and boost tourism, apart from trade.

#wishful thinking#

Safe travels on the weekend!

Dear Crow,

Did the drive to Bhopal eventually happen for you last weekend?
My trip looks 90% sure for 8-11 July.

Would be great to hear your experience, especially on:
1) RT_PCR or other requirements by authorities
2) Any bad patches to be wary of?
3) How much time did you take? start & end time of the trip?

I am thinking of a night stopover at Maheshwar on way to Bhopal. Haven't see in and feels like too good an opportunity to miss, given its just a short drive from the highway.

Thanks for your inputs

Hey! Sorry I forgot to post my experience here.

1. Absolutely no checks anywhere. I didn’t have any ePass or RTPCR and no one asked for anything. My friends had asked me to start early to avoid checks at Nashik and Kasara, so I did that.
2. Before Shahpur toll there are a couple huge craters (next to Shell Bhiwandi) so just be careful. After the toll, for a km or so there are small potholes on the right lane. Otherwise Nashik flyover is still not ready, so expect some bad patches there. Not much else worth reporting. It was a smooth drive.
3. 5.30am start and 6.30pm arrival. We didn’t take any breaks except for two short food breaks and one bio break.

We did lose time in Malegaon and Dhule due to some protests against fuel price hikes. There was a long jam for 15-20 minutes in each place. You may not encounter the same thing though.

If you can, stay at the Ahalya Fort hotel. It’s a beautiful property in Maheshwar. We stayed there last time and loved it.

Hi Crow,

just read on another thread that you have returned back to Mumbai.
Looks like the above point 1 (quoted above) is still valid for MH/MP border
Trust the drive was easy, relaxed & uneventful

My trip has been postponing itself almost every weekend, due to some reason or the other, but looks like its set for this weekend

Looking forward to the drive, and yes, will most likely stayover in Maheshwar on our way to Bhopal, but will do a direct Bhopal - Mumbai in the return.

Thanks for your heads-up!

Cheers,

My pleasure! Apart from the horrible speed breakers that you mentioned earlier, it was a smooth drive. While returning to Mumbai, it took us 2+ hours to go from Bhiwandi to western suburbs. Lots of traffic due to rains. And we faced very heavy rainfall with low visibility post Nasik, something to keep in mind while driving.

Have a great journey and let me know how your stay at Maheshwar goes.

Hello all,

Sharing details of the Mumbai <--> Bhopal trip this past week(end).

July 22: Aim to reach Maheshwar for stopover, hence an easy start to the morning.
6.20 am: Departure from Mumbai Western Suburbs
Total jam at JVLR, but luckily we had just entered it from WEH, and hence, took the u-turn at first possible chance. Still lost 30 mins here itself.
8.20 am: Stop at Foodbub Shahpur (McDonalds & Starbucks location)
1.30 pm: Lunch break at The Orchid @ Dhule. Veg only restaurant, good food & parking.
6 pm: Arrival at Maheshwar hotel. Since it was thursday, not very crowded but all hotels are full on weekends.

A very relaxed drive, optimized for fuel efficiency (managed to get 22 kmpl Baleno Automatic). Not a lot of rain after Nasik and while I had only recently been to Igatpuri, the patch from Kalyan to Kasara had many potholes since. Bit of landslides in Kasara Ghat though it did not impact traffic (it was weekday, so that helps).

Total Distance: 520 kms
Total Toll: INR 785

July 23: Had to reach destination by tea-time, and it was raining heavily. Wifey also enjoyed some cruising in the rains
9.15 am: Departure from Maheshwar
10 am: Breakfast @ Panchwati Restaurant (NH 52, Kakadda)
1.30 pm: Lunch @ Sol Retreat (Bhau Kheda). The Poha and Mung Dal Pakoda were very nice. They have nice cottages to stay, though target market would be nearby city folks than us I suppose.
3.45 pm: Arrival at our location in Bhopal.

Total Distance: 300 kms
Total Toll: INR 223

Return Journey on July 25:
8.20 am : Departure from Bhopal
10 am: Breakfast at Highway Treat at Dodi. Good Poha and its a popular stop for Bhopal-Indore regulars with clean washrooms
1.45 pm: Lunch stop at The Rajhans Hotel @ Julwania (just before Sendhwa). Looks like a relatively new place. Probably a better place amongst the others we saw on the highway.
8.40 pm: Dinner stop at the new food court that has opened up (KFC, McD, Starbucks) just after you cross Gothi Toll plaza towards Mumbai.
12.05 am: Arrival at Home in Mumbai Western Suburbs (Took Godhbunder road as EEH and JVLR were showing traffic jam)

Total distance: 780 kms
Total Toll: INR 1,008

Thoughts on the return drive:
We had heavy to very heavy rains in MP, and then moderate to heavy rains in MH. Significant fog from Igatpuri through the ghats. Near zero visibility.
Also, the road quality post Gothi toll till Kasara Ghat begins is horrific. And then again once you arrive near Shahpur to Thane.

Thoughts on the toll:
Its really sad that the toll is much higher in MH (averages to INR 1.6 per km) compared to MP (INR 1 per km) while the overall road quality in MH isn't as good. Most disappointing is the so called "Mumbai Nasik Expressway". Had to be super vigilant at night in the sections outlined above.

Covid Checks:
No checks anywhere. Borders or within city.
Also, looks like Covid is absent in Bhopal. Not that Mumbai follows rules that much on ground, but still, you have presence of masks. Positively, most restaurants we stopped had masks on policy, though it did turn into chin masks at time. We had our masks on always (except in our car and while eating)

Hope this helps!
Thanks to BHPian Crow for his feedback from the recent trip. And to the BHP forum for the great content always!

Cheers!

Hi all

My uncle is travelling from mumbai to bhopal today. just wanted to reconfirm about the formalities in the border if any? Also when they return and enter Maharashtra border on return will rtpcr be required or vaccination certificate would be good enough.

Request urgent assistance please
Regards
Sushil.narayanan