[bhargavd]

Hey, while going used the NH4- as expected road till satara is bad with potholes and diversions. After Satara road quality is better but traffic is a downer till Kolhapur.

Raods in Karnataka are good and the SH after Hubli is OK.

However based on feedback of tourists/locals about roads to return, everyone was of the opinion to go back via Solapur. The road till Bijapur is superb, Bijapur to Solapur is a single lane highway for approx 100 km with crossings and some potholes. Solapur Pune is again a 4 lane good quality tarmac. Considering we were staying in the newer part Hampi this was actually beneficial. No good eating points upto Solapur though.

If you are coming down from Mumbai stick to NH4, to cross Pune traffic to reach Pune Solapur highway from NH4 may not be wise during morning and evening hours.

[us.dash]

Hello!

Taking our Hexa for a drive finally.

The plan so far
Day 1: Mumbai - Hubbali
Day 2: Hubbali - Hampi
Day 3: Hampi
Day 4: Hampi - Chikamaglur
Day 5: Chikamaglur
Day 6: Chikamaglur
Day 7: Chikamaglur - Kolhapur
Day 8: Kolhapur - Mumbai

We are a family of 6, a late 30's couple, a mid 60's couple, and two kids of 5 years and 2 years.

Look forward to your comments on the itinerary.
Also please do advise on the road condition between Hampi and Chikmagalur.

Thanks
us.dash

[clix22]

Hi all,
Planning a 3 day trip to hampi from Bombay. Plan is to pick kiddo from school on Friday evening and leave by 4Pm. Halt either near Satara or Kolhapur. Then head out early morning to reach Hampi by late lunch.
My questions are;
1. Any recommended hotels along the highway between Satara - Kolhapur? Anything that we can reach by say 9PM - 5 hours of sedate driving.
2. Google maps shows a turnoff from Nipani, though there is another route via Hubli. What would you recommend?
Thanks so much for your inputs
Clix

[ampere]

Originally Posted by clix22

Hi all,
Planning a 3 day trip to hampi from Bombay. Plan is to pick kiddo from school on Friday evening and leave by 4Pm.

I hope you are planning for 2-3 night stay in Hampi. Else driving all the way and staying only for a night does not make sense. Plus you see all places in a hurry. You need to soak it in.

[clix22]

Yes 2 nights are planned.

[clix22]

Route update :
Did Bombay - Hampi - Bombay last week. Road till Hubli is well documented in the forum. Its smooth and no stress.
Hubli Hampi strech is a 2 lane road with speed breakers and ruts in the road acting like speed breakers every 300 to 500 meters in some cases.
4 laning is under way for the entire stretch, with around 50% of the work complete. Hopefully it will be a smooth drive from 2020.
Hubli - hampi takes around 3.5 hours.

[Aditya_P]

Hello Friends, am planning a trip to hampi from Pune. Would appreciate if I can get some advice on best route to take depending on current road conditions.

[Aditya_P]

We completed a 3 day trip to Hampi and took the Pune-Hubli-Gadag-Hospet route, road conditions between Pune to Satara and Hubli to Hospet as known are a mixed bag and eat up a good amount of time. Some points to note as below to fellow travelers:

1. Not many places to eat from Hubli to Gadag, either have your meals in Hubli, or Clarks Inn Gadag is an ok option.

2. Road construction is in progress between Hubli & Gadag and there are culverts constructed on the road which come up as huge speed breakers. Be careful on these as low slung cars are bound to scrape through.

3.We came across couple of instances near Hospet & Kamalapura wherein village kids/youths try to halt the car for some kind of donations, etc. Its a creepy experience as some of them have bats, sticks and try to stop the car by blocking the road. We did not stop and had our windows rolled up all the way. Please prefer the highway where ever you can instead of village roads.

[riteshritesh]

I am driving to Hampi ex Mumbai via Pune-Kolhapur- Belgaum-Hubli-Hospet, coming Sunday. Since we will be starting late'ish ( around 8.30-9 am), the plan is to break the journey at Belgaum, stay overnight and start for Hampi the next day.
While the hotel booking in Hampi are done, we haven't booked anything in Belgaum.
Any recommendations? Me, Wife and 2 daughters (10 & 4 year old) are traveling.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

Any recommendations? Me, Wife and 2 daughters (10 & 4 year old) are traveling.

The standard is Sankam. There is also a Pai resort right next. There is also a Fairfield Marriot if you wish to splurge!

[riteshritesh]

Originally Posted by ampere

There is also a Fairfield Marriot if you wish to splurge!

Haha. We are splurging in Hampi by staying at some crazy expensive place called Evolve. Thanks for the recommendations. I also called up Belgaum Club and blocked a room there, that club being affiliated to my Local club in Mumbai.

[riteshritesh]

A quick update upon my return.


We started off from Dadar at 8.30 am, planning to stop over at Belgaum for the night.

We reached Kolhapur around 4 pm. Belgaum would have arrived way too early and we decided to drive directly to Badami, after checking on availability at Clarks Inn Badami. Took a turn inside Nipani and google maps led us all the way till Badami ( through some villages which seemed deserted and abandoned post sundown).

Reached Badami at 8 pm.
This was the wisest decision,as we could do Badami Caves, Padatakkal and Aihole the next day and proceed to Hampi. Reached Hospet by 2 pm for a quick lunch and onwards to Orange County Kamalapura by 4 pm.


Upon return, google was showing 2 routes- one via Badami-Nipani ( which we took earlier) and the 2nd via Hubli. As we were stopping for the night in Kolhapur, we took the Hubli road and what a big mistake it was.
Wife wanted to drive on the smooth Karnataka road and what an oxy-moron the roads were, right from Hospet till Hubli.
So a warning for fellow travelers, avoid Hospet-Hubli route for atleast next 2 years. The road widening works make this drive painful.
Nipani-Badami-Hospet is much much better for traveling from Mum/Pune/Kolhapur- Hampi and you get to do Badami/Aihole as a bonus.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by bhargavd

However based on feedback of tourists/locals about roads to return, everyone was of the opinion to go back via Solapur. The road till Bijapur is superb, Bijapur to Solapur is a single lane highway for approx 100 km with crossings and some potholes. Solapur Pune is again a 4 lane good quality tarmac.

Originally Posted by Aditya_P

We completed a 3 day trip to Hampi and took the Pune-Hubli-Gadag-Hospet route, road conditions between Pune to Satara and Hubli to Hospet as known are a mixed bag and eat up a good amount of time. Some points to note as below to fellow travelers:

Originally Posted by clix22

Route update :
Did Bombay - Hampi - Bombay last week. Road till Hubli is well documented in the forum. Its smooth and no stress.

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

I am driving to Hampi ex Mumbai via Pune-Kolhapur- Belgaum-Hubli-Hospet, coming Sunday.

Originally Posted by ampere

The standard is Sankam. There is also a Pai resort right next. There is also a Fairfield Marriot if you wish to splurge!

Guys, all of you have some experience of this route so tagged all your posts. 3 of us friends plan to ride bikes from Pune to Hyatt Place, Hampi this winter.

When I google map from either Mumbai or Pune the route to Hyatt Place Hampi, the default (in car / bike mode) always shows up as Pune - Phaltan - Pandharpur - Vijaypura - Hyatt Place Hampi. (Basically via Solapur or route near via Solapur)

However, I was always under the impression that the best way to go is Pune - Satara - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Hubli - Gadag - Hyatt Place. This is also the route I have some intuitive comfort with since I have driven a car in the past upto Nipany while going to Goa.


Can someone please shed some light on which route is the better option. I can see both options being quoted here but just wanted some specific advise on this aspect. We plan to start early morning from Pune so as to reach Hampi on the same day.

Thank you!

[meetbadri]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Can someone please shed some light on which route is the better option. I can see both options being quoted here but just wanted some specific advise on this aspect. We plan to start early morning from Pune so as to reach Hampi on the same day.

Thank you!

I would suggest not travel now. NH4 near Belgaum is closed due to over flow of Krishna River. You will be stuck in Belgaum and have heard from my friends that the entire city is getting flooded.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Axe77

When I google map from either Mumbai or Pune the route to Hyatt Place Hampi, the default (in car / bike mode) always shows up as Pune - Phaltan - Pandharpur - Vijaypura - Hyatt Place Hampi. (Basically via Solapur or route near via Solapur)

However, I was always under the impression that the best way to go is Pune - Satara - Kolhapur - Belgaum - Hubli - Gadag - Hyatt Place. This is also the route I have some intuitive comfort with since I have driven a car in the past upto Nipany while going to Goa.

Yes the standard route would be via Hubli. The Hospet-Bijapur-Sholapur is getting 4-laned and so is Pune-Sholapur. So in case the entire route is done it may not be bad to try it out. But as of today, from a facilities point of view Belgaum/Hubli is any day better.

Do note the Belgaum route as of today is blocked thanks to flooding. Please keep tab on that development before you start.