[n.devdath]

Hi All,
I have planned a trip through the following route begining on the 27th of this month.
Start from BIAL, go to Goa, stay till the 4th of March, leave for Shirdi, stay on the 5th at Shirdi, leave for Blore and reach Blore on the 6th late night/7th.

I had a few questions in mind:
1. I intend to do BIAL-Goa at night (27th) night. Which route is the best for the same?
2. What route is best from Goa-Shirdi, for daytime driving on the 4th of March?
3. Is it better to come to Pune from Shirdi and then drive down to Blore or take the Solapur road and reach Chitradurga directly?
4. From Shirdi, is it better to come via Ahmednagar or via the other route (the ghat section) I m unable to recollect the name of that route.
5. Any good home stay options at Goa are highly appreciated. Simple, clean and non ac with some basic cooking range on the beach or close to it will do.

Looking forward to the group's guidance and responses,
Regds
Dev

[hvkumar]

Lots of route options from Goa to Shirdi. I would take the simplest and the one with the better roads which is Goa-Savantwadi-Amboli-Sankeshwar-Kolhapur-Pune-Sangamaner-Shirdi (or alternatively Pune-Ahmednagar-Shirdi). There are some short-cuts via Shirwal, Shirur, etc, but I think the best option is to go via Pune.

Returning via Solapur is the shortest route. Which means Shirdi-Ahmednagar-Karmala-Tembhurni-Solapur-Hospet-Chitradurga. However, please check the condition of NH13 before you decide on this road. In case you find the reports are bad, you can come from Tembhurni to Kolhapur via Pandharpur and Sangli.

[Rajiv-Bang]

I have done the same trip last may, i travelled via hubli to Karwar & then to Goa.
Starting at 9.00 am from Vasco- Ponda- Londa- Belgaum via Pune, Ahmednagar to reaching Shirdi at midnight, it was a tiring drive as i was the lone driver. Ponda-Londa-Belgaum is not a good option which i realised after driving down as the road was really bad especially Anmod Ghat section. It appears to be not much different as i understand from some other threads.As Kumar suggested the Amboli route is a better option.
However i lost three hours crossing Pune, its been on an average 2-3 hours even on past trips,hence i had initiated a thread "Bypassing Pune on Bangalore Shirdi route" you can find information on bypassing Pune.

Though on the way back from Shirdi i travelled to Aurangabad- Ahmednagar-Solapur-Akkalkot- Ganagapur-Bagalkot- Hubli (for some work)before returning to Bangalore

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Lots of route options from Goa to Shirdi. I would take the simplest and the one with the better roads which is Goa-Savantwadi-Amboli-Sankeshwar-Kolhapur-Pune-Sangamaner-Shirdi (or alternatively Pune-Ahmednagar-Shirdi). There are some short-cuts via Shirwal, Shirur, etc, but I think the best option is to go via Pune.

Returning via Solapur is the shortest route. Which means Shirdi-Ahmednagar-Karmala-Tembhurni-Solapur-Hospet-Chitradurga. However, please check the condition of NH13 before you decide on this road. In case you find the reports are bad, you can come from Tembhurni to Kolhapur via Pandharpur and Sangli.

Thanks, I will go with your first option, Savantwadi-Amboli-Pune-Sangamner-Shirdi.
On the way back I will try the Solapur route, for the first time though.
I have booked the GTDC hotel at Miramar, as I was wary of the other private hotels and their facilities. My booking also gives me complimentary passes for North and South Goa sightseeing but I will probably drive along with Hariya and stop at all the places as long as I feel like
A small question, are these GTDC hotels good?

Hey forgot to ask, how can I bypass Pune??

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

A small question, are these GTDC hotels good?

Hey forgot to ask, how can I bypass Pune??

GTDC Hotels are OK. I have stayed in Panaji, friends have stayed in Miramar and Calangute. Nothing great, but decent value for money. Locations are convenient.

The following mail may help you bypas Pune:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post1712256