[Prowler]

I am sorry if the topic has already been covered. I searched hard for information on the route from Chennai to Goa in this forum. Most seem to suggest the shorter route from Bangalore to Goa like this:

Bangalore - Tumkur - Chitrdurga - Davangere - Ranibennur - Haveri - (Huballi) - (Dharwad)(left) - (Khanapur)(left) - Molem - Tisk - Curti - Patto Colony - Panaji (Approx 604KM)

But I hear that the scenic Konkan coastal route is worth the trouble and the distance - Bangalore - Hassan - Mangalore, Karwar and Goa.

I plan to do this in the first week of June in my Tata Safari. I have barely 5 days to cover this trip to Goa and back to Madras. My idea is to start in Madras by 8 am and halt in Hassan for the day. Start the second day in Hassan and reach Mangalore for a halt. Then reach Goa in the 3rd day. This itself takes up 6 days for traveling leaving me with hardly a moment in Goa.

Please help me Addyhemmige (who graciously helped me plan my trip last year) and other seasoned travelers.

I was in Chikmagalur last May and the rains started at that time. I had never seen that kind of rains in all my life. Is it prudent to travel in this part during early June ?

Thanks in advance.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Prowler

I am sorry if the topic has already been covered. I searched hard for information on the route from Chennai to Goa in this forum. Most seem to suggest the shorter route from Bangalore to Goa like this:


But I hear that the scenic Konkan coastal route is worth the trouble and the distance - Bangalore - Hassan - Mangalore, Karwar and Goa.

June is the time the monsoon starts and it will be a deluge for sure. There are two main routes to Goa from Bangalore. One via NH4 through Hubli and the other is via NH206 through Shimoga, which will lead you to hit the Konkan Highway (NH17) at Honnavar and drive towards Goa. Going to Mangalore is roundabout.

The second route will in most case will get waterlogged if the monsoon starts. First route is safer (though not spared). It all depends when the monsoons start.

[Prowler]

Thanks Ampere for the quick reply. For the upward journey I still want to take the Mangalore route. What will be the best route then ?

Thanks again

[s3va]

If I were you I would go Goa now, or wait until Oct, as June is when Monsoons kick in and if you love rains and beaches then you would enjoy the trip ! Also looking at the deluge that happened in Goa last year, its better to avoid a trip during that time of the year.

Still if you want to dare, then I would suggest only 1 halt as to 2 mentioned by you. I would suggest you to take the Shimoga route as you are not going to miss the coastal part since you are anyways going to Goa which is raided with beaches ! So a countryside travel through Shimoga would be ideal ! And Shimoga would be an ideal halt for day 1 though you have to stretch a little more ! And day 2 you can start from Shimoga and a direct stop at Goa ! You can save a day if you opt for this !

I dont have the latest road conditions of Shiradi ghats. You may want to check on that one in case you opt for NH17 through Mangalore. I think Nh17 all the way till Goa is manageable with a sedan or a good hatch !

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by Prowler

But I hear that the scenic Konkan coastal route is worth the trouble and the distance - Bangalore - Hassan - Mangalore, Karwar and Goa.

I plan to do this in the first week of June in my Tata Safari. I have barely 5 days to cover this trip to Goa and back to Madras. My idea is to start in Madras by 8 am and halt in Hassan for the day. Start the second day in Hassan and reach Mangalore for a halt. Then reach Goa in the 3rd day. This itself takes up 6 days for traveling leaving me with hardly a moment in Goa.

Please help me Addyhemmige (who graciously helped me plan my trip last year) and other seasoned travelers.

I was in Chikmagalur last May and the rains started at that time. I had never seen that kind of rains in all my life. Is it prudent to travel in this part during early June ?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Prowler,

Firstly, Goa is the wrong place to be in June. It will be raining all day and most of the beaches will be closed.

That said, Goa-Bangalore via NH48 & NH17 is quite a roundabout compared to the NH206 & NH4 routes, but still it is a good drive through this route.

You can reach Hassan from Chennai on Day 1. There is no need to stay in Mangalore unless you want to visit Mangalore city. You can reach Goa from Hassan in approximately 10-12 hrs with breaks (I had covered this once). Hassan to Mangalore is just 160 kms and should be covered in max 3.5-4 hrs, the extra time taken is due to the infamous Shiradi Ghat, but it should not be a problem for your safari.

You can find updates on Shiradi ghat on this thread
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ore-udupi.html

Last month, I did Hassan-Goa in 9 hrs in my Swift, but I took a different route.

It is going to be pelting inches of rain on the coast, so you have to be prepared for it.

[MX6]

+ 1 to Addyhemmige.

Take the shimoga route from hassan. You can cross Jog in it's full glory.
Rains are a different feel too. you'd see too many waterfalls in the route there from Hassan - chikkamagaluru - shimoga - sagara - jog - honnavara. In case you want to keep to the hills, proceed from jog to sirsi - yellapura and hit NH63 to ankola - karwar and goa. You'd be surprised at the number of waterfalls you see.
I went to jog last weekend. Saw two waterfalls at this time of the year!

[ampere]

As other say, if you still want to go ahead, for return trip, drive till Honnavar on the NH17 and then turn NH206 to halt at Shimoga. Shimoga to Chennai can then be done (provided you are able to bypass Bangalore with NICE road easily).

PS: By ease I mean: No construction blocks, no road blocks NH4 and no human blocks on NICE road (courtesy Politicians, he who should not be named !)

[Prowler]

Thanks a lot. I really owe to Addyhemigge, Ampere (BTW you must be an Electrical Engineer going by that name), S3Va and MX6.

So I take this route in the upward journey: Madras - Hassan - Goa and return through Shimoga. If the rain Gods don't play truant at that time ...

But will the ghat roads be wide enough in Sirsi, yellapura ? I couldn't go to Kolli Hills near Salem due to the fact that the roads were very narrow.

Thanks again

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Thanks a lot. I really owe to Addyhemigge, Ampere (BTW you must be an Electrical Engineer going by that name), S3Va and MX6.

You guessed it right!
I am an electrical engineer, with a passion for Iron Maiden as shown in my snapshot

[MX6]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Thanks a lot. I really owe to Addyhemigge, Ampere (BTW you must be an Electrical Engineer going by that name), S3Va and MX6.

So I take this route in the upward journey: Madras - Hassan - Goa and return through Shimoga. If the rain Gods don't play truant at that time ...

But will the ghat roads be wide enough in Sirsi, yellapura ? I couldn't go to Kolli Hills near Salem due to the fact that the roads were very narrow.

Thanks again

Thanks bro. You are welcome. And the Sagara - Jog - Sirsi - Yellapura road is a belter of a circuit. I did this circuit last weekend and averaged 66 kmph on the ghat sections between Yellapura and Sagara. Nearly ran over a Chameleon and scared the daylights off my father trying to swerve.
My father retorted with much chagrin, next time you better kill the chameleon and not me.
Just ensure that no one in your family suffers from motion sickness and they don't throw up in ghat sections.

[Surprise]

This thread is going to give me more ideas for the upcoming trip. Which is the best route to reach Goa from Chennai in 1 day (only day travel) (sep month)?....I did picked lots of info from the Bangalore-Goa threads

While going, you can take Chennai-Vellore-Krishnagiri-Bangalore-Tumkur-Shimoga-Honnavara-Karwar-Goa, via NH 4/46/7/4/206/17. If you wish to bypass Bangalore, take NICE Road by turning to left after Electronic City on NH 7 and enter NH 4 before Nelamangala on Tumkur Road. In the return journey, you can come via Goa-Khanapura-Bidi-Kittur-Dharwad-Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Chennai, via NH 4A/SH 31/NH4/7/46/4.

NH 17, though 2 laned, was excellent free from potholes. NH 206 was okay with some rough stretches and intermediate lane width of 4.5 m between Tumkur and Shimoga. From Shimoga onwards, it was excellent. During the return journey, the stretch from Haveri to Chitradurga measuring about 125 km on NH 4, was a torture because of on-going road improvement works. No signages, no info, there were two back-breaking railway level crossings, you have to go through Ranebennur town, big crude speed breakers/humps near Davangere/Tumkur.

I travelled on these routes in the first week of March.

[arjunrudra]

Oh wow this thread is getting me excited. We having been doing this trip for the last 7 yrs and all the last 7 Christmas's were spent in Goa.
Totally enjoy the trip and goa.
In the last 3 trips because of the cars and the roads we start at 6 in the morning and at around 10-10:30 we reach our resort in Margoa.
The route we take is : chennai-banglore-tumkur-chitradurga-hubli-margoa and while returning we take the route via the palolem beach road and get down via karwar .
This is the route we have been taking .Beautiful roads and beautiful scenary.

[ampere]

Most cases its always better to go via Shimoga.

[Prowler]

Thanks a lot Friends (specially to Ampere and MX6). It is a big help. All your help is really - really much appreciated.

Actually it is so confusing to plan the itinerary and the places to see on the way. I have downloaded a big Google Map.

The trouble is I am a bad navigator - I can get lost in my own backyard.