[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

I guess you mean Solapur, right?

Yes, Sorry about the typo

Originally Posted by cool_dube

I am specifically looking for updates on road conditions for following sections:

• Bangalore - Aurangabad
• Aurangabad - Dhule
• Dhule - Ratlam
• Ratlam - Neemuch

Thanks in advance.

Only bad patch is after Gautala Sanctuary Ghats around Chalisgaon for around 10 kms, it is easily manageable for any vehicle but only at a slow pace. Trucks were taking a left turn where Google took us through Chalisgaon town, may be trucks are not allowed inside the busy Chalisgaon town or there might be a longer better route.

There was traffic snarl on the Ghats stretch. Except for this, roads are pure bliss.

[cool_dube]

Hello all,

Which of the two is a better option for Ranthambore - Bangalore? Via Jhansi - Nagpur - Hyderabad or via Ratlam - Dhule - Aurangabad?

Thanks in advance

[gadadhar]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Hello all,

Which of the two is a better option for Ranthambore - Bangalore? Via Jhansi - Nagpur - Hyderabad or via Ratlam - Dhule - Aurangabad?

Thanks in advance

I used the second option and found it good, but I am clueless about the first option

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Hello all,

Which of the two is a better option for Ranthambore - Bangalore? Via Jhansi - Nagpur - Hyderabad or via Ratlam - Dhule - Aurangabad?

Jhansi - Lakhnadon - Nagpur bypass - Hyderabad ORR is in great shape throughout. Kurnool Town has two flyover work going on. So there are little diversions. Same is the case with Dhone too. But you can easily cross them.

I have no clue about the Ratlam route. But Dhule onwards, it remains good all the way again.

[johy]

Guys can anyone guide me on the road to take from Lucknow to Kota? For small hatch i20 NLine. How is the road surface there?

[cool_dube]

Completed a ~5,000 km Bangalore - Rajasthan - Bangalore drive recently. Key updates given below:

Onward

• Bangalore - Mumbai: Excellent roads most of the way, barring the usual pain points - Hubli/Dharwad bypass and Pune bypass. Could do this in 15 hours with ample breaks and relaxed cruising. Undoubtedly, highways in KA are way better than those in MH, both in terms of road surface as well as local traffic around towns.
• Mumbai - Ahmedabad - Palanpur: Stayed at Navi Mumbai overnight and crossing over to Thane - Ghodbunder in early hours of the morning was a breeze. Mumbai - Ahmedabad is infested with trucks, so no surprises there. Ahmedabad - Mehasana - Palanpur is a mixed bag, but none of the stretches were really bad, except Mehasana bypass.
• Palanpur - Jaisalmer: Palanpur - Deesa - Sanchore remains average, but once you cross into RJ, roads are pure bliss! Enough and more has been said on this already

Return

• Udaipur - Neemuch - Ratlam - Dhule: Excellent roads most of the way
• Dhule - Aurangabad - Vijayapura: Quite bad from Dhule till start of Kannad ghats (road-widening work is in full swing), post which roads are superb all the way till Solapur where all hell breaks loose, as the town has no bypass at all! This is the costliest stretch in terms of time. Once out of Solapur, it is a breeze all the way till Vijayapura.
• Vijayapura - Bangalore: Excellent roads all the way till Bangalore.

Net-net, the Bangalore - Aurangabad - Ratlam - Neemuch - Udaipur stretch is a very good alternative to Bangalore - Mumbai - Ahmedabad - Udaipur, except one major factor - there is a perceptible dearth of options on this route when it comes to good eateries. Hopefully this will change over the next few years.

[ts75]

The 4 days holidays from 14-17 April were something too good to be missed. Considering the steep airfare for last minute booking, it was decided to go from Mumbai to Jaipur by car on 14th April, spend 2 good days with relatives and come back on 17th April.

Mumbai to Jaipur trip

Original Plan: The plan was to depart by 4 am in the morning from Mumbai. I knew that the route from Rajsamand to Beawar had 2 lane highway. Considering the travel time, it was expected that this journey would be covered in the evening shortly after sunset, in the dark. It was felt that alertness levels might be lower after day long driving. Hence, it was decided to go via Ahmedabad, Mehsana route which was having 4 lane highway all through, although google maps showed extra 50 kms distance and about half an hour of additional travel time.

Changed Plan: Once children saw the google maps, they were not willing to take up the additional 50kms or time of the route through Ahmedabad. Instead they wanted to go via the shortest route. Hence, the Vadodara, Shamlaji, Udaipur route was opted for. Since I knew my comfort zone, it was not a big deal for me personally. Also, as against the original plan of 4 am departure, we could only leave by 4:50 am from Mumbai.

Vehicle: S-Cross 1.3 Diesel
No. of passengers: Myself, wife and 2 children
Driver: Myself
Driving style: Conservative. Unless there is clear visibility, speeds of 100 kmph are not touched. However, speeds upto 110kmph are taken up if conditions permit. Also, it is clear in my mind that if I were to feel sleepy / unfit to proceed with drive any further, a halt will be taken up which can also mean an overnight stay, and no compromise on that.
Preparation: I have done quite a few 1000+ kms drive on same day. The same was gradually taken up, from 200 – 500 – 800 – 1000 – 1200 – 1300 over the last several years. So, I knew my limits and what was needed to accomplish the task.

Time taken:
Departure from Mumbai: 4:50 am
Mumbai – Vadodara : Took about 6 hours 40 minutes for a distance of 430 kms. Reached Vadodara at 11:30 am. We had a 20 minute break in between. There was heavy truck traffic throughout. The speed was mostly in the range of 80-90 kmph with speeds of 100 kmph being touched on very rare occasion. The road conditions were good with 3+3 lanes being the norm for major part. The 2+2 lanes near Surat witnessed some congestion in the morning. Wherever I found people crossing the highway (Vapi, Surat etc), I slowed down in anticipation of more such people for next few kms.
Vadodara – Udaipur: Took about 5 hours 30 minutes for a distance of 330 kms. Reached Udaipur at 5:00 pm. We had 2 halts totaling 50 minutes. The Vadodara – Shamlaji SH is very good with not much traffic. One can consistently hit 100 kmph for large parts of section. Shamlaji – Udaipur NH is absolute beauty with 3+3 lanes. The traffic was minimal. Only the last 10 kms prior to Udaipur had work going on and was congested besides being 2+2 lanes.
Udaipur – Jaipur: Took about 7 hours 20 minutes for 390 kms. We had 80 minutes halt at 3 places. The road between Rajsamand – Beawar, approx. 115 kms is 1+1 lane with work going on at several places. This stretch took 2 hours 10 minutes to cover. There are speed breakers, diversions, drum barricaded roads etc in between. So, one needs to be careful while driving at night. However, the traffic was not much and progress was smooth. Even overtaking was not that difficult and one need not wait for long to overtake. By and large, the travelling speeds in Udaipur-Nathdwara route was 100 kmph, thereafter at 60-80 kmph till Beawar (being night time on 1+1 lane), 80 kmph on Beawar – Jaipur route (being night time with lots of truck traffic).
When I started the journey, the google maps showed a distance of 1158 kms with travel time of 20 hours 10 minutes. In reality, the odometer showed a distance of 1173 kms with travel time of 19 hours 30 minutes. This included halts of 150 minutes as described above. So, the average achieved speed was much higher which is quite good in my honest opinion. The most important thing to note is that we did not face any traffic jam in entire journey.

Incidents:
1. In the Mumbai – Vadodara stretch, I was travelling in the middle lane. A vehicle in the right lane was overtaking a truck ahead of me in my lane. I gradually shifted to the right lane when the vehicle ahead of me moved swiftly and shifted abruptly into the middle lane, having completed his overtaking manoeuvre. I was left with a slow moving tractor (may be 20 kmph) ahead of me and there was no way that I could have completed my overtake. Normally I slow down, and then undertake a fresh overtaking manouevre later. However, I could not do so today as an impatient pickup van shifted from the left most lane to the right most lane at that very moment and was too close to me. Had I applied my brakes, he would have definitely rear ended me. I had no other choice but to gradually reduce the speed and align myself with the speed of the tractor. By the time I did this, I was barely a foot away from the tractor. This gave enough scope for the van to slow down and he went off to some other lane. In the process, the van did touch the rear of my vehicle (a feather touch) but no damage done. I was plain lucky.
2. In the Vadodara – Shamlaji stretch, a truck was ahead of me in the right lane and I overtook it from the left. A tractor was coming afar in the wrong direction in the shoulder lane and could have no way affected my overtake. However, just as I was completing the overtake, the tractor deliberately moved into my lane forcing me to make a panic adjustment and shift to right. The tractor immediately went back and I could see the guys laughing and enjoying their prank. I wish people realise the seriousness of driving.
3. In the Vadodara – Shamlaji stretch, a car was about to overtake me and so I began to shift from right lane to left lane, after giving the indicator. At that very moment, from the divider, a biker emerged (not a designated place) and casually strolled on to the left lane thinking I would continue to travel in the right most lane. I had no other choice but to make suitable adjustment after moving to left lane. The biker was totally oblivious of the potential danger behind him.

General
 After Beawar, we thought we will have good halts at non-veg hotels (in anticipation of famous lalmas). However, almost all the joints between Beawar and Jaipur were vegetarian ones. The only non-veg eatery on highway can be in the Ramada mall/hotel at Ajmer bypass.
 I had traveled in Beawar – Nathdwara route earlier, over 3 years back. Since my google maps in always on, by the yellow lines on the map, I anticipate such places to have speed bumps. But this time, both in Rajsamand – Beawar route and Vadodara – Shamlaji routes, I found few unmarked speed bumps and in which google maps didn’t show yellow lines either.
 In some of the places, there are no dedicated lanes just prior to right turns. Some local vehicles stopped for taking a right turn without any indicator or signal. The only giveaway was slight decrease in speed of such vehicles which needs to be watched out. Also, I noticed that many of the 2 wheelers in Vadodara – Shamlaji segment did not have rear view mirror which is a big red flag for me in terms of speed.
 Near Nathdwara, few barriers are placed on roads by police / local authorities.
 Although the journey was long, none of us really felt tiredness.
 The vehicle seemed to be sluggish initially given that this was the first major trip where the vehicle had 4 persons and also had good amount of luggage. I felt a slower response compared to what I had experienced in my solo trips (which was to be expected). Over a period of time, I got used to it.

Tolls: A total of Rs.1295 was spent on fastag (including Mumbai Sea Link). In no place, did I have to wait for long although it did necessitate reading by hand held reader at one place. In Gujarat SH, no toll is charged for cars and the exempt car lanes are in the right most side.


The return journey: Jaipur to Mumbai trip

Everything remains the same except that we started at 6 am and reached at 2:30 am the next day. We had a detour of Ajmer for about an hour which ideally should be excluded.

When I started the journey, the google maps showed a distance of 1158 kms with travel time of 19 hours 30 minutes. In reality, the odometer showed a distance of 1178 kms with travel time of 20 hours 30 minutes. This included halts / detour as stated below. No traffic jam was faced in the return journey as well.

Jaipur – Udaipur stretch: Started at 6 am and reached Udaipur at 1 pm. The journey took a time of 7 hours for a distance of 405 kms, which also included 1 hour detour to Ajmer and about 20 minutes break in between. The Beawar-Rajasamand stretch of 115 kms was a breeze to cover during the day time. It took a mere 1 hours 40 minutes without any undue risks, a whole 30 minutes lesser than the night journey 2 days earlier. Although a 1+1 lane, the road is wider due to presence of shoulder on both the sides. It is right test of skills, judgement and patience which one can easily pass. Any given day, I would prefer taking this route as compared to Jaipur-Mehsana-Ahmedabad-Mumbai route.
Udaipur – Vadodara stretch: Took about 5 hours 40 minutes for 340 kms. Had breaks of 40 minutes in between.
Vadodara – Mumbai stretch: Had a break of 1 hour in Baroda before resuming further. Started at 7:40 pm and reached Mumbai at 2:30 pm, covering a distance of 430 kms in 6 hours 50 minutes. About 15 minutes break was taken in between.

The fastag experience was seamless and smooth except at 1 toll plaza near Palghar which took about 10 minutes. One annoying part was the endless stream of cars trying to break the queue and squeeze in between.

I measured the fuel efficiency on full tank basis at Valsad. By then, it had taken 107 litres to cover a distance of 2163 kms, thereby giving a fuel efficiency of 20.2 kms per litre.

[gadadhar]

Got the first part of my Rajasthan trip published, below is the trip summary as well, hope this helps the planning

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...territory.html (Bangalore to Rajasthan - 15 Days, 5050 Kms, 5 States and 1 Union Territory)

[sudhirjaipur]

Hi all, I plan to make the following trip in Dec 2022

20 Dec’21: Jaipur - Bikaner ( approx. 6 hrs drive)
21 Dec’21: Bikaner – Jaisalmer ( approx. 5. 1/2 hrs drive)
22 Dec’21: In Jaisalmer
23 Dec’21: Jaisalmer – Jodhpur ( approx. 5 hrs drive)
24 Dec’21: Jodhpur
25 Dec’21: Jodhpur – Narlai ( approx. 2. 1/2 hrs drive)
26 Dec’21: In Narlai
27 Dec’21: Narlai – Udaipur ( approx. 2. 1/2 hrs drive)
28 Dec’21: in Udaipur
29 Dec’21: Udaipur -Jaipur ( approx. 7 hrs drive)

We will be 12 people 78 years to 7 years, 2 senior citizen couples, 2 young couples, my (daughter's and son's family), so 8 adults and 4 children ranging from 7 to 13. the vehicles to be used will be my XUV700 AX7 L Petrol, my son-in-laws Maruti Ciaz and third car we are still debating.

Would appreciate advice from fellow BHPians regarding re-fuelling and neat and clean eating places Enroute. Thanks

[NovemberKing_91]

Hello!

In the upcoming Diwali holidays, we (myself and my wife) are planning to take a trip to Jaisalmer from Vadodara.
I intend to cover the approx 700 kms in a day itself.
The car is a Tata Nexon Petrol, just about a year old. We intend to leave Vadodara at about 0500 and arrive at Jaisalmer by 1900/2000.
Last December, we did a trip to the Rann of Kutchh and by the end of the travel of about 8 hours, with a couple of breaks in between, we were not tired as such, very hungry though. Emboldened by that experience, the plan for Jaisalmer has been hatched.

My queries are the following:
1. Road conditions - Any particular patch where roadworks are ongoing? Any route that I must avoid? The shortest route seems to be Vadodara - Ahmedabad - Mehsana - Palanpur - Barmer - Jaisalmer. If there are no red flags on this route, then this is the one we intend to take. 650 kms, 13 hours.

2. Rest Stops - People who have made this trip, or on this route, are there any particular places which should serve as rest stops? Top requirement is clean washrooms, quite edible food is a close second in priority.

3. Expectations out of the car - What kind of mileage should be expected on this trip? On the trip to Kutchh, where we went to Dholavira and Bhuj and the Rann, along with long jams en route while coming back, the car returned an average of 19.1 km/l over 1456 kms, as per the MID.

4. Things to do in Jaisalmer - Myself and my wife, we have been to Jaisalmer individually quite a few years ago. This time, one of the main attractions is to do some night time astro photography in the desert. Other than that, visit to Kuldhara, Bada Baagh, the fort itself are there on the cards. Is there some experience that is highly recommended? Any particular hidden gem of a place or some super awesome restaurant? Recommendations shall be welcome.

I am hoping to get some help from the community here
Thanks in advance!

Our Kutcch trip details here : Short run to the Rann (Vadodara to the White Rann of Kutch, via Dholavira | Tata Nexon)!

[acquillew]

Originally Posted by NovemberKing_91

Hello!

My queries are the following:
1. Road conditions - Any particular patch where roadworks are ongoing? Any route that I must avoid? The shortest route seems to be Vadodara - Ahmedabad - Mehsana - Palanpur - Barmer - Jaisalmer. If there are no red flags on this route, then this is the one we intend to take. 650 kms, 13 hours.

This is the best route to take. Ahmedabad to Palanpur - most of the stretch after Mehsana has been now 6-laned with good surface. Between Deesa and Sanchore is where you may see some potholes and non-divider roads, but most of the road is good. It is a breeze after Barmer. The other option if you want flawless roads is to go via Jodhpur. It will be more kms and more time, but the roads are mostly flawless.

2. Rest Stops - People who have made this trip, or on this route, are there any particular places which should serve as rest stops? Top requirement is clean washrooms, quite edible food is a close second in priority.

You can stop in Ahmedabad for breakfast and have lunch near Sanchore. This route is devoid of good hotels/Dhabas/restaurants. As soon as you cross Sanchore city, there is a hotel on the left - Hotel Kaushal International. Google Maps Link. This has good washrooms and also good food. You can also stop in Barmer. Just before you enter the city, there is a Goodhall restaurant to your left. They serve Rajasthani thalis and also traditional rajasthani Ala carte. Another option is Hotel Kailash International.

3. Expectations out of the car - What kind of mileage should be expected on this trip? On the trip to Kutchh, where we went to Dholavira and Bhuj and the Rann, along with long jams en route while coming back, the car returned an average of 19.1 km/l over 1456 kms, as per the MID.

Good mileage. Most roads are good. Ahmedabad - Palanpur is the busiest stretch on this road. Once you cross Barmer - it is mostly a cruise at constant speed. Be careful of potholes in and around Sanchore.

4. Things to do in Jaisalmer - Myself and my wife, we have been to Jaisalmer individually quite a few years ago. This time, one of the main attractions is to do some night time astro photography in the desert. Other than that, visit to Kuldhara, Bada Baagh, the fort itself are there on the cards. Is there some experience that is highly recommended? Any particular hidden gem of a place or some super awesome restaurant? Recommendations shall be welcome.

For food - I have found that the local small eateries serve best food here. We travel to Jaisalmer almost every December and in the mornings, we simply park our cars around Hanuman Chowk and try the different small stalls - Poha, Dal Pakwan, Parathas. Have always enjoyed the local food there. It is non-expensive and also delicious. Just next to the fort is Daulat Dal Pakwan - very famous but I feel you can get good Dal Pakwan at Hanuman Chowk itself. If you like Sweets, try out Bhatia sweet shop. They serve various sweets but also serve Ghotua - a local delicacy.

There are lots of things to do in Jaisalmer - if you have not been to the desert - you could try that. I prefer going to the Khuri sand dunes as Sam tends to become a little too crowded for my liking. It is close to Kuldhara. Visit Tanot temple - if you are staying in the city, you can drive via Ramgarh. But on your return - use the Bharatmala road - drive to Tanot - then to Longewala - then to Sam or Khuri. This will let you enjoy the new tarmac and believe me - you will enjoy driving here. Sand dunes on both sides and great surface too.

And avoid the most popular destinations - like sunset points etc. They are almost always over-crowded.

[Sj_241]

Hello BHPians,
Firstly i would like to thank the moderators for accepting me into this community.

We (Myself and 2 friends) are planning a trip around Rajasthan from pune on our RE classic 350cc bs4 2019 engine.

After going through the other post we have finalised our itinerary.
Travel dates: 29th Sept - 10th Oct 2022.

Date - Point A - Point B - Start Time - Distance - Approx travel time.

29th - pune - Ratlam/Indore - 4.30 am -675kms - 15 hours. (Will be stopping by some hotel on the highway itself)
30th - Ratlam - Ranthambore 5.00 am (450 kms - 14 hours) 

1st - Ranthambore
2nd - Ranthambore - Jaipur - 12.00pm - 200kms - 4.5 hours
3rd - Jaipur
4th - Jaipur - Pushkar - 150kms - 3 hours
5th - Pushkar - Pokhran - 350kms - 7.5 hours
6th - Pokhran - Jaisalmer - 111kms - 2.5 hours
7th - Jaisalmer
8th - Jaisalmer - Vadodara - 645 kms - 15 hours
9th - Vadodara - Pune - 550 kms - 15 hours
10th - Pune

Currently we have kept one day in spare incase needed.

My queries:
1. Current road conditions, any roads to be avoided in particular?
2. Extra safety precautions to be taken on any particular road?
3. Stay options on the highway.
4. Additional input is always welcomed, i have been learning tons from you all.

Looking forward to your replies.
Thanks,
Sj

[NovemberKing_91]

Originally Posted by acquillew

This is the best route to take.

And avoid the most popular destinations - like sunset points etc. They are almost always over-crowded.

Thank you
This is why TeamBhp community is the best

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by NovemberKing_91

trip to Jaisalmer from Vadodara.

My queries are the following:

1. Road conditions

Easily doable in a single day without any stress. The stretch between Deesa and Sanchore will drain some of your energy but apart from that, the drive is going to be a blissful one. I did Ahmedabad-Jaisalmer sometime early this year, we left from Ahmedabad around 5ish and was in Jaisalmer for a late lunch around 3. This is without any highspeed stints.

2. Rest Stops

For washrooms, we stuck to petrol bunks. All of them have well maintained washrooms. For food, you'll have very limited options throughout. As acquillew suggested, you can aim for Sanchore for lunch. But I'd suggest you keep some home cooked quick eats / fruits with you for company.

3. Expectations out of the car

You should be able to achieve a similar FE or even better during your Jaisalmer trip.

4. Things to do in Jaisalmer

Don't miss the view of the fort during the sunset. The twilight shades bring the Fort into an altogether different glory.

Also, you can keep one night stay in the desert camps. It will help you have your fun in the desert as well as experiment with photography.

You may also want to add Longewala to your list. That will be another drive that you will remember for the rest of your life. The quality of the roads are just insane.

Also, if you have time, you can try visiting Munabao as well.

Here is a quick travelogue I had written about my Jaisalmer drive just in case if it helps you with your trip planning: A trip to the Golden City – Jaisalmer (A trip to the Golden City – Jaisalmer!)

Drive safe and enjoy your trip,
R-Six

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by R-Six

Don't miss the view of the fort during the sunset. The twilight shades bring the Fort into an altogether different glory.

R-Six

Quick question: are you referring to the view from the top of the fort at dusk, or a view of the fort from a rooftop restaurant at dusk?

I'm planning a trip to RJ early November, and your advice will be valuable. I've read your lovely TL, but alas, I am not driving on my Ecsoport---it will add 4 days to my travel plan as it is too far from Hyderabad.