[LonelyPlanet]

I am planning to drive with family to Pune next week. I am planning to start at 330 pm and hoping for a break somewhere mid-way. Nothing fancy - just needs to be clean to provide overnight rest.
Are there any recommendations from fellow bhpians who have taken an overnight break somewhere close to hubli/ belgaum region.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by LonelyPlanet

I am planning to drive with family to Pune next week. I am planning to start at 330 pm and hoping for a break somewhere mid-way. Nothing fancy - just needs to be clean to provide overnight rest.
Are there any recommendations from fellow bhpians who have taken an overnight break somewhere close to hubli/ belgaum region.

• Hubli - Clarks Inn Airport Hotel - 410 kms - 5.5-6 Hours
• Belgaum - Sankam Residency - 500 Kms - 6.5 -7 Hours Max

These are closest to the highway and would not require detour from main corridor. Look out for best deals on app based sites.

[rakesh_r]

Me and my better half have planned to drive down to Palakkad, my home town during Onam (mid of September).Would be starting from Dhanori, Pune and the total distance would be close to 1400km max. Can any of the experienced bhpians recommend how to split the journey (where to stop for the night) since I am planning to start on a Saturday and reach Palakkad the next day.
We zeroed in two options
Leave on Friday, stop over at Kolhapur for the night. Leave Kolhapur early on Saturday and halt at Salem for the night. Salem to Palakkad on Sunday. But i felt it would be an overkill to stop two times.
Leave early on Saturday all the way till Hosur. Leave Hosur on Sunday early morning all the way till Palakkad.

Any other suggestions apart from this along with stay recommendations would really be appreciated.
PS- Would be driving an Scross 1.6.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Leave early on Saturday all the way till Hosur. Leave Hosur on Sunday early morning all the way till Palakkad.

+1. This would be a better option.

If you leave early in the morning, you could avoid busy sections of Maharastra. Once in Karnataka, all the way until Tumkur would be a breeze. Catch the NICE once you enter B'lore, and in no time you would be in Hosur.

[Rajeevraj]

A small update. Returned from Jog Falls/Sagar via the Davangere-Chitradurga-Tumkur Route. Stopped for lunch at this place called Hotel Atithya between Chitardurga and Hiriyur. It was super crowded and was a place where all the KSRTC buses stop. We were in two minds whether to step in, but decided to go in as there did not seem to be any good option for quite some distance after this.

Surprisingly it was not too bad, the main hall was a self service area, but they had a separate seating area with service. Had a north indian thali and some roti stuff. Won't win any prizes, but was edible and reasonably good. Rest rooms inside the service hall were also decent.

Not a regular on this route and hence cannot compare to the other options.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Stopped for lunch at this place called Hotel Atithya between Chitardurga and Hiriyur. It was super crowded and was a place where all the KSRTC buses stop. We were in two minds whether to step in, but decided to go in as there did not seem to be any good option for quite some distance after this.

This one has been there since at least 2 years now. At first it opened as a place mostly to serve private cars, looked at par with Kamats that we normally see on highways. Never visited as it was way too early for breakfast and situated on the opposite side if I was driving Mumbai or way too late if I was driving back home.

However, I ended up visiting this place during my drive to Goa in May and came back with mixed feeling - Good bits mostly to do with rest rooms although food was strictly OK since we stopped for evening snacks. The most basic Bonda Soup, something that is so synonymous with Hotels in Karnataka had Vada that was stale and a warm Sambhar and not really the soup that they serve along with this.

My better half went out to order some chat (They have counter for Chat outside and the person taking order inside service hall said we need to go there to order) and it was disastrous.

Won't win any prices, but was edible and reasonably good. Rest rooms inside the service hall were also decent.

Very true. I mentioned the same when I updated this in the Bangaore-Goa thread:

Originally Posted by paragsachania

[*]Avoid Athithya for food between Chitradurga-Hiriyur in case you plan a break on return. I tried this for the first time ever and its no more than a typical hotel that serves Govt and Private buses. The only saving grace is that they have cleaner rest rooms inside the Service Hall for ladies and gents.

Not a regular on this route and hence cannot compare to the other options.

I always wanted to avoid this looking at the buses parked here in all flavors. Earlier it was just Volvos and now all buses stop here, almost. But then I had no option but stop here during my return from Goa as folks inside the car wanted a bio break and the next good option to stop was Kamat which was at least another 30 minutes ahead at Sira.

If you refer this post with the complete list, Atithya very much figures in the list. Can't really ignore this place and it helps (Helped me and you too).

Originally Posted by paragsachania

11.Atithya Highway Plaza (Before Hiriyur) - Maximum Private buses stop here, expect crowd and slow service.

And then condor also has had an experience here and share similar views like us:

Originally Posted by condor

Due to the crowds last weekend, I ended up having breakfast here. The place is okay-ish. Looks to be a regular stop for the KSRTC buses.

One advantage is easy access - both exit from & entry to highway, from either side.

Has anyone tried Aroma Veg at JG Halli ( on the left between Sira & Hiriyur ) ?

[paragsachania]

Drove to Pune on Wednesday and here are few latest updates, more for Pune-Bangalore sector as I flew back instead of returning by road since I had to drop a friend's car there. We had started from Bangalore (Seshadripuram) bang on at 0430 and were in Pune (Wakad) by 1515 with 3 breaks - Breakfast, Refuel and Lunch. An early morning start, weekday and steady speeds meant we managed this pretty quickly.

• Overall, the entire stretch remains in excellent shape
  
  
• Satara - Pune with 6 Lane work that is complete is also in very good shape
  
  
• Few Diversions between Satara - Pune are also well managed with nothing to complain. Weekends might see some snarls here obviously but that has got nothing to do with the road quality at these diversions itself
  
  
• The progress of expansion work between Satara - Pune is indeed moving faster now and is definitely visible
  
  
• There has been some lovely improvements on NH4 with new Cafe Coffee Day outlets opening in sectors that had nothing (Specially Chitradurga - Dharwad). Although I noticed a new one operational near Motebennur attached to Kamat and IOCL last month itself, there is another one coming up right on Davanagere bypass

So, keeping only the Sira - Chitradurga - Davanagere - Hubli - Dharwad Sector in mind, which is a distance of approximately 320 Kms, here are the Cafe Coffee Day outlets that should help travelers immensely from cleaner rest room perspective:

1. Cafe Coffee Day - Before Sira Bypass, Pune-Bangalore corridor, 125 kms before Bangalore - Location
   
   
2. Cafe Coffee Day - Before Davanagere Bypass, Bangalore-Pune corridor, 265 kms from Bangalore - Location
   
   
3. Cafe Coffee Day - Between Motebennur & Ranebennur, Pune-Bangalore corridor, 315 kms before Bangalore - Location
   
   
4. Cafe Coffee Day - Shiggaon, Bangalore - Pune corridor, 360 Kms from Bangalore - Location
   
   
5. Cafe Coffee Day - Belur Industrial Estate, Dharwad, Bangalore - Pune corridor, 435 kms from Bangalore - Location

Note: The second CCD in this list should open in few days as they were setting up the interiors as I noticed from outside. So the Google map link will still show this as Indian Oil Station and that is exactly where it is located along with the fuel station.

In another major development, expect Fairfield Inn -By Marriott to open shop right before Belgaum bypass (Around 510 kms from Bangalore on the Pune-Bangalore corridor). Boards are in place, Building ready and I think it should soon be operational. Might make a perfect pit stop for those who want to break their journey and looking for some high end hotels to stay by right on the highway - Location

Lastly, there has been a super good increase in the number of Vittal Kamat outlets in Kolhapur - Satara Secton that I lost count of it this time. They start as early as the KA-MH Border all the way to Satara. There is no real need to remember the location as they are aplenty and have good signage too.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Drove to Pune on Wednesday and here are few latest updates, more for Pune-Bangalore sector as I flew back instead of returning by road since I had to drop a friend's car there. We had started from Bangalore (Seshadripuram) bang on at 0430 and were in Pune (Wakad) by 1515 with 3 breaks - Breakfast, Refuel and Lunch. An early morning start, weekday and steady speeds meant we managed this pretty quickly.


In another major development, expect Fairfield Inn -By Marriott to open shop right before Belgaum bypass (Around 510 kms from Bangalore on the Pune-Bangalore corridor). Boards are in place, Building ready and I think it should soon be operational. Might make a perfect pit stop for those who want to break their journey and looking for some high end hotels to stay by right on the highway - Location

Lastly, there has been a super good increase in the number of Vittal Kamat outlets in Kolhapur - Satara Secton that I lost count of it this time. They start as early as the KA-MH Border all the way to Satara. There is no real need to remember the location as they are aplenty and have good signage too.

Parag, that was an excellent update You might have clocked around 85kmph average driving speed, right ?? Can you please elaborate on this one - what were your usual driving speeds and total stopover duration that made this roughly 850 kms drive possible in 10 hrs 45 mins including 3 stopovers ?? A steady and constant 100-110 and occasional bursts of 120 depending on the merits of road should do the trick, isn't it ?? I had a debate on this one recently with someone who said it's not quite possible to do Bangalore - Vashi, Navi Mumbai in 13 hours while I claimed it can be easily done with a favourable start time, weekday and without overspeeding . I contested by saying that covering the ground faster on KA part of NH4 is the ''key point'' whatsoever. However, I have totally lost connection with NH4 towards Bangalore side past 2.5 years ( can vouch for the timings on Belgaum--Pune--Mumbai sector ). Your update reinforces my belief that Bangalore--Pune is still easily and safely doable in 10 hours ( non stop drive ) for a regular user of this stretch, despite Satara-Pune being u/c for 6 lanes. For ocassional drivers, 12 hours is assumed to be safe.

Good to know that couple more CCDs are opening up in KA part of NH4. Sometime in the past, when I was once going through their website, I had noticed that CCD (which is KA based itself) is on a spree making its KA outlets to be open 24*7 be it NH4 or Bangalore-Mangalore /Kolar/Mysore sector. While in MH part of NH4, only two CCDs are open 24*7 --one at Bavdhan, Pune and another at Khalapur food mall,Pune--Mumbai Expressway. There are many other CCD outlets on NH4 in MH sector too, but most of them get closed by 11.30 pm max. I guess they would be upgrading these MH outlets also to 24*7 ones in future after getting necessary approvals/permissions from resp. administrations.

I am still waiting to visit Smilestone, NH4 at Kolhapur but as per hearsay , seems it is really good with clean restrooms and good food. I see this hotel every time I passby, accessibility is too easy for Bangalore--Pune direction. I am quite sure it will be worth an addition to the list of eateries on NH4 in case someone reports it to be good, which mostly will be, given the Smilestone's reputation on Pune--Aurangabad highway.

By the way , I was in Delhi/Jaipur/Chandigarh belt recently and noticed that the work on NH8 Jaipur--New Delhi 6 laning is still seeing only around 90% completion , construction of which had begun in April 2009 !!! If the highways running to country's capital get into such delays, then let alone Satara--Pune Yeh kiss khet ki mooli hain

Apparently, the Fairfield Marriott at Kakati ,Belgaum is a 5 star, the first one in Belgaum city but my friend says it's a 4 star. The opening was originally expected by mid-2016 but Fairfield later deferred to make it operational by the end of 2016. If I am not wrong, it should be the first ever 4/5 star rated property bang on NH4 in the KA part ( Bangalore--Nipani) once opened. Needless to say, MH has a couple of 4/5 stars on NH4 since many years, courtesy being Pune city ! Here is a pic of Fairfield Mariott Belgaum that I had clicked in June -


I would like to share driving directions to this Fairfield for someone driving from Bangalore towards Pune. DO NOT follow the route suggested by Google maps as it takes you on a 5 km detour ( through a messy service road as well ). I have attached a Google map snapshot below. The landmark for exit from NH4 is Barde Roadlines/BP fuel station or Barde Dhaba represented by a red circle. Now, this is an untarred exit which is not featured in Google maps but be assured this is a clean "Exit point". NH4 and service road lie at the same level here with no trench in between. So one can simply hop onto this service road from the highway. Next , drive straight on the service road until you see a big underpass on your right. Turn right here and then immediate Left to get onto the opp. side service road. Drive straight and Fairfield comes on your right. Below image shows how to do exit and entry to NH4 from Fairfield-Belgaum in Bangalore -- Pune direction


Google considers this opp.side service road as one way, but in reality all service roads along NH4 are two ways. The route I have suggested above is legal, easy, clean without any traffic or petty obstructions. There is one more route, not acknowledged by Google as well, which I would not recommend at all as it involves passing through a small underpass and service roads which are usually messy with vehicles parked haphazardly and people moving all around.

This is what Google map suggests, DO NOT follow.


For Pune--Bangalore direction, ''exit point'' suggested by Google is 100% correct. Google is neither always right nor always wrong but I certainly don't belong to the tribe who berate or undermine the importance of Google maps as a whole. It has definitely made life and travel much easier and some errors should always be expected from any kind of technology.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

1. Cafe Coffee Day - Before Sira Bypass, Pune-Bangalore corridor, 125 kms before Bangalore - Location
2. Cafe Coffee Day - Before Davanagere Bypass, Bangalore-Pune corridor, 265 kms from Bangalore - Location
3. Cafe Coffee Day - Between Motebennur & Ranebennur, Pune-Bangalore corridor, 315 kms before Bangalore - Location
4. Cafe Coffee Day - Shiggaon, Bangalore - Pune corridor, 360 Kms from Bangalore - Location
5. Cafe Coffee Day - Belur Industrial Estate, Dharwad, Bangalore - Pune corridor, 435 kms from Bangalore - Location

Thank a lot for the detailed updates and for for letting us know of these developments. These developments are really great news for regular Bangalore-Pune travelers.

By the way, the number 2 in your CCD list above is just a couple of km before Apoorva Resort (while going from Bangalore to Pune), right? I stopped at the Indian Oil petrol pump a couple of times to fill petrol. Good to know there is a CCD coming there. But for anybody looking for clean restrooms, even Apoorva a couple of km ahead offers clean restrooms too. That's another option if that works.

And I recently stopped at CCD number 5 in your list, during my monsoon drive. Just thought I should share a picture of that since I had it handy:



Thanks again for all these invaluable updates!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Can you please elaborate on this one - what were your usual driving speeds and total stopover duration that made this roughly 850 kms drive possible in 10 hrs 45 mins including 3 stopovers ??

Steady 110-120 most of the times till Kolhapur. Post Kolhapur we faced good local traffic at least till Islampur Textile Park.

A steady and constant 100-110 and occasional bursts of 120 depending on the merits of road should do the trick, isn't it ?? I had a debate on this one recently with someone who said it's not quite possible to do Bangalore - Vashi, Navi Mumbai in 13 hours while I claimed it can be easily done with a favourable start time, weekday and without overspeeding.

Very much possible without a need to over speed at all. A good start (Read very early morning) is your answer. Nothing else.

This drive was in the Safari Storme that has excellent straight line capabiltiy but limited control when it comes to negotiating curves or ghat roads at good speeds. So we drove accordingly.

Your update reinforces my belief that Bangalore--Pune is still easily and safely doable in 10 hours ( non stop drive ) for a regular user of this stretch, despite Satara-Pune being u/c for 6 lanes. For ocassional drivers, 12 hours is assumed to be safe.

Yes, non-stop and 10 hours is very much possible. Dates back to Jan 2010, I had done Non-Stop Pune-Bangalore in 10.5 Hours in a WagonR despite of the mess between Haveri and Chitradurga. It was me and my cousin and we had started from Pune (Shinhagad Road) at 10:00PM and reached Bangalore home at 08:30AM next morning.

And then in 2013 May, with 19 diversions between Tumkur and Chitradurga (due to 6 laning) we still did Bangalore- Vashi (Palm Beach Road) in 11.5 Hours door to door in a Fiesta 1.6 with 3 breaks (Breakfast @ Ranebennur, Refuel@ Dharwad, Lunch@ Wai Phata)

There are many other CCD outlets on NH4 in MH sector too, but most of them get closed by 11.30 pm max. I guess they would be upgrading these MH outlets also to 24*7 ones in future after getting necessary approvals/permissions from resp. administrations.

I have mentioned quite a few of these (See first post on this thread) but then you don't need to look for CCDs when you are driving around in MH when you have aplenty of better choices and in abundance too .

I am still waiting to visit Smilestone, NH4 at Kolhapur but as per hearsay , seems it is really good with clean restrooms and good food. I see this hotel every time I passby, accessibility is too easy for Bangalore--Pune direction. I am quite sure it will be worth an addition to the list of eateries on NH4 in case someone reports it to be good, which mostly will be, given the Smilestone's reputation on Pune--Aurangabad highway.

I noticed that it was operational but we didn't stop. This one is soon after you enter MH after Kagal/Kognoli toll plaza right? It was around 11:30AM when I passed this and way too early for a stop as we stopped for Dinner way ahead at Satara.

Here is a pic of Fairfield Mariott Belgaum that I had clicked in June

I clicked one too as I was in the co-passenger's seat during this sector. Somehow my Phone conked last Thursday and hence I couldn't post the pictures here.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

By the way, the number 2 in your CCD list above is just a couple of km before Apoorva Resort (while going from Bangalore to Pune), right?

That is true. This one is attached to a popular IOCL station that comes in 5 minutes after the Hebbalu Toll.

I stopped at the Indian Oil petrol pump a couple of times to fill petrol. Good to know there is a CCD coming there. But for anybody looking for clean restrooms, even Apoorva a couple of km ahead offers clean restrooms too. That's another option if that works.

Indeed. Have tried Apoorva twice till now and share very good experience. On both the occasions, we were driving South and had to take the service road, turn right below the main corridor and again left to drive on the Service lane to reach here. In fact, the Signage for Apoorva also asks one to get down at this service road here. Apoorva works best if you are heading to Pune than Bangalore, however, given the limited options on this stretch, one can stop by here when driving to Bangalore too.

[subbaraomr]

Hello, we (wife and I are senior citizens) are planing to drive Pune to bangalore last week of September '16. Would appreciate latest up date on road conditions post heavy rains in ongoing monsoon. Can we still hole to do in 10.5-11hrs?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by subbaraomr

appreciate latest up date on road conditions post heavy rains in ongoing monsoon. Can we still hole to do in 10.5-11hrs?

No need to worry about the road conditions. They are holding up very well for all the rains that battered in past few weeks/month.

With an early morning start like 0400-0430 & typical cruising between 110-120 along with breaks for breakfast and lunch and refuel, 11 Hours to 11.5 Hours till Pune bypass is good enough even today.

[hangover]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Parag, that was an excellent update You might have clocked around 85kmph average driving speed, right

Google has a bit of manual operations involved in their maps. While an algorithm extracts all useful information from the satellite pictures, fine tuning is done by humans. They take images from the Google cars videos and use an internal tool called Atlas to manually "adjust" maps.

You may read an interesting article from "Wired" magazine here:http://www.wired.com/2014/12/google-maps-ground-truth/

And you thought hard-coding within applications was your company's secret!

You may submit your actual ground reality changes to them within the maps app. It takes months. Your corrections will get incorporated. And no, your name won't be in the credits. Sorry.

If you have some time you may see how maps are actually made:
https://events.google.com/io2016/
It's the last but one video titled "Google vision".

FYI, I don't work at Google.

[NPV]

Anyone been to the (New) Mysore Cafe on the Bangalore-Pune highway after Chitradurga town (near Nijalingappa memorial) ? Apprently another branch of the hotel near the Chitradurga Fort.

Is this a good option for breakfast or would Apoorva Resorts in Davanagere be better for a 4-5am start ?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by NPV

Anyone been to the (New) Mysore Cafe on the Bangalore-Pune highway after Chitradurga town (near Nijalingappa memorial) ? Apprently another branch of the hotel near the Chitradurga Fort.

Is this a good option for breakfast or would Apoorva Resorts in Davanagere be better for a 4-5am start ?

If you start at 0430AM also, this will be too early even with usual cruising speeds. That is the reason why Kamat at Ranebennur is the stop for most of us as it takes about 4 hours from Bangalore for a distance of 300 Kms in 100-110 KMPH Band.

Few of the folks have visited this place (Mysore Cafe) for breakfast and have come back with positive reviews. So you can as well factor this in case you have a delayed start. This is also the same location where a KSRTC Club Class bus met with an accident killing at least 5 when the bus jumper the main road and toppled on the service road when the driver fell asleep at the wheel.

There is a good marking (Signage) for Mysore Cafe soon after crossing the Bypass that no one can miss that.

Apoorva IMHO is not a place for breakfast and I will use that for Lunch or Dinner. They are still a resort (Veg/NV) and you for sure wont get the best of South Indian breakfast.

On the other hand, the Kamat at Ranebennur is only 30 minutes from here (max). So I would prefer that over Apoorva for Breakfast any day. Apoorva is a lovely place for lunch though.