[himarg]

Hello all,

Need advise - will a 3 AM start on 23rd December from Bangalore (onward to Pune) help alleviate the holiday season woes that one might expect on the Christmas long weekend? Any alternate time slots you would like to advise?

PS: I am not keen on breaking in between for the night, so the time that I leave should be a bit early in the day. I am open to leave even earlier, but that will entail more night driving which I would like to avoid, if possible. But if that saves me a few hours of jams, I am open to it as well.

Thanks in advance.
Himanshu

[distiller]

Hi Himanshu! Yeah a 3AM starts looks good to hoodwink all the holiday traffic.
Even am driving to Pune on same day, although since am having a small kid with me, I'll be starting late.
Last year I had similar experience & there was quite a traffic till Dharwad-Hubli, the ones traveling to Goa!

[ajayclicks]

Originally Posted by himarg

Hello all,

Need advise - will a 3 AM start on 23rd December from Bangalore (onward to Pune) help alleviate the holiday season woes that one might expect on the Christmas long weekend? Any alternate time slots you would like to advise?
Himanshu

Originally Posted by distiller

Hi Himanshu! Yeah a 3AM starts looks good to hoodwink all the holiday traffic.
Even am driving to Pune on same day, although since am having a small kid with me, I'll be starting late.
Last year I had similar experience & there was quite a traffic till Dharwad-Hubli, the ones traveling to Goa!

I am driving to Pune as well! Going by my past experience, I would be lucky to leave at 7! I stay at Kanakpura road, and not sure if there is a way to avoid that horrible toll palaza at the nice road exit.

[distiller]

Originally Posted by ajayclicks

I am driving to Pune as well! Going by my past experience, I would be lucky to leave at 7! I stay at Kanakpura road, and not sure if there is a way to avoid that horrible toll palaza at the nice road exit.

Good to know that I have "brothers in arms" with me on my "mission" to Pune.
I was even thinking if I start on Sunday morning there will be less traffic on way! And also there will be less rush in restaurants & rest rooms!

[Arka]

Plus one to the count of folks headed in that direction! I'm starting at 6AM on 23rd. I think Parag will stay away from the migrating herds, and is starting a couple of days later.

Highways will be crowded. Drive/ride safe.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Arka

I think Parag will stay away from the migrating herds, and is starting a couple of days later.

Indeed a right guess there Arka .

I am starting only on Monday and at 0400. I don't expect much crowd in my direction except after Nippani where I may have Pune/Mumbai bound traffic heading back after Goa on the 25th. But they won't bother me much as I deviate off NH4 after Satara by lunch time while the Goan tourists will still be somewhere on Chorla or Amboli ghats!

And yes, I am avoiding Pune too and still taking the considerably bad Satara - Lonad - Shirur route and I am sure I will still be saving a lot of time.

Some strategy there for a peaceful drive. Return will be on 29th, but I am starting from Pune this time only after 1PM so that reaching Bangalore will be a breeze there .

[Bigzero]

I will be starting my journey from Pune on 24th (Sunday) morning. I am hoping that a good part of the holiday traffic would have left on 23rd to take advantage of the long weekend... just hoping..

[distiller]

Okay! Update from my end. I have planned to travel on Sunday. As my last years experience was not so good with lot of time being spend at tolls with very long queues!
As I feel that on Sunday everyone will be at their destination.

[sumukha]

I drove yesterday from Indore to Bangalore. Left Indore on 20th @ 5 Am was in Karad by 5 PM. From Nashik I took NH 60 to Pune.I wanted to avoid BOMBAY this time due to BHIWANDI traffic chaos !. NH 60 was a good choice. It was a good drive. Stayed in Karad in Hotel Pankaj Excecutive which is on the highway. Rooms were renovated and appeared decent, though I had no other option. The other hotel, Mahindra, the guys were very arrogant and hence moved out. Left Karad by 5.am yesterday and was in Bangalore HOME by 3.00 PM. Good Road.

[distiller]

To All Who are on way to Pune:
Hi Guys,
How is your drive today. Will be grateful for update from your end.
Am planning to start tomorrow morning from Bangalore.
Thanks in advance!!!
Happy Motoring......

[himarg]

Update from my Bengaluru to Pune trip today.

I was fortunate to beat the long weekend traffic by starting from HSR Layout at precisely 3 AM. I was in Pimple Saudagar at 4:30 PM.

Towards the later part of the day I could see long jams on the opposite side of the road, perhaps Pune and Mumbai folks leaving for the weekend.

[pganapathy]

Am planning to drive on 30 December one day drive from Bangalore/Coorg to Bombay. Is anyone else going on that day. Wouldn't mind doing a convoy drive. Better if I at least have company. Will be following this page for a few days to see the feedback so that I can plan my trip accordingly. Any info you guys can give me will be welcome

[Bigzero]

A quick update: I did manage a 4:30 am start from Viman Nagar in Pune on 24th Dec - I still took some time to reach Kolhapur - I think I touched Sai international before Kolhapur for breakfawst at around 8:20 am, that was a good 3 hours of 50 minutes drive from Pune including a 20 min break somewhere after the ghat climb for a tea break. Overall progress was slow as there was a lot of truck traffic even during that time, and some stoppages on the Khambatki ghat, and some diversions between Pune and Satara.

However things were quite smooth after Kolhapur as usual.

I would also like to suggest the VRL restaurant to the list. Its in the same compound as their office or logistics center a few kilometers after Tumakur on the BLR-Pune run. It is primarily meant for their long distance buses, but they have now also put up advertising board along the highway inviting cars.

Clean toilets, good parking space and decent vegetarian food with limited options . We were fortunate to land there when there were no buses parked - I guess there could be some rush to get food if their buses stop for lunch. But overall recommended for a lunch break , or even short refreshments if you are passing by . They have juice counters also, and we had some fresh sugarcane juice after our lunch.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/....0407214?hl=en

[paragsachania]

I made a dash to Aurangabad, visited Shirdi keeping Aurangabad as base and returned back last week and here are few updates on the same.



FASTag related updates:

• All tolls right from Bangalore to Pune are FASTag enabled except the Hubli-Dharwad Bypass where one needs to pay in Cash (67/-) - Nothing new
  
  
• Regarding dedicated FASTag or Hybrid lanes, there is no real consistency but since I drove twice to Pune in last month, I can say that few booths have no dedicated lanes and one can enter any lane and the Hybrid scanner will take care of your FASTag. NBTL and JAS have just the usual Dedicated FASTag lanes (I would not want to refer to handheld scanner as either Hybrid or Dedicated)
  
  
• Bankapura as others have mentioned has a dedicated lane with a cone placed there but with a handheld scanner
  
  
• Hebbalu & Chalageri, Hattarigi and Kognoli - All these 4 booths have shut down the dedicated lane permanently and one can take any lane here and still get the FASTag scanned. I checked this with the guards at Kognoli as well as Chalageri and confirmed this
  
  
• With Hybrid system, Overall transaction times during peak traffic at night (Trucks, Buses and just me) was faster as all had FASTag and the average stationary time was less than 5 seconds for even the trucks
  
  
• On a Plaza equipped with Hybrid scanners (One depicted below), all you need to do is point the finger to your windscreen and the attendant instantly allows you to pass and you can notice - VALID TAG at the display sign. In many other booths, the barricades open as you close in at the window even on Hybrid lanes - I would love this arrangement across all booths going forward because dedicated lanes don't help during heavy rush
  
  
• Overall, a positive experience again with FASTag even when I drove in thick traffic from Belgaum to Pune on 25th or on intervening night between 29-30th along with Buses and Trucks equipped with FASTag
  
  
• The longest wait without moving an Inch at a FASTag/Hybrid lane was at Hattarigi on return where a KSRTC Club Class with a tag couldn't pass as the Tag wasn't getting detected. So much delay that I got down and walked ahead to see the driver tell me that this is a common problem . He reversed and surged forward at least 10 times as I watched and I had the same fear regarding my tag but to my surprise as soon as I closed in, the barrier opened and said Valid Tag
  
  
• The JAS toll booth duo need to improve knowing that they are located right out of the city where both Inbound and Outbound traffic will be peak on any day and they just can't rely on one booth!
  
  Anewadi and Khedshivpur - With more vehicles on roads they have expanded pretty well with onward and return booths located away from each other giving almost 10+ windows/lanes for each side

Route conditions:Bangalore to Pune

• Ranebennur-Motebennur-Harihar : They have fixed all those small little potholes, especially near Motebennur and Byadagi turn off pretty well that one needn't slow down or change lanes to avoid any rough surface now
  
  
• Haveri-Bankapura-Shiggaon-Hubli : Remember the undulations caused due to molten tar? All that is gone and this is applicable for both directions. Fresh tarmac with neat reflectors which I suspect will either fade away soon or get knocked off in coming months. The night driving experience this time on return here was anything less but Fantastic! This section otherwise was bad in rains with water accumulated where depressions were formed
  
  
• Satara-Pune : I will keep this simple without wanting to case any anxiety among future drivers here - The 6 lane work can be termed 90% complete easily. Satara too has a completely elevated section and only place where work is in progress is the Lonand Intersection at the end of the Satara towards Pune. This may take a while I am sure. I didn't count the number of diversions but there will be at least 8-10 and all in good to very good condition. Most of these diversions will have speedbreakers exactly where an underpass exists on your right hand side to warn motorists to slow down

Route conditions: Pune - Ahmadnagar - Aurangabad

• Overall, the entire route is pothole free and surface too is in very good shape end to end
  
  
• Pune - Nagar has better tarmac (fresh) with well marked median and shoulders and reflectors wherever needed
  
  
• Nagar - Auranganad has good surface which is relatively fresh but there are no markings, especially near the median and if one is driving at night, the presence of median cannot be easily felt
  
  
• Overall, the Pune - Nagar - Auragabad section is slower at nights because markings are absent on second half and medians are really thin that oncoming glare is constant
  
  
• 6 Lane road is now fully done and functional at the Cantonment area after Waluj reaching Aurangabad outskirts - This will easily save at least 10 minutes as its really fast now despite of gradually increasing traffic as you reach the main city

Aurangabad - Shirdi - Aurangabad:

Detailed update can be found here (Mumbai - Aurangabad : Route Queries)which will also help those doing Mumbai - Aurangabad.

Few trip stats: This time I traveled with 2 kids aged 7 and 8 and 2 ladies and myself. While my kid is a regular for long runs, the other kid wasn't and hence we had to take longer breaks some times.

Bangalore - Pune - Aurangabad
Start : 0400
End: 2100
Kms: 1080
Total time : 17 Hours
Time taken to cross Pune - 75 Minutes
Breaks : ~3 hours including breakfast (30), lunch (45), Evening break (90), Refueling (10m)


Aurangabad - Pune - Bangalore
Start : 1200
End : 0500
Kms : 1080
Total time : 17 Hours
Time taken to cross Pune - 90+ minutes
Breaks: ~ 2 Hours

Few pictures to end the log:

Dinner break at Amar on return journey



Evening break after crossing Pune before Wai:





Typical scenes where FASTag lanes were closed:

[cyberwhizs]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Here is an attempt, a comprehensive one, as much as I could to include details regarding Food & Fuel options between Mumbai - Pune- Bangalore that would help most of the queries get addressed in this single post rather than look elsewhere. I have given map location for each of the POIs in chronological order to enable travelers to reach here without much trouble.

==============================Direction: BANGALORE- PUNE -MUMBAI==============================

Where to eat or take a Break?

5.Ghar Dhaba (attaced to BPCL) after Ranebennur Bypass

6.Cafe Coffee Day - Shiggaon

7.Sankam Residency - Off NH, Belgaum Bypass

8.White House - Tawandi Ghats, After Sankeshwar

9.Hotel Amar - Only Veg - Tawandi Ghats, After Sankeshwar
Where to refuel

12.BPCL COCO after Kolhapur Bypass

This is a wonderful and very helpful list. Thanks.

Just back from a trip to bengaluru.

Few things to add for everyones benefit

1. Keep in mind that the distance from ranebennur to belgavi is a good 200 km and onto nippani is a good 260 - 270 km. So, if you miss having a bite at ranebennur then the next stop is a good 3 to 4 hours away if one drives sedately at moderate speeds 90/100. Apart from the places mentioned above there surely are a few smaller places where one can stop for a quick bite but i wasn't too sure if they were family and elderly friendly. So plan your trip accordingly

2. Sankam was undergoing some minor renovation work. So didn't stop there though the restaurant was open as the passageway was strewn with a fair amount of rubble/dust .

3. Had stopped at Amar on the onward journey, the food quality was good but service was painfully slow. On my way back we stopped again at amar, this time around the food quality wasn't all that good. undercooked - pretty much had to leave midway and head to kolhapur where we halted for the night. The place is also a tad expensive for what it offers. So if you are looking for a 'quick' stop and go, Amar is not the place.

4. After exiting kolhapur bypass there are two BPCL pumps and one HPCL in quick succession, None of them appear to be company owned. I filled up at the first one, it is remotely monitored fuel pump/dispenser so things were ok.

5. The petrol at HPCL hirebagwadi is a 10% ethanol mix - just for your information. I did not face any problems with it when i tanked up.

6. Overall the roads are good, quite a few diversions on the satara - pune stretch so the 120 kms between them will take a good couple of hours. Almost all unmarked speed breakers near davengere have been taken off for good. The speed breakers are well marked at most places and not huge - underbelly scrapping as before.

7. Saw quite few highway patrol police cars with speed guns etc on the chitradurga - ranebennur section. So do not speed even if the roads looks extremely inviting.

8. On my way back, after exiting NICE road i missed getting onto the elevated road at neelamangla. I was on the normal city road. This road has a lot off wrong side oncoming traffic, so be extremely careful.

9. The speed breakers or humps in bengaluru speak are the same as before, i have lost count of the number of under body hits i have taken over the last couple of weeks.

10. Traffic in bengaluru is probably amongst the worst in the country, i have averaged around 8 kms per hour during my stay over the last couple of weeks. It ain't worth it - take the metro or a cab/bus/auto to move around within the city.

11. Sankama - davangere is a good place to stay, complementary breakfast spread is very good.