[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by cyberwhizs

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.

Well, that list needs an update and I have been collating more info, more so from my last 2 trips. However, after Ranebennur, you do have 2 good stops now.

Indian Paratha Cpmpany/Hotel De Cult 15 kms before Hubli and Roti Ghar, 8 kms after Dharwad Bypass - Both have good food and rest rooms.

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

Exactly why the original list contains places that can be termed family friendly.

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.

Agree on the expensive part totally. But this makes a perfect pit stop these days, more so after he's renovated the rest rooms to match that with an upmarket place. Food here has never been a complaint with most of my visits, since its all vegetarian and satisfies all my family members .

Almost all unmarked speed breakers near davengere have been taken off for good.

Actually they all exist the way they did since years now. Of course, you see these more as rumblers than proper speedbreakers that can damage your car's suspension.

The miniature ones do exist all over Chitradurga bypass, start till end.

The speed breakers are well marked at most places and not huge - underbelly scrapping as before.

Khyatasandra, Harihar Bypass & Bankapura are the only major ones to be worried about now.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by cyberwhizs

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.

There's The Cult, mentioned by Parag here, which is about 100 km from Ranebennur Kamat.

Outside this list, you might want to use the Search along route in Google Maps and look for 4 +or 4.5+ star rated restaurants along your route. This is how I planned food, fuel stops for most days in my trip. These were marked in planning stage and weren't done on the drive.

Originally Posted by cyberwhizs

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 .

I was there on 30th afternoon, the renovation work wasn't so bad. The food was excellent, service was slow though.

EDIT: Parag you beat me to it

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Khyatasandra, Harihar Bypass & Bankapura are the only major ones to be worried about now.

The 3 are on the onward (Bangalore-Pune). Out of this only Kyathasandra (the one 2 km from JAS) is on a fast sector, I was anticipating this since you had warned me The other 2 were on much slower sections.

On the return, only the one before Harihar bypass is huge. This is 2-3 km after Chalageri toll. In daytime its very hard to miss, around Harihar is more chaotic and you wont do high speeds in the particular sector anyway.

[NPV]

Due to the tensions and bandh call, a friend who was visiting from Panvel decided not to travel on 2 Jan and instead drove from Bangalore yesterday and did not face any issues en route. He started around 8pm and was home by 9am this morning.

[cyberwhizs]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Well, that list needs an update and I have been collating more info, more so from my last 2 trips. However, after Ranebennur, you do have 2 good stops now.

1. Saw both of them, De Cult, slowed down, re-read the name, hesitated and moved on, Roti ghar i saw but i overshot so moved on. I am aware that your list is family friendly , was referring to the other smaller eateries i had spotted en-route.

2. My experience during the onward journey - food and wash rooms at amar prompted me to stop over again on the return.

3. Keyword 'unmarked' . There are many speed breakers as you have listed but all of them are well marked through road signs and rumbler strips.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by NPV

He started around 8pm and was home by 9am this morning.

Simply, THE right thing to do if it's a must. This is the best time to depart from Bangalore as well. Anything later to 10 PM means you are stuck at booths behind buses right outside the city and a considerably slower progress till Tumkur.

This is one reason why when we did Bangalore to Manali non stop in 2014, we started at 0800 from here and were out of Mumbai (Ghodbunder) by 0830 next morning!

Originally Posted by cyberwhizs

3. Keyword 'unmarked' . There are many speed breakers as you have listed but all of them are well marked through road signs and rumbler strips.

In general the major ones that vanished now are between Bankapura and Hubli in both directions, especially near Varur because of a fresh layer. Else these were near 'unmarked' as the signage was placed very badly or was non existent.

[cyberwhizs]

Originally Posted by narayans80

I was there on 30th afternoon, the renovation work wasn't so bad. The food was excellent, service was slow though.

I was there on the 1st afternoon, it was a minor renovation, it is just that the sight of rubble/dust inside the lobby made me look elsewhere as i had a senior citizen with me.

[aishwaryadeep]

Hello

I will be doing a Pune - Bangalore drive coming Saturday - 13/01.

Not in a mood to drive all the way in a single day. So planning a break in Hubali - Clarks Inn or Metropolis (?)

What time would you guys suggest for leaving Pune? Understand that super early morning is the most suggested time, but unfortunately can't do that.

Earliest I can leave is around 10AM.

Hoping to get some suggestions from the experienced frequent travelers in this thread.

Thanks!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by aishwaryadeep

Earliest I can leave is around 10AM.

The advantage to leave super early helps you kill 2 birds in a shot - Beat outgoing traffic of Pune and also cross Islampur - Kolhapur before factories open here.

However, 10:00 AM departure should also be perfectly fine since many industries between Pune and Shirwal would have started to function and you will not have extremely high daily traffic to beat.

Leaving at 10 also means you will cross Islampur - Kolhapur between 1230-1330 which ideally would be a good time.

The only issue is leaving Pune at 7AM which means around 0930 you are near Islampur and from here till Kagal you will face a lot of misc traffic than you would after 10AM.

[aishwaryadeep]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

10:00 AM departure should also be perfectly fine

Oh great! Thanks for the confirmation, sir!

I live in Pimple Saudagar. So shouldn't take long to hit the highway.

Doing this route for the first time. Google map suggests Pune to Islampur/ Kolhapur would take approx 4 hours. Hoping crossing that section around 1400-1430 wouldn't be too different from 1230-1330.

Also, what time should I leave Hubali at? 0700-0800 would be okay? Have to go to Whitefield, and don't want to get caught in Sunday evening traffic in Bangalore.

Thanks!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by aishwaryadeep

Also, what time should I leave Hubali at? 0700-0800 would be okay? Have to go to Whitefield, and don't want to get caught in Sunday evening traffic in Bangalore.Thanks!

Since it is a Sunday, sooner the better. Traffic starts building up towards Bangalore after Chitradurga.

Hence, by your departure time at 0700, you should ideally take around 5 to 5.5 Hours to reach Nelamangala along with a lunch break in between. This means it will be 1300/1400 when you reach Bangalore which is just prefect for a Sunday!

Have a safe drive.

[kswapnilk]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

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

Hi Parag,
I am planning to do Bangalore-Pune-Aurangabad-Jalgaon (Jalgaon is 3.5 Hours drive from Aurangabad) on January 26th. Regarding this route I had few queries.

1. Since Bangalore-Jalgaon is not doable (travelling along with family) in single day, I am planning to split it in two days and take halt at Pune (I have place to stay in pune).Is there any other place to break at instead of Pune?
2. Google shows Bangalore-Satara-Lonand-Shirur-Aurangabad as preferred route.Is it better alternative to avoid Pune and make it till Ahmednagar via this route on first day? How is the road condition from Satara to shirur?
3. Is 0430 start on long weekend good enough to reach Pune by 1730?

Thank you for the detailed information provided by you and other guys on this thread! It is turning out to be very useful to plan this trip!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by kswapnilk

[*]Since Bangalore-Jalgaon is not doable (travelling along with family) in single day, I am planning to split it in two days and take halt at Pune (I have place to stay in pune).Is there any other place to break at instead of Pune?

Pune seems very much ideal if you have your options here. Anything beyond this means Ahmednagar or Aurangabad only.

[*]Google shows Bangalore-Satara-Lonand-Shirur-Aurangabad as preferred route.Is it better alternative to avoid Pune and make it till Ahmednagar via this route on first day? How is the road condition from Satara to shirur?

Please avoid this for now. The road is in bad condition. I have updated the details here and apart from that a colleague also drove during Xmas to Shirdi and then Gujarat who confirmed that the road was indeed very bad and he was driving a Creta.

[*]Is 0430 start on long weekend good enough to reach Pune by 1730?[/list]

Very easily without much ado and all breaks.

[nileshch]

Originally Posted by kswapnilk

Since Bangalore-Jalgaon is not doable (travelling along with family) in single day, I am planning to split it in two days and take halt at Pune (I have place to stay in pune).Is there any other place to break at instead of Pune?

I have done Bangalore-Bhusawal a few times, but via Hyderabad-Nanded. Leaving at about 4 am from Whitefield and reaching Bhusawal at around 9 pm with 3 breaks.

If you have the option to halt at Pune, that's the best option. Unless you are in a hurry.

[Gannu_1]

Guys, have those flyover constructions near the Satara stretch completed? I recall there used to be some 6-7 diversions and it used to slow us down on an otherwise decent road.

The last time I drove in this stretch was during March 2016 when I packed up from Navsari and was relocating. I'd love to drive to Gujarat sometime this year and was wondering how the current road conditions are.

And how about the dreaded Vasai creek bridge?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Guys, have those flyover constructions near the Satara stretch completed?

Just one remains. So basically bypassing Satara is a cakewalk in both directions as most of the times you are on elevated sections.

I recall there used to be some 6-7 diversions and it used to slow us down on an otherwise decent road.

Overall, from Satara Bypass End to Pune, you will have at least 10 diversions, all well managed and clean.

wondering how the current road conditions are.

Overall, road conditions now are better because they have even fixed the uneven patches from Bankapura to Hubli in both directions.

And how about the dreaded Vasai creek bridge?

Not been hearing any horror stories from recent past. Also, as I regularly keep checking on maps, its not very bad except evenings, and more precisely towards Ghodbunder (Mumbai) and not towards Ahmedabad.