[sidpunjabi]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Everyday traffic between Mumbai and Pune is also crazy high at all times, hence this kind of plush food court is viable to operate here I guess.

Soon, all of that will come here, as more people start discovering it.

[Dushie]

Traveling to Bangalore from Pune next week planning to leave around 2 PM. I would be stopping over at Sattur just for the night. Looking for any good restaurants in and around Sattur to have dinner. As i am travelling with family, has to be a place which can provide decent food for kids. Any suggestions are welcome for the same. As i would want to try out a tried and tested place, i did see the earlier post that recommended Sankam Residency - Off NH, Belgaum Bypass. But it would be too far and a break before reaching my scheduled stop would become very late for us.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Dushie

I would be stopping over at Sattur just for the night. Looking for any good restaurants in and around Sattur to have dinner.

You meant Sattur Aread at Dharwad?

• Swaad Restaurant
  
• Ozone
  
• Mayur Aditya Resort

As i would want to try out a tried and tested place, i did see the earlier post that recommended Sankam Residency - Off NH, Belgaum Bypass. But it would be too far and a break before reaching my scheduled stop would become very late for us.

Now this is what made me confused. Did you mean Sattur or Satara (Maharashtra). If its the former, then Sankam (Belgaum) is definitely beyond this point by at least 90 minutes and hence makes no sense.

If you really meant Satara, then you will need at least 10-11 Hours with all your breaks considering you are with family and kids. And with a 2PM start from Bangalore, and targeting 8PM for lunch, your better choice for an easy dinner would be before Hubli at Hotel De Cult.

If you are indeed halting at Satara for the night, then you will have may choices once you enter Maharashtra but the other possible choices are these:

• Roti Ghar, 440 Kms and approximately 6.5 Hours from Bangalore - So around 8:30PM
  
• Sankam, 500 Kms and approximately 7.5 Hours from Bangalore - So around 9:30PM
  
• Hotel Amar - Only Veg, around 580 Kms and approximately 8.5 Hours from Bangalore - So around 10:30PM

And honestly, Sankam is still not a major detour from the highway. Takes less than 5 minutes to reach and less than 2 minutes to merge back to the highway.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

You meant Sattur Aread at Dharwad?

Parag, he mentioned to Bangalore from Pune. So I presume he means Sattur.
Your suggestions I think are headed in the opposite direction; he is entering karnataka; not Maharashtra

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Parag, he mentioned to Bangalore from Pune. So I presume he means Sattur.
Your suggestions I think are headed in the opposite direction; he is entering karnataka; not Maharashtra

Oops! I read the location as Bangalore and hence the mistake on my part. Thanks Selfdrive.

Now even in that direction,the 3 choices within Sattur, Dharwad don't change along with Amar at Nippani which is located on the right side but right at the break In the median. This will be very early, say only 4.5 hours from Pune.

Sankam now would be a detour and will add 15m extra for an exit and entry to the highway but still worth.

Apart from that there is Naveen-Only Veg, who apes Amar in terms of ambience and located right after Hattarigi toll on left side towards Bangalore.

Lastly, just before you exit into Dharwad, you have the good old Kamat attached to IOCL COCO at Belur Industrial estate.

[Dushie]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Oops! I read the location as Bangalore and hence the mistake on my part.

Thanks , will keep the list handy and depending upon what time i reach would explore.

[Rajeevraj]

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?

1. Kamat Upachar - After Dabaspet

2.Cafe Coffee Day - After Kamat, Dabaspet

Parag, Firstly thanks for putting together this awesome list. Great reference for infrequent visitors like me.

Had a question, apart from the Kamat and CCD mentioned above, is there any other good option that has come up between before Chitradurga? And is the Kamat at Sira on the towards Bangalore side easily accessible when going towards Pune?

Am headed to Hampi and as per info on the Hampi thread, there is nothing once you turn off the highway at either Hiriyur or Chitradurga. So looking for an option in the Hiriyur/Chitradurga areas to break for food and rest rooms.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Had a question, apart from the Kamat and CCD mentioned above, is there any other good option that has come up between before Chitradurga?

There are quite a few but what has been well accepted by travelers on this forum is the pit-stop owned and maintained by VRL Logistics. This is one and the other one if of-course, just after Chitradurga which is Mysore Cafe and is quite popular as well which of course may not really be helpful for you.

VRL Midway, Before Chitradurga

And is the Kamat at Sira on the towards Bangalore side easily accessible when going towards Pune?

We have accessed this, mainly whenever we have been visitors to a very good Veg Dhaba next to this Kamat called Purohit quite a few times. The U-Turn for this is ahead below a flyover and is easy. Only thing you need to remember is where you need to take an exit for Service Road when heading in the direction of Pune.

Point : Exit Service Road for Kamat Upachar



Getting back to the highway towards Pune/Chitradurga is again easy as you drive on the service road on Kamat Side but towards Pune, reach the Bridge, turn left and then right so you are on the service road on the other side and merge with the highway ahead.

On return, you can actually try Upadhya Veg which is way better to Kamat and is located towards Bangalore and soon after Chitradurga.

Hope this helps and have a safe trip!

[akbaree]

In a couple of weeks, I am planning a long drive from Mumbai towards Bengaluru.

I am planning to leave Mumbai at around 3:00 PM. Ideally I would like to reach Belgaum before breaking for the night. But the drive may stretch past midnight. I am seeking suggestions for good family stay options anywhere between Kolhapur and Belgaum.

[GrandTourer]

Planning to drive solo from Bangalore to Mumbai in a weeks' time. Any routes that I should avoid or any specific suggestions considering I'll be starting at around 12 in the night with a fairly new car (6 months old)? This is my first drive down this route, so should I just stick to what Google map suggests?

Thanks in advance.

GrandTourer

[NPV]

Originally Posted by GrandTourer

Any routes that I should avoid or any specific suggestions considering I'll be starting at around 12 in the night with a fairly new car (6 months old)? This is my first drive down this route, so should I just stick to what Google map suggests?

Just stick to the NH route Bangalore-Tumkur-Hubli-Dharwad-Belgaum-Kohlapur-Satara-Pune-Mumbai. I'm guessing Google maps will suggest the same.

I hope you have enough experience driving through the night and your car has good powerful headlamps. If not, since you're unfamiliar, I'd suggest an early start like 3 or 4am.

[GrandTourer]

Originally Posted by NPV

Just stick to the NH route Bangalore-Tumkur-Hubli-Dharwad-Belgaum-Kohlapur-Satara-Pune-Mumbai. I'm guessing Google maps will suggest the same.

Thank you. I have checked Google and it shows this route as well. Wanted to make sure the road is in good shape, as I don't want to go over pothole ridden roads with my fairly new Polo GT TSI.

Originally Posted by NPV

I hope you have enough experience driving through the night and your car has good powerful headlamps. If not, since you're unfamiliar, I'd suggest an early start like 3 or 4am.

Thankfully I have been making overnight trips across south India for a long time now . Just haven't been on this route... But I'll make sure to check my car thoroughly before I take up the trip. I haven't had issues with the headlights so far during my night trips.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by GrandTourer

Any routes that I should avoid or any specific suggestions considering I'll be starting at around 12 in the night with a fairly new car (6 months old)?

The route as referred by NPV is the one to take. The shortest and the fastest.

However, 12 midnight will be a bad idea to start from Bangalore:

• By the time you are out of Bangalore, you will be tailing a lot of outbound buses which would have departed from inside the city. This means your wait at the toll booths will be immensely high. Not to forget the trucks as well. There are buses for Mumbai, Pune, North Karnataka, Goa that will give you company all the way
  
  
• It also means, you will encounter too many buses on the single carriageway stretch between Hubli and Dharwad in wee hours back to back
  
  
• With a start at midnight, you will enter Maharashtra around 0700/0730 and this means when you are crossing Karad and Satara after your breakfast break, the misc traffic will start getting thicker and thicker
  
  
• By the time you are in Pune, it should be around 1100 and traffic would have marginally thinned down and will be the expressway (if it is a weekday morning)

If you want a peaceful, relaxed and a decent paced drive with less irritation and want to drive overnight, then 2000 Hours departure from Bangalore works best.

• By this time the night buses would still not have started and you are leaving them behind
  
  
• You will also enter MH around 0300/0330 which is a fantastic time to drive the next 200+ kms all the way to Pune in 3.5 hours and easily manage crossing Pune before peak time
  
  
• The only negative, is the present state of roads in Mumbai soon after expressway ends and that you will enter Mumbai in peak hour traffic around 0930/1000AM

However, you can preserve that patience and energy to manage the last 60/120 minutes for Mumbai traffic and yet have the initial 950 Kms of blissful drive.

Having started from Bangalore and Mumbai/Pune at various hours in the last 12 years, All I can say is that there are 3 best times to leave from Bangalore : 0400, 1300 and 2200. These 3 starting times help you beat most of the bottlenecks with ease and help reach your destination on time, without need for speeding and with all your breaks.

[GrandTourer]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Having started from Bangalore and Mumbai/Pune at various hours in the last 12 years, All I can say is that there are 3 best times to leave from Bangalore : 0400, 1300 and 2200. These 3 starting times help you beat most of the bottlenecks with ease and help reach your destination on time, without need for speeding and with all your breaks.

Thanks paragsachania.

This is really helpful. I wasn't considering the buses and the trucks leaving Bangalore with me. My goal was to reach Mumbai next evening, but I would rather reach earlier than planned than drive in slow moving traffic.

[vivek95]

Just done with my solo drive from Mumbai to Belgaum and below is the trip report :-

Departure from origin : Mulund, Mumbai @ 7:30 pm. Exited Mumbai metropolis completely at 8:35 pm.
Arrival at destination : Bhagyanagar, Belgaum @ 3: 12 a.m
Total distance : 485.6 kms
Total journey duration including stops : 7 hours 42 mins
Total duration of stops enroute : 1 hour 15 mins
Total driving duration excluding stops : 6 hours 27 mins
Car :- VW Polo 1.2 MPI Comfortline petrol

Road conditions during this last leg of monsoons :-

1. Mumbai--Pune Expressway :- remains fantastic as always ! A very small patch just before Lonavala has worn out top surface but no such great deal.

2. Pune bypass :- mostly good except some intermittent small rough patches with potholes.

2. Pune--Satara : Between Pune and Shirwal, there are intermittent extreme rough patches with potholes, extra caution at night is advised. However things are not really too bad.

Kambhatki ghat is mostly very good and all the way beyond till Satara as well. The last 1 or 2 kms as the 6 lane ends is rough again.

3. Satara--Kolhapur--Kagal :- absolutely brilliant surface ! This has become my most favorite stretch to drive. The high traffic levels here actually break the monotony and constantly keep you alert. ( Of course when it's too much, it gets annoying ). Since I passed at night, there were hardly any two wheelers,so I was only dodging all the trucks and slow moving 4 wheelers that were sticking to both lanes as per their wish. I enjoyed driving here the most !!

4. Kagal--Belgaum : phenomenal as always. However there are two small yet extreme rough patches with potholes just as you enter Karnataka. These are over the bridges. Otherwise 98% of the road is fantastic as it has been so since last 14 years. Traffic in Karnataka reduces to 1/4th of that in Maharashtra, a fact well known to most of us.





Breaks :-

1. New Food mall on Mumbai--Pune Expressway ( 8:52 pm to 9:22 pm ) :-
I talked about this the last time, just to reiterate, I am too impressed with this place. Classy set up ! Neat parking layout and plethora of eating joints. This is my 3rd visit to this place. Had 2 Vada pavs and a Nimboo pani here. After this, I pulled over at the HP Coco for refuelling and for nitrogen top up in the tyres. Total time spent - 30 minutes

Selfie pic of me and my Polo at the new Food mall :-











2. Hotel Ambika pure veg :- This falls on the left side after you cross Kambhatki ghat. It's a small normal hotel, might not interest brand conscious people. Pulled in at 11:32pm and resumed at 12:12 a.m ( 40 minutes ). Had really awesome Roti and Akkha masoor here. Post dinner, it was an almost non stop drive for next 270 kms till home.

3. HP fuel station just after crossing Kognoli toll as you enter Karnataka :- hardly 5 mins stop for refuelling.


Like everytime, enjoyed the company of Volvo/Scania/Merc multiaxle buses all along. Caught a hell lot them bound to Goa/Kolhapur/Bangalore/Mangalore etc. The likes of MSRTC Shivneri, Ashwamedh, Sharma,VRL,SRS, Konduskar Volvos and Scanias were comfortably doing 100-120 kmph on clear stretches. Driving alongside them briefly on clear roads and then overtaking these buses is somewhat fun. Our own KSRTC Airavat Scania and Volvo Club Classes were as usual sedately moving at 90 kmph. And lastly, MSRTC Shivshahi AC buses galored everywhere. I spotted and drove along with plenty of them. Sometimes, they were in a bunch of 3--4 whizzing past on opp. carriageway. Shivshahi has become a big hit in Maharashtra.

My Polo performed very well like everytime and FE was much better, I think it averaged 17.5 kmpl this time around.

The pending part of 6 laning of Pune--Satara will easily take one more year, thanks to the shameless lethargic pace of the builder

Overall, enjoyed the drive as usual and thanks to God for blessing me with a safe journey