[yd_gli]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Hello Yd_Gli - when you say the Bangalore - MH highway was a smooth run, did you mean that the service roads are in a better shape now?

The update here is that post Chitradurga till Hubli sees a lot of diversions and can be a time consumer + bad service lane roads in diversions with big pot holes.

Yes, there are diversions but barring one or two most were in good shape. I don't recollect any big potholes on the entire patch. Also, if I remember correctly the patch between Hariar and Shiggaon has diversions. The Davangere - Harihar bypass is fine now.

[pariwar]

Starting at about 5.00 a.m. or a few minutes thereabouts, from Bengaluru (Kengeri) what would be a good restaurant at/after Sira? I am aware that Kamat Upachar is at Sira, but it is on the other side of the road nah? Looking for one with good toilet facilities after an approx. two hour ride.

Quite fine to go for about 30 minutes or so further if there is a really really nice South Indian breakfast joint with good toilet facilities!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by pariwar

Starting at about 5.00 a.m. or a few minutes thereabouts, from Bengaluru (Kengeri) what would be a good restaurant at/after Sira? I am aware that Kamat Upachar is at Sira, but it is on the other side of the road nah? Looking for one with good toilet facilities after an approx. two hour ride.

Quite fine to go for about 30 minutes or so further if there is a really really nice South Indian breakfast joint with good toilet facilities!

1. VRL Midway, before Chitradurga
2. Mysore Cafe, after Chitradurga

[Ravil]

Hi,

What route do you all advise considering the state of roads now. I plan to leave around 6 am from Ecity to Pune. I haven't undertaken such a long drive before. I can choose to leave on a weekday if that is going to help cut the driving time.
Any recommendations for a place to stay overnight mid-way in case I'm fatigued.
Any help or advise is welcome considering my seven-year old kid is accompanying me and wife.

Thanks,
Ravi

[Curious_cruiser]

Namma Bengaluru to Amchi Mumbai!
My first descriptive post on this forum. Please do forgive any errors.
Ride Notes -
Target: Bangalore - Bombay
Distance: 1000kms
Weapon of choice: 2011 Harley Davidson XL883

Ride breakup -

1. Blr to Belgaum (500kms. Started at 9.30am, reached at 7.30pm. Took 5 breaks of 5mins each and 1 break of 30mins) - splendid roads. If you are starting from south Bangalore, it is advisable to take NICE road. Yeshwanthpur near Taj is complete chaos owing to road construction. The signal at Taj junction is extremely legnthy. It took me 6 signal changes to cross. After that roads are a breeze. On the highway, there are a few points where widening/construction is going on. Not much of an issue for bikes, but super painful for cars.
Traffic density increases Hubli onwards. Being patient is the only solution. The highway soon after turns into single lane with slow moving trucks, impatient 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers, making this stretch slightly tricky. Going steady without the urge of 'have to overtake' mindset needs to be maintained here. Having crossed this, the highway is almost expressway like to Belgaum.

2. Belgaum to Pune (350kms. Started at 9am, reached at 6pm. Took 3 breaks of 5mins each and 1 break of 30mins) - as you exit Belgaum you have some scenic spots greeting you. Highway continues to be wide and we'll paved for the next 60-70kms. And then you enter Maharashtra. Road conditions gradually start deteriorating and so does traffic behaviour. 4 wheelers intentionally intimidate you. The best behaved are the truckers. Hats off to them for their road etiquette. Also need to beware of people randomly crossing the highway.
The worst portion of this stretch begins 10kms before Satara. Roads are in really bad shape and continues to be so all the way to Pune. Don't even think of seeing 3 digit speeds in this stretch. Also, toll plazas are chocked even for 2 wheelers in this stretch.

3. Pune to Bombay (160kms. Started at 9am, reached at 1.30pm. Took 3 breaks of 5mins each). Exiting pune was slightly easy being a Sunday. But found traffic all throughout the highway. Old Highway road quality is good and makes for enjoyable riding through the twists and turns. Yes, there are innumerable speed breakers too after Khopoli. But great rooads all the way to JNPT. Took the JNPT road to enter navi mumbai. Again brilliant roads uptil Kharghar. Then traffic takes over, road or no road doesn't matter anymore!

Hope these notes will help someone, somewhere down the line! unfortunately I do not have an eye for photography, so just attaching a few basic pics.

Also, hotels/dhabas/fuel bunks are all open.

Originally Posted by Ravil

Hi,

What route do you all advise considering the state of roads now. I plan to leave around 6 am from Ecity to Pune. I haven't undertaken such a long drive before. I can choose to leave on a weekday if that is going to help cut the driving time.
Any recommendations for a place to stay overnight mid-way in case I'm fatigued.
Any help or advise is welcome considering my seven-year old kid is accompanying me and wife.

Thanks,
Ravi

Yes, do choose weekdays over weekends for the highway. Have experienced both. Found weekdays easier. But again the flipside is weekdays within the city is chaotic. So target entering cities during sweet spots of early morning or between noon to 4pm (especially Mumbai). Don't worry about being a first timer. This is probably one of the easiest 1000kms one can do at a stretch.

[chhotagujju]

Originally Posted by Ravil

Hi,

What route do you all advise considering the state of roads now. I plan to leave around 6 am from Ecity to Pune. I haven't undertaken such a long drive before. I can choose to leave on a weekday if that is going to help cut the driving time.
Any recommendations for a place to stay overnight mid-way in case I'm fatigued.
Any help or advise is welcome considering my seven-year old kid is accompanying me and wife.

Thanks,
Ravi

I travelled with my 2 years old and wife 2 weeks ago. I would recommend you to leave by 5 as you can escape traffic in Bengaluru. For starting from E city, take the Nice road till NH4. Continue along NH4 only till Mumbai as that is the best option. Carry food with you if possible to avoid eating from outside even though all restaurants are now open. That will also save time.

I would recommend you to travel on Saturday as you would face less traffic on Kolhapur to Pune stretch. Other days there will be more traffic. If you maintain decent speeds, you can reach till Panvel in 15 hours (8pm) and beyond that depends on where in Mumbai you are planning to go.
Have a safe trip !!!

[pariwar]

Drove from Bengaluru to Pune on Sunday last- Dep BLR 0500 hrs, Arr PUN (Viman Nagar) 1930 hrs. The trip included a 30 minute breakfast break at Upadhya Veg, Chitradurga & an equivalent amount of time at Kognoli Toll Plaza for snacks.

Return trip Pune to Bengaluru on Tuesday evening - Dep PUN (Kothrud) at 1700 hrs, Arr BLR at 0500 hrs (Wednesday Morning)

As indicated Hubli to Chitradurga stretch has multiple diversions for bypass/bridge constructions and caution needs to be exercised while driving on this stretch. BLR to Chitradurga is a wonderful drive and so is Hubli to Kolhapur.

Pune to Kolhapur is quite nice too and we did very good time on this stretch in the late evening hours.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

[list=1][*]VRL Midway, before Chitradurga

VRL Midway, Chitradurga canteen facilities are closed for now and has been for the last about four months or so. No surety of when it would re-open. A few kms further up and on the right side is Upadhaya Veg, which is a good place for south indian breakfast (the poha is excellent) and an average toilet facility.

Originally Posted by chhotagujju

I would recommend you to travel on Saturday as you would face less traffic on Kolhapur to Pune stretch.

We were on this stretch on Sunday, late evening and found it a nightmare with bumper to bumper traffic and multiple jams. It seemed that the entire Pune was returning back after a weekend getaway to Mahabaleshwar / Goa / Kolhapur side. The roads on this stretch are quite OK

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by pariwar

VRL Midway, Chitradurga canteen facilities are closed for now and has been for the last about four months or so.

This could certainly due to the Covid situation and the stopping of bus services for over 2 months. Even now, there are very less Private buses on road.

The VRL Midway used to mainly cater to their own fleet of buses and I believe reduced services has resulted in shutting down of this place.

A few kms further up and on the right side is Upadhaya Veg, which is a good place for south indian breakfast (the poha is excellent) and an average toilet facility.

Yes. Upadhya is a popular option whenever one is driving towards Bangalore and is recommended by many including self.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

At Chitradurga - Upadhya Veg

Originally Posted by paragsachania

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

[abhijitvp]

Originally Posted by pariwar

Starting at about 5.00 a.m. or a few minutes thereabouts, from Bengaluru (Kengeri) what would be a good restaurant at/after Sira? I am aware that Kamat Upachar is at Sira, but it is on the other side of the road nah? Looking for one with good toilet facilities after an approx. two hour ride.

Quite fine to go for about 30 minutes or so further if there is a really really nice South Indian breakfast joint with good toilet facilities!

You may try the Hotel Sai Palace as well. It's 20kms ahead of Sira. On your left coming from Banglore. Direct entry from the highway and no need to take the service road. Clean Toilets and good food.

[pratik_2810]

Originally Posted by pratik_2810

Hello Team BHPians,

I am new to this forum, but have been actively following this thread for past 12 months. I plan to do a 1700 kms drive from Bengaluru to Rajkot (Gujarat) this Friday, 6th Nov. I have a Ford Figo 1.2P (2016 model) as my carrier. I have done up to 500 kms drive on a single day until now, this is my first attempt at such a long journey.
Based on recommendations from all great people here, I am planning the below itinerary. Please comment and share if I missed anything.

Also, Google maps show me ~14.5 hours total time for ~870 kms b/w Bengaluru to Pune if I start at 4 AM but I see a lot of people here have done it much earlier. So has something really gone bad on the highways recently that I should account for?

a. Start from Bengaluru at 4 AM
b. Breakfast at Kamat Upachar, Sira (mostly carrying my food, but might stop for tea)
c. Fuel refilling at Shell Petroleum near Hubli
d. Another stop at Vithal Kamats, Indoli, Maharashtra
e. Stop overnight at Pune
f. Next day leave Pune at 4:30 AM
g. Fuel refill at Shell Petroleum before Mumbai-Pune Expressway
h. Cross Mumbai and stop at Sigdi restaurant near Gujarat border
i. Lunch break near Baroda + fuel refill
j. Baroda to Ahmedabad - Overnight stay as AMD-RJT 6 lane work might make me cause delays and make me drive after sunset
k. Ahmedabad to Rajkot next morning - 225 kms

Hello Guys,

So I did complete my ~1800 kms trip from Bengaluru-Rajkot as per the plan I shared in earlier thread along with great suggestions from @paragsachania.

Sharing here for everyone's reference.

Day 1 - 6th Nov 2020 -> Bengaluru to Pune (875 kms)
Started from Bengaluru at 4:15 AM (Sarjapura Road) and Reached Ginger Hotel, Pune at 6:40 PM

Bengaluru - Chitradurga -> Brilliant roads, cruise as much as you can
Chitradurga - Davanagere -> Full of diversions, take a break after Chitradurga so you're fresh while navigating all diversions
Davanagere - Hubli -> Good roads, except a couple of diversions
Hubli - Dharwad -> Single lane for 30 odd kms, but good road conditions
Dharwad - Belgaum - Kolhapur -> Excellent stretch (I took a refueling break after Dharwad at Shell petroleum, Belur), worth cruising!
Kolhapur - Satara -> Good 4-lane roads, but 'N' number of 2-wheelers and sugarcane-loaded tractors will occupy one entire lane. This will be active driving after empty stretches experienced on KA highways
Satara - Pune -> Roads are wide, but has potholes all along. But driving during day time won't cause too much of a trouble.

Day 2 - 7th Nov 2020 - Pune - Ahmedabad (655 kms) -> Started from Pune at 4:45 AM and reached AMD at 5:00 PM

Pune - Mumbai Expressway -> 15 minutes congestion at the toll naka, at 5 AM. So better to start early as crossing Mumbai swiftly will be difficult with increasing traffic.
Panvel - Ghodbunder Exit -> Took around 1.5 hours to navigate from outskirts and exit Mumbai. There was traffic all along while crossing Thane. Overall, crossed Vasai creek at 7:45 AM. Stopped few kms before Palghar for breakfast at 8:15 AM.
Palghar - Surat -> Very busy highway, too many trucks driving towards GJ. Drive actively and stay alert, local MH car owners like to drive very close to each other. Saw 10 mins congestion at every toll booth until Surat. But roads will be excellent now.
Surat - Baroda -> Excellent roads, you'll enjoy cruising now. I stopped near Bharuch for lunch at around 1 PM. There might me traffic around Bharuch-Ankleshwar Narmada bridge when you're at the toll gate.
Baroda - Ahmedabad -> Just take the National Expressway and have fun!

Day 3 - Ahmedabad - Rajkot (230 kms) -> 10:20 AM to 2:00 PM

Roads are very good, and you can maintain good speeds in spite of multiple diversions due to ongoing 6-lane work. Most 6-lane work is getting completed rapidly. Few kms after Chotila has average roads.

Post me for any other queries. Happy Driving!

[akshays]

Hi Guys,
I plan to drive down to Mumbai on 12th Dec from Bangalore. Curious on the road conditions as well as quarantine plans / entry restrictions if any soon as i touch MH border. Im used to doing 800kms in a day. Do you believe this is achievable in a day. The plan is to leave Bangalore (Basavangudi) at 4am and reach Mumbai at 8pm. Leave Mum-Pun on 16th morning 6am and after a short break in Pune, drive down to Bangalore. Any suggestions / advice is greatly appreciated.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by akshays

Curious on the road conditions

You can read few posts right on this page to know about the latest road conditions.

as well as quarantine plans / entry restrictions if any soon as i touch MH border.

Since you are driving from Karnataka into Maharashtra, no such restrictions as you enter the border.

Im used to doing 800kms in a day. Do you believe this is achievable in a day. The plan is to leave Bangalore (Basavangudi) at 4am and reach Mumbai at 8pm. Leave Mum-Pun on 16th morning 6am and after a short break in Pune, drive down to Bangalore. Any suggestions / advice is greatly appreciated.

Early start from Bangalore is certainly going to help you reach Pune/Mumbai in anywhere between 15-17 hours easily with breaks. Any later will only add to your fatigue, especially when you are nearing your destination.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by akshays

Hi Guys,
I plan to drive down to Mumbai on 12th Dec from Bangalore. Curious on the road conditions as well as quarantine plans / entry restrictions if any soon as i touch MH border. Im used to doing 800kms in a day. Do you believe this is achievable in a day. The plan is to leave Bangalore (Basavangudi) at 4am and reach Mumbai at 8pm. Leave Mum-Pun on 16th morning 6am and after a short break in Pune, drive down to Bangalore. Any suggestions / advice is greatly appreciated.

The earlier you leave the better, please factor the horrible and undisciplined traffic when you enter Maharashtra. Adding to what Parag has mentioned,
Kolhapur-Satara- Roads are good but heavily infested with two wheelers, tractors and slow moving Heavy vehicles.
Satara to pune- Roads are bad and as you near Pune, traffic increases, Pune to Mumbai (depends on where) is comparatively better.

[autoweirdo]

Travelled over weekend from Bangalore to Pune.
Road Update - Bangalore to MH Border roads are in good condition. The work is on at multiple spots between Chitradurga and Davangere whereas lot of flyovers are ready post Davangere to Hubli. I guess by March the 6 laning of Chitradurga to Hubli will be complete.

Kolhapur to Satara roads are good but two lane with no service roads. It was raining so less 2 wheeler traffic and was able to cover this stretch faster.

Satara to Pune district border (Nira river bridge) most of the potholes has been patched up, but work is shoddy so you will have to speed down a bit. Post Nira bridge beware, there is a huge pothole which might damage you wheels if you are speeding up. Road maintenance was on in many places, I guess in few weeks road condition should be ok till then drive cautiously as potholes spring up randomly specially on right lane.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by autoweirdo

I guess by March the 6 laning of Chitradurga to Hubli will be complete.

I too hope, it does! It's been going on for time immemorial. Easily, more than 5+ years!