[streetfighter]

Originally Posted by Saminxs

Hi team,
Me and wife are planning a road trip from Mumbai to Bangalore on 26th Jan '23.

Any long drive should have a plan A, B and C. Since you are the solo driver and it is kinda long weekend, expect traffic and delays which may extend your travel time. Your plan A should be drive directly to Bangalore. Plan B can be a stay at Davengere (Apoorva Resorts is a good option) or plan C can be Belgaum. Planning will depending on your energy levels, how much travel is pending, time where you are, and your comfort in driving at night.
The highway is relatively safe and has food and stay facilities all through. Do recharge your Fastag in advance. Good luck, drive safe !

[Saminxs]

Originally Posted by streetfighter

Any long drive should have a plan A, B and C. Since you are the solo driver and it is kinda long weekend, expect traffic and delays which may extend your travel time. Your plan A should be drive directly to Bangalore. Plan B can be a stay at Davengere (Apoorva Resorts is a good option) or plan C can be Belgaum. Planning will depending on your energy levels, how much travel is pending, time where you are, and your comfort in driving at night.
The highway is relatively safe and has food and stay facilities all through. Do recharge your Fastag in advance. Good luck, drive safe !

Thanks, I am also planning on same lines, no commitment as such and will take a call on how I feel during the journey. Will try for direct B'lore and If I get too tired by the time I reach, I will plan a stop during return.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by Saminxs

Thanks, I am also planning on same lines, no commitment as such and will take a call on how I feel during the journey. Will try for direct B'lore and If I get too tired by the time I reach, I will plan a stop during return.

I don't know where exactly you are in Mumbai. I have done this in a day, starting from Goregaon West at 4AM and ending at JP Nagar, B'lore around 7PM with a break of approx 1.5 hour. Early start is the key and also, you should plan your pit stops.

[Saminxs]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

I don't know where exactly you are in Mumbai. I have done this in a day, starting from Goregaon West at 4AM and ending at JP Nagar, B'lore around 7PM with a break of approx 1.5 hour. Early start is the key and also, you should plan your pit stops.

Hey! I am based in Ghatkopar and that's a great timing. If it is so seamless I may also cover it in one stretch. Point is that I want it to be a long drive not a task to be finished as there is no deadline to reach hence..

[udayjani]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

Bangalore Pune is easily doable in 13-14 hours. I have done Bangalore - Kolhapur (10 hours) including an hours detour into Davangare town for those yummy dosas and Kolhapur - Pune (4 hours).

I started from Bangalore at 1 PM and checked into my hotel in Kolhapur at 11 PM. After a good nights rest started from Kolhapur at 7 AM and reached Pune at 11 AM.

I do not advocate night drives though, I would suggest break your journey in Hubbali around midnight, rest for a few hours and start fresh around 4 AM, to reach Pune by 10 AM.

Regards
Diesel

Thank you Diesel.

This is how I am planning right now especially due to heavy fog during this time in early mornings.

Break at Hubli and start to Pune Next day.

[udayjani]

Originally Posted by explorer09

Even with an extended dinner break, you should be able to reach Pune by sunrise. Post Tumkur, no pothole issues anywhere just that you need to be careful as always on the Hubli-Dharwad stretch.

Yes, I have been told Hubli - Dharwad stretch is single lane hence have to be extra careful driving in the nights. The visibility will be less, plus the fog and single lane. So strictly I am myself against night drives.

[udayjani]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

While you will certainly reach Pune by 5 or 6 AM itself with very usual cruising speeds of 100-120 kmph with breaks, with a 4 PM start, you will be doing Kolhapur Satara Pune section between 0100 and 0500 and this is the time when you will encounter quite a lot of buses headed for Pune and Mumbai. While you may see them as "good company" while you drive in through the night, I would avoid them since they often bully and tail you causing a lot of irritation and test your patience. And remember that most of these buses would be originating from Bangalore, Hubli, Hyderabad, Goa and they all reach Pune outskirts early morning.

The most ideal time, that also helps beat the busy Kolhapur-Satara-Pune section and also help you avoid these buses would be to start from Bangalore at 1300, enter Kolhapur by 2200 and reach Pune by 0100/0200.

I have regularly driven this stretch through the night and with various start times from both directions and the route is absolutely safe. However, be mindful of the fact that the sugarcane harvesting reason is still not over and you will encounter quite a lot of tractors with dual trailers dancing between 2 lanes, most of them with no tail lamps.

Secondly, this season of the year expect thick fog blanket between Haveri and Kognoli which is a regular affair around this time of the year, especially between 2200 and 0700.

This was at 0600 somewhere near Ranebennur and the fog started right after Kolhapur.

Attachment 2400799

And this one was between Sankeshwar and Belgaum:

https://Youtu.be/_7dg8hO6uoU

Thank you paragsachania for the suggestion and advise.

I have done this stretch back in 2019 and this was the visibility in morning around 6:30 at Haveri.

As you said, I noticed lot of private buses bullying, tailing and honking through the stretch but around 7 AM everyone came to a halt since the fog have become quite thick that even buses were unable to penetrate with their headlights.

[udayjani]

Originally Posted by pranavGTI

It is easily doable in one day. Start as early as possible to avoid all sorts of traffic. Since it is a national holiday, you can expect more people on the road. As you would be the only driver, get a good relaxing sleep on the night before you start. Also taking a power nap after lunch would definitely help in the other half of your journey.
Here are other things that help me
1. Multiple lists of curated songs depending on my mood.
2. Chewing gum.
3. Keep sipping black coffee. I brew it in a traditional filter. Instant should also work. Just carry hot water and instant coffee sachets. This should keep you awake for most part of the journey. If not take a nap for 15 mins after each meal.
4. Drive safe and enjoy the journey.

Hey pranavGTI

Would it be safe to take a power nap in highways during night or even in morning or do you recommend staying at a hotel?

Do we have to carry original documents like RC, Insurance or DigiLocker will be enough?

Back in 2019, I was stopped at Maharashtra - Karnataka border for travelling with PUC. Had a tough time convincing the traffic police that new car don't need PUC certificates.

While at Satara by-pass had a pleasant experience where one of the cops asked me some water since he was having a tough time standing in hot sun. Had to lend them some water bottles and some sweets which I bought from a sweet shop at Anewadi toll Plaza, Satara. (I am not marketing the shop but it will be useful to stop-by and buy sweets since it's right on the highway). Comes in handy to avoid going inside city.

Shop name is "Ashok Modi Kandi Pedhewale" and is on the highway on your left while coming from satara to Pune.

[pranavGTI]

Would it be safe to take a power nap in highways during night or even in morning or do you recommend staying at a hotel?

I recommend powernaps during daytime at safe places like restaurants or at fuel pumps. Post 7-8pm I prefer checking-in to a hotel and get a good night's sleep.

Do we have to carry original documents like RC, Insurance or DigiLocker will be enough?

I carry both. When asked I show them only the digilocker or MParivahan.

While at Satara by-pass had a pleasant experience where one of the cops asked me some water since he was having a tough time standing in hot sun. Had to lend them some water bottles and some sweets

That's a nice gesture .

[automachine]

Originally Posted by Saminxs

Hi team,
Me and wife are planning a road trip from Mumbai to Bangalore on 26th Jan '23. Will start return on 30th Jan. We had some questions and no better forum to ask.

I have recently completed my drive from Bengaluru to Gujarat (Vyara near Surat) and back starting 21st Dec and back to Bengaluru on 2nd Jan. This was the fifth such trip to my native in last two years. Here is my suggestion if you are starting from Mumbai and you are really not in hurry to reach your destination. Have a good night sleep before you begin. If you start before 6 am and can drive for 12-13 hours then as suggested by others, Davengere is a good option to break for the night otherwise I would suggest to take a break early at Hubli as the next day you can easily reach Bengaluru by noon even if you start at 8am in morning. Both the above places have good options for accommodation.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Saminxs

Hi team,
Me and wife are planning a road trip from Mumbai to Bangalore on 26th Jan '23. Will start return on 30th Jan. We had some questions and no better forum to ask.
1. Is it wise to do it in a day? We know it can be done, just want to know if it is a wise thing to do. My wife won't drive so it will be only me and I have driven to Goa from Pune non-stop but not sure that counts for anything.
2. Should we go to Pune an evening prior and start from Pune the next day? Someone suggested that.
3. If it is advisable to stop for the night then where? Belgaum?
4. Can anyone share update on road conditions?
5. Big factor in us deciding whether to finish it in a day or not is how and what this forum suggests.
6. We have a Ford Eco Sport AT, while it is fairly new, what all should one check for before a long trip.
7. Any tips!!

I would rather quote a post from 2021 than respond in detail as this had quite a few pointers to help on what you have asked:

Originally Posted by paragsachania

While I have been regularly doing Mumbai-Pune-Bangalore or even Rajkot/Ahmedabad - Bangalore since more than 15 years, I always say that I learn more and more from each of these drives. Here are some of the tips that I can give you to prepare yourself for the long drive:

• Start very early, 0400am types - This will help you get the best average speeds and cover longer distances before everyone else gets on the road
• Drive at steady speeds and merit of roads
• Do not have a set target to reach a specific destination or break point
• Don't constantly keep looking at Googlemap's ETA - It can show delays or faster progress and that can alter your mindset and driving depending on whether you are too late (and hence will drive faster) or early (and would want to reach even earlier)
• Expect the unexpected - Traffic jams, roadblocks, delays to cross the booth
• Expect the expected - Unruly drivers, misc town and village traffic, traffic police flagging you down during the day to check documents etc
• Keep yourself hydrated all the times
• As your family regularly if they need a break and take one (or many) if needed
• Have at least 2-3 options for both your refueling as well as food breaks - This helps you whenever you have made better progress or are delayed. Feed these locations onto the maps or share them with your fellow passengers over a text message/whatsapp so it is handy and you dont have to spend time searching for one
• Accept the fact that you can be delayed to reach your destination and no 2 drives on such long stretches can be the same in terms of timing and can vary significantly
• When you are closer to reaching your destination, try to exercise extreme patience for it is natural to get irritated by the behavior of fellow road users when you have another 2 hours to reach. You don't want to rush to reach that destination and this rush should not be a reason for any untoward incident that can spoil your trip
• Lastly, drive in such a way that the energy and enthusiasm levels remain consistent throughout the journey - I have often seen drivers overtake at superfast speeds and then somewhere ahead they are driving dead slow only because they are either tired or have lost interest due to driving all day. This can be done well only when you drive at a consistent speed than rush

[automachine]

Originally Posted by Gurudeep BN

Hi,

If anyone has recently taken the NH48 to reach Mumbai from Bengaluru, kindly update on the following:
a. Border dispute between the states
b. Any stretch that needs to be avoided

Thanks in advance.

During my recent drive on 2nd Jan while coming to Bengaluru there was no disturbance in the border area. I believe there is nothing to worry at present. If you are planning to reach Mumbai the same day the I suggest to start early before 5am. With few breaks you can even reach Mumbai in evening hours for dinner!. However if you want to do a leisure drive then night break at Belgaum/Kolhapur would be good option. Once you are out of Bengaluru-Tumkur stretch then the drive till Belgaum is absolutely fantastic with traffic adding up once you cross the border.

[normaltusker]

Originally Posted by udayjani

Hey pranavGTI

Do we have to carry original documents like RC, Insurance or DigiLocker will be enough?

Back in 2019, I was stopped at Maharashtra - Karnataka border for travelling with PUC. Had a tough time convincing the traffic police that new car don't need PUC certificates.

I would suggest you to carry hard copies of all the documents. A photocopy is all that is needed. It saves a lot of time when the cops stop you.

I have generally followed this rule of thumb that any car older than 6 months, it is safe to carry a PUC rather than breaking a sweat arguing with the cops!

[Bailey]

Hi. Any suggestions for clean toilet stops between Hosur and Tumkur. Travelling from Kochi to Mumbai. The last stop would normally be at Salem Radisson. So would be looking for another in between before lunch. Also suggestions for lunch post Tumkur. Read about Ghar Ka Khana - Farmveda https://goo.gl/maps/8xGiQuczXKWV5xrL8. Any reviews on this please and also the toilet facilities here.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Bailey

Hi. Any suggestions for clean toilet stops between Hosur and Tumkur.

There are plenty of options in this stretch, as you would be passing through dense urban stretch.

Between Hosur and Electronic city, you have Ramee Guestline, which is a proper hotel with clean restrooms and good parking (https://goo.gl/maps/ZY1Nzmx7JxmLxP7h8).

And then, on Tumkur Road, but before Tumkur, you have many options with clean toilets.

1. Shree Rathnam Pure Veg (https://goo.gl/maps/qRWH5mbsvdfkrf2y9)
2. There is a Cafe Coffee Day just a few minutes ahead of this (https://goo.gl/maps/e2AFzV6ZxFpubVML8)
3. Hotel Nanjundeshwara Veg Restaurant (https://goo.gl/maps/dvXG5R6CBr233oka7)