[lifeinpune]

Did Bangalore Pune on 8th/9th and returned on Saturday 22nd.

Bangalore-Pune
------------------
While going started on Friday afternoon at 3 PM from Electronic City Phase I. Reached Davanegere at 7 PM. Took a night halt at Mango Hotel Naveen (Please avoid this hotel at all costs). Its a 5 minute walk from Guru Koteshwara Benne Dosa. Had the dosas for Dinner. Started next day morning at 9:30 AM. Took a lunch break at Amar Only Veg on Tawandi Ghat. Reached Katraj Signal at 5
:15 PM.

Road Conditions
------------------
1. Tumkur bypass was OK-OK. The roads had lots of uneven patches that had to be navigated.

2. After that, roads till Davanegere were freshly laid. In some stretches, there was a lot of road noise. Not sure whether it was because of the tire pressure or because a fine gravel layer is not put. The roads are in good condition though.

3. Davanagere-Hubli was superb!

4. Hubli-Dharwad Usual Death Trap. Noticed 4-laning work going on in some stretches. Drove calmly without overtaking unless there was no oncoming traffic. Patience is the key on this stretch.

5. Dharwad-Belgaum was good.


6. Belgaum-Kolhapur: There were long diversions where both side traffic is on one side due to road work. Avg speed is reduced to same as the lorries you tail. Slowest stretch in journey

7. Kolhapur-Pune was OK. Traffic crawled at Karad flyover. Got held up for 5 minutes. But it was manageable. Before/After Satara the roads are better than what they were 3 yrs back. But its still very uneven and very bumpy. You need to watch the speeds. Best to avoid this stretch in the dark.

Since it was after lunch, there was not much 2W traffic after Kolhapur. Got lucky I guess.


Pune-Bangalore
------------------
Started on Saturday morning at 5 AM. Vento's headlight throw is not good so I normally avoid driving in the dark. But wanted to avoid the traffic before Kolhapur so decided to brave it. Drove at 80-90 Kmph till the Khambhatki Ghat. Daylight had broken out while descending the ghat. Kept a brisk pace after that.

Took a breakfast break at McDonalds Kolhapur on the other side at 8:30 AM. Didn't know that after Kolhapur in 10-15 minutes, there is a McDonalds/KFC/PizzaHut on the same side. Could have avoided the 10 min spent doing U-turn through underpass to get to the other side. Anyways, left McDonalds at 9:30 AM. Skipped lunch and reached home in E-city phase I at 5:30 PM. Kept a brisk pace after Dharwad. TSI/DSG plus Cruise Control is a boon. Makes highway driving effortless.

Road conditions
-----------------
1. Pune-Satara: The lack of traffic was an advantage. Like I said earlier, the road condition is better than what it was 3 yrs back. But it is bumpy at high speeds. You need to navigate uneven stretches frequently. Can't maintain high speeds here. Better to do this stretch in daylight.

2. Satara-Kolhapur: Starting early helped. Not much traffic and could maintain decent speeds. But its only 4-lanes. So had to slow down frequently due to heavy traffic and slow moving cars. Road condition is good.

3. Kolhapur-Belgaum: Extremely patchy roads. You need to keep navigating lots of patches. Would rate this the worst part of the entire return journey.

4. Belgaum-Dharwad: Good roads. Maintained decent speeds.

5. Dharwad-Hubli: The usual death trap. Drove patiently. Did overtaking only when there was no oncoming traffic. Patience is the key on this stretch. Drive at leisure without any urgency and you will be fine.

6. Dharwad-Tumkur: Awesome roads. Set CC at 110, sat back and let the machine do its job.

7. Tumkur bypass has been freshly relaid. Except for expansion joints on flyovers, the roads are good. But as you get close to Tumkur signal, one needs to slow down. There are short stretches of extreme bumpiness. So in general as you get close to Tumkur, better to maintain 80.

8. Tumkur Bangalore: Usual high traffic stretches. Many people drive aggressively and rashly on this stretch. Best to drive in a relaxed style here. I did maintain 90-100 in stretches but slowed down as and when required and maintained strict lane discipline. Let others pass when being tailed/honked.

[lifeinpune]

Forgot to add that due to upcoming elections in Karnataka, there were police checkposts at entry of major cities like Davanegere and Belgavi. All vehicles are made to stop. They ask you to unzip each bag. Even KSRTC buses were made to stop. Experienced this both while going and returning.

[Selective]

Road work update on NH-48 between Bengaluru and Kagal (KA-MH border)

1. Nelamangala to Tumkuru six lane work is slow and patchy
2. Not much progress in two flyover constructions after Davanagere, though the deviated roads are well laid and passing through is a breeze.
3. Finally the Hubli-Dharwad bypass road widening to six lanes has begun, land leveling is in progress. This could easily take two years to complete.
4. Road widening to six lanes is in progress between Belagavi and Kagal. Looks like at some places, they are planning to change the elevation of the existing road as well. Lots of deep digging is in progress at Hattaragi. Deviations are already in place, in and around Hattaragi.

[autoweirdo]

Quick query to regular users, how is traffic condition between Tumkur to Bengaluru post 10PM. Generally while driving from Pune I reach around 7PM and have always faced delay due to heavy traffic post Tumkur, even Nice Road has heavy Traffic specially at Toll booths. Planning to start Pune a bit late so that can avoid Tumkur_Bangalore traffic.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by autoweirdo

Quick query to regular users, how is traffic condition between Tumkur to Bengaluru post 10PM.

While there won't be traffic that will be gridlocked between Tumkur and Nelamangala, the usual pain and irritation will always be experienced with this stretch no matter what time and day of the week one is driving.

Apart from that, I think you shouldn't have much of a trouble crossing Nelamanagala including the NBTL toll at this time of the day. We returned post 10pm on 2 occasions in the last 3 weeks and traffic was pretty much manageable, including Goreguntepalya (if you are not taking NICE road).

[Justus12]

Hi Folks!

I will be travelling from Mumbai to Velankanni with my Family in the second week of May. My ride will be a 2005 Toyota Innova 2.5 V Diesel 7 seater. The car's documents are cleared and in check. Will be leaving from Mumbai just before Midnight and plan to reach Bangalore by evening next day I suppose (Have never travelled post Kolhapur, hence wouldn't know how long would it take to reach Bangalore).


My Route from Mumbai to Velankanni will be as follows:

• Mumbai - Pune - Kolhapur - Hubbali - Banglore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Tiruvannamalai - Virudhachalam - Chidambaram - Karaikal - Velankanni

Google Map Link:
Shared route

https://maps.app.goo.gl/LbwqguXPMZDKqEB59

Please do suggest good hotels/restaurants/eateries on the way, keeping in mind that clean washrooms would be a requirement as there are women traveling as well. Also, is there anything to worry about at the checkposts post Karnataka border due to ongoing elections? This will be my longest road trip so far. The farthest I have driven to is Goa from Mumbai. I would like to know any updates on these routes, if any. Any suggestions on routes, road conditions, bad stretches, things to keep in mind while driving, any tips or suggestions, please do feel free to share.

Thanks!!

[autoweirdo]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

We returned post 10pm on 2 occasions in the last 3 weeks and traffic was pretty much manageable, including Goreguntepalya (if you are not taking NICE road).

Thank you for confirmation, will tryout night drive, hopefully should not be as tiring as early evening drive. Will update thread once trip is done.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by autoweirdo

Planning to start Pune a bit late so that can avoid Tumkur_Bangalore traffic.

You can target noon start from Pune. If you are on NH4 around 1230 pm, you'll avoid Pune-Kolhapur traffic and Tumkur-Bangalore traffic and enter NICE about midnight thereabouts. Its a peaceful timing, but there is a small price to pay. You'll be on Dharwad-Hubli in evening traffic. If you are reaching south Bangalore, it'll be about 1 am.

[autoweirdo]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Its a peaceful timing, but there is a small price to pay. You'll be on Dharwad-Hubli in evening traffic.

My in laws stay at Carmelaram so I generally take Nice road based on Google baba advice since outer ring road is choc a bloc in evenings. I guess with late entry I will be avoiding hefty toll fees of Nice road as outer ring road traffic should be less at that hour. Another advantage no need to wake up early

[W@SIM]

Originally Posted by autoweirdo

Planning to start Pune a bit late so that can avoid Tumkur_Bangalore traffic.

Dont make it too late, meaning dont try this stretch post 3am as all KSRTC and Private buses gush in to BLR.

[autoweirdo]

Originally Posted by W@SIM

Dont make it too late, meaning dont try this stretch post 3am as all KSRTC and Private buses gush in to BLR.

Sure will try to leave by 12-1 PM so that will be at Tumkur around 10PM.

[youknowitbetter]

Hi all - planning to Mumbai - Bangalore next weekend. While going to Bangalore, we are planning to stay at Davanagere. Hoping to get good suggestions for our return journey. Will prefer to stay in Satara if possible to make the most of the travel time but can consider Kolhapur as well as outskirts of Pune will be too much and since we anyways will be taking a night halt, don't want to push ourselves too much.

Also, happy to learn from fellow members for route or any other useful points. Thanks in advance..!

[Rajesh K R]

Hi all,

Just made a BLR-MUM-BLR drive last week. Left BLR on 17th @ 3.30 am, breakfast @ Ganesh Hotel, Varur and Lunch at Sai International, Yelur (after Kolhapur). We reached Pune at 5 pm and stayed overnight with my relative.

Road work @ Karad, and 2 wheeler traffic near Kolhapur slowed down our drive as well as multiple stoppages for office calls.

Pune to Mumbai was done easily as we started very early and reached Mumbai before the daily office traffic started.

On return, we left MUM next day @ 8 am and had breakfast at Mapro Garden in Valvan, Lonavala. Expressway was a little slow due to big trucks occupying all the 3 lanes and creating a long line of cars behind them.

Pune to Kolhapur was also slow, particularly in the section where the road is 2 laned with lots of 2 wheeler traffic. We stopped in Kolhapur and stayed overnight @ Hotel Rasika. Next day after darshan, left Kolhapur at 11 and drove to BLR, again a leisurely drive with multiple stoppages at Nuggikeri Hanuman Temple @ Dharwad, Lunch @ Khanavali in Dharwad and a coffee break in Hiriyur. Reached BLR @ 9 pm.

Major road work going on in Karad - where the main carrriageway is demolished and all the traffic is diverted thro the service roads.. This is a pain point and takes lot of time to cross Karad. I think we took almost 30-40 mins to cross Karad. Driving in lower gears with lots of clutch engaging was a pain. (i drive a Manual car)

[Rajesh K R]

Query to the regulars like Parag who drive BLR - Mumbai.

I am planning one more drive in July, want to try this route :

BLR - Bijapur - Solapur -Pune - Mumbai.

I am aware that BLR-Bijapur is good tolled road, but do not have any idea about Bijapur - Solapur - Pune section. Is that also a 4/6 Laned toll road ?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

Query to the regulars like Parag who drive BLR - Mumbai.

I am planning one more drive in July, want to try this route :

BLR - Bijapur - Solapur -Pune - Mumbai.

I am aware that BLR-Bijapur is good tolled road, but do not have any idea about Bijapur - Solapur - Pune section. Is that also a 4/6 Laned toll road ?

Sholapur Pune is also very good. No issues there. At times it makes sense to approach Pune from Sholapur side of your destination is around Hadapsar areas.

This is becoming a good alternative to reach Pune from Bangalore too. Sholapur bypass will also directly put you onto Hyderabad Pune corridor with ease.

But the party ends there if your destination is Mumbai because you will have to cross Pune from eastern side all the way to the west entering the city and its CBD areas. There is absolutely no sensible route that will help you bypass this. Hence, if your destination is Eastern areas of Pune, Sholapur route will take the same time with lesser efforts as the traffic is not dense. But if you would like to then drive to Mumbai on the same leg, things are going to get stressful when crossing Pune to hit the Mumbai Pune expressway.