[deltasierra]

I did Pune - Kohlapur - Belgaum - Bangalore route on 19 Feb. Started early from Pune at 4.30 am, due to which succesfully crossed the diversions between Karad and Belgaum before 9.30 am, just in time to avoid the morning traffic.

The drive post Belgaum was a breeze with constant triple digit figures except on the Dharwad - Chitradurga stretch.

I was travelling with wife and my 1.5 year old so had 1 major stop at Big Mishra Dharwad and 3-4 small stops intermittently.

The most painful stretch was Tumkur to Bangalore which took almost 2-2.5 hours.

Managed to reach destination in Bangalore at 5 pm.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by procrj

A friend drove down from Pune (start point near airport) To BLR via Solapur today and he has very happy that I recommended this route to him.

Hence Pune - BLR in 11 hours with stops. Point i'm making here is that the roads are good and not that you need to drive fast

Thanks for the update! It is great to hear that your friend did this journey in 11 hours. Yes these roads are quite good and I agree this is a nice and fast route.

Pune - Solapur: 5.30 am start, 8.30 am breakfast stop at Preeti dining. Roads are decent with 4-5 diversions and can easily maintain 80-90 kmph speeds during early hours.

However, for others reading this, I would like to point out that getting in Solapur City (where this Preeti Dining is) is usually not recommended. There is a proper bypass away from Solapur city that avoids Solapur city altogether. That bypass is quite fast (it is proper 4-lane divided highway) and saves significant time while traveling from Bangalore-Pune or vice versa, by completely avoiding Solapur traffic.

I have driven on that last year and that bypass saved me a lot of time. I would always recommend sticking to this bypass and avoiding Solapur city, unless of course one has a reason to enter Solapur.

Here is that bypass marked in Google Maps:

[silverado]

Its very common, me and my friends family were travelling to Mahableshwar from pune, my friend was driving my car and same thing happened, bikers pointed to tyres. My friend thought we have a puncture, but i asked him if he felt it on steering wheel and he said it felt normal, we kept driving and took a break near a good fuel pump to check on tyres, they were normal.

This modus operandi has been highlighted mutiple times in papers on social media, and i had read about this thankfully in local papers in pune.

This was very prevelant around PCMC area, and if it happens local people are well aware of it and make a noise about it.

[ghodlur]

Any body recently travelled the Bangalore Pune stretch esp the stretch after Belgavi till Karad? Is there any slightest change to the diversions - any reductions or still the status quo? Also any idea if the 4 laned road between Dharwad and Hubli is operational? I have the urge to drive next week but the heat and the diversions will put me off if nothings improved.

[arulllk]

Hello Everyone,

I'm excited to be making my first post here after being a silent reader for some time.

I'll be setting out on a trip from Mumbai to Madurai during the second week of April (Two family). The plan is to start the journey at 11:00 PM from Mumbai, drive until Pune, and take a break between 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM at Yash Da Dhaba, located at No. 140, 1/1, Bengaluru - Mumbai Hwy, Warje, Pune, Maharashtra 411058. After the break, we plan to resume the journey around 3:00 AM and aim to reach Chitradurga, Karnataka.

I would appreciate your suggestions on whether this plan is feasible.

I'm looking for suggestions for a good hotel for our night stay between Hubli and Chitradurga (excluding both places). Furthermore, suggestions for a suitable stop during the initial break from 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM

[Selective]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Any body recently travelled the Bangalore Pune stretch esp the stretch after Belgavi till Karad? Is there any slightest change to the diversions - any reductions or still the status quo? Also any idea if the 4 laned road between Dharwad and Hubli is operational? I have the urge to drive next week but the heat and the diversions will put me off if nothings improved.

At least till Kolhapur nothing much has changed, all the diversions still exist. Hubli Dharwad 4 lane work is still under construction.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by arulllk

The plan is to start the journey at 11:00 PM from Mumbai, drive until Pune, and take a break between 1:00 AM to 3:00 AM

Aren't you start alongside the bus traffic from Bombay? I've seen them from Kolhapur end and there are quite a lot.

You may want to consider starting early than leave at 1100 pm. I do long hauls regularly with family and my strategy has been to leave 2-4 am and take a nap in daytime. I would never stop and sleep late night with family in an unfamiliar place, no matter how safe everyone says it is.

If you start like 2 am from Bombay, you can take Pune-Solapur-Bijapur-Chitradurga. You'll have a much peaceful drive through this route than taking NH4.

You should possibly reach Tumkur for the night, this way next day you can target to cross Bangalore before Electronics City/Hosur office traffic hits the roads. You'll likely be in Madurai for a late lunch on day 2.

I've only stayed in Naveen Regency in Tumkur and Chitradurga, which is ok for an overnight stay. Got recommended SS Residency at Tumkur from another person. I've not stayed personally.

[arulllk]

Originally Posted by narayans80

You may want to consider starting early than leave at 1100 pm. I do long hauls regularly with family and my strategy has been to leave 2-4 am and take a nap in daytime. I would never stop and sleep late night with family in an unfamiliar place, no matter how safe everyone says it is.

The main reason for starting at 11:00 PM is that I usually struggle to sleep the night before the journey, so I thought of utilizing the time. As my uncle brings his Rottweiler dog along, I considered this to be an added safety measure. Nevertheless, I will reconsider the starting time.

[superutp]

Hi, whats the suggestion on a route between Mumbai to Bangalore.

I plan to start at 6am from Thane with a stop over at Chitradurga on Saturday. Next day will be Chitradurga to Bangalore.

Gmaps until a few days back was adamant about the Sholapur route but have been noticing now that it shows the traditional Kolhapur route. The time difference showing is also more than 1 hour between the two routes.

Any suggestion? I have taken the Sholapur route once before on a return journey from Bangalore to Mumbai and found it quite decent (albeit limited in eateries/fuel pumps)

Much like most people I am not a fan of diversions, so am leaning towards the Sholapur route but the massive time difference is making me think again.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by arulllk

The main reason for starting at 11:00 PM is that I usually struggle to sleep the night before the journey, so I thought of utilizing the time. As my uncle brings his Rottweiler dog along, I considered this to be an added safety measure. Nevertheless, I will reconsider the starting time.

The time slot you have chosen, MPEW will be choked to the brim with Truck traffic. The entire ghat section will have heavy traffic. If you still want to stick to the current timings, you would be better off taking the old highway till Lonavala.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by deltasierra

Started early from Pune at 4.30 am, due to which succesfully crossed the diversions between Karad and Belgaum before 9.30 am, just in time to avoid the morning traffic.

Originally Posted by Selective

At least till Kolhapur nothing much has changed, all the diversions still exist.

Starting early morning tomorrow to Mumbai from B'lore. Any recommendations for overnight stay on NH48 in Maharashtra? Ideally, would like to travel as much as possible on friday. So, that we can make it to Mumbai by saturday afternoon.

Also, after Belgaum, could we take detour of Hukkeri > Chikkodi > Tasgaon > Karad to avoid the congestion between Belgaum > Kolhapur > Karad? The difference is just 18KMs(ie. Belgaum > Kolhapur > Karad is 180KMs and Belgaum > Tasgaon > Karad is 198KMs). How are the road conditions on the alternate stretch?

Please advise.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Starting early morning tomorrow to Mumbai from B'lore. Any recommendations for overnight stay on NH48 in Maharashtra? Ideally, would like to travel as much as possible on friday. So, that we can make it to Mumbai by saturday afternoon.

Fern Residency, Satara, is a very good stay option right on NH48. I have stayed there a few times. Nice and comfortable place with spacious parking, and most importantly, right on the highway with zero detour! Google Maps will still ask you to exit the highway about 1km before this hotel and take service lane, but ignore that. Continue driving on the highway, and there is an exit from the highway right in front of this hotel and take a left there directly into hotel entrance. But do not miss this left because then you would have overshot this place and the return path will be a long detour. And anyways, even if you take that service lane 1km before the hotel, as Google Maps will suggest, that is still fine because that is a wide and fast service lane and you will not lose much time in reaching the hotel.

If you start early morning (say 5AM) from Bangalore, you can easily reach Fern Residency, Satara by 5PM (or maybe even earlier depending on traffic), even with a couple of breaks in between.

There is also a Fern Residency in Karad, close to the highway (but needs a small detour to access it). But that is a bit of a rundown place and not that nice. I stayed there once, and never went back because I did not like it. I like their Satara hotel more than their Karad hotel.

Also, after Belgaum, could we take detour of Hukkeri > Chikkodi > Tasgaon > Karad to avoid the congestion between Belgaum > Kolhapur > Karad? The difference is just 18KMs(ie. Belgaum > Kolhapur > Karad is 180KMs and Belgaum > Tasgaon > Karad is 198KMs). How are the road conditions on the alternate stretch?

Don't bother with this alternative route. It will surely take you more time than sticking to main highway, in spite of the diversions. You will pass through crowded towns on that alternate roads, and lose more time there than you would lose on the diversions on the main highway.

Honestly, I think the main highway (NH48) is still the fastest road. The diversions are not that bad. I drive there regularly and in the net, it was always faster than trying alternative routes. The diversions are more of a mental pain (and annoyance when you were expecting to drive on fast four-lane or six-lane highways instead) than real pain. If you mentally prepare that there will be many diversions and you will have to manage those, it is not that bad at all. Key is to avoid Sundays there. Traffic on Sundays is very bad and that added to the diversions makes it a mess. But if you avoid Sundays, then I found the diversions not too bad to manage on other days.

I have taken many alternative roads too, more to enjoy some countryside roads at the cost of lot of extra time wasted. So yes, you can take other roads. But do not expect them to be any faster. If your goal is just a simple, shortest possible drive in shortest possible time, then main NH48 is still the best option in spite of all the road work happening there!

[deltasierra]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Starting early morning tomorrow to Mumbai from B'lore. Any recommendations for overnight stay on NH48 in Maharashtra? Ideally, would like to travel as much as possible on friday. So, that we can make it to Mumbai by saturday afternoon.

Also, after Belgaum, could we take detour of Hukkeri > Chikkodi > Tasgaon > Karad to avoid the congestion between Belgaum > Kolhapur > Karad? The difference is just 18KMs(ie. Belgaum > Kolhapur > Karad is 180KMs and Belgaum > Tasgaon > Karad is 198KMs). How are the road conditions on the alternate stretch?

Please advise.

You can plan a halt at Belgaum which is more or less halfway Bangalore - Mumbai route. The advantage here will be you can cross the Belgaum to Karad stretch in early hours when the traffic is less.

The other options would be major towns - Kohlapur, Karad or Satara, as per your convenience.

[Selective]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Also, after Belgaum, could we take detour of Hukkeri > Chikkodi > Tasgaon > Karad to avoid the congestion between Belgaum > Kolhapur > Karad? The difference is just 18KMs(ie. Belgaum > Kolhapur > Karad is 180KMs and Belgaum > Tasgaon > Karad is 198KMs). How are the road conditions on the alternate stretch?
Please advise.

Don't bother about the detour, stick to NH48. The diversions are well laid except that they have speed humps due to which we lose some time. Otherwise it is good surface to drive (I know about this till Kolhapur)

[superutp]

Originally Posted by superutp

Hi, whats the suggestion on a route between Mumbai to Bangalore.

I plan to start at 6am from Thane with a stop over at Chitradurga on Saturday. Next day will be Chitradurga to Bangalore.

Though I didnt get any response on this query, I decided to take the alternative route i.e Solapur one.

We started at 515am on Saturday, managed to get limited traffic on the expressway, luckily crossed Pune without much jams into Hadapsar and did a first stop at the Shell just after Pune on the Sholapur road by around 815.

Essentially Pune to Solapur has decent road surfaces but considerable 2 wheeler and truck traffic.

Solapur bypass>Vijaypur>Hosapete bypass>until Chitradurga is pretty decent (relatively less traffic and good roads)


We did a second stop at BP Chincholi at around 12pm and then drove straight to Chitradurga.

Total time taken was around 11 hours, 820 kms. Limited stops since we had packed some food & coffee . It was me, my wife and our 2 year old Indie on board our GLA35AMG.

I think overall a good route as long as you figure out your stops in advance as there are limited options enroute.

The drive from Chitradurga to Bellandur, Bangalore was done in a relaxed 4 hours. The highway from Tumkur to Bangalore outskirts is pretty terrible with heavy truck traffic, two wheelers, tempos et al.

I am still to figure out my return route from Bangalore to Mumbai which is the coming weekend