[superutp]

Hi, would anyone have an idea whether passing the Belgaum to karad stretch during afternoon hours (1pm-3pm) is a wise option?

[balzthebimmer]

Hello folks - I’m new to this group and this is my first post query .

I’m planning a trip from Chennai to Mumbai next week in My BMW X3 20D - had done this twice so far in 2022 and 2023 in July/August months .

How’s the road condition behind hubbali until Pune ?especially in Maharashtra region .

Am planning to halt in Bengaluru and would leave by 12 pm so that I can do the MH region in night time when I can be free of the local 2 wheeler traffic which was a nightmare to drive during daytime

Any updates and advices are much appreciated

[condor]

Originally Posted by superutp

Hi, would anyone have an idea whether passing the Belgaum to karad stretch during afternoon hours (1pm-3pm) is a wise option?

Not sure how you are looking at it, but that will be afternoon when the local traffic will be a bit less (summer). Afternoons there are seeing 36 C already.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by balzthebimmer

Chennai to Mumbai next week

If your intention is Madras-Bombay, then you can take the Ongole-Hyderabad-Solapur-Pune route.

Yes crossing Pune is an annoyance, which you should workaround if negotiate it at night. Rest of the route is a breeze and you don't need to worry about enroute towns.

Am planning to halt in Bengaluru and would leave by 12 pm so that I can do the MH region in night time when I can be free of the local 2 wheeler traffic which was a nightmare to drive during daytime

If you are looking to beat MH traffic, you should be looking at 1400-1430 Nelamangala-Dobaspet area start (back calculate according to your source point), that way you'll cross Kolhapur about 2200-2230 thereabouts.

[superutp]

Originally Posted by condor

Not sure how you are looking at it, but that will be afternoon when the local traffic will be a bit less (summer). Afternoons there are seeing 36 C already.

It was from the point of view if whether there would there be increased pain of diversions (more traffic) crossing in the afternoon. Or would the afternoon heat help in crossing faster

[lux_backpackers]

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 ?

Had to do Pune - BLR - Pune a few times in the last couple of years. Given the road work and diversions on Satara to Belgavi section, certainly feel that Pune - Solapur - Vijaypura - Hospete-Chitradurga-Bangalore route is a better option.
It helps if one is staying in the Hapadapsar area of Pune. I stay in the opposite side, so made it a point to start early and reached late so as to avoid the heavy city traffic. Else it is not worth as travelling to the opposite side adds another 1-1/2 hours at least.
Road condition is good through out the journey and traffic is also moderate to sparce so should not be a worry, but, since you are travelling ahead to Mumbai, the Pune city traffic will be a really big problem. Consider 40 kms of frustrating Pune city traffic. So depending on the time you reach Pune, decide if the Solapur is worth it.

[jomson13]

Cross posting from another thread to get more advice and suggestions.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post5746985 (All Roads to Kerala)

The initial plan was Pune - Thrissur over 2 days but now its changed to Pune - Sangli - Thrissur over 3 days.
Pune - Sangli : Day 1 evening
Sangli - Electronic city? : Day 2
Rest of the journey : Day 3

I'm inclined to try the 'new' NH50 route since I already did the NH48 route last November. It was a weekday, I started around 6am (from sangli) and was in bangalore (cooke town) at 5pm.

This time around, I'm guessing that I can drive on further and possibly look at stopping somewhere around Hosur.
Any hotel recommendations?

[superutp]

Did an interesting journey between Bellandur (BLR) and Thane last weekend. Interesting because it was the first time I drove the entire jounrey without stopping over for the night.

After a lot of thinking decided the pain of diversions with my GLA35 wasnt worth it and we decided to take the Solapur route.

Essentially we started at 520am from Bangalore and reached Thane before 9pm. So that was 1038 kms in around 15.5 hours.

Stops - Shell Chitradurga, Jio BP just before Bijapur, Shell after Solapur and the first mcdonalds after you get on the mum-pune expressway.

It was not meant to be a direct to mumbai journey and therefore the biggest horror was crossing Pune from the Hadapsar side which took 1.5 hours.

Overall, I would rate this route as a good alternative (possibly the main route) as road surfaces are good, traffic isnt too much of a problem if you time it well and there are no more than 3-4 diversions.

But as has been called out several times, if you are travelling with dependants who need to take breaks/need proper food joints, then please plan to well or else take the nh48 route.

[sanket456]

Did Whitefield (Bengaluru) to Sinhagad Road (Pune) drive last saturday. Started late around 5.45 AM from whitefield and reached Sinhagad road pune around 9.15 PM. Usually starting around 4 AM is the best option but couldn't start early due to office work.

Took the Bengaluru - Tumkur - Chitradurga - Davangere - Hubli - Belgaum - Kolhapur - Satara - Pune route. Avoided the Solapur route as it would have made me pass through entire Pune evening traffic. The other option was via sangli but didn't take a chance with it.

Here is the overall road condition
1. Bengaluru - Tumkur : There was lot of traffic on saturday morning because of long weekend with many cars heading towards Hassan & Davangere. Road conditions are good.
2. Tumkur - Chitradurga : As always good and you could maintain decent speeds. Had breakfast at naivedyam which is on Chitradurga bypass. you can enjoy a good south indian breakfast. Washrooms are ok.
3. Chitradurga - Hubli : Roads conditions are decent throughout. Some bridges are under and hence few diversions which are marked clearly with signage.
4. Hubli - Dharwad : Lot of construction activity is going on either side to make this single lane road to a 4/6 lane with median in between. Road laying work is in progress at some places. seems another 9 to 12 months away from construction.
5. Dharwad to Belgaum to Kolhapur to Karad: This road used to be a bliss to drive with total 4 lanes and beatiful scenic drive. Not any more since construction is going on to make it 6 lane and many bridges. This slows you down by at least 2 hours. You hardly gain speed as after every 5-10 kms, you need to take those countless diversions.
6. Karad to Satara to Pune : Reached around 6 PM and had to bear the brunt of 2W and 4W traffic

Looking at the overall construction activity, I think we are at least year and half away from full completion of additional lane on NH48.

In short, best to avoid this route for next few months if possible.

[normaltusker]

Originally Posted by sanket456

Here is the overall road condition
1. Bengaluru - Tumkur : There was lot of traffic on saturday morning because of long weekend with many cars heading towards Hassan & Davangere. Road conditions are good.
2. Tumkur - Chitradurga : As always good and you could maintain decent speeds. Had breakfast at naivedyam which is on Chitradurga bypass. you can enjoy a good south indian breakfast. Washrooms are ok.
3. Chitradurga - Hubli : Roads conditions are decent throughout. Some bridges are under and hence few diversions which are marked clearly with signage.
4. Hubli - Dharwad : Lot of construction activity is going on either side to make this single lane road to a 4/6 lane with median in between. Road laying work is in progress at some places. seems another 9 to 12 months away from construction.
5. Dharwad to Belgaum to Kolhapur to Karad: This road used to be a bliss to drive with total 4 lanes and beatiful scenic drive. Not any more since construction is going on to make it 6 lane and many bridges. This slows you down by at least 2 hours. You hardly gain speed as after every 5-10 kms, you need to take those countless diversions.
6. Karad to Satara to Pune : Reached around 6 PM and had to bear the brunt of 2W and 4W traffic

I did the Bangalore - Mumbai stretch yesterday and I can corroborate the above. In a nutshell, we must have encountered no less than 15-20 diversions. What would have earlier taken me 14 hours with ample breaks, took me more than 17 hours with just 1 breakfast break and non stop driving!

We started from 8th Mile at 5:30 AM and reached Mumbai - Sion only by 10:30 PM

[W@SIM]

Did BLR Pune on Ugadi day, stopped at a relatives place in belgaum for couple of hours for breaking fast and dinner.
Ugadi day meant no traffic, always like 1st or 2nd car at toll booths
started around 1115 from South BLR and reached belgaum in about 6.5 hours Non-stop(fasting so no nature calls and no food/tea breaks)
Continued from belgaum at 1115 pm and reached pune at 345am, again because of Gudi padva no traffic
total about 10-15 diversions - all neat except one on entering maharashtra. Conditions of some toll booths is bad with RFID not working, helped save me some money but at the expense of time.

[Selective]

Quick question, is there any authentic Punjabi Dhaba between Chitradurga and Bengaluru?

[Bobcat]

Hello BHPians,
I plan to travel with my family in 15 year-old Ford Fiesta from Pondicherry to Pune in the first week of June. I travelled from Pondicherry to Tiruvannamalai six months ago and the road is in good shape. I am not sure about the road condition beyond Tiruvannamalai, i.e., up to Krishnagiri.
I wish to complete the travel from Pondicherry to Pune in two days, taking a break after about 600 km travel. I drive leisurely, not exceeding 100 km/h when road is good and trafic is light. I may start at 6 am and take the break by evening before dark, avoiding night driving. Please suggest:
1) Best route for Pondicherry to Pune drive
2) At which town / city I can take the break and also a decent hotel with restaurent for the night stay and
3) vegetarian restaurents on the highway along the Bangalore - Pune strech.

Thanking my fellow BHPians in advance,

[traveloholic303]

I am planning a Pune - Bangalore road trip on 4 May 24. Google has been showing the Solapur route as the primary route to take. I have done multiple trips till Goa using the Kolhapur - Nipani route earlier.

While going through the recent comments, came across one reply that recommended the Solapur route.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[Mik]

Originally Posted by traveloholic303

I am planning a Pune - Bangalore road trip on 4 May 24. Google has been showing the Solapur route as the primary route to take. I have done multiple trips till Goa using the Kolhapur - Nipani route earlier.

While going through the recent comments, came across one reply that recommended the Solapur route.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

I have the same question and bumping it up as I start tomorrow morning at 4am.
I have done the kolhapur route multiple times.
This time I will be starting from viman Nagar side with parents who are not super enthused about any bumpy drive. Would the solapur route be perfect for me.