[sanket456]

For People who are taking this route : Pune - Solapur - Vijayapura - hospete - chitradurga-bengaluru route, you can have couple of good stops here :
1. Kyriad Prestige Ikkal - https://maps.app.goo.gl/XbhWg4jKziVkANh8A . This is around 70mins drive from Vijayapura towards bangalore. Service is slow but you would find good quality food and good washrooms. Good hotel to stay if needed.
2. Hotel Mayura KDTC TB Dam - https://maps.app.goo.gl/ApYxct7zc9j27hZ2A. This is under the flyover and can be easily missed so switch on maps when near hospet. Serves good quality food and very clean washrooms. Maintained by KTDC.

I just did Bengaluru-Solapur-Pune-Sambhajinagar-Solapur-Bangalore circuit over the last long weekend. Road condition is good but do expect bad patches in between.
Details:
1. Bengaluru - Chitradurag - good
2. Chitradurga - Hospet - good. no surprises
3. Hospet - Vijayapura - few bad patches. potholes in patches because of rains. watch out for speed breakers
4. Vijayapura - Solapur - good.
5. Solapur - Pune - average road conditions with lot of traffic which is usual on all MH roads.

[youknowitbetter]

I have come to Pune (from Mumbai) for weekend. Few observations:

1. Atal setu is quite helpful especially since I live closeby, but the moment it merges on NH, the road quality is beyond pathetic. I was questioning my decision of taking Atal Setu instead of old Vashi bridge route (I am not aware of the condition of that road). If anyone is aware let me know, I am take that route on my way back.

2. Even the expressway is not as good as it used to be. Lot of uneven path work which spoils the whole experience. I am not sure if the focus is on constructing the missing link and they are just ignoring everything else.

3. Haven't seen so many people walking on the side, driving 2 wheelers (wrong direction included). I suspect the reason for this is that lot of barricades/fencing has been removed by locals basis their convenience.

Not mentioning anything about truckers since there is just no point. But the whole experience has quite sub par. I have been doing Mumbai-Pune rounds since 2009 (not very frequently but enough to notice the difference in scenery and roads) and back then I didn't get to ride/drive cars which are available today (emphasis is that cars available today are better than the taxis and hatchbacks which were there back in the day).

[dadacarnissan]

Hi Everyone,

We are a family of four with kids aged 8 and 6, planning a trip from Bangalore to Mumbai on the 04th of September.

We've taken this journey three times before via NH 48: Bangalore > Hubballi > Belgaum (for an overnight stay) > Kolhapur > Pune > Mumbai. However, recent updates suggest avoiding the Belgaum to Satara stretch.

We’re keen to stopover in Belgaum because it’s familiar, and the kids enjoy the windmills along the route and from the hotel.

Google Maps is recommending the following alternative route to bypass the closures from Belgaum to Satara:

Belgaum > (NH 160) Chikodi > Tasgaon > (merges back to NH 48) Karad > Satara > Pune > Mumbai

I would appreciate any insights or recent experiences with this route. We plan to leave Belgaum by 10 a.m. to make the most of the daylight.

Thanks in advance!

[Ays7]

So I will be doing Mumbai - Hubli on 6th September. I plan on leaving at 4:30AM and plan to stop at first foodcourt on Mum - Pune expressway by 6:30. I will be traveling with a 4 Year old Toddler. To accommodate his needs, will need to make a food stop at 9:00-9:30 and then 12:30 - 1:00 PM. I am assuming I would have crossed Pune around 9 and would be Enroute to Satara and would be around Kolhapur at Lunch time or so.

Would anyone have a list of recommend places where we can stop for food? Any recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks

[krrisdrive]

Originally Posted by Ays7

Would anyone have a list of recommend places where we can stop for food? Any recommendations are appreciated.

Thanks

Please check the first page of this thread where eateries and fuel stops are mentioned. Most are still operational.

[Ays7]

Originally Posted by krrisdrive

Please check the first page of this thread where eateries and fuel stops are mentioned. Most are still operational.

Thanks a ton, just went through the list, this was just what I was looking for.

[KnightRider77]

Originally Posted by sanket456

For People who are taking this route : Pune - Solapur - Vijayapura - hospete - chitradurga-bengaluru route, you can have couple of good stops here :
I just did Bengaluru-Solapur-Pune-Sambhajinagar-Solapur-Bangalore circuit over the last long weekend. Road condition is good but do expect bad patches in between.
Details:
1. Bengaluru - Chitradurag - good
2. Chitradurga - Hospet - good. no surprises
3. Hospet - Vijayapura - few bad patches. potholes in patches because of rains. watch out for speed breakers
4. Vijayapura - Solapur - good.
5. Solapur - Pune - average road conditions with lot of traffic which is usual on all MH roads.

I returned to B'lore via Vijayapur from Pune last week and was about to post my experience of the route when I noticed this post from Sanket, which more or less matches my experience.

It took me 6 hours to reach Vijayapura from Pune and I maintained good speeds, even from Pune to Solapur despite the traffic and average road conditions. From Solapur to Vijayapura there was negligible traffic and the road is pretty nice!

I stayed at The Ferns Residency again (see my previous post on my experience travelling the other way) and the service and the rooms were again top notch. The restaurant has a pretty good menu with delicious food.

For some reason I thought the journey from Vijayapura to B'lore would be a doddle given my experience of a relatively pain free drive going the other way. Alas! It wasn't the case this time. The roads seemed to have gained a few potholes and the truck traffic too had increased when I left from Vijayapura at 9.30AM.

Speaking of trucks - many of them don't have any basic road sense. At one point, a truck that was going along the middle lane suddenly swerved to the right as I was about to overtake it at 120 MPH ! If it hadn't been for the fact that I was alert and I still had some road left to close the gap, I would have been side swiped off the road! I gave him the middle finger as I passed him by a bit later along with some choice words. Sorry, but I had to vent after that near death experience. After that I gave all trucks a toot from the horn as I came up behind them on the off chance that they aren't on their mobile phone or distracted otherwise.

Anyway, I made it to B'lore after 8 hours of driving at around 5.30PM. In between I stopped at Anand Vihar for lunch mainly because they have clean washrooms and a scenic nursery. But I wouldn't advise this restaurant for food as the options are limited, the food isn't all that great (not bad but not good either!) and you have to take a U turn if you're travelling to B'lore. Much better to drive on a bit as more places seem to be available on this stretch although I didn't stop anymore.

As a solo driver, I find any drive > 6 hr a bit exhausting especially if there is traffic or bad roads to contend with. Although Vijayapura is a nice place to stay overnight, it's not exactly midway. I would prefer to halt at Vijayapura when travelling to Pune as it takes 8-9hrs to reach from B'lore but the road and traffic seems better in this direction (at least it was when I travelled last month). Then the 6 hr journey to Pune is not as stressful.

But on the return leg, I would prefer to drive 8-9 hours, stop overnight and then travel 6 hrs to B'lore. Basically, a shorter end journey helps mitigate stress on arrival at destination! At least for me. I was wondering if there is a better option than Vijayapura on the return leg. Maybe some place between Chitradurga and Vijayapura? Need to do some research on that end.

All in all, the route is pretty nice and scenic if you can contend with some potholes (for a part of the stretch only), decent truck traffic and some suicidal drivers. If you have someone else to share the drive even better because despite everything, the route is perfect for a road trip!

[krrisdrive]

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

But on the return leg, I would prefer to drive 8-9 hours, stop overnight and then travel 6 hrs to B'lore. Basically, a shorter end journey helps mitigate stress on arrival at destination! At least for me. I was wondering if there is a better option than Vijayapura on the return leg. Maybe some place between Chitradurga and Vijayapura? Need to do some research on that end.

Hospet. The perfect place for stay and food of all ranges. Start the morning with a delightful sight of Tungabadra dam and the milky misty water flowing through her gates for a refreshing start, wind through the nature made Deccan Plateau and man made wind mills orchestrating a surreal drive for you. In no time, you will reach Chitradurga bypass and satisfy your taste buds in Sukhsagar, Paakashala, Guruprasad or wherever your heart wants. Once this is done, you know Bangalore is ...(put a number as you wish) hour away.

This will be far better than Bijapur start since you will be subjected to the pathetic road design of rumblers/speed breakers in the first leg itself which will take out the enthusiastic in you and leave the 'driver', who will whine and grind till Bangalore. (My assumption is that the road between Bijapur-Hospet and Chitradurga-Davangere were either designed by same engineer or executed by same contractor. They pose similar challenges of rumblers masquerading as speed bumps or vice versa.)

On a recent trip from Mumbai, stayed at Priyadarshi, Hospet - ideal for stay and food.

[KnightRider77]

Originally Posted by krrisdrive

Hospet. The perfect place for stay and food of all ranges. Start the morning with a delightful sight of Tungabadra dam and the milky misty water flowing through her gates for a refreshing start, wind through the nature made Deccan Plateau and man made wind mills orchestrating a surreal drive for you. In no time, you will reach Chitradurga bypass and satisfy your taste buds in Sukhsagar, Paakashala, Guruprasad or wherever your heart wants. Once this is done, you know Bangalore is ...(put a number as you wish) hour away.

Hospet does sound like an ideal location. On the return leg, it's a 10 hr drive from Pune though (adding 3+ hrs from Vijayapura), which makes it a bit of a stretch for me.

However, I did find a somewhat ideal midpoint in a place called Ilkal. It seems to be perfectly midway between Pune and B'lore along this route. Plus I found a well rated hotel called Kyriad Prestige, Ilkal which seems to be well rated and reviewed. Would love to hear the views of someone who has travelled on this route and stayed at this place perchance. I'll definitely try it out the next time I travel on this route!

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

Kyriad Prestige, Ilkal

Kyriad Ilkal is in the middle of nowhere. And I never got enough confidence to stay there. It does look fancy from the outside though, and the rates are on par with Bijapur Fern.

I was looking at KSTDC Almatti for sometime, to visit Almatti dam.
Apart from this only MR Residency which is a budget option in Hungund exists.

If you want choices its either Hospet or Bijapur only.

[Ays7]

How is the route from Hampi - Vijaypura- Satara? Google map shows between 8.30-9.00 hours on most days while Hampi - Hubli - Belgavi - Kolhapur - Satara route shows 60-90 mins more. I plan to travel back to Mumbai from Hampi next week. Plan is to start from Hampi at 10:30 and aim to reach Satara and break at Satara for the night. Is the route doable? Are there any family friendly food stops on the route? This route does not go via Solapur but directly goes from Vijaypura to Satara.


Thanks

[Ays7]

Yesterday, I traveled from Mumbai to Hubli via the Pune-Satara-Karad-Kolhapur-Belgaum route, and it turned out to be a chaotic and exhausting journey.

We started at exactly 4:45 AM from Borivali, with the estimated arrival time showing 4:25 PM. However, as we progressed, the estimated time steadily increased, and by the time we reached Vashi, Google Maps was showing an estimated arrival of 6:30 PM.

The traffic after the first toll plaza at the Ghats before Lonavala was extreme. We crossed the toll at 6:25 AM and managed to pass the second toll on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway by 8:40 AM. We stopped for a quick coffee break at Food Carnival and left after 15 minutes.

After crossing the expressway, we encountered heavy traffic in Pune on NH 48 until Hinjewadi. Afterward, the traffic was slow but moving. The roads improved once we passed the Katraj Tunnel, but we didn't reach Satara until 12:45 PM.

The stretch between Satara, Kolhapur, and Kagal was a nightmare, with numerous diversions and constant traffic. We stopped for lunch at Vitthal Kamat between Satara and Karad and resumed the journey at 2:30 PM. By then, the estimated time of arrival was 9:00 PM.

The diversions and detours were frustrating and relentless until we reached Belgaum. Apart from a brief 5-minute fuel stop at Nipani, we continued without further breaks after lunch.

The roads between Belgaum and Hubli were excellent, and although I had originally planned to avoid driving at night, I was still able to maintain a speed of 70-80 km/h for most of the stretch. However, it was necessary to be cautious, as many trucks lacked tail lights or reflectors.

The last 15 km consisted of a single-lane road with heavy traffic on the opposite lane. The blinding headlights made it a challenge, but we managed to cover that stretch in about 25 minutes and finally reached our hotel by 9:00 PM.

In total, what I initially expected to be a 12-hour drive turned into a 15.5-hour journey, excluding breaks.

I was driving an Alcazar, and thankfully, the Auto Hold feature was a lifesaver during the frequent stops. Today, I plan to drive the Hubli-Hampi stretch.

Due to the constant diversions and traffic jams, the overall mileage using the tank-to-tank method was around 10.5 km/l.

I hope the ongoing construction work is completed soon, as this stretch is currently a nightmare to navigate.

[Ays7]

The morning after my stay in Hubli, I drove from Hubli to Hampi, and the journey was a breeze! It took me around 2.5 hours with great roads for most of the way, where I could use cruise control almost the entire time. Only the last 5 km were a bit rough, but otherwise, the roads were world-class.

On the return leg, I started from Hampi at 10:00 AM on September 10th and decided to take the Hampi-Vijaypura-Jaat-Vita-Satara road to avoid the bad stretch of NH-48 between Satara and Belgaum, which I had experienced before. This route turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The highway to Vijaypura was in good condition, and I could easily maintain 80-90 km/h on most stretches. There were a few unexpected speed breakers, but after a while, I could predict them and slow down accordingly. Traffic was minimal, which made the drive even smoother.

After Vijaypura, the road became a single-lane highway with very few food stops, so we were glad we had packed lunch from the hotel. There was a bad stretch of about 10 km where road construction was ongoing, but apart from that, it was a breeze, with almost no traffic. The scenic route, with windmills, greenery, and mountains, added to the pleasant experience. I covered the 440 km stretch in exactly 7 hours and 5 minutes, reaching Satara by 5:30 PM and checking into The Fern Hotel.

The next day, we started from Satara at 10:00 AM and took the Mumbai-Pune Expressway via the Atal Setu. Despite a bit of traffic in Pune and a couple of stops for fuel and lunch, we made it home by 4:45 PM.

I drove an AT Petrol Alcazar with a 2.0L engine, and the car handled the ghats and rough patches really well. The overall fuel efficiency for the 1505 km trip came out to 11.9 km/l using the tank-to-tank method.

[abhii176]

I am planning to drive from Bangalore to Mumbai in the first week of October. I will be travelling in my Safari with my wife, 9 year old daughter and 3 year old retriever.

Going by the responses on this thread so far, looks like the regular NH48 route should be avoided. Wanted advise on whether I should take the Vijaypura Solapur route or Vijaypura Satara route. Plan to halt at Pune for the night and then head to Mumbai the next morning.

I will be travelling on a weekday so hoping traffic will be lighter. Given that I will be heading to Mumbai, which of the above routes will be better to get to Pune? And can you suggest some areas in Pune to stay to avoid travelling through the city so that I can hit the Mumbai Pune expressway avoiding Pune traffic as much as I can?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by abhii176

Going by the responses on this thread so far, looks like the regular NH48 route should be avoided. Wanted advise on whether I should take the Vijaypura Solapur route or Vijaypura Satara route. Plan to halt at Pune for the night and then head to Mumbai the next morning.

I will be travelling on a weekday so hoping traffic will be lighter. Given that I will be heading to Mumbai, which of the above routes will be better to get to Pune? And can you suggest some areas in Pune to stay to avoid travelling through the city so that I can hit the Mumbai Pune expressway avoiding Pune traffic as much as I can?

If this is your first drive from Bangalore to Mumbai and not familiar with the diversions on NH48 then better stick to Vijaypur route.
The Solapur route is the best one when compared to road condition and traffic but is longer and then you will need to cross the Pune city to reach the Mumbai Pune Expressway. Plus traffic at Hadapsar will test your patience.
If you are adventurous & have time on hand then try Vijaypura Satara road via Jath, Rahimatpur which is a single laned road and prone to slight traffic. This way you join the NH 48 at Satara and can reach Pune faster. I have requested a friend who recently travelled this stretch to share the updates on road condition and traffic, will put in this thread later.

Ideally you should search for a stay option close to start of Mumbai Pune expressway somewhere in Wakad or Hinjewadi or Punawale etc.