[sedanlover2021]

I recently drove on 1st December in our Audi A4 from Bangalore to Mumbai. We had hired a driver and there was me, my spouse our 2.5-year-old kid and our golden retriever. It was a horribly long journey while going from BLR - Mum. Post Belagavi, the construction on the highway all the way till almost Pune is horrible. We left at 5.40 AM and reached at 1.30 AM next day. It was an unavoidable trip hence was forced to take the journey up. The drive drove for 650 Kms, self for about 250 and the remaining ~100 odd kms were driven by the Mrs.

On my way back to BLR I left Mumbai at 4.30 AM and stopped at Hubbali (Hubli). Reached here at around 3.30 PM. Stayed over at the Fern. Please avoid this hotel as the ratings show extremely high on google and other portals but it is not well maintained at all. Left at 6.30 AM next morning and reached home by 2PM.

The condition of this route is pathetic, and I would not want to drive here in the near future unless there is an emergency! However, BLR-Hubbali-BLR this stretch is just brilliant!

[superutp]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

The one through Bijapur actually goes through the city to access the road to Mangalwedha. The exit from Zalki is more preferable although the road from Zalki till the touch point at Marvade to Mangalwedha road is a bit broken at places. The road from Vijaypura also reaches this touch point.

This road has some unmarked speed bumps and needs to taken carefully.

Originally Posted by krrisdrive

I think you can take Zalki>Shirwal>Pune route. With good speed you shall be reaching Zalki in 4 hrs from Hampi and another 5~6 hours, you shall be on MPE.

Thanks for the suggestion.

So Day 1 we did Bellandur (Bangalore) to Hosapet. Since we started fairly early (~530am) and surprisingly less Traffic in the Tumkur highway, we reached Hosapet in around 5 hours.

Day 2 from we started at around 530am from Hosapet and reached Thane by 430pm. We took this Bijapur>Zalki>Pandharpur>Shirwal>Pune>Thane route and I think this route was worth it.

Yes the Zalki diversions takes you really through interior roads of MH, in some cases even places where there is no road. However, once you approach Pandharpur, the Mumbai-Pandharpur highway kicks in with smooth tarmac and fairly open and scenic (compared to the Solapur road).

Overall 3/4th of this diversion is good enough as an alternative route especially if you want to by pass Pune quickly. The Zalki to Shirwal (~240kms) took us around 4 hours.

Happy to share any other information if anybody is planning to use this route.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by superutp

Day 2 from we started at around 530am from Hosapet and reached Thane by 430pm. We took this Bijapur>Zalki>Pandharpur>Shirwal>Pune>Thane route and I think this route was worth it.

Yes the Zalki diversions takes you really through interior roads of MH, in some cases even places where there is no road. However, once you approach Pandharpur, the Mumbai-Pandharpur highway kicks in with smooth tarmac and fairly open and scenic (compared to the Solapur road).

Overall 3/4th of this diversion is good enough as an alternative route especially if you want to by pass Pune quickly. The Zalki to Shirwal (~240kms) took us around 4 hours.

Thanks for this information. I was looking at this as alternative to NH48.
Could you please let us know, how long is the stretch with no roads. Is it broken roads, can a sedan do this? From Pandharpur, is it 4 lane all the way until NH48?

Also, are there any decent restaurents, refreshments options on this stretch?

[superutp]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Thanks for this information. I was looking at this as alternative to NH48.
Could you please let us know, how long is the stretch with no roads. Is it broken roads, can a sedan do this? From Pandharpur, is it 4 lane all the way until NH48?

Also, are there any decent restaurents, refreshments options on this stretch?

We managed to do it easily in my GLA35AMG which inherently has a very stiff suspension and relatively low GC for a cross-over. Essentially the route is a mix of different types of roads- broken roads maybe 10%, single lane rural roads perhaps 40% and 4 lane highway would be the remaining with some diversions thrown here and there.

Unfortunately I dont have any recommendations for restaurants as we had planned to just whiz past this section and not rely on stopping for food/drinks (except bathroom breaks and giving my dog a walk). However, Pandharpur has sufficient number of places to stop for sure and it can be planned as the stopover point.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by hrman

I plan to start on 4th morning early and target reaching Belagavi using the traditional NH48 route via Pune, Kolhapur, Satara, Karad. I was just checking in Google maps and it directs somewhere else after Pune diverting towards Lonand, Phaltan, Vita and connecting back to NH48 after Sankeshwar, showing that the NH48 via Satara is closed.
It is open right, albeit with the numerous diversions and service road speedbreakers? .

I did this trip as planned using the Mumbai to Belagavi route on 4th Jan. Started from Mumbai at 6 am and reached Belagavi at 4.30 pm, including some 1.25 hours of breaks. The total drive time was ~9.5 hours. The route from Mumbai to Kolhapur was ok, the nightmare from Karad to Belagavi continues with the numerous diversions. This time, somewhere after Karad, the road was so bad for 2-3 kms, it was like riding on a bullock cart.

The journey from Belagavi to Bangalore started on 5th at 7.30 am. This took me about 8.5 hours including breaks of about an hour. I reached my place at Bannerghatta road before 4 pm. Great roads upto Tumkur and was super smooth driving on cruise control at 85/ 90 kms. I would have touched 100 only for a minute or two and was driving sedately throughout.
I got a mileage of 19.8 kmpl for the Belagavi to Mumbai leg and about 17.5 kmpl throughout from Mumbai to Bangalore. This is a KIA Sonet 1.0 IMT petrol.

A special mention to ITC Welcomhotel at Belagavi where I stayed on my return, which is a new hotel opened in May/June 24 I think. The service, hotel etc. was impeccable with typical 5 star standards and since I had booked in advance, I got a great deal. Highly recommended.

[yogishkamath]

I am planning to drive from Bangalore to Panvel on the 18th, and was wondering if the day-of-week matters when deciding the route.

If I were to take the Solapur route, starting from BLR at 4 am, I would expect to reach the eastern edge of Pune around 5 pm. On a weekday, that would certainly mean getting stuck in office traffic while traversing through the city to get to the expressway and it would therefore be advisable to stick to the Belagavi route, which seems to go through the west of the city.

The question is - will it be significantly better on the weekends ? Is the difference sufficient to justify taking the Solapur route.

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by yogishkamath

If I were to take the Solapur route, starting from BLR at 4 am, I would expect to reach the eastern edge of Pune around 5 pm. On a weekday, that would certainly mean getting stuck in office traffic while traversing through the city to get to the expressway and it would therefore be advisable to stick to the Belagavi route, which seems to go through the west of the city.

Why not opt for the solapur routing and take detour at Zalki > Pandharpur > Shirwal to join back NH48? This would be best of both worlds, as you can escape bad stretches of NH48 + escape cutting through pune city.

You can find few posts below describe the road conditions and time taken for this routing.

[krrisdrive]

Originally Posted by yogishkamath

I am planning to drive from Bangalore to Panvel on the 18th, and was wondering if the day-of-week matters when deciding the route.

If I were to take the Solapur route, starting from BLR at 4 am, I would expect to reach the eastern edge of Pune around 5 pm. On a weekday, that would certainly mean getting stuck in office traffic while traversing through the city to get to the expressway and it would therefore be advisable to stick to the Belagavi route, which seems to go through the west of the city.

The question is - will it be significantly better on the weekends ? Is the difference sufficient to justify taking the Solapur route.

In this stretch, weekdays (no holiday) are always better than weekends. Even a 4 am start from BLR on a Saturday will face significant outbound traffic (read: more than weekday) till Hubli and even Belgaum if legislators are meeting at Belgaum.

Pune crossing through West side bypass is always better than East-West crossing of Pune at any given time.

Zalki to Shirwal is a good alternate route to save time (in comparison to Solapur/Pune East-West crossing) though more attention is needed than a NH drive.

If you vehicle is AT, has a good GC and you won't mind diversions, then NH48 is the best option as people are still reporting faster run time than via Solapur or Zalki detour.

Hope this helps.

[yogishkamath]

Originally Posted by krrisdrive

Even a 4 am start from BLR on a Saturday will face significant outbound traffic (read: more than weekday) till Hubli and even Belgaum if legislators are meeting at Belgaum.

Thanks! This is very useful information.

I had gone to Chitradurga on a day trip once on a Saturday during the kids' vacations and just about managed to keep up with the gmaps time (I usually gain a significant amount of time over gmaps once I am on any 4 lane highway)

I had chalked this down to the vacations, but if it happens every Saturday, that is an important variable to consider.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Why not opt for the solapur routing and take detour at Zalki > Pandharpur > Shirwal to join back NH48? This would be best of both worlds, as you can escape bad stretches of NH48 + escape cutting through pune city.

You can find few posts below describe the road conditions and time taken for this routing.

How are the roads on this stretch? Are they 4-laned roads? Have never driven through this route.

Originally Posted by yogishkamath

Thanks! This is very useful information.

I had gone to Chitradurga on a day trip once on a Saturday during the kids' vacations and just about managed to keep up with the gmaps time (I usually gain a significant amount of time over gmaps once I am on any 4 lane highway)

I had chalked this down to the vacations, but if it happens every Saturday, that is an important variable to consider.

On 2-Jan-2025 (Thursday) it took us 2 hours to travel from Uruli Kanchan to Aundh i.e., crossing Pune from the East to the West. It would have taken us another 15 minutes to reach the Bengaluru Mumbai highway/bypass. We were at Uruli Kanchan by 3:30 p.m.

[Capri89]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

How are the roads on this stretch? Are they 4-laned roads? Have never driven through this route.

This is a very good stretch. 4 laned most of the distance,
barring certain portions where work is going on.

Also the stretch near Lonand is just two lane where overtaking will be difficult. One has to be patient and careful here, upto Veer dam lake.

I had travelled this route in Oct and in the ensuing 3 months I hope the unfinished work has reduced.

[normaltusker]

Originally Posted by sedanlover2021

The condition of this route is pathetic, and I would not want to drive here in the near future unless there is an emergency! However, BLR-Hubbali-BLR this stretch is just brilliant!

I resonate your feelings! We drove this stretch in April/May '24 and it was equally bad! What usually takes us 14 hours with breaks had taken us 17 hours with no breaks (My wife and I alternated on this drive, so yes, I did not drive alone).

[rg12]

Solapur route takes more time of ~2-3 hours when compared to Bangalore - Mumbai NH48 best travel time (14 to 16 hours) but it saves from a lot of stress on the road, speed breakers, frequent diversions and traffic jams every few kms. Worth the extra time spent.
This has been my experience over my last few trips on this route (both onward and return journey).

[amandal1810]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

The route choice will be determined based on where in Pune is your final destination. if its East Pune, then NH50 via Solapur is preferable. If its West Pune, then stick to the NH48 route.

My destination in Pune is in Mokadwadi area (southern side of Pune). So I have decided to take NH50 up to Vijayapura, and then divert to Pandharpur (either via Zalki or via NH561A, depending upon on-spot Google Maps traffic updates) and then merge back to NH48 at Shirwal. I will be driving on 22nd Jan. Will share an update here.

Originally Posted by ghodlur

For eateries on the NH50 route check out the post #3871 pn page 259 in this thread.

Thanks for this reference. Putting the link here: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post5870743 (Bangalore - Pune - Mumbai : Route updates & Eateries)

[yogishkamath]

I drove from Marathahalli to Panvel on Saturday with my family - through the Belagavi route and back Sunday/Monday through the Pandharpur route.

The onward journey took 12 hours 10 minutes of driving (plus 2 hours of stops for food and fuel) and the return journey involved over 14 hours of driving spread out over 2 days with an overnight stay at Pandharpur. I was the sole driver.

Onward journey:
Started from home at 3.30, reached Tumkur at 4:40, Chitradurga at 6:00, refueled a few km before Hubballi at 7:50 and reached Belagavi at around 9:00.

Progress was comparatively slower post Belagavi. We stopped for breakfast at around 9:55 just a few km short of Nipani, resumed driving an hour later and reached Kolhapur at 11:30 or thereabouts. We were on track to reach the Pune-Mumbai expressway at around 15:20. Therefore, we decided to have lunch at Vithal Kamat's a few km before the beginning of the expressway and ended up getting to it about 55 minutes later at 16:15. The destination was reached at 17:40.


Return journey:
We started at 14:35 on Sunday and reached the temple at Pandharpur just before 20:00. On monday, we started from Pandharpur at around 6:00, reached the Vijayapura bypass around 7:50, (through NH561A), refueled at 8:45, stopped for breakfast about 50 km before Hospet at around 9:25. Resuming at 10:05, we were able to get to Chitradurga at around 11:55 and Tumkur at 13:15. The last 80 odd km to Marathahalli took 2 hours 15 minutes and we got home only at 15:30.