Hi!
I did a trip from Mumbai to Mangalore end of last year. The road from Mumbai to Dharwad from where I took a turn towards Managalore was superb.
No! You do not need any permit for crossing the state border if you are not travelling in a hired vehicle. I have given below the note that I made at that time.
We (my wife, my driver and I) recently drove from Mumbai to Manipal on December 1st 2010 and came back on December 4th 2010. I did of lot of ground work before leaving. I studied the route map using Google map and Google Earth. In addition I spoke to a few friends and a neighbour. I also visited
www.team-bhp.com to gather information. After understating the route and being warned about bad roads, heavy truck traffic and not to miss the scenic beauty on Hubli Karwar road, I decided that I should do the stretch during the day. Based on this I worked on an estimated time for departure and arrival and possible breaks to ensure that both the car and driver were rested.
I made an excel sheet that gave the route that I took with distance and time (both estimated and actual). It is with me in case you need.
Roads
With the actual time taken one can easily judge that the road conditions were excellent from Mumbai to Dharwad. The traffic was also thin and we could drive anywhere between 120 to 140 Km per hour in most of the stretches. At some places I had to control myself to keep the speedometer to 120 Kms and lower!
As I had read from the postings in team-bhp that the Hubli Karwar road was bad I was concerned about the driving time that we would take. In fact the initial stretch of Dharwad to Kalghatgi was not too good and I was wondering if the further stretch of road will be equally bad. To our surprise the Hubli Karwar road was exceptional and there was no major truck traffic. We could drive anywhere between 90 to 120 Kms through this stretch. One of the issues we faced was that some of the signboards were in Kannada. Of-course the Indian GPS system worked very well for us. One would wonder what the Indian GPS system is. It is as simple as rolling down your window and asking someone where you are and how to proceed.
As the sign-board was in Kannada, we almost missed the turn from Hubli-Karwar Road, on our way from Idugundi to Kumta. Even the google maps driving directions said “Slight right toward Kochi-Panavel Rd/NH 17”. After seeing the map I knew that this was wrong and it should be a left turn. After a few minutes, a tempo truck told us that is the right place to turn and go. This road is very narrow and not too good. However, there was no traffic at all, sans 1 or 2 motorbikes. I think during the rains it will be simply superb to be in this area, but, I do not know how the roads would be. We decided on the return leg to avoid this road and went beyond Ankola and took the Hubli Karwar road from the point where it meets the Kochi-Panvel road. This decision was correct as we took 10 minutes less driving time though the distance was 20 KMs more.
The road from Kumta to Manipal was initially fantastic and trouble started after we crossed Honavar. Thereafter, one did not know where the potholes would be and the drive was cautious. But the piece of the Indian road engineering expertise was the 14 KM stretch between Bhatkal and Shirur. There was just no road and they call it National Highway!! The traffic threw up so much of dust from the ground that the trees and plants were all coated white. I understand that they are in the processes of relaying this road. One could hope that the road will be there in another 2 or 3 months and then will disappear after the first showers in 2011.
In spite of all this, we could cover approximately 910 Km in a driving time of about 13 hours, i.e.an average of 70 Km per hour. I guess this note could entice people to drive through this route. If you are a larger group, i.e. 5 or 6 cars you should drive during monsoon time just to ensure that there is a back-up available in case of any problems.
Food and Bio-break
We stopped for breakfast after Pune, post the toll station on Pune-Satara road. We went to Mac but later realised that there were other Indian food choice available further up. I am not too sure if all these guys are up and about at 7:30 in the morning. The bio-break stop here was decent. We stopped for petrol at Kholapur at the Konduskar petrol pump after crossing the city. Tea and Bio-break stop is fine here. We reached Belgaum by 12 noon and were not yet that hungry.
Hence, we decided to move on. At the toll booth we found that there was no proper eating joint on the highway and one had to go inside Dharwad or Hubli or make do with a joint about 25 Km from the toll on the highway itself before the Dharwad toll. We ended up doing that. The food was just about OK. The Bio-break facility could not meet any bare minimum standards. God bless Indian women and girls as they hold on to their bladder much longer than the insensitive Indian male who stands-at-ease wherever he pleases.
The Coffee at Kumta was excellent. If you chose to sit as a commoner you were served in stainless steel “Dabara and Tumbler” or in cup and saucer if you went into the A/c room. The A/c room provided you a decent bio-break facility too!! After the back breaking drive from Bhatkal to Kundapur we could not help but to stop and have an excellent Coffee at Kundapur.
I would not know what people would do if they had to us these facilities other than for urinals. I wish a group like bhp took on this issue and address it to its final conclusion. This national shame needs to be converted into a national pride. Of-course this requires training of the users as well.
Toll Booths
The following are the booths and the toll charges paid by us in December 2010 are listed below.
Place
Amount Rs
Vashi
30
Khalapur
140
Pune/Satara
60
Satara – Anewadi
45
Satara-Karad – Taswade
52
Before Kholapur
52
After Kholpaur
25
Before Belgaum
30
After Belgaum
30
Before Dharwad
34
After Honavar
5
Total
503
I could not get a site that could give me the actual number of tolls and toll charges there at, prior to my departure. I carried change with me so that we could tender exact toll charges. If this information is put up at a suitable place on BHP site it would be of help.
Petrol Pumps
These were available in plenty and there was no problem. However, there were no sign boards to tell you how far the next petrol pump is.
Last but not least - Post the monsoon you need to check how the road from Bangalore to Dharward is. Beyond that and till Mumbai should not be a problem at all.