[goandude]

thedragula, where did you stay at Hubli? Would you recommend it for a family?

[thedragula]

@goandude - Stayed at Hotel PRN Travel Inn. I would recommend it for the family. The good thing abt the hotel is that apart from decent rooms and parking facility etc...they also have a 12 hour checkout which really works for people who are just looking for a place to crash for the night and leave the next day to Mumbai, Pune or Bangalore. The rates for Double occupancy for 24 hours is Rs. 1700/- and for 12 hours is abt Rs. 1050.

The only downside is that you will have to travel into Dharwad and towards hubli for about 15km. There are no hotels as such on the bypass. Had a GPS so it came it pretty darn handy.

[goandude]

Originally Posted by thedragula

The only downside is that you will have to travel into Dharwad and towards hubli for about 15km. There are no hotels as such on the bypass. Had a GPS so it came it pretty darn handy.

Oh so you have to take the old NH4 thru dharwad and then hubli missing the bypass. would add a lot of time to the journey. No?

[mooza]

Hello to all, I am doing Bangalore-Mumbai-Bangalore (my first really long drive) in October, in my Scorpio full of kids and a couple of adults.

I plan to drive out from Bangalore (Koramangala) at 4.30 am, halt for lunch at a good highway dhaba / restaurant, take an hours afternoon nap at the dhaba while my kids play in the children's park attached to the highway restaurant.

I plan to reach Mumbai the same night.

Now my question : Which restaurant / dhaba will help me achieve my above objectives ? Thanks

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by mooza

Hello to all, I am doing Bangalore-Mumbai-Bangalore (my first really long drive) in October, in my Scorpio full of kids and a couple of adults.

I plan to drive out from Bangalore (Koramangala) at 4.30 am, halt for lunch at a good highway dhaba / restaurant, take an hours afternoon nap at the dhaba while my kids play in the children's park attached to the highway restaurant.

I plan to reach Mumbai the same night.

Now my question : Which restaurant / dhaba (This is about 40 mins from Belgaum) will help me achieve my above objectives ? Thanks

Starting at 4-30am would mean that you can directly touch Belgaum in 7-8 hours' time and stop over at Sankam which also has a IOC Pump next to it.

Driving sedately would mean that you can opt for Ghar Rajasthani Dhaba after Hubli-Dharwad bypass diagonally opposite to the High Court building. This is also attached to a BP Pump which unfortunately sells only premium fuel from my latest experience.

[hvkumar]

There is also McDonald's just before Kolhapur, or Sai Resort after Kolhapur.

[mooza]

@Parag & HVK, thanks a lot for the info. I will plan accordingly. We are looking forward to this trip

[INNOWAGON_CL]

News update from Times of India:

Shell out more for Pune-Satara highway upgrade - The Times of India

Now we need to shell out more and till the work is over, we may have to slow down on this stretch.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by INNOWAGON_CL

News update from Times of India:

Shell out more for Pune-Satara highway upgrade - The Times of India

Now we need to shell out more and till the work is over, we may have to slow down on this stretch.

I think this was reported earlier my MX6 on the Kaas meet thread and why there was an increase in the toll rates.

Since the existing 4 lane is planned into a 6 lane, we may have to get ready for those diversions and bottlenecks at major places.

One good thing the GQ has ensured is that most (or rather all) of their Bridges over the cities are 3+3 laned and this will surely help for this expansion.

[sandman2010]

hi guys,

anyone taken the mumbai-bangalore trip recently? was planning to drive down and am worried about the condition of the roads after the rains.


Thanks!

[netarchie]

Originally Posted by sandman2010

hi guys,

anyone taken the mumbai-bangalore trip recently? was planning to drive down and am worried about the condition of the roads after the rains.


Thanks!

A friend who traveled the same route today, confirmed that the roads are in excellent conditions all the way.

[sandman2010]

Originally Posted by netarchie

A friend who traveled the same route today, confirmed that the roads are in excellent conditions all the way.

Thanks netarchie! That comes as a big relief to me. I will try to post some proof when I am down south. Someone I knew also told me its fantastic but for a small stretch between Haveri - Davenegere tats a little "iffy" .

- Sandeep

[Taz-On-The-Road]

I am planning to do Bangalore-Mahabaleshwar on the 30th of this month. I prefer driving in the nights hence will leave Bangalore at about 11PM. Last time I drove on this stretch in January, it was a big mess till Hubli. Took me 12 hrs to do Bangalore-Pune and 7hrs for Bangalore-Hubli alone. The stretch from Chitradurga-Haveri was really bad. Does anyone know about the latest condition of this road? Has any work been done on this stretch? Kindly let me know of any latest updates that you have.
Also, I plan to travel onwards from Mahabaleshwar to Ganapatipule and then back to Bangalore with a stopover at Amboli ghats. Route info and guidance will be much appreciated as I haven't ever been to the Konkan belt. Thanks in advance

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Taz-On-The-Road

I am planning to do Bangalore-Mahabaleshwar on the 30th of this month. I prefer driving in the nights hence will leave Bangalore at about 11PM. Last time I drove on this stretch in January, it was a big mess till Hubli. Took me 12 hrs to do Bangalore-Pune and 7hrs for Bangalore-Hubli alone. The stretch from Chitradurga-Haveri was really bad. Does anyone know about the latest condition of this road? Has any work been done on this stretch? Kindly let me know of any latest updates that you have.
Also, I plan to travel onwards from Mahabaleshwar to Ganapatipule and then back to Bangalore with a stopover at Amboli ghats. Route info and guidance will be much appreciated as I haven't ever been to the Konkan belt. Thanks in advance

Road from Bangalore is good now with most of the work complete.
However, NH17 is in a very bad shape south of Hathkamba (Ratnagiri) all the way to the Goa border, although the road from Mahabaleswar is god till Chiplun en route Ganapatipule.

[Taz-On-The-Road]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Road from Bangalore is good now with most of the work complete.
However, NH17 is in a very bad shape south of Hathkamba (Ratnagiri) all the way to the Goa border, although the road from Mahabaleswar is god till Chiplun en route Ganapatipule.

Thanks for the valuable info Kumar sir. Is the Ganapatipule-Goa border stretch doable in an Innova in a reasonable amount of time? Also, how do I reach Amboli from NH17? Where do I have to take a deviation to reach Amboli and how then do I connect back to NH4? Thanks in advance.