[sachindg]

I will be travelling from Chennai to Pune via Bangalore on 6th Feb. I have done this journey earlier, but this time planning for night trip. I have a query about FOG condition on the way. This being february, will there be fog - reducing visibility on the way? What are the suggestions of regular drivers on this route?

[Fauji]

I haven't driven at night which i avoid always. But have started from Bangalore in early mornings say 4 AM. You will find some parts of the route foggy but not the entire strectch. I think it should be comfortably manageable. But be alert.

[sri1951]

Hi!

I did Mumbai to Hubli (and onwards to Manipal) and back in the first week of December 2010. The road with dual carriageway was superb. I could drive at 120 kmph steadily. You could get tempted to drive at higher speed!!

I heard that the road from Hubli onwards is a single carriageway and this could hamper your speed. I left Mumbai at 5:15 am and reached Hubli around noon with stopppage for breakfast, tea and "piss-stop".

No, there is no need for any special permit to enter Maharashtra. I guess you are driving a car and not a SUV. Sometimes the police check SUV for illegal use of vehicles as Tourist cars.

Check for weather conditions for drive till Hubli, as you are planning the trip in August. Beyond Hubli, till Mumbai the roads are very good even in monsoon.

Have a safe trip!
Cheers
Sri
==

Originally Posted by VJ_MAVRICK

Hello Car Ethusiasts!
I am planning a road trip from Bangalore to Mumbai somewhere in 1st week of august and would like to have some inputs from people who have done that stretch. I have a few queries based on my research

1. From mapmyindia.com, I could get the directions which state that NH4 is the one connecting these two major cities and i wanted to know how is the road condition and approximately how many hours would it take to cover 1000 kms keeping in mind the road topology.

2. Do i need to take a permit at the check posts for entering Maharashtra.?

Please revert back on these and also other tips and pointers too would be appreciated and welcomed and ofcourse Thanks In Advance.

Vijay

[paragsachania]

Back to Bangalore on 13th March after my longest drive spanning 3 states and 1700Kms one way. Did Bangalore-Mumbai-Rajkot and back with 2 days of driving and one night halt each way.

Update on Bangalore-Mumbai-Pune route:

Traffic on Sunday morning from 8-30am from Pune onwards was worse. It took me at least 15-20 minutes on each toll gate till I entered Karnataka.

All good sections remain to be good and the highlight is the ROBs at Ranebennur and Haveri. Work is still in progress and seems like it will definitely take another 6 months.

Davanagere bypass is almost done with just one deviation at Shamanur Road intersection.

Between Chitradurga and Davanagere, the there are 3-4 speedbreakers at Bhramhasagara and well marked with signages too. This is a negative development since this is a completed stretch those boards dont hint that the bumps are temporary.

Roads leading over the 2 Railway crossings (Haveri and Ranebennur) are in good condition with new surface, but 4 huge speedbreakers at Haveri Railway gate enought to scratch the underbelly of a low slung sedan with full load. We were 3 adults with full luggage in an ANHC and it was a difficult task to pass over these without a noise.

2 new toll booths (which I had mentioned from my December Trip) are almost complete now with typical boards mentioning toll rates (Rates not yet painted) have come up.

In summary, the only bad patch is at the railway crossings and overall, this is just about 4-6 Kms. Everything else is 4 laned.

[litesaber]

Thanks for the update Parag. I am doing Bangalore - Mumbai tomorrow early early morning :-)

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Back to Bangalore on 13th March after my longest drive spanning 3 states and 1700Kms one way. Did Bangalore-Mumbai-Rajkot and back with 2 days of driving and one night halt each way.

Update on Bangalore-Mumbai-Pune route:

Traffic on Sunday morning from 8-30am from Pune onwards was worse. It took me at least 15-20 minutes on each toll gate till I entered Karnataka.

All good sections remain to be good and the highlight is the ROBs at Ranebennur and Haveri. Work is still in progress and seems like it will definitely take another 6 months.

Davanagere bypass is almost done with just one deviation at Shamanur Road intersection.

Between Chitradurga and Davanagere, the there are 3-4 speedbreakers at Bhramhasagara and well marked with signages too. This is a negative development since this is a completed stretch those boards dont hint that the bumps are temporary.

Roads leading over the 2 Railway crossings (Haveri and Ranebennur) are in good condition with new surface, but 4 huge speedbreakers at Haveri Railway gate enought to scratch the underbelly of a low slung sedan with full load. We were 3 adults with full luggage in an ANHC and it was a difficult task to pass over these without a noise.

2 new toll booths (which I had mentioned from my December Trip) are almost complete now with typical boards mentioning toll rates (Rates not yet painted) have come up.

In summary, the only bad patch is at the railway crossings and overall, this is just about 4-6 Kms. Everything else is 4 laned.

[Fauji]

Litesaber,

Pick up speeds in the stretch Bangalore - Kolhapur. Excellent roads except for small strectch as mentioned above by Parag. Beyond Kolahapur till Pune you will encounter two wheeler as well as trucks which will slow you down. Sometimes you will also encounter sugar cane laden tractors. As you will be passing Satara in the evening expect traffic between Satara and Pune - Specially two wheelers.

[gururaj r]

I intend going for a trip to Bangalore from Mumbai and back on 8th and 10th of April having an early morning start at Mumbai say 3.30 am. I will have to reach Jayanagar III block.

I have already taken a printout of Mr HVKumar's travelogue for timing, petrol pumps, food etc.

Please provide inputs for time of start, road conditions and suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

[hvkumar]

330 am is a good time to start. You should have a smooth drive. No problems anywhere en route, most of the road widening is done except a small stretch near Ranebennur.

You can plan breakfast at Sai Resorts before Kolhapur or a little later at Sankam in Belgaum.
Late Lunch can be at Upachar Kamat at Sira.

Refuel on the expressway - cheap fuel - and at Konduskar's after Kolhapur before you get into Karnataka since fuel is cheaper in MH. Depending on your cart's mileage, you can plan the next one at either Chitradurga or the Upachar Kamat petrol pump at Sira.

[gururaj r]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

330 am is a good time to start. You should have a smooth drive. No problems anywhere en route, most of the road widening is done except a small stretch near Ranebennur.

You can plan breakfast at Sai Resorts before Kolhapur or a little later at Sankam in Belgaum.
Late Lunch can be at Upachar Kamat at Sira.

Refuel on the expressway - cheap fuel - and at Konduskar's after Kolhapur before you get into Karnataka since fuel is cheaper in MH. Depending on your cart's mileage, you can plan the next one at either Chitradurga or the Upachar Kamat petrol pump at Sira.

I am going in Hyundai i10. Once I fill up at Kolhapur, I think it should see me through to Bangalore. If necessary I would put at Sira.
thank you. I follow your inputs and value it always.

[embryo1954]

Hi friends
I am travelling to Pune from Banglore on the 12th and back on the 16th. Me and my wife would drive a Linea t jet plus. Thanks to several posts on this forum I am fairly inflrmed of the road conditions and travel time etc. I need to stay in Pune for 4 nights near to Magarpatta city. I shall appreciate if any of you could suggest me a decent hotel/serviced apt. in that area. My limit on the daily tariff is ~INR1500.

[litesaber]

Update on the latest ride.

I started from Bangalore-Frazer Town on 19/3/2011 at 4:00am and reached Nerul at 4:40pm. Stopped for breakfast in Gol Ghar, Rannibennur and lunch at McDonalds, Kolhapur. Total time was 12hrs 40min. The last time I did this journey in Nov 10 it took me 14hrs 15min. Improved times are due to better road conditions as discussed in this thread. Left Nerul at 10pm to reach final destination in Bandra.

Returned on 28/3/2011 leaving at 4:00am from Mumbai, Bandra and reached home in Bangalore around 6:00pm. Got a flat tire before Kolhapur and spent nearly 45min to change it :-). I was also caught up in the ORR to Mekri Circle traffic :-(. Stops were at Sai International Kolhapur and Kamat, Ranibennur.

Thanks for all the tips and inputs. The Bangalore-Kolhapur section now seems the better of the two due to very light traffic!

Originally Posted by Fauji

Litesaber,

Pick up speeds in the stretch Bangalore - Kolhapur. Excellent roads except for small strectch as mentioned above by Parag. Beyond Kolahapur till Pune you will encounter two wheeler as well as trucks which will slow you down. Sometimes you will also encounter sugar cane laden tractors. As you will be passing Satara in the evening expect traffic between Satara and Pune - Specially two wheelers.

[gururaj r]

@litesaber: You have not mentioned the Car in which you were able to make this time. Nice to hear about the road conditions. I would be leaving on Friday morning to Bangalore from Mumbai Andheri East.

[docaxe]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

330 am is a good time to start. You should have a smooth drive. No problems anywhere en route, most of the road widening is done except a small stretch near Ranebennur.

You can plan breakfast at Sai Resorts before Kolhapur or a little later at Sankam in Belgaum.
Late Lunch can be at Upachar Kamat at Sira.

Refuel on the expressway - cheap fuel - and at Konduskar's after Kolhapur before you get into Karnataka since fuel is cheaper in MH. Depending on your cart's mileage, you can plan the next one at either Chitradurga or the Upachar Kamat petrol pump at Sira.

Hey Highway Kumar, I am planning a trip from Mulund Mumbai to Shimoga on the 3rd of june will like to have your tips on the trip route and halts. Will be driving an innova.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by gururaj r

@litesaber: You have not mentioned the Car in which you were able to make this time. Nice to hear about the road conditions. I would be leaving on Friday morning to Bangalore from Mumbai Andheri East.

After the improved road conditions barring a very small stretch at the 2 railway gates, irrespective of the car, one can easily achieve the above timing without a need to floor the throttle.

Secondly, it also depends a lot on the timing that one leaves from the origin (both ends). Leaving as early as 4am has tremendous advantage in covering as much distance as possible, especially the Pune-Kolhapur-Kagal section that sees massive Jams at the tollgates (Weekends mostly) and miscellaneous traffic all through.

For instance, I have been doing Bangalore-Pune on a very regular basis since the past 4 years in my WagonR (and occasionally in an ANHC) and what took almost 14 hours to do way back in 2007-08 takes a mere 11 hours with same speeds.

In December, I did Pune-Bangalore-Aurangabad (1100Kms).
Pune-Bangalore in 12 Hours + 2 Hours to bypass Pune via Katraj Old tunnel-Swargate-Hadapsar-Magarpatta-Kharadi + another 2.5 hours to Aurangabad. All this with 4 breaks lasting one hour each due to my 9 months old daughter.

I then did Bangalore-Thane-Rajkot in ANHC a month before and the timing was same as what I usually maintain in my Waggy and further to reaching Pune I continued towards Mumbai and could manage covering the 100Kms of the Expressway in 1 hour and touched Turbhe in the next 30 minutes and Thane in another 45mins.

In the end it all depends on how aggressive you are to cover maximum distance not by speeding but maintaining average speeds with minimal braking and sudden acceleration.

[INNOWAGON_CL]

For those who are using the Pune - Mumbai expressway. I was recently travelling in my INNOVA when a wild animal (could not see the animal clearly) as it crossed 25 feet from right to left in about 1 to 1.5 seconds and hit the front bumper on the left side around about the fog light causing a dent and some damage and the fog light ripped off during impact. The frightened animal was thrown forward and it ran away into the bushes. Could not clearly see the animal. I would caution members to be careful while driving at high speeds. I was travelling at about 80kmph at about 3pm. The incident happened just before Lonavala ghats on the way to Mumbai.