[ccnarayanan]

Most of them seem to have cash lanes, but the queues are very long in those lanes.

Originally Posted by vaibzi

Travelling in a non FASTag car to Belgaum in a few days. Do the toll booths have cash only lanes on this route?

I read online that one has to pay twice if they enter a FASTag lane without one or with a non functioning FASTag. So, I am guessing cash only lanes would be fine to use?

Please advise!

[libranof1987]

The stretch of the Mumbai - Bangalore highway right from when you exit the EW until after Kolhapur is in utter shambles. There are huge potholes and instances of top layer getting washed off far too regularly and randomly. This is over and beyond the unruly traffic on this stretch.

Be careful as getting into a pothole at highway speed won't end well for your rims.

What a disgrace really, given the ridiculous amount of toll they collect.

Originally Posted by vaibzi

Travelling in a non FASTag car to Belgaum in a few days. Do the toll booths have cash only lanes on this route?

Every lane booth has an operator, so if the vehicle doesn't have Fastag, there's someone to collect cash. Except one lane (at select tolls) where a guard allows you in only if you have Fastag, cash will work at all lanes.

I read online that one has to pay twice if they enter a FASTag lane without one or with a non functioning FASTag. So, I am guessing cash only lanes would be fine to use?

I don't think this is implemented. The car we were in had Fastag but ran out of balance on the last two tolls so we paid cash. And only the designated amount.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The stretch of the Mumbai - Bangalore highway right from when you exit the EW until after Kolhapur is in utter shambles.

I know that the Pune Satara section is in bad state but are you sure that Satara Kolhapur also has gotten bad?

I ask because the Satara Kolhapur section is fully concrete and has remained excellent throughout while Pune Satara has been at the receiving end due to endless expansion work from 4 to 6 lane and absolutely poor maintenance.

[pratik_2810]

Hello Team BHPians,

I am new to this forum, but have been actively following this thread for past 12 months. I plan to do a 1700 kms drive from Bengaluru to Rajkot (Gujarat) this Friday, 6th Nov. I have a Ford Figo 1.2P (2016 model) as my carrier. I have done up to 500 kms drive on a single day until now, this is my first attempt at such a long journey.
Based on recommendations from all great people here, I am planning the below itinerary. Please comment and share if I missed anything.

Also, Google maps show me ~14.5 hours total time for ~870 kms b/w Bengaluru to Pune if I start at 4 AM but I see a lot of people here have done it much earlier. So has something really gone bad on the highways recently that I should account for?

a. Start from Bengaluru at 4 AM
b. Breakfast at Kamat Upachar, Sira (mostly carrying my food, but might stop for tea)
c. Fuel refilling at Shell Petroleum near Hubli
d. Another stop at Vithal Kamats, Indoli, Maharashtra
e. Stop overnight at Pune
f. Next day leave Pune at 4:30 AM
g. Fuel refill at Shell Petroleum before Mumbai-Pune Expressway
h. Cross Mumbai and stop at Sigdi restaurant near Gujarat border
i. Lunch break near Baroda + fuel refill
j. Baroda to Ahmedabad - Overnight stay as AMD-RJT 6 lane work might make me cause delays and make me drive after sunset
k. Ahmedabad to Rajkot next morning - 225 kms

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by pratik_2810

I plan to do a 1700 kms drive from Bengaluru to Rajkot (Gujarat) this Friday, 6th Nov.

I have done Bangalore - Rajkot several times now and the last one was in Dec '19 and the next one should happen in next few weeks, so hoping that can help .

Also, Google maps show me ~14.5 hours total time for ~870 kms b/w Bengaluru to Pune if I start at 4 AM but I see a lot of people here have done it much earlier. So has something really gone bad on the highways recently that I should account for?

Anywhere between 12-14 Hours irrespective of what Google says. Since 6th is not a weekend, you should not face extreme Sunday traffic in MH.

b. Breakfast at Kamat Upachar, Sira (mostly carrying my food, but might stop for tea)

Why stop at place which is on the right hand side? It simply adds up to your overall timing when your intent is only to stop for a tea. Pick something on the left hand side.

Better to drive for an hour more and stop here and if this is closed (Covid times), you can drive another 15 minutes and stop here.

c. Fuel refilling at Shell Petroleum near Hubli

Are you that particular about Shell? The Shell at Hubli comes on the right hand side. Instead I would prefer Company Owned Company Operated (COCO) retail outlets. You would get one at Ranebbenur (300 Km from Bangalore) and then one more after Dharwad which is 438 Km from Bangalore.

300 Kms-BPCL COCO, Ranebennur
360 Kms-HPCL at Shiggaon(not a COCO but recommended)
440 Kms- BPCL COCO, Dharwad Ind. Estate
440 Kms-Shell after Dharwad

d. Another stop at Vithal Kamats, Indoli, Maharashtra

Once you enter Maharashtra, you will have many choices to pull over for a break. So this will depend on the departure time and the progress you would have made in Karnataka.

f. Next day leave Pune at 4:30 AM
g. Fuel refill at Shell Petroleum before Mumbai-Pune Expressway
h. Cross Mumbai and stop at Sigdi restaurant near Gujarat border

This one makes perfect sense because you will not encounter traffic while crossing Pune or Mumbai. Once you hit the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway at Ghodbunder, you can stop wherever you want and this is literally a food highway.

Overnight stay as AMD-RJT 6 lane work might make me cause delays and make me drive after sunset

You will need 7 hours to do Ghodbunder to Ahmedabad Ring Road entry. This is without really pushing it and maintaining decent speeds between 100-110 and all your breaks. Pune to Ghodbunder would need around 3 hours if you start at 4:30 from Pune.

That means you will be in Ahmedabad anywhere between 1430 to 1330 and you can still do Rajkot much under natural light.

Have a good one!!

[chhotagujju]

Hello all, I am a newbie here. I am planning to drive from Whitefield (BLR) to Pune on Saturday - 7th. Planning to start by 5 AM. I have a 2 year old who will be travelling with me and my wife.
Can anyone who recently travelled update on the status of restaurants along the highway. We will be carrying food along. Mostly planning for restroom breaks only.
Also, need to know if all toll booths accept fastag or if there is any which doesnt accept fastag and we need to pay cash.
Any other tips will be helpful.

[pratik_2810]

Thanks Parag bhai, this will be really helpful. All your recommendations for this route have helped so many newbies like us! Hopefully, I'll have a decent journey and post my experience once done. Cheers!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by chhotagujju

Can anyone who recently travelled update on the status of restaurants along the highway. We will be carrying food along. Mostly planning for restroom breaks only.

All the restaurants are open and functional all along the highway.

Also, need to know if all toll booths accept fastag or if there is any which doesnt accept fastag and we need to pay cash.
Any other tips will be helpful.

All the toll booths are FASTag enabled on this route now.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The stretch of the Mumbai - Bangalore highway right from when you exit the EW until after Kolhapur is in utter shambles. There are huge potholes and instances of top layer getting washed off far too regularly and randomly. This is over and beyond the unruly traffic on this stretch.

Be careful as getting into a pothole at highway speed won't end well for your rims.

What a disgrace really, given the ridiculous amount of toll they collect.



Every lane booth has an operator, so if the vehicle doesn't have Fastag, there's someone to collect cash. Except one lane (at select tolls) where a guard allows you in only if you have Fastag, cash will work at all lanes.


.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I know that the Pune Satara section is in bad state but are you sure that Satara Kolhapur also has gotten bad?

I ask because the Satara Kolhapur section is fully concrete and has remained excellent throughout while Pune Satara has been at the receiving end due to endless expansion work from 4 to 6 lane and absolutely poor maintenance.

I drove Bombay to Belgaum yesterday and it was a full night drive. Started at 7pm and reached at 3:30 a.m inclusive of 1.5 hour break in between. Pune--Satara has some really nasty potholes appearing suddenly on fast lanes as well as diversions. 60 to 70% remains good but one needs to be extra cautious at night, I ran into one nasty pothole last night on the right most lane nearing Satara city.

Why are Mumbai--Pune Expressway and Satara--Kolhapur sectors being berated ?? They are absolutely top class. All those potholes around Lonavala--Khanadala on the tarmac streches that had appeared during monsoons have been filled up long back. Eway is super as always. The Satara--Kolhapur is absolutely smooth and fun to drive. Did anyone notice the height of the median plantations on that route ?? They have grown so tall and look nice, but I guess its time to shorten them a bit. Could take just one pic. My departure from Bombay got delayed due to unplanned hospital duty, else would have taken better daylight pics. Driving Belgaum to Mysore now, with kind inputs from BHPian Parag sir (@paragsachania), will update road conditions.

Satara--Kolhapur, fully concrete, one of the best stretches as always.



Caught up with a fellow KA22 (Belgaum) regd. VW Passat unexpectedly at Expressway foodmall He pulled off greatly after a nice ( safe ) cat and mouse drive on Expressway. May have reached Belgaum way earlier than me.


EDIT - Sorry, just reread. The Expressway is reported to be in a good condition already in the first quoted post, my apologies. Yes, Pune bypass has gone bad too at many places.

[trgt2013]

I finished my Bangalore-Pune drive yesterday. Started at 6 in the Morning from Marathahalli and reached Pune by 7:30 PM.

Roads are great throughout Karnataka. Entering Maharashtra, there was quite some traffic on Kolhapur - Satara 2-lane stretch, the roads were great though. Satara-Pune is patchy throughout with bad potholes and some stretches are bad.

[chhotagujju]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

All the restaurants are open and functional all along the highway.
All the toll booths are FASTag enabled on this route now.

Thank you Parag for you inputs.

I completed my Bangalore to Pune drive yesterday. Started at 5.30 and reached Pune by 20.30 Roads are good from Bangalore to Chitradurga. After Chitradurga till Hubli, there are lots of Overpass under construction for which they have made parallel service roads. Condition of these service roads is really pathetic and it slows us down quite a lot.

We had carried all food items along. So halted only for quick washroom breaks. All restaurants are up and running now.

Satara to Pune stretch is very tricky with short patches of good roads and sudden bad patches. With no proper illumination we need to be extra cautious as there are some really nasty potholes along.

Attaching screenshot of my ride summary.

[Rev2Run]

Thanks everyone for your valuable updates about current road conditions.

Has anyone stayed at any hotel in Pune during their recent journey (post Corona outbreak)? I have been travelling from Bangalore to Rajkot and always do night stay at Pune. Last time when I traveled in June 2020, I spent night in my car itself.

I am planning to travel from Bangalore to Ahmedabad this Tuesday with family so if any recommendations from fellow BHPians about clean hotel to stay overnight, in or around Pune would be appreciated. By seeing more number of cases in Pune region I am little worried.

Originally Posted by pratik_2810

Thanks Parag bhai, this will be really helpful. All your recommendations for this route have helped so many newbies like us! Hopefully, I'll have a decent journey and post my experience once done. Cheers!

Pratik_2810, I believe you travelled from Bangalore to Rajkot recently and took overnight halt at Pune. If you have stayed at any hotel then your feedback would be very helpful to me. Thanks.

[pratik_2810]

Hi Rev2Run, I just completed my trip yesterday. I had stayed at Ginger hotel in Pune. Decent hotel, perfectly located on the highway and following adequate pandemic safety measures. Overall, it is good. Good luck with your trip.

[yd_gli]

I did my yearly run of Pune - BLR - Pune last week with my parents and wife. This time on the way to BLR we drove via Hubli - Sirsi - Siddapur - Jog Falls - Bhatkal - Udupi (3N) - Kundapur - Tirthahalli - Bhadravathi - Kadur - Chanarayapattna - BLR. Roads are fantastic on this route.

Hubli - Jog Falls is smooth tarmac and a single lane road. Although the traffic is sparse, a KSRTC bus will pop up out of nowhere and you need to remain focused on the road. Super scenic drive.

The route from Jog Falls to Bhatkal is mesmerizing. Its ~90kms of ghat section with zero traffic. I did not see a single car in either direction on the entire route. However, it is pretty desolate and if you are not sure about your car then I would not suggest it. You don't want to be stranded after sunset on that road since there aren't any villages on the entire 90km stretch to get help.

Bhatkal -Udupi is phenomenal. 6 lane and runs along the sea for a bit with smooth tarmac all through.

Udupi - Kundapur - Tirthahalli is the stuff dreams are made of. Ghat section is super. Concrete roads, wild animals, snakes and excellent view points.

Tirthahalli to BLR is all state highways with smooth roads. Traffic is heavy after
Channarayapattna.

On the way back we took the usual NH48. Smooth run from BLR all the way to the MH border. Stopped for lunch at usual stop - Mysore Cafe, Chitrdurga. Kolhapur to Satara is smooth sailing with beautiful roads and lot of places to eat/refuel. Satara - Pune has been a mess for 10 years now and it is marginally better than what it used to be. Post monsoon potholes are aplenty and it is best to take it easy on this stretch.

[jkrishnakj]

Hello Yd_Gli - when you say the Bangalore - MH highway was a smooth run, did you mean that the service roads are in a better shape now?

The update here is that post Chitradurga till Hubli sees a lot of diversions and can be a time consumer + bad service lane roads in diversions with big pot holes.