[caffeineAM]

Anyone planning to use the Mumbai-Pune Expressway needs to be prepared to deal with some "checking" per this news article - https://www.hindustantimes.com/citie...450716218.html

Clearly there are no issues to solve in Pune so the RTO is now keeping the expressway safe.

[Pam81]

For my upcoming drive to South, starting time from Pune is mid-morning due to kid having exam on that day. If I succeed to leave at 10.30, seems Apoorva resorts at Davanagere is good for overnight stay as I do not see much options in Chitradurga.

Traveling with Kids & Senior elder and hence do not want to stretch till Bangalore even though can reach Bangalore at 11pm around.

Do suggest from your recent experience any stay in Chitradurga or later upto Hiriyur?

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Pam81

Do suggest from your recent experience any stay in Chitradurga or later upto Hiriyur?

There is nothing between Chitradurga and Bangalore for a proper stay option. You are right that Apoorva is your best bet in that area.

However, another option would be to stay in Hubli. There are a few nice stay options in Hubli. And then you can start from Hubli early morning. If you start from Hubli early, then Hubli to Davangere is quite fast and you will not lose much time over staying in Danavgere. On the positive side, you get better stay options in Hubli.

In my usual Bangalore-Pune drives (which I usually do in one day), in a rare case when I have to stay overnight on the way, I usually prefer Hubli or Belgaum because I have always had a good experience at hotels in these places compared to hotels in other places on this route.

[W@SIM]

Originally Posted by Pam81

For my upcoming drive to South, starting time from Pune is mid-morning due to kid having exam on that day. If I succeed to leave at 10.30, seems Apoorva resorts at Davanagere is good for overnight stay as I do not see much options in Chitradurga.

Traveling with Kids & Senior elder and hence do not want to stretch till Bangalore even though can reach Bangalore at 11pm around.

Do suggest from your recent experience any stay in Chitradurga or later upto Hiriyur?

i will recommend to check traffic and start, Few months back my brother spent an hour in Pune traffic itself for 1030am start. Maybe the traffic thins around Lunch. Secondly Chitradurga to BLR is just 3 hours drive and traffic would also be less. If BLR is destination i would ask to drive on.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Pam81

For my upcoming drive to South. If I succeed to leave at 10.30

I've done this 2-3 times. Entered Pune bypass around noon-1230. Entered NICE just before midnight with 2 hours worth breaks. This was even before Hubli-Chitradurga 6-laning was completed.

As a driver, it is one of the best and peaceful timings to drive Pune-Bangalore. Pune-Kolhapur can be dismissed in 3 hours. Kyatasandra-NICE and beyond is peaceful to drive. The only tradeoff is the evening traffic at Hubli-Dharwad. You are guaranteed to reach Bangalore/Hosur that night than stopping at Davangere and driving Kyatasandra-NICE-Hosur in morning peak hours.

I would say, make a deal with your passengers and cross Bangalore the same night.

[mayukh42]

Originally Posted by Pam81

seems Apoorva resorts at Davanagere is good for overnight stay as I do not see much options in Chitradurga.

Davangere is the only place with some decent stay options between Hubbali and BLR. Apart from Apoorva there is also Southern Star and Sankama Boutique, which are not very far from the highway either.

If you decide to proceed after Hubbali, either stay at Davangere or reach BLR. Roads are excellent apart from Tumkur bypass and Tumkur-Nelamangala where one is at the mercy of trucks. Typically it is possible to cover Hubbali-BLR in under 7 hours with sufficient breaks and speeds under 100.

[prad]

Originally Posted by Pam81

For my upcoming drive to South, starting time from Pune is mid-morning due to kid having exam on that day. If I succeed to leave at 10.30, seems Apoorva resorts at Davanagere is good for overnight stay as I do not see much options in Chitradurga.

Traveling with Kids & Senior elder and hence do not want to stretch till Bangalore even though can reach Bangalore at 11pm around.

Do suggest from your recent experience any stay in Chitradurga or later upto Hiriyur?

Apoorva Resorts is an excellent choice - esp. when you are traveling with family. It is one of my favorite places to stay too, though it has been over 3-4 years since I stayed there. Lots of parking, the restaurant is good, the rooms are spacious, and the entire environment is quiet. They even have a pool - if you reach early you can use it... So my recommendation is that you leave as soon as your kid gets home from the exam - or even better, just pick them up from school and drive on...!

Since the time I've been to the resort last, the newly widened roads make it tricky to take the right exit to reach the resort - Google maps is your best friend. Google says 10 hrs for the trip - you may be able to do it with 8-9 hrs of driving plus a 60 minute stop.

See if you can hold out with snacks so that you reach Kohlapur for lunch - some great options are available, though it can get a little late to reach there for lunch if you leave at 10:30 - otherwise, Satara has good options too.

Just keep fuel for 300 Kms - and fuel up at Kognoli COCO BPCL - a few Kms after the Kognoli toll (it is ~260Kms from Pune). It is in KA, and fuel is cheaper there than MH. I usually top off my tank there, and then again at Neelamangala COCO BPCL - though it means looping back for a couple of Kms as that pump is on the right side of the road. You also get a COCO pump at Ranebennur but typically you may not need to fuel there if you have topped off at Kognoli.

Apoorva Resorts to Bangalore is a very nice drive too - though the last 70 Kms after Tumkur get traffic that can be painful at times.

Enjoy the trip - the roads are good - watch out for the few potholes near Tumkur, and drive safe on the Hubli Bypass.

[Pam81]

Originally Posted by W@SIM

i will recommend to check traffic and start, Few months back my brother spent an hour in Pune traffic itself for 1030am start. Maybe the traffic thins around Lunch. Secondly Chitradurga to BLR is just 3 hours drive and traffic would also be less. If BLR is destination i would ask to drive on.

I am living in eastern side of Pune, planning to take Hadapsar - Saswad and enter highway at Kapurhol. Until the Katraj diversion, have to negotiate with Trucks and 2W, being work day, anticipating exit traffic from Pune to Saswad may not be that heavy. Plus, the roads are decent except few rough patches after Saswad to Narayanpur / Kapurhol. Thanks for the tip, I am not willing to cut through city.

Originally Posted by narayans80

The only tradeoff is the evening traffic at Hubli-Dharwad. You are guaranteed to reach Bangalore/Hosur that night than stopping at Davangere and driving Kyatasandra-NICE-Hosur in morning peak hours.

I would say, make a deal with your passengers and cross Bangalore the same night.

Thank you for the tip, your suggestion to drive till Bangalore was my original plan too! May be, I can trade in extra breaks for driving until Bangalore

Originally Posted by mayukh42

Davangere is the only place with some decent stay options between Hubbali and BLR. Apart from Apoorva there is also Southern Star and Sankama Boutique, which are not very far from the highway either.

If you decide to proceed after Hubbali, either stay at Davangere or reach BLR. Roads are excellent apart from Tumkur bypass and Tumkur-Nelamangala where one is at the mercy of trucks. Typically it is possible to cover Hubbali-BLR in under 7 hours with sufficient breaks and speeds under 100.

Agreed, will negotiate with family

Originally Posted by prad

Apoorva Resorts is an excellent choice - esp. when you are traveling with family. It is one of my favorite places to stay too, though it has been over 3-4 years since I stayed there. Lots of parking, the restaurant is good, the rooms are spacious, and the entire environment is quiet. They even have a pool - if you reach early you can use it... So my recommendation is that you leave as soon as your kid gets home from the exam - or even better, just pick them up from school and drive on...!

Enjoy the trip - the roads are good - watch out for the few potholes near Tumkur, and drive safe on the Hubli Bypass.

That's the plan, thanks a lot for the suggestions, usually stop over at Apoorva for lunch en-route to Pune from Bangalore. Never stayed there though. But this time, was looking to stay due to family's comfort. Will update post my trip.

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

There is nothing between Chitradurga and Bangalore for a proper stay option. You are right that Apoorva is your best bet in that area.

However, another option would be to stay in Hubli. There are a few nice stay options in Hubli. And then you can start from Hubli early morning. If you start from Hubli early, then Hubli to Davangere is quite fast and you will not lose much time over staying in Danavgere. On the positive side, you get better stay options in Hubli.

In my usual Bangalore-Pune drives (which I usually do in one day), in a rare case when I have to stay overnight on the way, I usually prefer Hubli or Belgaum because I have always had a good experience at hotels in these places compared to hotels in other places on this route.

I will be leaving Chennai at around 1130 am on the 1st of Jan, Hubli seems like a decent spot I should reach by 2100 hrs.

What's a good hotel you can recommend that's near the highway?

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Stribog

I will be leaving Chennai at around 1130 am on the 1st of Jan, Hubli seems like a decent spot I should reach by 2100 hrs.

What's a good hotel you can recommend that's near the highway?

I have stayed at Denissons Hotel, Hubli a couple of times and had a good experience. That is one place I would recommend. Google Link: https://goo.gl/maps/FD8i4VPZFwe1T5z48

Other than that, Fortune Park Airport Road (https://g.page/FortuneParkAirportRoadHubballi?share) is also a good option.

Third, Fern Residency (https://goo.gl/maps/K3tKgXVfMV7vWvyR8) is another option. Earlier, it was Clarks Inn, and that was just average (nothing great). But I think Fern has taken over and renovated that property, so that could be a good place now.

These three hotels are close to the highway (with a short detour).

In addition, Hotel Naveen in Hubli is really good too (their food is awesome!), but unfortunately that is quite away from the highway.

[Tygerman]

Originally Posted by Pam81

For my upcoming drive to South, starting time from Pune is mid-morning due to kid having exam on that day. If I succeed to leave at 10.30, seems Apoorva resorts at Davanagere is good for overnight stay as I do not see much options in Chitradurga.

I would suggest that you stretch the journey to Chitradurga and stay at KTDC's "Hotel Mayuradurg". It's a nice place right in front of the historical Chitradurga fort (500 meters away). I have stayed there couple of times and during my drive to Kerala from Pune in December, I am planning it yet again. The place has a nice natural ambience. Worth a try.

[Stribog]

Need some inputs from the veterans on the Blr Bom route (am fast getting there, this will be my 4th return trip in one year), I usually leave Chennai a days prior, halt in Bangalore, sleep over at a friends and push off by 0400 hrs and with a bit of a stretch I hit Panvel by 1830 hrs.

Now though I will be leaving Chennai on the 1st of Jan only by 11 am. Meaning I will reach Bengaluru only by around 4-430 pm (am assuming very less outbound traffic on Jan 1st).

I have kept a max cut off of 11-1130 PM to stop driving, and then 8 hours of sleep and push off at 0900 from wherever am stopping.

What's a good place to halt? Davanagere? Or would I be able to stretch to Hubli?

One pain though, leaving at 9am from either of these places would mean I will hit Pune and Bom city traffic but that just can't be avoided.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by Stribog

What's a good place to halt? Davanagere? Or would I be able to stretch to Hubli?

I normally try to stretch on day 1. If you can push till Hubli it would be good as the next leg would be a bit tiring, especially when you enter Maharashtra.
Small tip, the Mumbai Pune expressway has some heavy patrolling going on, make sure to adhere to speed limits and the rear passengers are strapped up.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Stribog

Now though I will be leaving Chennai on the 1st of Jan only by 11 am. Meaning I will reach Bengaluru only by around 4-430 pm (am assuming very less outbound traffic on Jan 1st).

This time New Years is on a Sunday, eve of the first working day of the year and reopening day for a lot of schools ending the 9 day holiday season. So contrary to assumption, you can expect all half the country on the roads.

With current status quo of 6-laning, Madras-Bangalore cannot be done in 5 hours given the start timing.

[explorer09]

Originally Posted by Stribog

Need some inputs from the veterans on the Blr Bom route (am fast getting there, this will be my 4th return trip in one year), I usually leave Chennai a days prior, halt in Bangalore, sleep over at a friends and push off by 0400 hrs and with a bit of a stretch I hit Panvel by 1830 hrs.

Now though I will be leaving Chennai on the 1st of Jan only by 11 am. Meaning I will reach Bengaluru only by around 4-430 pm (am assuming very less outbound traffic on Jan 1st).

I have kept a max cut off of 11-1130 PM to stop driving, and then 8 hours of sleep and push off at 0900 from wherever am stopping.

What's a good place to halt? Davanagere? Or would I be able to stretch to Hubli?

One pain though, leaving at 9am from either of these places would mean I will hit Pune and Bom city traffic but that just can't be avoided.

Hubli for sure....that is if you can hit Blore by 4 or 4:30....if you can bypass Blore at 4, I might even give Belgaum a try....Sankam Residency is my usual pit-stop for a late-afternoon start from Blore....you can also then have a smoother Pune bypass....Mumbai traffic is unavoidable in any case...