[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

[*]With a 04:00 AM start from Bangalore and quick (~30 mins) food breaks, is it possible to reach Vapi in 15 hours?

Yes, possible even without really speeding and maintaining healthy 100-110 KMPH all throughout.

I say this as I have done it multiple times starting at 0400 from Bangalore.

I have a few tips here:

• Stop early for breakfast - Well, it will be almost 0730 when you are near Ranebennur Kamat with a start as early as 0400
  
  
• Stop for lunch, after Kolhapur and near Karad - This will be around 1300-1330 Hours when you are here - It is always good to cross Kolhapur-Islampur and then stop for lunch. With this, dont aim at Nippiani-Kolhapur for lunch (no not even Sai International) and target Vittal Kamat near Karad
  
  
• With this you will cross Pune by 1500-1530ish and then at Panvel (Mumbai Entry) by 1700
  
  
• Hence, Do not plan to tank up or break anywhere between Pune and Mumbai, cross Mumbai completely and plan a break at Ghodbunder from where you simply get onto NH* for Ahmedabad - This works beautifully as you cross Pune and Mumbai before peak hours and save a lot of time
  
  
• After Ghodbunder, you are free to stop anywhere any number of times and it won't really matter much. However, a quick stop at Ghodbunder at Fountain Inn or Express Inn (well managed place) would make sense so that you can then stop only for refuel near Manor (If needed) and finally Vapi

[*] Any suggested bunks around Nippani on left side while headed North? I am aware of a BP bunk which is on right side of the road. Link

Stick to that, It is not at all a time consumer even when its on he right side. You may lose not more than 5 minutes.

[*] For byepassing Mumbai I am thinking of taking the suggested route

Stick to this route, the fastest and reliable and mostly clean from bad traffic and now roads have been patched up too.

However, any specific reason for avoiding NH 48 till Thane in this section?

Have taken this and the progress will be really slow. This is mainly because this route remains favorite for trucks from the port heading north as they don't have to drive through Vashi-Mumbai. Secondly, the traffic density comprises of mostly trucks and multi axle trailers - Something that you would not be happy to drive (Rather crawl) along in few sections where you have inclines.

Adding to this, as you close in near Thane, traffic build up too and further slows you down from NH48 side.

Lastly - Road conditions are not at all great on this that it remains the last choice to bypass Mumbai.
[*] With a 05:00 AM start from Vapi towards Ahmedabad, based on usual trend is it advisable to take Golden bridge (Considering that the new bridge is not open still)

Quite easily - In fact, I would say take the usual route itself than the Golden Bridge. Your decision should be strictly based on the traffic shown on Googlemaps. Plot route between the 2 points and see what is suggested as fastest - It really works and I have always relied on that.

[*] Is 6 hours descent timeline for Vapi - Ahmedabad town?

More than just good. Regular drivers do Ghodbunder - Expressway end in 7 hours, so 6 hours for just Vapi and Ahmedabad town including crossing Ankleshwar-Bharuch will be easily possible.

Bottom line: Make sure you start no later than 0400 and strategically plan breaks to avoid spending time crossing Pune and Mumbai. It has worked for me with parents, with kids and with relatives by setting the right expectations and am sure it should not be a task for you anyway. So speed is not the key here and I don't need to re-iterate that. It is mostly going to be a good start (0400) and proper planning with breaks.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Few query on Bangalore - Vapi - Ahmedabad route.

[*] Also, heard there is some road closure near Vasai Creek. Any updates on that?

Apparently, the closed North bound Versova bridge ( Vasai creek ) is now open for light vehicles but it seems, a limited number of vehicles are allowed to pass at one time, that too with a very slow speed. This causes traffic backlogs. In peak hours, add about 25-30 mins extra to your total estimated travel time. Since you are planning to start from Bangalore by 0400 hours, it's likely that you would enter Bombay by 6 PM and touch Versova bridge at around 7.45pm. This is a peak hour, so be prepared to face some quite heavy traffic.

I don't intend to make you anxious, but just thought of sharing this update which I too learnt just yesterday from a friend.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Apparently, the closed North bound Versova bridge ( Vasai creek ) is now open for light vehicles but it seems, a limited number of vehicles are allowed to pass at one time, that too with a very slow speed. This causes traffic backlogs. In peak hours, add about 25-30 mins extra to your total estimated travel time. Since you are planning to start from Bangalore by 0400 hours, it's likely that you would enter Bombay by 6 PM and touch Versova bridge at around 7.45pm. This is a peak hour, so be prepared to face some quite heavy traffic.

I don't intend to make you anxious, but just thought of sharing this update which I too learnt just yesterday from a friend.

Vivek, twice when I did Bangalore - Ahmedabad, I was almost precise with the timings with my usual speeds when I started from Bangalore at 0430AM.

-- My breakfast was at Kamat, Ranabennur

-- First Refueling was at BPCL COCO after Nippani

-- Lunch at Vittal Kamat near Umbraj

-- I very easily recall that at 0530PM, I was at Fountain Inn for my break

-- There was no stopping anywhere after lunch as the tank range for the next 650 kms from Nippani will easily take me beyond Mumbai and I could plan my refill after entering the Gujarat Highway

Of course, the Creek Bridge was all functional then but work was in progress at Nalasopara which delayed us by 45 minutes.

With a 0400 AM start that Suhas is aiming, if he sticks to his schedule including taking breaks as planned, he can very well get out of Mumbai and be on the road to Ahmedabad by 0600 PM for sure and might face traffic only till Virar and then have a clean run to Vapi.

The biggest mistake here is to take a break between Pune and Mumbai or stop for a break in Mumbai itself. This will make you cross Mumbai during peak hours.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Vivek, twice when I did Bangalore - Ahmedabad, I was almost precise with the timings with my usual speeds when I started from Bangalore at 0430AM.

-- My breakfast was at Kamat, Ranabennur

-- First Refueling was at BPCL COCO after Nippani

-- Lunch at Vittal Kamat near Umbraj

-- I very easily recall that at 0530PM, I was at Fountain Inn for my break

-- There was no stopping anywhere after lunch as the tank range for the next 650 kms from Nippani will easily take me beyond Mumbai and I could plan my refill after entering the Gujarat Highway

Of course, the Creek Bridge was all functional then but work was in progress at Nalasopara which delayed us by 45 minutes.

With a 0400 AM start that Suhas is aiming, if he sticks to his schedule including taking breaks as planned, he can very well get out of Mumbai and be on the road to Ahmedabad by 0600 PM for sure and might face traffic only till Virar and then have a clean run to Vapi.

The biggest mistake here is to take a break between Pune and Mumbai or stop for a break in Mumbai itself. This will make you cross Mumbai during peak hours.

Very much agree with you Parag The only reason I estimated a 6 pm entry into Mumbai was because I considered some unprecedented delays during this time of the year like additional truck and tractor traffic, more so in Maharashtra owing to the sugarcane season and most importantly some sudden protests ( lasting for 15-20 mins ) staged by farmers. Also, read a couple of posts in the past where some people reported taking 12 hours from Bangalore to Pune ( Katraj ). All this and looking at the queries put up by @mpsukhas, I just assumed, he might not be a regular on NH4 ( may be I am wrong here ). Regulars are doing Bangalore--Pune in about 10 hours flat including breaks enroute and without crazily speeding like 140+. I personally believe 100-120kmph on most stretches of NH4 is reasonable and safe. Anyways, 6 pm was just the "upper limit" I considered in general. Else, your timelines are very much doable on this stretch. Other day when I was interacting with a Bangalore-Mumbai-Nasik regular BHPian, I too had given him the same estimate of reaching Mumbai entry point by 5pm with a 4 a.m start from Bangalore.

It was just the sight of many trucks and tractors carrying sugarcane on NH4 the other day and the assumption that OP might not be a regular on this route, some things crossed my mind and I thought of adding an hour extra.

[mpksuhas]

Thanks for the suggestions Parag & Vivek for the suggestion


Did the trip on 14 Jan 2017-

Start - Bangalore - Marathahalli - 04:30 AM
Took ORR instead of NICE road after a long time.
VRL depot just before Chitradurga ~5 mins break at 06:45 AM
Davangare bye-pass - 07:30 AM
Hubbali toll - 08:56 AM
Belgaum - 10:00 AM
Nippani BP COCO 10:50 AM ~ 20 min break
Lunch break at Hotel Kamat after Karad. 12:34 PM to 01:00 PM. Location
Mumbai-Pune Expressway toll - 03:05 PM
Stopped at food plaza on expressway- 03:58 PM - 04:20 PM
Expressway Exit - 04:50 PM
Vasai Creek/ Hotel Fountain junction - 05:45 to 06:15 PM. Thanks to bridge work took half hour to cross.
Hotel Kalaram Kathiavadi - 07:30 PM - Good place to have food stop. Location
Hotel Ginger Vapi - 08:50 PM

Stayed at Ginger Vapi for night. Started at 06:00 AM from Vapi to Ahmedabad.
Took NH itself instead of golden bridge since traffic was less.
BP COCO north of Baruch at 07:43 AM Location

NE1 Expressway Entry - 09:25 AM
NE1 Exit - 10:15 AM
Ahmedabad SP road toll - 10:35 AM


New bridge near Baruch is still under construction. I guess it may take another couple of months to be done.

Satara deviations are a pain, however felt it was not as bad as projected in this thread.

More than the deviations, traffic as you near Pune was painful.

All toll booths enroute apart from Hubbali byepass accepted Fastag

Details of GJ trip here - Link

[King_pin09]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Did the trip on 14 Jan 2017-

Start - Bangalore - Marathahalli - 04:30 AM
Mumbai-Pune Expressway toll - 03:05 PM
Stopped at food plaza on expressway- 03:58 PM - 04:20 PM
Expressway Exit - 04:50 PM

One has to be wary of the mad rush of bikers that builds up at the Kolhapur - Pune stretch by 3:00 P.M onwards (both directions). You encounter an endless ocean of motorcycles carrying 3, 4 or even 5 people, and occupying all lanes. Once caught up in this mess, your speeds will drop down steeply to 40-60 Km/ hr range and help you lose a cool 2 hrs before you enter the MPEW / KA.

Good that you have maintained optimum timings and managed to escape this chaos in time. Congrats.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

New bridge near Baruch is still under construction. I guess it may take another couple of months to be done.

Just drove back from Pune and from what I heard, it is stated to open in the first week of March.

[creative420]

Kicking this thread alive. Has anyone done BLR-AMD in the last year or so? I'm planning to do this around 21st of this month. My wife and my dog will accompany me on this trip. I was thinking of halting at Pune since it'll be easier to find a pet-friendly accommodation. Do share your advice or experience.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by creative420

Kicking this thread alive. Has anyone done BLR-AMD in the last year or so? I'm planning to do this around 21st of this month. My wife and my dog will accompany me on this trip. I was thinking of halting at Pune since it'll be easier to find a pet-friendly accommodation. Do share your advice or experience.

I drove a month before from Bangalore to Rajkot.

Pune or Thane can be your ideal halts. An early morning start from Bangalore at 0400 will easily take you to Thane by 1900/2000 hours. Halting at Thane will give you an advantage get onto Ahmedabad highway quickly.

Thane to Ahmedabad will take anywhere between 7 to 8 hours with one break. Expect Surat bypass to remain traffic prone but that's now a new norm.

If you halt at Pune, you really need to start from here early such that you cross Thane by 8am. That means you need to start from Pune at max by 4 or 4:30am.

In terms of road conditions, Till Mumbai it's basically the Satara to Pune stretch that remains iffy due to pathcy road conditions.

Thane to Ahmedabad is as usual good with not much concerns though few places have some rough sections but again not a major botheration.

[creative420]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Pune or Thane can be your ideal halts. An early morning start from Bangalore at 0400 will easily take you to Thane by 1900/2000 hours. Halting at Thane will give you an advantage get onto Ahmedabad highway quickly.

Thanks, Parag. I was hoping to get a reply from you. I read a post on HVK forum calling you out as the expert of this route.

Will keep this info handy. Just one more thing, the stop for food and loo breaks remain the same as your previous posts?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by creative420

Will keep this info handy. Just one more thing, the stop for food and loo breaks remain the same as your previous posts?

They are mostly same but to be very honest, when it comes to Mumbai - Ahmedabad, there is absolutely no dearth for good eateries on the entire route, at least till Vadodara. I often tell folks driving on this route that if you miss an eatery due to focus elsewhere, all you need to do is release the throttle and the point when the car nearly comes to halt is where you will find another eatery .

These are some of the options (few may have changed names too);

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Here are few options in chronological order:

• Kailash Sarovar + Cafe Coffee Day, around 50 Mins after Thane
  
  
• Vittal Kamat, Near Manor, Around 1 Hour after Thane
  
  
• Hotel Sahyog, At Talasari, Around 1.5 Hours from Thane
  
  
• Sigdi, after Entering Gujarat
  
  
• Empress Mall, Vapi Bypass on the highway, Has multiple options inside including McDs
  
  
• Sugar 'n' Spice: A well developed food court (CCD, Baskin Robins etc) attached to BPCL COCO Fuel Station and located right in the middle of the median accessible from both directions:
  
  
• Cafe Coffee Day along with Food Plaza with multiple options, before Anlkeshwar

I had stopped at another Sugar and Spice, attached to BPCL at Palsana (before Surat bypass) here.

[normaltusker]

Looking to rekindle this thread since my Oct'21 (Gujarat road trip - Queries) plan now finally seems to be close to materialising.

I am planning a Trip from Bangalore to Ahemdabad in October '23.

1. My travel would be a break journey with a break at Mumbai.
2. I am a regular Blr-Mum driver so that part is sorted.
3. I kind of gauged from the thread that the eatery part of the journey from Mum-Ahm is not an issue.
4. I have an idea about the route conditions thanks to varunasok's thread (Gujarat road trip - Queries).

What I am now looking to know is:

1. about the cleanliness, condition and availability of washrooms on the highways in Guj. During my last travel in 2014/15 it was a pain and we hardly had any. (I would be travelling with 3 ladies)
2. if it rained in Oct last year? If yes, how bad was it? Asking since Bangalore was in a bad shape with rains almost until Jan this year.

[Dieseltuned]

Originally Posted by normaltusker

Looking to rekindle this thread since my Oct'21 (Gujarat road trip - Queries) plan now finally seems to be close to materialising.

I am planning a Trip from Bangalore to Ahemdabad in October '23.

1. My travel would be a break journey with a break at Mumbai.
2. I am a regular Blr-Mum driver so that part is sorted.
3. I kind of gauged from the thread that the eatery part of the journey from Mum-Ahm is not an issue.
4. I have an idea about the route conditions thanks to varunasok's thread (Gujarat road trip - Queries).

What I am now looking to know is:

1. about the cleanliness, condition and availability of washrooms on the highways in Guj. During my last travel in 2014/15 it was a pain and we hardly had any. (I would be travelling with 3 ladies)
2. if it rained in Oct last year? If yes, how bad was it? Asking since Bangalore was in a bad shape with rains almost until Jan this year.

For washrooms stick to any sugar and spice (one is at valsad and one is at surat) and you should be sorted. Their washrooms are always clean any time of the day. Try bypassing Mumbai via thane belapur road - Eastern express highway - ghodbunder road in the early morning if possible to avoid delays.

October is too far to predict anything in terms of monsoons.

Regards
Diesel

[normaltusker]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

October is too far to predict anything in terms of monsoons.

Thanks for the pointers. I was wondering how it was the previous year (2022). I agree October (2023) is too far in time but past knowledge will allow me to plan for the worst/best case.

[Dieseltuned]

Last year Gujarat did receive decent rains in October, but I think that was an outlier. I personally do not see any major rain related worry for Gujarat in October.

Regards
Diesel