[vij4all]

So its time to take the new figo to Shirdi Sai and have always favoured the Thane - Igatpuri - Goti - Sinnar - Shirdi route but with road widening on the Sinnar - Shirdi stretch, I dont quite prefer that route. Also the Goti - Sinnar stretch is not that great (atleast 40% of it).

So a colleague of mine from Yeola suggested that I go into Nasik city and instead of taking a right from Dwarka onto the Nasik - Pune road, I go straight for another 2 minutes and take a right onto the Nasik - Aurangabad highway leading upto Yeola which he claims is real good and 4 laned. Further he adds that Yeola to Shirdi is only 32 odd kms and the total trip from Thane will only increase by 25 odd kms which I double checked on Google Maps and found accurate.

Has anyone done Shirdi Sai through Yeola? HVK Sir, any inputs?

[hvkumar]

Someone did go via Yeola 2 months ago and he reported that road to be bad too!
Unfortunately, the main Sinnar-Shirdi road is also in a bad shape.

[iceman7]

What a coincidence this is. I am planning to take my new Linea to Shirdi over the weekend too.

Is the Igatpuri - Ghoti road the best way to get to shirdi then?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by iceman7

What a coincidence this is. I too am planning to take the new Linea to Shirdi over the weekend.

Is the igatpuri - goi road the best way to get to shirdi then?

Apparently, the Igatpuri-GHoti-Sinnar road is better now, but the real problem is road widening mess between Sinnar and Shirdi.

[iceman7]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Apparently, the Igatpuri-GHoti-Sinnar road is better now, but the real problem is road widening mess between Sinnar and Shirdi.

Is it a better option then to go to Nasik, take the Aurangabad road to Yeola, and from there to Shirdi?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by iceman7

Is it a better option then to go to Nasik, take the Aurangabad road to Yeola, and from there to Shirdi?

Not sure about Yeola-Shirdi, but roads upto Yeola are fantastic.

[Rock 'n' rollz]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Not sure about Yeola-Shirdi, but roads upto Yeola are fantastic.

Any road would be better than Sinnar - Shirdi.
On Google Maps I could see a toll plaza on Yeola - Shirdi road. So should be better than Sinnar-Shirdi stretch for sure.

Please keep us posted about road conditions if you take Yeola route.

[iceman7]

So here's the latest update on the Mumbai/Thane - Shirdi route.

The patch between Sinnar and Shirdi is horrible at places (I am repenting taking this route on my way back. Lesson learnt the hard way). If you are planning to drive down in your new car or with an old car with low ground clearance, please avoid this route. This also means that you avoid the route from Ghoti to Shirdi.

The route to take then, is this:

Mumbai - Nasik. From Nasik take the right for the Aurangabad state highway. This is the right after Dwarka circle. This highway will lead you to a 4x4 toll road right upto Yeola. The road from Yeola to Shirdi is a smooth tarred road. This is a 35 - 40 kms detour but takes about the same time as the Nasik - Sinnar - Shirdi route.

[vij4all]

Thanks iceman. I couldnt make it last sunday unfortunately.

[Rock 'n' rollz]

Originally Posted by iceman7

The route to take then, is this:

Mumbai - Nasik. From Nasik take the right for the Aurangabad state highway. This is the right after Dwarka circle. This highway will lead you to a 4x4 toll road right upto Yeola. The road from Yeola to Shirdi is a smooth tarred road. This is a 35 - 40 kms detour but takes about the same time as the Nasik - Sinnar - Shirdi route.

I agree. Traveled on this route recently. Here are a few observations.

1. With flyover work going on in Nashik City, one needs to keep an eye out for Aurangabad highway (SH30) intersection.
2. Initial 3/4 KMs stretch of the highway is an average tar road.
3. Then comes the Toll Naka. Toll is INR 25. Now here comes the surprise. once you cross the toll naka, you don't see 2X2 toll road at all. In fact first 25-30 KMs patch of the road is being widened and under construction (both sides). When I entered this patch I thought I was on the wrong road... but then what did that guy collected the toll for??? etc etc.
4. After this initial patch of broken road comes the 2X2 toll road which is good and reaching Yeola is breeze.
5. From Yeola one needs to take a right on to (SH10). The road upto Shirdi is wide, tarred and overall good.
6. Before reaching Shirdi one needs to pay another toll. Don't remember the exact amount but it was INR 20+.

Total travel time from Mulund to Shirdi = 5 hrs (incl 20 min break in Nashik)

Having traveled by Sinnar & Ghoti roads before, I would highly recommend this route. Just be prepared to ride that initial patch of broken road (its leveled but the tar work is pending).

[arishi1]

Can anyone confirm the road conditions currently for Shirdi using the Yeola route or if there is any-other better route to Shirdi from Thane.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by arishi1

Can anyone confirm the road conditions currently for Shirdi using the Yeola route or if there is any-other better route to Shirdi from Thane.

Avoid road via Nashik because it is seeing huge traffic jams during day time due to widening/ flyover construction., Best route for now is Thane-Igatpuri-Ghoti-Sinnar-Shirdi.

[arishi1]

Route Update for Traveling from Thane/Mumbai to Shirdi

we took the Thane - Igatpuri- Ghoti - Sinnar - Shirdi Route there is a small patch of road between Sinnar and Shirdi that needs to be taken care of. The Ghoti Sinnar road is a narrow road so you have to be cautions of some potholes on the sides of the roads.
Total Toll from Kalyan is Rs 80 (Kalyan - Ghoti) and then Rs 24 (Ghoti - Sinnar)

[Virtualaman]

I just returned from Shirdi two days back.

While going I took the Thane - Ghoti - Nashik - Deolali - Sinnar - Shirdi route as it was the recommended one by many travellers. The Nashik - Sinnar road is very busy with lots of traffic particularly trucks on their way to and from Pune. Also there was traffic in Nashik due to flyober construction. Apart from that the roads throughout were very good. The Sinnar Shirdi road is completely new now very smooth like butter. There is a patch of 10 km which has not been patched.

While returning took the Shirdi - Sinnar - Ghoti - Thane route. This is shorted by 12 KMs. But in terms of time it took at least 30 minutes less as the Sinnar - Nashik stretch gets avoided. There is very little traffic and the road is in excellent condition except 5-10 KMs where it is average quality with a speed of 40 KM/hr. On the remaining stretch, one can go at 80-100 Km/hr easily. Also, this road is very picturesque. There are grape farms / vineyards, wind mills, fruit and vegetable farms and vendors and lakes on this route. I loved it. Also it's a winding road, much more interesting than the Ghoti - Nashik road which is boring. I would recommend this route to anyone travelling to Shirdi.

[kart19]

Date of Journey: 24 June - Sunday

I took the Thane - Ghoti - Sinnar - Shirdi Route yesterday. The Ghoti - Sinnar road was very good throughout even though it was a single carriageway .Very picturesque as someone already mentioned earlier. Traffic was very less. Even the road from Sinnar to Shirdi was smooth, the only problem was that it suddenly becomes very narrow (with gravel on either side) after a while, meaning it was just enough for two cars. Cars keep peeping their noses out in the opposite direction to overtake, so constant dip-dip helps to keep them in place.
But overall, the roads were very good. We started at 6AM and reached at 10:30AM even after a 30 min halt in Manas, Igatpuri for breakfast. Recommended route!