[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

Now, here's the catch : It would be a night drive (11 PM to 9 AM types - end to end). The timing is not negotiable. I'll ensure that I'm well rested and all of that, but please suggest me the best route where I can get hygienic pit stops often (clean toilets, decent food).

Thanks in advance!

Assuming that you take the Chitradurga-Haveri option to reach, you have enough Cafe Coffee Day outlets on this route that (all) operate 24 Hours.

Bangalore and Tumkur have quite a few on both sides and I need not mention them as they come within the first hour of your start.

Then you have one after Sira (RHS), Before Davanagere Bypass (Attached to IOCL and on RHS), Then after Ranebennur (RHS).

For hygienic rest rooms and overall cleanliness, these are better than the rest.

If you are looking for good food, remember that ice you cross Chitradurga (11pm) most Hotels will shut down. So better bet would be to have dinner either at Kamat Upachar at Dabaspet or at Kamat Upachar at Sira which will still be open till almost 11:30pm due to Night Buses halting here for dinner.

Apart from this, there are a lot of Dhabas that are open beyond midnight but then I wouldn't recommend them when traveling with mostly ladies.

Since I am posting this from my Mobile,I am unable to paste exact Gmaps links to these places mentioned. Will do so later tonight or tomorrow.

[Divya Sharan]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

If you are looking for good food, remember that ice you cross Chitradurga (11pm) most Hotels will shut down. So better bet would be to have dinner either at Kamat Upachar at Dabaspet or at Kamat Upachar at Sira which will still be open till almost 11:30pm due to Night Buses halting here for dinner.

My main concern is clean restrooms. We shall start from home post dinner and would carry some snacks so we should be covered till early morning. Hunger pangs would kick in only post sunrise or so.

I just want to know if there are decent stops between Haveri and Murudeshwar because I'm sure that ladies would need a couple of them in the stretch.

[srvm]

I did Bangalore-Murudeshwar-Gokarna-Bangalore last weekend. This is my first trip to this part of Karnataka. My vaahan was Zest XMS Petrol with 4 adults, 1 child and plenty of luggage. Route was Bangalore-Chitradurga-Haveri bypass-Sirsi-Kumta-Honnavar.

We had early lunchbreak at Kamat Upachar just after Chalageri Toll Booth.



Since the plan was made in the last minute, I could not get rooms at Hotel Pandurang International at Kumta. Hence, I stayed at Hotel Sagar Residency, Honnavar (on Honnavar-Sagar road). Decent place to stay and has separate restaurants for Veggies and Non-vegetarians. Contact number: +91-83872-20244 (number given in google maps is for the restaurant not the hotel). It has open but huge parking space in front of the hotel.

Huge thanks to BHPians drhoneycake, NPV and Paragsachania for their posts in Bangalore - Goa : Route Queries thread (post #3724 to 3726).

Road conditions remain the same as posted by drhoneycake in his post. Massive rumblers at many villages just after Haveri bypass for about 30kms. Some bad patches for a few kms before Sirsi town (while going from Bangalore). Otherwise very good roads on the whole. Started from Bangalore at 5.30am. Reached Kumta by 3.15pm.

Had tea & bio-break at Pandurang International.


Zest Revotron amazed me with its fuel effciency for the Bangalore-Kumta stretch: 503 kms at 20 kmpl.



We reached Honnavar by 4.15pm. After freshening up at Hotel Sagar Residency we went to Murudeshwar temple which is about 30kms. Fantastic roads with fantastic views.

View from Murudeshwar Gopuram


Temple timings at Murudeshwar


After temple darshan and some time at the beach we started back to Honnavar. It was already past sunset and it rained very heavily. Visibility was also very poor. Since I've never driven in such conditions at such unfamiliar roads my family was a bit worried. Somehow, I was able to slowly follow a sanely driven truck back to Honnavar.

On Sunday morning, we covered Gokarna temple and Om beach. Once again, the roads from Honnavar to Gokarna (via Kumta) are fabulous and the views are a treat.
Various Poojas at Gokarna Temple


Temple Timings at Gokarna


In the evening, we visited Apsarakonda beach and Ganesha Temple at Idagunji. It rained heavily overnight.

Apsarakonda Beach - secluded beach from the crowd


Monday morning return trip in the same route via Devimane Ghats was an out-of-world experience particularly after the shower previous night. Roads were very good and traffic is minimal except for the occasional NWKRTC bus or 2-wheeler. I wanted to but could not visit Yana this time. Maybe next time.

Our Zest in Devimane Ghat road


MID after Complete trip: 1278 kms at 19 kmpl.

[drhoneycake]

Originally Posted by Divya Sharan

I just want to know if there are decent stops between Haveri and Murudeshwar because I'm sure that ladies would need a couple of them in the stretch.

None on the highway sir. You'll have good stops in Sirsi (Panchavati on Yellapur road, Samrat and Madhuvana on Hubli/Haveri road). All great hotels and in Sirsi town.

Post Sirsi, nothing noteworthy till Kumta town(Pandurang International before Kumta town), then Honnavar (all on the highway itself) and finally Murudeshwar.

These are state highways so unless you enter the major towns you are not going to find decent pit stops on this route.

[NPV]

The Sirsi-Kumta SH 69 will be upgraded to a 2 lane road and rechristened NH 766-E as part of the Sagar Mala project. The road will be closed for 1.5 years from October 2018.

Linking my post on the Haveri-Sirsi thread here (How's the road from Haveri to Sirsi) for reference

[NPV]

Originally Posted by NPV

The Sirsi-Kumta SH 69 will be upgraded to a 2 lane road and rechristened NH 766-E as part of the Sagar Mala project. The road will be closed for 1.5 years from October 2018.

This road closure has now been postponed to Dec 2018, thanks to @DrHoneyCake for the update.

[Arka]

Hello, I am going to drive to Murdeshwar in November, the Diwali week. Request expert advice on the route to take. My desire is to be on the fastest route that has good quality tarmac. Thank you in advance.

[Arka]

I am posting some invaluable advice that I received from @drhoneycake, for everyone's benefit. Please see below.

1) If you are travelling after December 1, Sirsi-Kumta will be closed for around 1.5 years. You could go via Bankapur-Mundgod-Yellapur-Kumta (via Arbail Ghat). A little longer but roads are extremely good.

2) Jog Falls during December isnt worth a visit unless its on your drive route. There's hardly any water and you'll be disappointed. Roads on NH206 Bengaluru-Honnavara Highway are terrible especially worse after this year's rains.

If you really need to visit Jog Falls, go via Chitradurga-Shivmogga-Sagara-Jog Falls-Siddapur-Kumta. Siddapur-Kumta isn't so great, but this route will be shorter to Honnavar than Yellapur-Kumta.

Thank you very much @drhoneycake!

[deehunk]

I have planned a trip to Gokarna and Sringeri, plan is to reach Gokarna on 7th, Wednesday around 5:00am. I have booked room at Hari OM Gokarna Hotel for 4 people, my wife, mother and daughter are my co-passengers. I plan to visit Sringeri the same evening and return to Bangalore by Thursday morning. I am comfortable with night driving after 11pm. Fellow bhpians, please share your thoughts.

[manjubp]

Originally Posted by deehunk

I have planned a trip to Gokarna and Sringeri, plan is to reach Gokarna on 7th, Wednesday around 5:00am. I have booked room at Hari OM Gokarna Hotel for 4 people, my wife, mother and daughter are my co-passengers. I plan to visit Sringeri the same evening and return to Bangalore by Thursday morning. I am comfortable with night driving after 11pm. Fellow bhpians, please share your thoughts.

Looks like too hectic. With family I would never suggest such a trip, unless you have additional driver, who is as comfortable as you in night driving. In your case it is your spouse.
I would suggest to add a night at gokarna and start early morning to Sringeri.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by manjubp

Looks like too hectic.
I would suggest to add a night at gokarna and start early morning to Sringeri.

Thanks Manju, as a precaution, I have booked the accomodation at Gokarna for one full day. Due to Deepavali, I expect less crowd at Gokarna and plan to complete the darshan before 9:00 am. If it gets late, I plan to stay back in Gokarna. I visited Srisailam on November 1st with a similar plan, due to very less crowd, was able to return back safely within 24 hours.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by Arka

1) If you are travelling after December 1, Sirsi-Kumta will be closed for around 1.5 years. You could go via Bankapur-Mundgod-Yellapur-Kumta (via Arbail Ghat). A little longer but roads are extremely good.

Does anyone have input on this road work, has it commenced ?

Planning Bangalore - Gokarna on 15 Dec.

[deehunk]

There was no update about this stretch after the visit of Nitin Gadkari to launch several highway expansion projects. I visited Gokarna via BLR-Kunigal-Arsikere-Kadur-Shimoga-Sagara-Talaguppa-Honnavara, there are enough places for a break on this route. I started early from Bangalore at 3:00am and reached Gokarna by 12:30pm with 2 breaks at Kadur and Sagara.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Does anyone have input on this road work, has it commenced ?

I had posted an update here (How's the road from Haveri to Sirsi) last month.

Not sure if road has closed down now, based on feedback from @drhoneycake and another friend, road is bad in several places, so I would suggest avoiding even if it is open

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by NPV

Not sure if road has closed down now, based on feedback from @drhoneycake and another friend, road is bad in several places, so I would suggest avoiding even if it is open

I too share the same concern, have been driving on Turuvekere-Arsikere-Kadur-Tarikere stretch very often on weekends. This route is not so bad that you have to avoid completely, pros of this route are very less traffic till Shimoga if you start early, no tolls and decent options for taking breaks if you are travelling with family.