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-   -   Mumbai - Rajapur / Ratnagiri : Route Queries (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/99898-mumbai-rajapur-ratnagiri-route-queries.html)

I have been planning a trip to our native place sometime in this or the next month. The place is equidistant from Ratnagiri as well as Rajapur. As such there are two major routes I can take: The Mumbai - Goa highway to Ratnagiri and then on to the native place, or the Mumbai - Bangalore highway till Kolhapur and then from Kolhapur to Rajapur and then on to my native place.

Till a few days back Google Maps showed the Mumbai - Goa route to take more time than the Mumbai - Kolhapur route. I have previously taken the Mumbai - Goa route and found that it was a very tiring drive, stretched to about 10~12 hours, and would have preferred the Kolhapur route this time. So one query is has the Goa highway been broadened to reduce the time or is Google Maps wrong?

Secondly the place Jaitapur is in the general vicinity, where political unrest over the proposed nuclear plant has already claimed a victim in police firing. So I wouldn't want to venture anywhere near it till it's cooled off. So if anyone has recently travelled to those parts, how safe is it to travel in the Ratnagiri/Rajapur areas?

Mumbai-Kolhapur route will be a breeze to drive. You can also try Mumbai to karad & then Karad - Chiplun via Kumbharli Ghat. A very scenic drive of approx 90 kms. It will cut down your Travel time short.

If your native place is anywhere near Jaitapur/Ratnagiri city, will suggest to wait till the situation calms a bit. Right now these are the 2 places most affected. Else you can take some internal route, if you are familiar with.

Thanks, I don't want to risk anything here, as we are going to visit our family God. The God, hopefully, will still be there when things have quietened down a bit, so no hurry.

I hear that Ratnagiri has become the centrestage for protests. And my place lies between Ratnagiri and Jaitapur (as checked on the Google Map).

Still waiting if anyone can give a rundown on the ground situation.

Hi Guys, Me and my wife are planning a trip to Ratnagiri shortly. I have driven Mumbai to Goa couple of times via the Mumbai - Kolhapur highway, but never been through the good old NH17. We will be staying with some locals we know in Ratnagiri. I have the following queries about the up-coming trip.

1) Currently we are planning to leave around 1 PM from Powai. What time should i expect to reach Ratnagiri under normal road conditions ? I cannot reach very late as we dont want to wake up the people we are staying with in the middle of the night.

2) Is it safe to leave at this time or should i consider leaving early morning on the following day ?

3) Any other route suggestions to save on time other than NH17 ?

4) Some advise on what to do in Ratnagiri and nearby places will be appreciated immensely.

5) I would like to take the coastal road on our way back but don't know much about it. Any suggestions ?

Your replies will help me to a great extent in my planning.

My suggestions in bold in your post.

Thanks Ashish, very helpful reply.

The road via Umbraj looks atleast 70-80 kms longer. Wondering if it will really save time.

Hello TaurusAI,

Which route did you finally take? What is your advise? I am planning a trip to Ratnagiri this week.

Thanks in advance.

Expressway and then Chiplun is indeed longer. Any speed advantage would get nullfied by the additional distance. Stick to NH17 and be careful while overtaking. Please maintain sane speed. The road is narrow and full of twists and turns.

Have a safe journey.

SDP, do you have an time estimate for Mumbai Ratnagiri on NH17 at sane speed? Need to plan lunch etc for kids accordingly.

From Mumbai exit point (Airoli toll naka) till Ratnagari city would be ~8 hours of driving at safe speed. Depends on starting time from Mumbai. Start at 4-4:30AM and you can possibly knock off 30 minutes from it.

A lunch break would add another hour. Chiplun and Mahad has better food options as compared to other milestones on this route.

Chiplun -> Hotel Abhishek (especially recommended if you enjoy non-veg food)
Chiplun -> There are 2 Shiv-Sagars. Both are good.

Mahad -> You can try Kamath. Best restroom on the entire route :D. Food not bad.

Bumping up an old thread. I am planning to travel to Ratnagiri/Ganpatipule and some nearby beaches in the last week of June - during monsoons.
Any ideas on the current road conditions both by NH17 and NH4? Also, which road would you recommend for making this trip.

NH17 is in good shape currently. Three weeks from now what would happen is difficult to forecast. My guess is that it would detoriate a bit and not break down completely.

I have taken the Mumbai-Pune expressway -> NH4 -> Umbraj -> Right turn to Chiplun -> Ratnagiri once in the middle of monsoon. It took me around 14 hours :Shockked:! This includes a 45 minute jam on expressway and really slow progress due to bad roads in the Kumbharli ghat section between NH4 and NH17. The Kumbharli ghat is extremely beautiful in the rains though. I am planning to take that route once this monsoon just to enjoy the greenary, the rain and the huge number of waterfalls.

If you ask me, I would stick to NH17. Budget at least 1 hour extra for the traffic jams in the Mangaon to Vadkhal naka section.

14 hrs!! :eek:

I too want to visit the ghats during Monsoons ever since I shifted base to Mumbai - which is why I was considering the NH17 as well. Lets see how things develop further into the monsoons.

BTW, would'nt leaving early from Mumbai, like 0330-0400, help to avoid traffic on the Expressway and possibly on the Ghats?

The specific instance I am talking about was 3 years back. Don't want to generalize and say that each monsoon the situation would be similar. I had started at 3am that morning and hit a traffic jam at Panvel towards NH17. After waiting for 1 hour and moving 5 inches, realized that the traffic is not really going anywhere. Asked a Innova guy coming from the other side and he mentioned that the jam extends for 25kms! I turned around and joined the expressway. By 5-5:30AM, I was in the Khandala section where the trucks had caused a jam. The Kumbharli ghat was completely traffic free. Not a single vehicle overtook us during the entire stretch and only 2-3 vehicles passed us in the opposite direction. I think, people knew the condition of that section of the road and avoided it consciously.

If you want to take NH4 then i would suggest Mumbai-Pune-Karad-Kokrud-Malkapur-Amba Ghat-Sakharpa-Pali-Ratnagiri route. I traveled on this route just a couple of days back, The road is in top shape, absolutely scenic and the amba ghat and other small ghats are a drivers paradise. Pune to Ratnagiri Budget for 6 hours.