[W.A.G.7]

Wow!! a super travelogue with equally super pics! Bring em' on. waiting for more. In the end, I think taking the DSLR was well worth it!

Don't be overly obsessed with capturing everything on camera. You will never see anything then.

You've said it. Agree 100%. The camera should be used sparingly.

[octane78]

Wow Rohit - Amzing travellogue. Just came across and read it in one go. It has been more than 2 years I had done Goa and looking at your log fuels the desire to make the trip soon.

Amazing pictures and amazing details. Rated 5 stars

[virgovencat]

Hi,

Just wanted to share the best route to GOA from Chennai..travelled just last week..9th Sep.

we took two different routes..going/coming

Going :Chennai - Bangalore - Tumkur - chitradurga - Davanagere - Haveri -Bankapura( turn left onto State highway) - Mundgod- Yellapur- karwar - Panaji - This is good route with good roads ( just the stretch between Bankapura & Yellapur is Single road with lots of potholes..60 km..) rest is good.

Coming : Panaji - Karwar- Honavar - Jog Falls - Sagar - Shimoga - Tumkur - Bangalore - chennai ( Road between Honavar & Jog falls is horrible - pl don't take this road if you love your CAR)

regards,
Venkat

[ashphil]

Amazing TL and lovely pics. Your description and photographs of your trip to Dudhsagar falls is awesome! Your wife and you are indeed an adventourous couple. Last drove to Goa from Chennai in 2005 with my family in our Alto( the kids were much smaller then!) Your TL makes me want to head to Goa again.
Regards,
Ashok

[lucifer1881]

Day 7. What happened on Day 7? Nothing. Tito's messed it up completely. Until not very long ago, I could party all night and still be up at 6 fresh as a daisy. Age, it seems, is a cruel mistress. Took me a full 6 hours to recover from the events of the night. By the time we had breakfast it was almost noon.

We decided to dump the camera and just enjoy Goa like a couple of honeymooners, sans the nausea inducing stuff. The sea was very kind to us. There was even slight sunshine. We made our way to Candolim and parked ourselves in the water for 2 hours. For some reason, people were in a festive mood. Even the lifeguards joined in the party. Literally. The lifeguard jeep started playing Punjabi music on its PA system. Everyone randomly broke out into a dance. It was simply amazing.

Fast forward to Day 8. This was our last day in Goa. We took it easy. Late breakfast. Lazy lunch. Interspersed with an afternoon spent at Baga. Whichever season you visit Goa in, Baga will always have people. It is not my kind of beach. But we had good company with us. We rented a couple of beach beds and lived life the way it is meant to be in paradise.

Baga Beach

Day 9.

This was our return journey. The route we took:

Candolim - Amboli - Belgaum - Bagalkot - Raichur - Mehboobnagar - Hyderabad
Distance: 740 km

This time we were a convoy of three cars - Bolero, Safari, City. We spent a little time at Amboli having those piping hot vada pavs, onion pakoda, bread omelette, and tea. Belgaum is roughly 70km from the Amboli waterfall. It took us roughly two hours to cover it. The road in this stretch is not all that good.

Amboli

Had lunch at Belgaum and after a lot of asking around found the route to Bagalkot. This is tricky, and I still do not know how I found the road. Asking around is your best bet. But man, what a road we got on! Belgaum to Bagalkot is roughly 200km. This is the best SH in Karnataka, I think. We could average 70kmph, despite those infamous humps.

Bagalkot to Raichur is another 200km. This stretch of road is good for the most part. Beware of sudden potholes, though. We had dinner at Raichur. And made a dash for Hyderabad. It was already past 10pm. We made good time and were in Mehboobnagar by midnight.

Shortest route to get on NH7 from Mehboobnagar: As soon as you come to your first major intersection in Mehboobnagar from Raichur side, you will see a sign which says Hyderabad is straight ahead. On right left is a police station. Pay absolutely no attention to the road sign and take the right. 8km ahead you will intersect with NH7 at Bhootpur. From there, Hyderabad is approximately 70 min or 90 km away.

In all, Srishti and I had covered 2300km in 9 days across 4 states.

The end.

[hyd_traveller]

I read in your earlier post that your Day 7 had got messed up.

Why this sudden hurry to finish your travelogue?

The travelogue had started and continued up to the 6th day just the way Goa is, lazy and relaxed.

Suddenly, today, you seem to be in Mumbai mode as if you need to finish this travelogue and catch the 4:43 Virar Fast to get somewhere else.

Please post some more photos and give us some more details.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

@lucifer,
you covered three days in a post and ended the travelogue abruptly.
You scored many wows in this travelogue.
Thanks for sharing the story.

Edit:
as hyd_traveller quoted, we would like to read more and see more pics.

[lucifer1881]

Thank you Bajaj Saab and Ashish. But honestly, there really is nothing more to share. The last 3 days were literally a breeze. Did not bother with the camera at all to have any pictures to show for them. We took it easy. And very, very lazily. Spent most of our time at Candolim and Baga beaches.

Bajaj Saab, I like the 4:43 Virar Fast reference .

[DoNotHorn]

Nice travelogue.

I need some help/guidance.

I am going to Goa for the first time, but only for one day.
I am going to Mangalore/Udupi with my wife and 5 year old son, then we will take the train from Udupi to Madgaon arriving at 1.30 pm and will start back next day at 3 pm.

The idea is to travel in Konkan by rail than seeing Goa.

So will be in Goa just the one night. Please suggest me a good place to stay, not too expensive not too cheap as well, plan to spend most of the time in beach(weather permits) and eating.

Plan to do just Goa next year for a week.

TIA

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

I read in your earlier post that your Day 7 had got messed up.

Why this sudden hurry to finish your travelogue?

The travelogue had started and continued up to the 6th day just the way Goa is, lazy and relaxed.

Suddenly, today, you seem to be in Mumbai mode as if you need to finish this travelogue and catch the 4:43 Virar Fast to get somewhere else.

Please post some more photos and give us some more details.

+1 to your views.

Rohit--why don't you post some more info on the route from Belgaum to Bagalkot (where to turn and what to watch out for), and also on the road to Raichur from there. Did the City have any problem with the potholes?

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Rohit--why don't you post some more info on the route from Belgaum to Bagalkot (where to turn and what to watch out for), and also on the road to Raichur from there. Did the City have any problem with the potholes?

Belgaum to Bagalkot, I have no clue how I found the route. Kept asking, kept turning, and eventually found the highway. There is a bypass before you enter Belgaum that takes you to the Bagalkot-Raichur road. But since we did not take the bypass, cannot comment on the route conditions.

Once you get on the Bagalkot road, it is the same road all the way to Raichur (SH 18, I think). 400km (Bagalkot to Raichur) took us about 7 hours. This included 2-3 comfort breaks. The road is by and large alright, except for the '3 sets of rumblers per village' rule in Karnataka. Pot holes are there, but nothing that gives your car a major work out.

From Raichur to Mehboobnagar you take SH 50. The road is fair but beware of night driving if you do not have experience of driving at night. Pot holes have the tendency of coming up suddenly. This road has quite a few potholes. Since I have a fair bit of experience on this route, I led the convoy and that enabled us to put in a quick time (don't quite remember how much time it took us).

The City was driven by a very competent driver, IMHO. It did not bottom even once. But in the hands of a not-so-good driver, I am sure it would have had trouble.

[Tommie]

I too was there in Goa during the Ganesha festival weekend for 4 day trip with my family. I took the Bangalore-Tumkur-Belgaum-Amboli-Sawantwadi-Pernem-Calangute(Goa) route. Except for the Belgaum-Amboli road filled with pot holes due to some mining activity the rest of the route was good. Infact it just took 4 hours for the 400 kms on the highway to cover and the rest 280 km took 8 hours with multiple toll gates and many of the local-single lane traffic.

At Amboli, it was fully covered with mist at 10AM in the morning and 3PM in the afternoon. The hygrometer in my car showed 95% humidity and the first time that I have seen such a humid place according to the meter. I wonder how could some one dry their clothes living in Amboli.

While returning, the Maharashtra border, Banda Check post official held us for bribe-ransom. I have never seen such corrupt officials in my life earlier. They were targetting on non-Maharastra/non-Goa vehicles as they think that those people would get back to the higher officials with a complaint.

[ppr]

Some consider me mad for driving hundreds of kilometre to get to a place. They say it is better to save all that time and energy by getting to your destination as quickly as possible, and spend more time going around the place. They do not know that the journey is more important than the destination. They also do not know the perks of having your car with you 24/7 when on a holiday.

Totally agree on both counts

I just drove to and from Mumbai Goa. The Sankeshwar Amboli road is pretty good with almost no potholes. The Belgaum Amboli roaad was suggested by someone on this forum but I guess it was a good thing we stuck to the Sankeshwar plan (also thanks to this forum)

[maximus.]

Wow!! Eight mezmerizing days of Goa, i envy you.Your experience and pointers will certainly help all the travellers who look for guidance before going to Goa.Thanks for sharing an amazing TL.

[rk_sans]

@lucifer1881,
Thanks a lot for your wonderful travelogue and it was in a right time. I did a 4 nights/5 day trip to Goa last week and I stayed at Green Peace Holiday Home from your reference you posted here. It was excellent choice, bare minimum necessities and that's what you require at Goa as most of the time you are out on the beach.