[arsh9191]

This trip has been long coming – we started planning this trip 3 years ago- when we were in Elephant’s in Goa and saw someone bring in their dog with them. At that moment, I knew that I had to find a way to visit Goa with my dog. I was totally not comfortable with putting my dog into cargo compartment of an airplane, so we decided that we would drive down to Goa some fine day. For the first couple of years, I kept waiting for the DME to be completed – so that we could complete the journey within a couple of days. But alas, as we will know the completion date is still getting pushed, and I was running out of patience as I wanted to visit Goa when my dog is still able to enjoy the beaches and waves. So, I started planning the detailed itinerary in second half of 2024 with an aim to do this trip either in February or March, 2025. Though I have taken plenty of road trips with our dog – we have completed the Rajasthan circuit, the Himachal circuit and Uttarakhand circuit with our dog – but have never driven so far away in terms of distance.
I didn’t want to be just driving each day – so initially I planned that we would stay in Goa for four nights coupled with 2 nights each in Nashik and Mahabaleshwar – so that we make the most of driving so far.

But as we came nearer to the dates – we had to drop Nashik as my Wife wasn’t able to get those additional days off – so by end of December, 2024 – I had fixed the itinerary with our journey beginning on 30th January and booked all my hotels for each day of the stay – we had to plan hotels in advance as there are only a few pet friendly hotels on the way to Goa – albeit at some places only one hotel was pet friendly – so to avoid any last minute surprises.

The car of my choice was my 2 year old XUV 700 petrol automatic. I will list down the trip day wise below – and I will mention the routes taken along with their condition and hotels that we stayed at on the way.

Day 1: Gurgaon to Sawai Madhopur

This was not part of the original itinerary – but an impromptu addition to the trip – as we got free early from office that day – we thought of driving down to Sawai Madhopur for the night – so that we could get a head start for our next day drive to Indore.

Route Taken:
No surprises here, we took the DME from Gurgaon, and it took as 3 hours 40 minutes from our home to reach the hotel for the night, and the drive is excellent throughout. No issues here.

Hotel:
As this was an impromptu plan – I started looking at pet friendly hotels – though my hotel of choice there is the Sawai Madhopur Lodge and we have stayed their earlier with our dog. But the only rooms available there were the suites and I didn’t want to spend 35K for sleeping 8 hours. So, we ended up staying at WelcomHeritage Mount Valley Resort, Ranthambore – we thought considering that it an ITC group hotel – it should be decent. But we were in for a surprise – hotel was very dirty, there was seepage in the rooms, and drains in the toilets were clogged. But considering it was 11:30pm in the night – we decided to just try and get a couple of hours of sleep and then move on.

Day 2: Sawai Madhopur to Indore (and Ujjain)

Route Taken:

The route that I had taken was a mix of DME and Kota-Lalsot Mega Highway. So basically when you start from Sawai – you take the Mega Highway till Laban, from Laban you can get onto the DME for around 80kms – which helps bypass Kota, and you straight away reach Gopalpura just before the Mukhundra Tunnels. Once you cross Mukhundra – though the google maps asks you to carry on straight towards Ujjain – I had researched on the conditions of the road – though longer I preferred to take the DME followed by the Garoth-Ujjain Spur of the DME.

So just after crossing Mukhundra you take a right towards Chechat and then get onto the DME till Garoth. From Garoth you take the Garoth- Ujjain Spur which was been partially completed – just the last 20kms is left and the already opened 90kms was a dream to drive on.

So we were started at 9:45 and we were in Indore at our hotel by 3:30pm courtesy of the amazing roads and low traffic. Both on DME and the Spur we were able to drive continuously around 120km/h.

Now that we had reached Indore much earlier than anticipated – we decided to go for darshan to Ujjain Mahakal in the evening and instead of driving – we took a taxi – so that we don’t waste time with parking etc. there.



Hotel:

We stayed at WOW Crest – IHCL Seleqtions. The hotel was excellently located within the city and near to the Indore Bypass/Ring Road. Being a Taj property – rooms were clean and beds were great – post our Darshan – we had dinner and called it an early night and all three of us slept like babies.

Day 3: Indore to Pune

This was going to be longest drive in a single day in the complete trip and we were mentally preparing for this for a couple of days.

Route Taken:
There were two routes that used to come up on google maps – one was to take the AB road until Nashik and then get onto the Nashik-Pune highway, and this was the most suggested route on various team bhp threads as well. But my research on the routes – I decided to take the other longer route and I was glad that I did. It helped me save a couple hours and avoid traffic and the bonus – I was able to drive on the newly opened Samruddhi Expressway. So the route taken was to drive till Dhule from Indore on the AB road – the roads till Dhule were decent – nothing spectacular – it was 4 lane throughout. From Dhule instead of heading straight on to Nashik, I took a left towards Aurangabad and this is where roads quality suddenly went up and traffic reduced massively – helping me pick up speed. Other than the 15-20km ghat section in between - the roads were superb till the time you hit the Samruddi Expressway interchange just few kms before Aurangabad. Once on the Samruddhi Expressway – we tried to pick up as much time as possible – from here we drove on straight till the Sinnar exit and then got onto the Nashik-Pune Highway. And this is where all hell went lose – the road quality is pathetic, there are diversions everywhere and way too much traffic – as we kept on moving close to Pune – it kept on getting worse. And we finally reached our hotel in Chakan at 8:10pm – after starting at 9:15am from Indore – so it took us a total of 11 hours with 10 hours of driving time with an hour of break in between.



Hotel:

We had chosen to stay on the outskirts of Pune – as I had read a lot of horror stories about the traffic in Pune during evening hours. We stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott in Chakan for the night. Though the hotel’s location is not very fancy and is between a lot of factories – but the hotel itself though showing some age is excellently maintained and food is decent. We were very tired and straight away ordered some in-room dining, had dinner and we were dozing by 10pm.

Day 4: Pune to Mahabaleshwar

We were relaxed today and woke up a bit late – as we only had to drive for around 3.5 hours today – which felt like a very light day.

Route Taken:
The route being suggested by Google Maps and on other threads was through Panchgani, and earlier I had also decided to take the same route. But considering it was a Saturday – the route started showing some traffic build up in Panchgani – so we decided to take the alternative route – that was to continue driving till Satara and then take the right towards Mahabeleshwar. Though the route was only two lane without the divider – but the condition of the roads were excellent with negligible traffic till our hotel.


Hotel:

We stayed at newly renovated IHCL property called Fountain and boy the property was excellent. Couldn’t have asked for a better location and views from the property were superb. Had an excellent 2 night stay here.

Day 5: Stayed in Mahabaleshwar and did a bit of sightseeing.

Day 6: Mahabaleshwar to North Goa

Though we initially planned to stay in South Goa throughout our time in Goa – but we decided to stay just for a night in North- so that we could take out dog to Elephant’s – so that life comes a full circle – this was the place where we came up with the idea to drive down a couple of years ago.

Route Taken:

We followed the route suggested most on the threads at Team Bhp – we drove down to Satara and moved towards Karad – took a pit stop at Mcdonalds at Karad, and then took a right onto a State Highway and drove till Oni – where we get onto Mumbai- Goa Highway. The best part of the drive was from Karad to Oni – beautiful Ghat sections through out especially the Ansukhura Ghar was breathtaking. Was a smooth drive throughout - we started at 10:30am from Fountain and were at our hotel in Anjuna by 5:30pm.


Hotel:


We stayed at the Yellow House – IHCL Seleqtions for one night in Anjuna and went for dinner to Elephant’s and was a very memorable dinner. The hotel was decent – though some rooms are in need of renovation.

Day 7: North Goa to South Goa

We woke up late, got ready and left for out hotel in South Goa – we were super excited as we would get to take our dog to a beach for the very first time.

Hotel:

We stayed at the ITC Grand Goa – we choose this hotel because it had a private access to a relatively quiet beach, so that meant limited crowd and stray dogs at the beach which equals to a lot of off leash fun for our dog. The hotel was immaculate and we hardly left the hotel any of the days other than for a meal here or there. Had an excellent 3 nights – fully enjoyed the sea and beach, and made memories of a lifetime.

Day 10: South Goa to Pune

Route taken:
With our hearts full, and with a sense of achievement – we started our journey back home. Was uneventful – followed the same route and but hit a lot of traffic in Pune and took us 11.5 hours to reach our hotel in Chakan. We started at 11:30 from South Goa and reached Chakan at 9pm.

Hotel:

Stayed at the same Courtyard by Marriott in Chakan.

Day 11: Pune to Indore

Route taken:

The trip was uneventful – followed the same route via Samrudhi Expressway and then onto Dhule followed by AB Road into Indore. Was less traffic while exiting Pune, but we were super tired by the time we reached our hotel in Indore. Took 10 hours this time, an hour less than the onward journey – we took a total of 9 hours driving time and an hour of break.

Hotel:

Stayed at the same WowCrest – IHCL Seleqtions.

Day 12: Indore to Gurgaon

Route taken:

We had planned to start early – but we woke up late and started our journey at 11am, took the same route – Ujjain Spur followed by DME till Chechat – all was smooth till here and then we hit a massive traffic build up at Mukhundra – it took us 1.5 hours to cross the 10km stretch. Once we hit Gopalpura – we got onto the DME and then the trip till home was uneventful. We reached home around 8:30 with a bag full of laundry and heart full of memories.

I drove alone throughout the trip and was extremely happy with my car – the XUV 700 is a real mile muncher and never ran out of breath – performed superbly throughout all the different terrains.

[Utopian]

Kudos to have the courage to plan this trip with your furry friend. Great to know that you were able to get pet friendly hotels along the way. I have always thought trains would be a better option for long journeys with dogs, albeit your way is more flexible and fun.

Also curious to know on how were you able to manage at Ujjain with your dog?

[Sa!lor]

Great to see you planned a road trip for your fur baby.

Me and my wife are also planning road trip with our dog to Goa from Gujarat by this year end and your travelogue will be helpful in planning.

I am particularly looking for an accomodation in South Goa with private beach access so that my dog can have some leash free fun on the beach.

[rajorshiroy84]

Thank you for sharing your travel experience. Am curious about the mileage which you got from the XUV 700 petrol AT!

[arsh9191]

Originally Posted by Utopian

Also curious to know on how were you able to manage at Ujjain with your dog?

Our dog is extremely calm and is used to staying alone for a few hours - so we had left him at the hotel, while we went for darshan.

[arsh9191]

Originally Posted by Sa!lor

.
I am particularly looking for an accomodation in South Goa with private beach access so that my dog can have some leash free fun on the beach.

We stayed at ITC Grand in south Goa - the hotel has excellent beach access and beach can almost be considered private - very less crowd and dogs can have a lot of fun there. Though there are couple of more pet friendly properties in South Goa that have private access - but nothing better than ITC Grand.

[arsh9191]

Originally Posted by rajorshiroy84

Thank you for sharing your travel experience. Am curious about the mileage which you got from the XUV 700 petrol AT!

The overall average for the full trip was around 9.5km/litre. Used XP95 throughout the trip.

[Rony2207]

Originally Posted by Sa!lor

Great to see you planned a road trip for your fur baby.

Me and my wife are also planning road trip with our dog to Goa from Gujarat by this year end and your travelogue will be helpful in planning.

I am particularly looking for an accomodation in South Goa with private beach access so that my dog can have some leash free fun on the beach.

There are lots of AirBnB options available in South Goa, near to beach. We usually go for AirBnb as it gives more space for our Zazu (labrador) to stretch his legs and run around. Look for AirBnB which are closer to the beach. You will have the option to prepare homecooked food for your pet as well which is usually better.

[Sa!lor]

Originally Posted by Rony2207

There are lots of AirBnB options available in South Goa, near to beach. We usually go for AirBnb as it gives more space for our Zazu (labrador) to stretch his legs and run around. Look for AirBnB which are closer to the beach. You will have the option to prepare homecooked food for your pet as well which is usually better.

Thanks a lot, we have kept both options open of hotel as well as Airbnb, from my previous experiences during our trip to Himachal with our dog, Airbnb was convenient as we had the entire place to ourselves and my dog being reactive to new place and new people we have to be careful about his interactions with unknown people so that way Airbnb certainly helps.

[am1m]

Sweet! How does your dog remain calm during car rides? Have you been taking him on trips since he was a puppy? One dog that we had used to be absolutely traumatized by any kind of car ride. One was too hyper to sit quietly in the car. There was no way we could even think about a road trip with either. How did you train your dog? Or is it just a matter of different dogs, different temperaments?

Also, for the forum, I really don't think any beach in Goa has 'private access'. There might be a private entrance to the beach from within the resort, but no one can stop anyone from using the beach and gaining access to the beach from other paths. I've run on that specific beach in front of the ITC Grand several times when I was staying long term in Goa nearby.

[arsh9191]

Originally Posted by am1m

How did you train your dog? Or is it just a matter of different dogs, different temperaments?

Also, for the forum, I really don't think any beach in Goa has 'private access'. T.

Yes, we have been travelling with him for a very long time, and he loves car rides. Its usually based on temperament of dogs, but it helps if you introduce car rides to them since their early age.

These hotels have "private access" not "private beaches". The beaches can be accessed by other people as well - but this specific beach hardly has any other visitors, and i could only see 1 shack on the complete stretch - which was also very far way from the hotel.

[Sa!lor]

Originally Posted by am1m

Sweet! How does your dog remain calm during car rides? Have you been taking him on trips since he was a puppy? One dog that we had used to be absolutely traumatized by any kind of car ride. One was too hyper to sit quietly in the car. There was no way we could even think about a road trip with either. How did you train your dog? Or is it just a matter of different dogs, different temperaments?

As you said different dogs do have different personalities similar to humans and it also helps if the dog has been going on trips since puppy stage to get accustomed to the road trips, some dogs are ok on road trips if given anti-anxiety pills.

On the other hand my dog demands car drives on daily basis, I pick up the car key and he is already waiting near the car door ready for the ride.

We have taken our dog from Gujarat to Himachal till Kalpa on road trip and he was very comfortable throughout, now thanks to this travelogue my itch to take my dog to Goa has begun and I am planning a Konkan as well as Goa beach road trip by this year end.

[arsh9191]

Originally Posted by Sa!lor

We have taken our dog from Gujarat to Himachal till Kalpa on road trip and he was very comfortable throughout, now thanks to this travelogue my itch to take my dog to Goa has begun and I am planning a Konkan as well as Goa beach road trip by this year end.

I am happy that my travelogue is inspiring people to normalize taking road trips with their pets, and that will help a lot of tourist places become pet friendly.

[Sa!lor]

Originally Posted by arsh9191

I am happy that my travelogue is inspiring people to normalize taking road trips with their pets, and that will help a lot of tourist places become pet friendly.

Yes indeed and now I regret not writing a travelogue of my road trip from Gujarat to Narkanda and Kalpa with our dog 2 years back, it might have helped others to plan but I will surely write a travelogue of my upcoming trip, actually me and my wife were planning a trip to Goa with our dog since some time now and your travelogue just made us finalise it along with some beaches in Konkan.

I shared your travelogue with my entire family.

I just wish Mumbai Goa highway gets completed before our trip or else I may have to take similar route as yours from Pune onwards.

I really hope we get more pet friendly options in India, Airbnb certainly helps but if more hotels and resorts become pet friendly it will be such a convenience travelling with our fur babies.