Bangalore - Goa - Mumbai - Udaipur - Pune - Goa & Back: Recommendations Please

[jasonblr]

Hello folks,

we are planning for a road trip. Below are some of the details

Dates - 24th April - 3rd May (coming back day can not be extended)
Co-Drivers - KD (decently seasoned on highway) and JD (newbie on highway driving)

Mission -
KD - To drive
JD - to see places and eat local food

Germinating Idea - Bangalore - Goa - Mum - Udaipur - Pune - Goa - Bangalore

Current itinerary (open to changes...and also open to totally new ideas..we even thought of doing golden quadrilateral in these 10 days thanks to excellent travelogues in TAI)

Few Questions:

1. Renting car from Zoom
a. Will Figo be comfortable for this journey
b. since ecosport, scorpio and safari are all same price what should be our choice based on the following criteria good cruising ability, body comfort, less chances of breakdowns/ ease of repairs and ease of driving
c. Looks like booking for exact days and paying for over and above kms be costlier than booking it for extra days (instead of 10 days book for 15 days and keep the car parked till the start of journey)
d. any idea, if there is a break down say in Mum, Ahm, or Rajasthan..will zoom be able to help? The whole idea of taking zoom is to avoid the hassle of coordinating the towing etc. ourselves
e. state road tax will need to be paid how do we know where to stop? any landmarks? tell-tale signs

2. Route query -

24 April - Blr - Goa - 550 kms
25 April - Goa - Mum - 600 kms
26 April - Stay in Mum
27 April - Stay in mum
28 Apr - Mum - Udaipur 769 kms (doable?)
29 April - stay in udaipur
30 April - stay in udaipur
1 may - udaipur - pune 899 kms (doable?)
2 May - Pune - Goa 444 kms
3 May - Goa - Blr - 550 kms


Major questions on routes for which we need your expert advise

a. does this seem doable especially mum - udaipur and udaipur - pune in 1 day
b. route suggestion please. I do see satara and kolhapur being as not so good road. any shortcuts, bypasses, roads to avoid?
c. Accomodation info (decent ones, not very expensive...good bed and bathroom thats all)
d. Eating places (i am looking forward to all the highway food - dal tadka and tandoori roti)
e. Places to see in Mumbai and Udaipur. While i have some ideas on it but i want to know from you guys the few places not to miss
f. Petrol pumps - preferred and avoidable ones..the strecthes where we may not find pumps?
g. the small yet significant things - like adding a yellow tape to the headlights while in gujarat, any other such things?

 

[kukku_k]

Hi Jasonblr,

I cannot comment on first part of your query.
But ya I recently(in feb) did Mumbai - Jaipur - Udaipur - Mumbai.

#a - Mumbai - Udaipur is very much doable and normally takes 11-12 hrs, roads are very good, try taking Vadodara - Halol - Godhra - Modasa - Samalaji, excellent road and can maintain good speed, this will bypass Ahmedabad and save some good amount of time 30min - 1 hr.

Goa to Mumbai/Pune avoid taking NH17. Better take Goa - Sawantwadi - Amboli - Ajara - Gadhinglaj - Sankeshwar - Kolhapur - Pune - Mumbai. Most of the road is in good condition and a divided highway.

Keep lot of change(also coins) for toll.

In Udaipur better rent a rick (approx Rs 500) for a day to show you around, roads are very narrow and to avoid pain of parking. Try roof top restaurants in night to get very nice view of lake and palace.

While going back you can do Pune/Mumbai - Banglore in a day no need to take stop at Goa.

 

[konkantrip]

Nice itenary butfew questions

1) Why are you going to goa if you are not halting there.
2) You can also opt for Goa - Mumbai NH - 17 ( Now NH 66) highway as it is great highway to drive and you can explore coastal Maharashtra as well.
3) Why don't you split the halt one day in mumbai and 1 day in goa
4) Is summers best time to visit Jaipur

.

 

[smooth rider]

do you need to go via goa if not staying there. blr - pune - mumbai would be better and faster than NH 17.
how many travellers on board ?
can do the circuit in figo but would be more comfortable in safari - scorpio - ecosport ( in decreasing order of comfort )
have done mumbai - udaipur in 12 hours plus in a bolero storm.
i didn't understand your query regarding road taxes ? please elaborate.

 

[jasonblr]

i didn't understand your query regarding road taxes ? please elaborate.

Thank you for the thoughts. The query on state tax is since we are planning to take Zoomcar (it becomes a commercial vehicle) so each state we enter, we will need to get the state tax paid (Zoom says it will reimburse this). Hence the query.

Nice itenary butfew questions

1) Why are you going to goa if you are not halting there.
2) You can also opt for Goa - Mumbai NH - 17 ( Now NH 66) highway as it is great highway to drive and you can explore coastal Maharashtra as well.
3) Why don't you split the halt one day in mumbai and 1 day in goa
4) Is summers best time to visit Jaipur

.

Responses
1. plan was to do a day trip - but thinking again.
2 & 3. That's a nice suggestion. Thank you.
4. Summer is supposed to be a good time right ? or does it become super hot in the day?

 

[konkantrip]

Responses
1. plan was to do a day trip - but thinking again.

If you are not going to stay in goa I would suggest to stay in mahableshwar as it it is a hill station near pune and you go BLR - Mahableshwar ( Stay here ) - Mumbai

Responses
4. Summer is supposed to be a good time right ? or does it become super hot in the day?

December is the best time to visit Rajasthan it will be very hot out there. One more suggestion I have heared Drivers in Rajasthan are very rash so avoid night driving in this section

 

[smooth rider]

jasonblr regarding road taxes i don't know.summer would be really hot in rajasthan, winter is the best time to visit.
konkantrip i have done several night trips in rajasthan at night. the truck drivers at night are very good they dim the lights for you and give way at the the first chance. it was very safe for me through out.