Pune To Goa Road Trip

[Supercharger]

Hello Everybody,
I am Planing a trip to Goa for the first time With my Grand i10. Can you guys let me know which will be the best route to take. I will also need expert's advice of driving and all kind of useful tips. We can also discuss the Pune to Goa Road trips over here which will help me a lot. I am planing to take the Pune - Kolhapur - Sankeshwar - Ajra - Sawantwadi - Goa route.

 

[GrandRk]

Hi Supercahrger,

I just popped in to say you Best of luck for this trip. I am also planning to do this trip in my Grandi10. Hope to see detailed travelogue focusing on Grandi10 behavior in the trip.

 

[konkantrip]

Hello Super charger this is the best route. Start early morning by 5 am from pune you will reach Nippani - Sankeshwar at around 9 am if you drive constantly at 80 kmph. Have breakfast there take a right towards Amboli and you will reach Goa by lunch.

Tips
1) Keep a lot of change ( cash ) as there are around 6 to 7 tolls you will encounter and giving them the exact change will save your time
2) Carry some extra water as climate after Sawantwadi becomes humid.
3) Start early from Pune so that you can cover more distance in please climate and you can cover some very scenery shots after satara.
4) Fill only fuel required till Goa as Petrol and Diesel is cheap in Goa. Also on your return journey make your tank full in Goa itself.

 

[Supercharger]

Thanks a lot GrandRK and Kokantrip. Very useful information given by you Kokantrip, I will surely follow the same.

 

[Supercharger]

Anything more guys, the trip day is approaching!

 

[dina3355]

the best route to Goa would be from pune strata kolhapur belgaum via chorla ghat to Goa ghat is of many sharp turns but quality road ajra road is worse lot of traffic also amboli ghat has big pot holes . and yes welcome to goa .. enjoy Goa do visit ritaz hotel in betim has best fish to offer at affordable rate .

 

[kinshuk.arya]

Take the Pune-Belgaum-CHorla ghat-Panjim route.

that is the best Sawantwadi and Amboli routes both have pot holes and not that good with single lane highway for around 150 km with heavy traffic.

 

[Supercharger]

the best route to Goa would be from pune strata kolhapur belgaum via chorla ghat to Goa ghat is of many sharp turns but quality road ajra road is worse lot of traffic also amboli ghat has big pot holes . and yes welcome to goa .. enjoy Goa do visit ritaz hotel in betim has best fish to offer at affordable rate .

Thanks for your suggestion dina3355. I have a doubt in my mind regarding chorla route. Everybody says that chorla road is in good condition but the road is very narrow and heavy vehicles drive recklessly while comming down because which there is no space left for the smaller vehicles. Because of which it becomes very dangerous. What are your thought on this?

 

[kinshuk.arya]

I have been travelling on the Chorla ghat route from the past 5 years, and have been to Goa from Pune around 4 times, taking the CHorla ghat route 3 times. Heavy vehicular traffic is a fraction of what you will encounter on the sawantwadi route and the road is actually wider than NH17 ie. the Mumbai - Goa highway.

Plus on Mumbai goa route the taxi traffic is higher than the chorla ghat route with taxi drivers being more of rash drivers than the truck drivers.

 

[dina3355]

i am from Goa and i travel to belgaum at lest once a month . chorla ghat is narrow but way better then sawantwadi amboli ghat . if u reach belgaum by 6 by evening avoid chorla ghat and stay at belgaum as chorla ghat is unsafe as local people attack cars traveling in morning is good .

 

[smooth rider]

dina3355 you mean to say that people simply attack vehicles with out any reason or they cause damage to vehicles involved in accidents with locals ??

 

[konkantrip]

dina3355 you mean to say that people simply attack vehicles with out any reason or they cause damage to vehicles involved in accidents with locals ??

I am not sure about the reason but yes its advisible to avoid this roads at night. I was once in Nippani at 3 AM from where I had to take the right towards Amboli. I inquired about the Road to the local hotelier he also said dont travel in the night

 

[Supercharger]

Most of the state highways and ghats are not safe to travel at night even in Maharashtra. There are many possible dangers like wild animals, thieves and the biggest problem of vehicle breakdown or puncture.

 

[hemantp]

Whichever option, do start very early (say 4 am) to reach at lunch time, I think there is some work going at Khambatki ghat and your aim should be to reach exit of NH4 as early as possible and then give around 3-5 hours to reach Goa (depending upon exit point).
1) Chorla route is a good option considering it is a scenic route and road quality is lot better but with disadvantages such as being stuffed with trucks, buses particularly in narrow patches. Remember to fill up fuel before leaving Belgaum.

One more drawback is one has to go through Belgaum traffic particularly if you miss left tun to touch the "ring road" (or bypass road don't remember what it is called).

Still as I said, depending upon the place where you want to go in Goa (e.g., Ponda, Sanqelim, Amona, Marcel etc) this will be a good option.

This should be around 3-4 hrs after existing NH4.

2) Amboli route is standard choice and in my opinion the safest option when not raining. Though it is patchy once you leave NH4 and till the time joining NH17. I have heard the potholes are filled / being filled but not sure abt the status. This route is particularly preferable when one wants to go to Pernem or even Mapusa.

I had also taken Kumbharli ghat route (after Satara) once but wouldn't recommend in this case. There is Amba route option too but not sure about road conditions and will anyway be crowded.

This route could take around 4-5 hrs after existing NH4.

Just for completeness, I would also add Kolhapur - Gagan Bawda (karul Ghat) route which last time I visited was BADLY pot holed (4 years back) and I was told it has mostly been like that. But the ghat itself is scenic and different - "spread out" - compared to other ghats.

Btw, can anybody comment on Khanapur (NH4A) option? I think that will be shortest route but last time I drove (3 yrs back) it was the WORST route (this route allows us to stay on NH4 for maximum distance!).

 

[Supercharger]

Thanks a lot hemantp but this creates a lot of confusion in my head as which route to opt as there are many pros and cons of each route.