[Maverick5490]

Originally Posted by RandomExplorer

I am planning to travel to South Goa from Mulund. Plan to go via Imagica - Pali - all the way on NH66 till Sangameshwar; detour via Devrukh-Sakharpa and rejoin NH66 at Watul onwards thereafter to South Goa. Any suggestions/views about this route?

I took the same route last Saturday, starting from Thane. I left at 4 am to avoid the morning traffic. Was in North Goa by 1.30 pm where we stopped for Lunch.

The roads are lovely, no traffic on NH66, No tolls (Always keep on the left most lane when a toll approaches as only the last lanes are open).

Clean restrooms and decent restaurants are hard to find and watchout for those flyover intersection joints as there are a few nasty ones to give you a hard jolt.

Have posted my experience here on the Jimny thread:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...ny-review.html (Maruti Jimny Review)


While returning on Thursday (17th April) left Anjuna at 9 am, taking the same route as per Gmaps, took a lunch halt at Hotel Abhishek, Chiplun https://maps.app.goo.gl/tsXkvz8FCVGhKzQ67 (Must try if you are a Non-vegetarian) small place, lots of parking and usually busy. Managed to reach Thane by 7.30 pm with a couple of halts via Imagica - Kamothe - Mumbra Bypass - Thane to avoid the evening rush hour on Thane Belapur road.

[suzuki san]

Hi Guys,

The last time I used this NH17 (old name) road was probably about 20 to 25 years ago. We stopped using it because of the terrible condition it was in and, of course, because the Bombay Poona Expressway was now fully functional with a decent road to Kolhapur, Nipani, Amboli Ghat and on to Goa.

After seeing all the recent social media posts about this highway being ready in 2 months, I decided to drive from Goa to Bombay via NH66. What a terrible, terrible mistake this was.

The initial part of the journey was O.K. From Mapuca till Oni and a little beyond the road was good. However, soon after that the nightmare starts. I guess from before Hathkamba till Lanja is when the road conditions deteriorate drastically and I almost did a U turn to go back and cross the Anuskura ghat but then after a few Kms of okayish roads we decided to continue. Big, big mistake.

The road goes from bad to worse and then to horrible.

There are diversions literally every couple of hundred metres. This means that you have to cross over from one side of the highway to the other and then back again over and over again. Needless to say this means no overtaking possible.

There are numerous rumbling strips and some with a new design....rumbling strips followed by a nasty speed breaker. Needless to say most of these are unmarked. Some of the rumblers which are marked are actually the ones you don't need to slow down for. The speed breakers should be renamed as car breakers. On the Parshuram Ghat there are at least 10 high speed breakers in a distance of about 150 metres. Overkill? You tell me.

The section of the road near Chiplun is pretty good as is the Kashedi tunnel. But right through even on good concrete roads, you are treated to a bouncy ride due to pathetic quality. Also, sadly the road is made up of different surfaces and where tarmac meets concrete there is almost always a nasty "lip" which stands proud of the surface resulting in the car slamming into them and putting your shock absorbers, tyres and wheel rims to the test. Poor, pathetic workmanship.

Most of the expansion joints on the bridges we passed over were of the same poor quality. Either they are like pot holes or pot hills.

The flyovers or bridges at Lanja and Chiplun are far from being even halfway done and the service roads are a mess with huge potholes - especially at Lanja.

Mangaon was a pain to get through as was Pen and then Panvel.

There was some mention of bypassing Sangameshwar via Devrukh in previous posts but Google never gave me that option.

Decent restaurants are almost impossible to find along the way - never mind clean toilets. Just before Rajapur there are 2 decent restaurants on the left side of the road. Stop there and stock up.

Most of the way you are driving through a cloud of red dust especially where work is in progress. This leaves your car covered in dust and looking like you have just done the Dakar Rally. Actually, the Dakar Rally is probably easier as one would be well equipped for it.

I was driving a WagonR and I will definitely NOT be using this road again in a hurry. I will return to Goa via Poona and Karad and Anuskura Ghat.

Lastly, do not even think of driving on this road at night unless you have some laser type head lights. You will be asking for trouble.

The only positives on this road are no tolls (yet) and relatively lesser traffic.

There are some people who claim that one will eventually be able to do Bombay to Goa in 6 hours on this road. I really hope that I am still alive to see that but looking at the condition of NH66 today, I doubt it very much. This road ready by June 2025.....dream on!!! Maybe June 2027.

Regards,
SS

[Rolwynj]

You could have easily skipped the Lanja - Sangameshwar section of the road that's 90% bad. Even maps shows Watul - Sakarpha - Devrukh - Sangameshwar to skip this patch. The road here is narrow though but with no pothole ridden roads for most of the route.

[4wheeldrive]

Originally Posted by suzuki san

Hi Guys,

What a terrible, terrible mistake this was.

SS

Ouch! I am going from Mumbai to (North) Goa on Sunday, 27th April and planning to take NH66 (fka NH17). I'm driving a Fortuner so slightly less concerned about sudden bumps although extended bad roads will certainly raise more complaints from the family.

The last time I ran this route was in August 2024 to South Goa and that was a 9 hour drive. Route was Atal Setu - Kharpada - Nagothane, onwards till Chiplun, detour via Sangmeshwar-Sakharpa and onwards to Benaulim. The kharpada to Nagothane stretch was poor and continues to be iffy. Also Google shows roadworks between Atal Setu and Kharpada which is a narrow stretch to start with and has extensive truck traffic from JNPA.

So this time planning Atal Setu - Pune Expressway - Imagica - Pali - NH66 and onwards to Aguada. The Khopoli-Pali road is a 2 lane concrete stretch with near zero potholes and one I drive fairly regularly. Expecting no time penalty due to the detour although distance increases slightly.
Considering the time spent driving from Porvorim to Benaulim last time, expecting this to be around an 8 hour run, starting around 4 am.

Past experiences going via Pune and Kolhapur have not been great with total times stretching past 11 hours so going to avoid.

Will post experience, along with dashcam images / clips if possible.

[Ne0N]

Originally Posted by 4wheeldrive

Will post experience, along with dashcam images / clips if possible.

Hi 4WheelDrive, could you also post the rest stops and restaurants that you would use on this route. I have faced issues with finding good restaurants with clean washrooms for the women in the family to use.

Regards!
Ne0N

[NiInJa]

My dad has some business interests in Dapoli, so we do a Dapoli trip from Pune at least twice in a year in a car. Now I am not in Pune for the last 1 and half years, but I did go to Dapoli last December when I visited Pune.

Honestly, I have given up on this highway now. Once you reach Mangaon, it is the same old story since 2016 when we started frequenting this road. The Mangaon to Mahad stretch is work in progress for the longest time. The flyovers have been left half way, there is plantation grown on it now. In peak season, there are huge traffic jams which easily add an hour just to get to the turn towards Pune/Tamhini entry road. It kills the whole idea of travelling fast to reach Goa/Sindhudurg.

The best route is via Pune-Kolhapur-Sankeshwar if one starts very early in the morning. We have started at 4 AM and reached North Goa by 1 PM, with two 30 minute breaks in between and at relaxed speeds of 85-90 kmph.

[4wheeldrive]

Originally Posted by Ne0N

Hi 4WheelDrive, could you also post the rest stops and restaurants that you would use on this route. I have faced issues with finding good restaurants with clean washrooms for the women in the family to use.

Regards!
Ne0N

Absolutely. This is a key issue for us also