[Scorpion_Vista]

Originally Posted by pareshraheja

@scorpion- yes man, the bus will go via Karwar. It is Paulo Sleeper Volvo.
have been to Colva on my holiday trip. Nice place but, this time it is purely business and so have to be as close as possible to my meeting place.

As I mentioned earlier, the meeting is at Cavelossim Salcete and bus will pass by Cuncolim so, any hotel between the two will be gr8

Ok Mate here is the information,

I checked with my friend who owns his own hotel at Heart of Margao. I explained your exact requirement, he then suggested that there are a lot of Hotels in Cavelossim itself. He recommended 2 places :

- Veeniola Holiday Home
- Colonia Jose Menino

Besides this you can visit www.booking.com and put in your criteria as search in Cavelossim to get more options. Hope you have a great stay

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pareshraheja

@scorpion- yes man, the bus will go via Karwar. It is Paulo Sleeper Volvo.
have been to Colva on my holiday trip. Nice place but, this time it is purely business and so have to be as close as possible to my meeting place.

South Goa is mostly resorts along the beach line. Budget hotels; as @scorpion said would be only available towards the main town regions. Madgaon is the safest bet.

As regards to bus services, Paulo I think is one the best services to Goa from Bangalore. I think KSRTC is also good. The other ones which run mostly till Karwar only are Seabird and Sugama (this is old data. Not sure if they still have this service).

[Scorpion_Vista]

Originally Posted by ampere

South Goa is mostly resorts along the beach line. Budget hotels; as @scorpion said would be only available towards the main town regions. Madgaon is the safest bet.

As regards to bus services, Paulo I think is one the best services to Goa from Bangalore. I think KSRTC is also good. The other ones which run mostly till Karwar only are Seabird and Sugama (this is old data. Not sure if they still have this service).

Guys,

Regarding the Buses as per my experience below is the order of best service of Volvo buses from Bangalore to Goa:

1] KSTRC Airavat
2] Seabird
3] VRL
4] Kadamba Volvo [Only 1 Volvo bus leaves from Majestic]
5] Paulo Travels
6] ShantaDurga Travels

Did hear about SRS started too, even they have a good coverage and service. Not traveled in any of their buses as they have recently started.

If you want Point to Point and on Time Journey - Its best to choose KSRTC or Seabird. At times VRL is slow since they do carry Cargo and the bus enters their Head Office at Verna - Its Frustrating while you wait for the cargo to unload for 30-45 minutes

The service of Paulo Travels is not like before, most of the times their buses break down or delays expected etc. The top 4 from my list are the best to travel in, specially the Top 3 have excellent coverage for buses all over Karnataka, in case of any breakdown immediate help or replacement of bus is just round the corner.

Volvo buses take approximately 11-13 Hours to reach Goa. Also, remember all buses take different routes to Goa, so do remember to check your actual destination without fail Buses will usually go to Margao, Panjim. Very few will have drop facility to Mapusa and Vasco.

[pareshraheja]

I agree with Scorpion. Paulo sucked big time. How I wish Scorpion had mentioned this couple of days ago. My experience with Paulo sleeper Volvo is as follows:

First, they sell blankets on board for INR 70. Also, these blankets are not sufficient to cover your body. Nothing is mentioned about this during booking

Next, the a/c temp is fixed at 18 Deg C and cannot be increased. as per the driver, it can only be lowered but can't be set higher than 18 as the settings are locked. You are sure to freeze to death with out a blanket.

Further, they are always late, minimum by an hour or so. This confirmed by the agent shop which serves as a pick up point.

The driver suddenly goes bizark and drives like a maniac in the ghats. You are sure to fall of your birth if you ain't holding the safety railing. You can forget about having a peaceful sleep.

Lastly, have traveled by all possible sleeper buses, A/c- volvo's and non volvo's but, haven't seen such poor space management as utilized by Paulo.

Sincere advice - avoid PAULO TRAVELS

Cheers

[ArjunVS]

Good Morning People,

Just back from a week in Goa (benaulim) and I would like to second @Scorpion and add a few elements to the route:

1. Contrary to my normal route Bangalore > Bankapur > Yellapur > Ankola > Goa, we took the route Bangalore > Dharwad > Rampur > Ponda > Benaulim.

2. The route was EXCELLENT, and the stretch from Dharwad to Goa rivals the Hubli to Ankola. If anyone had apprehensions on it - set them aside. The asphalt is new, there are no bumps and the only bad stretches are a few hundred meters before and after 2 railway overpasses.

3. We drive a Scorpio, and we left Bangalore at 0415 and were in Mollem (Toll plaza) at 1045, while on the return we left Benaulim at 0615 and were at the Trident at 1430.

4. We did not top 120Kmph, and had some heavy rain coming up the Anmod Ghat on the return. The drive was on Saturday both ways so light traffic on the highway but a LOT around Yeshwantpur to Mekri circle.

5. On the aspect of the diversions on the Tumkur - Chitradurga section, there are only 6 that are still active, and the rest are complete, with the route being 6 lanes now most of the way. Of these 6, I believe 2-3 should open in the next few months.

6. A word of note however, is the atrocious road construction between the Anmot checkpost to the ghat section slope. There has been no camber provided to the road, and no proper drainage to the berms. as a result the rain water was flowing on the road and the joins on each carraige are already beginning to erode. A shame really because this is near flat ground and not a big deal with the most basic engineering and road building basics.

7. Of note to everyone - is that beach shacks begin to wind-down as from the 15th May, but MUST be off the beach (along with all water sports) by the 31st May.

Enjoy !

Arjun

Originally Posted by Scorpion_Vista

Hi BHPians,

I am originally from Vasco, Goa. One of the better routes from Vasco to Bangalore is here. The last I traveled was sometime in March 2013. The roads are fantastic.

Left Vasco in the morning at 5:00 AM, reached Belgaum at 8:00, Stopped for Breakfast at Hotel Ramdev for some 30-45 mins, Hit the Highway again, reached Hubli By-Pass around 10:30 AM and touched Bangalore at 2:30 PM in the afternoon.

Places to watch out while driving:

1. Watch out for speeding Tipper Trucks, specially while overtaking and on sharp turns starting from Banastarim upto Chorla Ghat gets over upto Kankumbi.
2. Stretch after Chorla Ghat -> Kankumbi -> Jamboti and Machhe straight, broad roads -> Piranwadi Lots of cattle roadside. Be careful.
3. Once you reach the Highway of course you can cruise along
4. Near Chitradurga there are quiet a few diversions involving braking at high speeds, watch out.

Here is the route:
Vasco -> Chicalim -> Cortalim Junction: Take Left -> Agacaim -> Carambolim Railway Station -> Karmali Station Road -> Banastarim -> Marcela -> Amona Cable Wire Bridge -> Sanquelim -> Chorla Ghat -> Kankumbi -> Jamboti -> Machhe -> Piranwadi -> Udyambag -> At Tilakwadi 3rd Gate cross drive towards Left -> Tilakwadi 2nd Gate continue on straight -> Tilakwadi 1st Gate continue straight on -> Gotge Circle take a Left -> Bogarves Circle take a Left -> Rani Chennamma Statue take a Left -> Hotel Ramdev (Remember to buy Belgaum's Speciality - Kunda, And this place is fantastic for Breakfast and Tea, just loved their Kesri Bath) -> Dharamnath Chowk -> Hit AH 47 -> Dharwad By-Pass -> Hubli By-Pass -> Bankapur -> Haveri -> Ranebennur -> Harihar -> Davangere -> Chitradurga -> Hiriyur -> Sira -> Tumkur -> Bangalore

Even if your located at Panjim, you can take the Ribandar -> Old Goa -> Banastarim and continue from top route.

If your located at Mapusa then Tivim -> Assonora -> Bicholim -> Sanquelim -> Chorla Ghat and continue from top route.

From Margao, there are other routes and I would prefer the Margao -> Cucolim -> Canacona -> Karwar -> Ankola -> Visit Kamat Upachar Hotel for Breakfast -> Yellapur -> Kalghatgi -> Hubli By-Pass -> Bankapur -> Haveri and follow the above route.

Please be very ALERT while driving this stretch from Ankola to Hulbi By-Pass and vice-versa. A Lot of accidents take place on this route since it involves a lot of straight roads and sudden curves.

Safe driving Folks

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ArjunVS

2. The route was EXCELLENT, and the stretch from Dharwad to Goa rivals the Hubli to Ankola. If anyone had apprehensions on it - set them aside. The asphalt is new, there are no bumps and the only bad stretches are a few hundred meters before and after 2 railway overpasses.

So looks like Ponda ghat roads have also improved. Did you mean Rampur or Ramnagar? If Ramnagar, I suppose you took the Alnavar route? I have read even Dharwad-Alnavar is now very good.

[ArjunVS]

Pardon my error - it is the Alnavar road and it is Ramnagar and nor Rampur.

I second @Scorpio's note of caution on the Yellapur - Ankola route, and there is one curve in particular just 7-8 Km short of Ankola where there is perpetually an overturned vehicle.

the road is straight and true, you go up to 70, 80, and all of a sudden you are at a sharp curve, and it goes into a descent.

On a trip in 2006 it had been raining, I was too fast, did not notice the curve, my scorpio hit the gravel, and as I hit the brakes, they dug in and the rear went down the road with us just passengers.

Lucky we went across the road into the hillside and not off-the-road and into the valley below.

Phew !

[rajivtelang]

Hi Guys,

Need to visit south Goa next week for some urgent reason. Reading through all responses gives a hint that the road via Dharwad-Alnawar-Ponda is the best choice. Could somebody please let me know where to leave NH-4 and take left from Dharwad for Alnawar? And is this road straight from Dharwad or do I need frequent asks? I usually take Hubli-Ankola but that is a bit longer. I will be driving in Estilo.
Thanks in advance.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Hi Guys,

Need to visit south Goa next week for some urgent reason. Reading through all responses gives a hint that the road via Dharwad-Alnawar-Ponda is the best choice. Could somebody please let me know where to leave NH-4 and take left from Dharwad for Alnawar? And is this road straight from Dharwad or do I need frequent asks? I usually take Hubli-Ankola but that is a bit longer. I will be driving in Estilo.
Thanks in advance.

Question is where in south Goa ? Because NH4A via Ponda takes you north of Madgaon. But yes, if Ponda road is good, its worth taking.

How to Access Alnavar road?

- Go to Hubli and take the bypass
- First you see the Ankola exit. And further you would find exit for Goa. Thats the Alnavar road.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by ampere

Question is where in south Goa ?

Thanks Ampere. I am going to Quepem. After entering Goa frpm Londa (Near new checkpost where they started for the new entry tax/fee), there is a petrol pump and a small road after that takes one to Kudchadem and that is the road I will take.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Thanks Ampere. I am going to Quepem. After entering Goa frpm Londa (Near new checkpost where they started for the new entry tax/fee), there is a petrol pump and a small road after that takes one to Kudchadem and that is the road I will take.

The NH4A has been patched up and should be ok for you to take now during daytime.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

Thanks Ampere. I am going to Quepem. After entering Goa frpm Londa (Near new checkpost where they started for the new entry tax/fee), there is a petrol pump and a small road after that takes one to Kudchadem and that is the road I will take.

If you are coming from Dharwad via Alnavar, you dont hit Londa. Is it not?

Since I dont know where is exactly "Quepem", I checked in Google. I see a road which gets off Mollem and leads to Quepem. Is that what are you planning to do?]
As Ranjit said, NH4A is pretty decent. Good for a day drive for sure.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you are coming from Dharwad via Alnavar, you dont hit Londa. Is it not?

Right,the Alnavar road joins the NH4A at Ramnagar

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Right,the Alnavar road joins the NH4A at Ramnagar

Thats what I thought too. Londa was a "hangout" place for me quite some years back; waiting to catch the train! Have quite many fond memories of that place.

Thats why was surprised to see that comment.

A trivia: Before Londa-Castle Rock-Vaso route was OKayed by the govt from a safety point of view Goa bound trains were diverted to Hubli. as that was the only station which had a yard for cleaning!

[rajivtelang]

Thanks everybody. How is the condition of Hubli-Ankola road currently in rainy season? Need to suggest to a friend who is coming from Ankola.