[ampere]

Originally Posted by ozzyrules

Thanks guys! Guess the preferred option then is to reach Hubli for the overnight stay. Have to ensure to start from Bangalore latest by 1 pm.

Clarks Inn is the best place in Hubli. Its also closer to the Ankola Road.

[ranjitp1]

Just for information sakes the gateway by taj at hubli is the old naveen hotel but refurbished and renovated now and is super excellent now

[kannan666]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Just for information sakes the gateway by taj at hubli is the old naveen hotel but refurbished and renovated now and is super excellent now

Does that mean that the old Naveen Hotel has been taken over by the Taj Group or has Hotel Naven relocated itself in Hubli ?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by kannan666

Does that mean that the old Naveen Hotel has been taken over by the Taj Group or has Hotel Naven relocated itself in Hubli ?

Its just a takeover of the existing property

[ArjunVS]

Hi Folks,

Just back from a 4 day trip to Goa and would like to advise you of the transit:

Outward: left at 0420, took the Bankapur-Yellapur-Ankola-Goa route and was at karwar at 1100, Madgao at 1230 but did not reach Candolim till 1430. Traffic in Goa does crawl on that section.

the stretch between Tumkur and Critradurg is a dream, while there is a 'poor" section prior to Mundgot, but the forest section Mundgod-Yellapur is excellent as is Yellapur-Ankola-karwar-Goa.

Inward: Left at 0650 on Sunday, and took the Ponda-Ramnagar-Dharwad bypas route. The ghat section from Mollem to the barrier is excellent and newly relaid, but the section in karnataka to Ramgadar is an unqualified disaster. Ramnagar to Dharwad is brilliant.

Reached Bangalore at 1600 so a little over 9 hours with a couple of fuel, loo and a short food stop.

I cannot understand the state of the Anmod Ghat to ramnagar stretch as there is no heavy truck traffic, it is flat road, has adequate camber -is it just this states attitude to roads ?

If anyone is looking for a really good villa option (4 rooms) check our Lazydays.com.

[MOHAN_99]

Hello BHPians,

Would appreciate any inputs on the Kumta - Sirsi- Hangal - Haveri route from Goa to Bangalore.
Any recent experience on that section ?

Thanks & regards,
Mohan.

[bsdbsd]

Originally Posted by Mr_Bean

....

The car (baleno) was written off owing to high repair cost (power steering, suspension, bumper, windsheild. I knew it would never be back to his pristine condition.

I regret taking the wrong route in the first place. Now that it is all over, I want to drive again to Goa to wipe off my bad memories.

Mr Bean, none of my/our business, but just curious. Did you ever undertake the second trip? If yes, how did it go? Any new inputs Goa or road conditions?

[cooljai]

Originally Posted by ArjunVS

If anyone is looking for a really good villa option (4 rooms) check our Lazydays.com.

Think the link should be Lazydays.in. The Lazydays.com takes you to the website of a RV manufacturer in the US.
How much was the rental for the villa?
Do you have any pictures of the actual location?

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by ArjunVS

Outward: left at 0420, took the Bankapur-Yellapur-Ankola-Goa route and was at karwar at 1100, Madgao at 1230 but did not reach Candolim till 1430. Traffic in Goa does crawl on that section.

Based on a recent experience, I suggest that if going to North Goa, Bangalore-Belgaum-Goa via Chorla is a better option, avoiding the time it takes to travel from Karwar to North Goa.
PS: This may make more sense going back as we did, passing through Belgaum very early, before the city and its traffic woke up.

[ArjunVS]

Originally Posted by cooljai

Think the link should be Lazydays.in. The Lazydays.com takes you to the website of a RV manufacturer in the US.
How much was the rental for the villa?
Do you have any pictures of the actual location?

Sorry about that error !! All the details - pictures and rates are on their website. Quite worth the money I would say especially if you have a group to fill the 4 bedrooms. The quality and service too is exceptional.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by MOHAN_99

Hello BHPians,

Would appreciate any inputs on the Kumta - Sirsi- Hangal - Haveri route from Goa to Bangalore.

Last heard it was not all that great. The other option:

Sirsi-Banavasi-Soraba-Hirekerur-Ranebennur.

Check with @condor. He was on this sector quite recently.

[condor]

Originally Posted by MOHAN_99

Would appreciate any inputs on the Kumta - Sirsi- Hangal - Haveri route from Goa to Bangalore.

@Mohan,
inputs I got recently were not encouraging, Hence would not suggest that route at this time. Unless you have a specific need to travel from Kumta to Sirsi, please stick to Ankola-Hubli.

Also do not take Yellapur - Mundgod - Bankapur short-cut

Your other option is to come via Sagar, but it's a 2 lane, compared to the divided 4/6 lane NH-4

Personally, I have recently done Sirsi-Haveri. I took about 2.5 hours for 80km, though some sections were good. Note that 80km is what we do in 1 hour on the highway, even if you stop at a couple of toll-booths. But the same distance took me 2.5 hours.

[MOHAN_99]

@Amp & @Condor, many thanks for your inputs.

The proposed out-bound route (Bangalore to Goa) is via Chitradurga, Channagiri, & Shimoga (night halt), and onward to Goa after a brief (and first) visit to Jog falls. (even if there's just a trickle of water).

Since my usual policy is to avoid back-tracking as much as possible, the return route planned is via Molem - Ramnagar - Dharwad. My vehicle is a Tata Safari 2.2 VTT. Please do come in with any comments on the above, and oblige.

My usual starting time, out-bound or in-bound, is about 12.00 noon irrespective of traffic density etc. I am driving long-haul for over 28 years now, and old habits are hard to change.

Thanks & regards,

Mohan.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by MOHAN_99

The proposed out-bound route (Bangalore to Goa) is via Chitradurga, Channagiri, & Shimoga (night halt), and onward to Goa after a brief (and first) visit to Jog falls. (even if there's just a trickle of water).

Jog is 80km beyond Shimoga on the 206. So how do you plan to visit the falls first while going and then come back to Shimoga for a stay? That does not make sense to me. Unless I am missing something.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by MOHAN_99

The proposed out-bound route (Bangalore to Goa) is via Chitradurga, Channagiri, & Shimoga (night halt), and onward to Goa after a brief (and first) visit to Jog falls. (even if there's just a trickle of water).

Since my usual policy is to avoid back-tracking as much as possible, the return route planned is via Molem - Ramnagar - Dharwad. My vehicle is a Tata Safari 2.2 VTT. Please do come in with any comments on the above, and oblige.

As Amp has mentioned you will be back-tracking Shimoga-Jog route with this plan since Jog is on the Shimoga-Sagar (towards Karwar) route and you will be returning back to Shimoga for your night halt. If you have children traveling with you can also include the Tyavarekoppa Lion & Tiger Safari which is on the same route about 10-12 Km from Shimoga.