[ampere]

Originally Posted by Sanjubose

Ampere, your routes have always helped a lot. For me especially in case of pondicherry. Am travelling to Candolim on 2nd Oct. Shall I take Belgaum-Chorla or you suggest via Karwar? Starting at 5 from bangalore with car full of adults and kids.

Chorla without doubt in case you are visiting Candolim.
Hubli-Belgaum-Jambotti-Chorla-Mapusa-Candolim

[rex_varghese]

Originally Posted by ampere

No I meant the difference as an answer to Rajshree's post. Varca is south Goa. So Chorla does not make sense. For south Goa the best road condition is Hubli-Ankola-Karwar-Goa. Even this road goes through ghats. But the roads are so good that you wont feel the ghats at all.

But now the Dharwad-Alnavar road is very good. But there one its lots of twisty roads.

Thanks, ampere.

I hope NH-17 is in good condition currently. My experience, couple of years back, between Honnavar and Gokarna was not good. And, two years back between Mangalore and Ullal was a nightmare.

What are the food options we have on the Hubli-Dharwad-Alnavar stretch?

Regards
Rex

[mpksuhas]

Does anyone have information about this stretch of road .

Was thinking of a trip to Goa (Candolim) via Belgaum - Jambotti - Chorla , however was planning of stopping near Church of St Augustine's ruins and proceeding to Candolim via Panjim.

Other option was to take Dharwad - Molem - Ponda road. However last time when I travelled through that route , road condition was bad around Anmod.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by rex_varghese

I hope NH-17 is in good condition currently.

I drove on NH17 from Kundapur till Chinchinim last week. There is a bad stretch of about 10 km b/w Kundapur and Bhatkal. Since you would be hitting NH17 at Ankola (assuming you take the route recommended by Ampere), it should be a non issue.

Originally Posted by rex_varghese

What are the food options we have on the Hubli-Dharwad-Alnavar stretch?

None. Your last good option would be the Kamat @ Varur, some 10 km before Hubli bypass starts (while going from Bangalore). The only other option would be to get into Hubli/Dharwad towns but you lose time.

[rex_varghese]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

None. Your last good option would be the Kamat @ Varur, some 10 km before Hubli bypass starts (while going from Bangalore). The only other option would be to get into Hubli/Dharwad towns but you lose time.

Thanks, cool_dube.

Your mention about getting into towns brought up this thought. Do all the towns on the way (Tumkur, Davengere, Ranebennur, Hubli, etc) from Bangalore have bye-passes? Do we need to get into any of these towns?

Another question. Any chance of wild life sighting on any of the above route options, during any part of the day?

Regards
Rex

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by rex_varghese

Your mention about getting into towns brought up this thought. Do all the towns on the way (Tumkur, Davengere, Ranebennur, Hubli, etc) from Bangalore have bye-passes? Do we need to get into any of these towns?

Yes, all towns are bypassed. NH4 is a delight to drive on, especially on the 6-lane stretch b/w Tumkur and Chitradurga. Beyond Chitradurga some stretches are bumpy/unenven. Also, the vistas on this route are an eye-candy given the recent rains.

Originally Posted by rex_varghese

Another question. Any chance of wild life sighting on any of the above route options, during any part of the day?

Not really as none of these routes pass through core WLS/National Parks.

[Getzzzzzzzy]

Hi,

Driving to GOA (Dona Paula) Tomorrow night from Bangalore,

Intending to take

Bangalore-Hubli-Alnavar-Khanapur-Chorla-Mapusa-NH17-Panjim-Dona Paula as suggested by ranjitp1?

Is this a good route

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by rex_varghese

Do all the towns on the way (Tumkur, Davengere, Ranebennur, Hubli, etc)

Watch out for opposite side traffic on Davengere bye-pass and the two lane Hubli- Dharward bye-pass.

[sswaroop]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Watch out for opposite side traffic on Davengere bye-pass and the two lane Hubli- Dharward bye-pass.

^^ This. Davangere bypass was not too bad when I went a couple of months back. But Hubli-Dharwad bypass was a nightmare given the time of day that I managed to pass through there. It was just after sunset, and it started raining and that stretch was horrible with slow moving traffic. If you reach there at non-peak hours, it should be relatively better I guess.

Otherwise the route as suggested by @Ampere was a dream. Bangalore - Hubli - Belgaum - Jamboti - Chorla - Mapusa - Panjim. Since we had gone in the rainy season, Belgaum to Panjim was full of greenery and also found some waterfalls by the roadside.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by ampere

Chorla without doubt in case you are visiting Candolim.
Hubli-Belgaum-Jambotti-Chorla-Mapusa-Candolim

Hi Ampere,

Thanks for the your tips.

I am planning on taking this road to North Goa on 4th early morning.

I plan to start at 4am, the route as you have suggested:

1. Start from Langford Town - take the Tumkur Road to get out and NH4 till Belgaum
2. Jambotti
3. Chorla
4. Mapusa
5. Baga Beach

Question: Good restaurants on the way for lunch/snacks ?

[averagejoe]

Originally Posted by ampere

Chorla without doubt in case you are visiting Candolim.
Hubli-Belgaum-Jambotti-Chorla-Mapusa-Candolim

Hi Ampere,
The post definitely answers my questions on the route to take to Candolim. Driving tomorrow morning, starting around 4 AM. From the preceding discussions, the condition seems to be holding up in the rains this season as well.

Had a question on any trusty fuel stations which one might keep an eye out for, instead of filling up the tank from Bangalore?

Cheers,
JP

[sswaroop]

Originally Posted by averagejoe

Hi Ampere,

Had a question on any trusty fuel stations which one might keep an eye out for, instead of filling up the tank from Bangalore?

I usually fill up in a Shell pump here in Bangalore the night before. Fuel is way cheaper in Goa. It's about 59 for petrol. Diesel is more expensive than petrol I think

So I would suggest fueling only as much as necessary on the Karnataka side and tank it up when you reach Mapusa/ Panjim. I didn't find any bunks once I had entered Goa from Chorla for quite a while though so better ensure you have fuel to drive at least 100 km once inside Goa. I did the mistake of tanking up just some 50 kms or so before Belgaum.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Question: Good restaurants on the way for lunch/snacks ?

Best option is early lunch at Belgaum. Hotel Sankam.
For Break fast : You can easily 300/330 km till Ranebennur Kamat.

If you start by 4AM, you should be there by 8AM.

[averagejoe]

Originally Posted by sswaroop

I usually fill up in a Shell pump here in Bangalore the night before. Fuel is way cheaper in Goa. It's about 59 for petrol. Diesel is more expensive than petrol I think

Thanks Swaroop.
Pardon a lame question - Diesel, although more than petrol, must be cheaper in Goa than in BLR right?

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by pratyush6

Hi Ampere,

Thanks for the your tips.

I am planning on taking this road to North Goa on 4th early morning.

I plan to start at 4am, the route as you have suggested:

1. Start from Langford Town - take the Tumkur Road to get out and NH4 till Belgaum
2. Jambotti
3. Chorla
4. Mapusa
5. Baga Beach

Question: Good restaurants on the way for lunch/snacks ?

If you start at 4 AM you can break for breakfast at kamat Ranebennur which is about 300 kms from BLR. Depending on avg speeds you will reach Ranebennur between 7:30 and 8:00 AM. You will be in Belgaum by 11 ~ 11.30 AM.

TO get to the Chorla Route you will have to enter Belgaum and cross the town. From NH4 you will find an exit into Belgaum town on the left. Skip that exit and take the next exit. Basically you'll have to drive on the service road for a bit and then follow the traffic which turns left into Belgaum town. Once inside there are plenty of options for food. My suggestion is to stop at a restaurant named 'Saffron' which is on Congress Road (on the right side) near first railway gate. You'll be passing by this road to get to get on to Chorla road. Once inside Belgaum ask the way to the Railway station. From the railway station ask for Khanapur road. Once you get onto Khanapur road after Udyambag you will find a Y intersection, where the left goes to Khanapur and right goes to Jamboti.

PS : I have written all this assuming you are unfamiliar with Belgaum