[Hulk]

Originally Posted by loki

Reached Goa (Cavelossim) on Sunday afternoon via Anmod. The Anmod stretch has been tarred in a lot of places. So no need for the Tinai ghat diversion.

I will be travelling from Whitefield to South Goa (Palolem). Which route would you guys suggest?

Google suggests Whitefield > Peenya > Tumakuru > Chitradurga > Sangur > Sirsi > Mastikatte > Mudekatta > Mudga > Palolem.

I am travelling Bangalore to Goa for the first time, so am unaware of the usual route and which parts to avoid. Would be great to get inputs from experienced members!

[loki]

Originally Posted by loki

...At Anmod, I casually enquired at the KA entry checkpost and they did say RTPCR is mandatory.However from the above comments, it seems they are not checking for RTPCR. For KA cops, alcohol is a higher priority anyways...

Just got back to Blore via the Anmod route. No RTPCR or even Covid Certificate was asked at the Karnataka border. Only the usual Liquor check.

Originally Posted by Hulk

I will be travelling from Whitefield to South Goa (Palolem). Which route would you guys suggest?

Google suggests Whitefield > Peenya > Tumakuru > Chitradurga > Sangur > Sirsi > Mastikatte > Mudekatta > Mudga > Palolem.

Instead of the Sirsi route, i guess the route via Haveri - Tadas - Kalaghatgi - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - Palolem would be a safer / better route as this would be your first time. I hear the road condition between Sirsi and Kumta isnt great.

[Hulk]

Originally Posted by loki

Just got back to Blore via the Anmod route. No RTPCR or even Covid Certificate was asked at the Karnataka border. Only the usual Liquor check.


Instead of the Sirsi route, i guess the route via Haveri - Tadas - Kalaghatgi - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - Palolem would be a safer / better route as this would be your first time. I hear the road condition between Sirsi and Kumta isnt great.

Thank you! This is helpful. I see >1hr of congestion at Peenya flyover to exit Blr, I don't know if this would be resolved by Friday.

Also, lol at our usernames

[Hulk]

Originally Posted by Hulk

Thank you! This is helpful. I see >1hr of congestion at Peenya flyover to exit Blr, I don't know if this would be resolved by Friday.

Also, lol at our usernames

Is there anyway to avoid the >1hr jam while exiting Bangalore due to the closed flyover towards Tumakuru?

I'm planning to start by 5-5.30am, any idea how bad is it early morning?

[CosmicWizard]

Originally Posted by Hulk

Is there anyway to avoid the >1hr jam while exiting Bangalore due to the closed flyover towards Tumakuru?

I'm planning to start by 5-5.30am, any idea how bad is it early morning?

We were stuck for around 10-15 minutes when we left around that time in the morning. It wasn't that bad.

Haveri - Tadas - Kalaghatgi - Yellapur - Ankola - Karwar - Palolem is the preferred route. You can also go all the way to Hubli bypass (add Gabbur as a stop on your gmaps) and then take a left towards Kalaghatgi. It looks longer in the maps but one can easily do 100-120 speed on the NH between Tadas and Hubli bypass and it hardly adds 10-15 minutes but its all a pleasant cruise on the fantastic 6-lane highway.

[loki]

Originally Posted by Hulk

Is there anyway to avoid the >1hr jam while exiting Bangalore due to the closed flyover towards Tumakuru?

I'm planning to start by 5-5.30am, any idea how bad is it early morning?

I crossed that stretch around 5AM on a Sunday morning. All the signals were blinking yellow at the time so i didnt have any delay at all. You don't even have to enter the bylanes of Peenya etc if you start early. But I'm assuming the traffic will be more on a weekday morning. In any case plan to start as early as possible.

Originally Posted by Hulk

Also, lol at our usernames

Don't Smaaash

[MitsubishiEvo]

Folks,

I did Blr-Goa-Blr over the last 11 days; some updates and tips for those who plan to travel:

Blr-Goa trip on 30 Jan. Took the Haveri-Sirsi-Karwar route as I was going to Cancona. There was a 20-odd km stretch of ghats that was bad (many unpaved sections - my Corolla's underside didn't touch/scrape anything) , although the scenery made up for it. The following 10-15 kms before joining highway 66 weren't great either. Once we joined 66, the road was smooth and I was able to make up for lost time.

I left Blr at 5.40am from Whitefield, and reached Galgibag at 3.30pm. Took 2 breaks, one for breakfast at Apoorva, and had lunch at Amrut in Karwar.

Goa-Blr on 8 Feb:

- Took the Anmod ghat route since I heard that there was heavy checking at Karwar
- No RTPCR check at the Karnataka check-post (the usual alcohol check)
- The Anmod ghat route is simply superb, all the way up to Nellamangala. I would advise everyone to blindly take this route irrespective of where in Goa your destination may be.

I left Uttorda at 6am and reached Whitefield at 3.30pm. Only the single break at Apoorva on the way back.

Please note: go really slow for the first 3km after the Karnataka check-post at Anmod. Somewhere between 1 and 3km after the checkpost, there is a sudden drop (roughly 1.5 ft, due to misaligned sections) in the white topping. I was at 60-70kmph and it was a suspension killler. There are no markings - so watch out for this. The rest of the journey was really a dream-run, couldn't have asked for a better highway.

[binand]

I hope this is the right thread for this query - the most appropriate thread (Bangalore to Karwar driving directions) was closed with a request to find another thread.

We are taking a short holiday at Karwar. Google maps says it is about 550 km away and it will take us nearly 11 hours to drive there. We are considering a 3 AM departure to reach there by 1 PM. My query is this:

Where do I need to turn off from the GQ road given my starting time? Google suggests different places at different times of the day. Is turning off from Haveri and hitting Sirsi the right route? What after Sirsi - via Kumta to Ankola? Google is suggesting another route after Sirsi which hits KA SH 143 and later Hubli-Karwar road. Is this worth taking?

Some travelogues here are suggesting going all the way till Hubli and turning off from there and then Yellapur-Karwar. Is this a better route?

[kedar_GT]

Originally Posted by binand

I hope this is the right thread for this query - the most appropriate thread (Bangalore to Karwar driving directions) was closed with a request to find another thread.


Some travelogues here are suggesting going all the way till Hubli and turning off from there and then Yellapur-Karwar. Is this a better route?

Yes - it is. Add the "Gabbur toll" as a stop in Gmaps and follow that road.

[the_joker]

Originally Posted by binand

I hope this is the right thread for this query - the most appropriate thread (Bangalore to Karwar driving directions) was closed with a request to find another thread.
...
Some travelogues here are suggesting going all the way till Hubli and turning off from there and then Yellapur-Karwar. Is this a better route?

Go all the way till Hubli. Take Hubli bypass and turn left to Yellapur - Karwar. This is the best route. National Highways all throughout and decent roads throughout. Used to take me about 10 hrs total (including breaks) (to Kumta via Yellapur - Ankola. Karwar should take same time). You will also have multiple options for rest and refreshment if needed.

Sirsi - Kumta road is under construction. It now takes about 3 hrs from Sirsi to Kumta, it was about 1.5 hrs before. Don't take this route.

Another route is Haveri - Sirsi - Yellapur - Karwar. I'm not sure why anybody would choose this over the excellent National Highway route.

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by binand

I hope this is the right thread for this query - the most appropriate thread (Bangalore to Karwar driving directions) was closed with a request to find another thread.
. My query is this:

Where do I need to turn off from the GQ road given my starting time? Google suggests different places at different times of the day. Is turning off from Haveri and hitting Sirsi the right route? What after Sirsi - via Kumta to Ankola? Google is suggesting another route after Sirsi which hits KA SH 143 and later Hubli-Karwar road. Is this worth taking?

Some travelogues here are suggesting going all the way till Hubli and turning off from there and then Yellapur-Karwar. Is this a better route?

For all my Karwar trips, I’ve always gone all the way to Hubli and then, turn off to the Yellapur roads. My last trip was last summers and some patches of roads were broken. The roads from Hubli till the cross off were under construction and should be done by now.

That’s the fastest route to Karwar.

If you’re at the Devbag beach resort, you’ll have a good time. Cheers.

[binand]

Originally Posted by kedar_GT

Yes - it is. Add the "Gabbur toll" as a stop in Gmaps and follow that road.

Originally Posted by the_joker

Go all the way till Hubli. Take Hubli bypass and turn left to Yellapur - Karwar. This is the best route.

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

For all my Karwar trips, I’ve always gone all the way to Hubli and then, turn off to the Yellapur roads.

Thanks, everyone. I will go with the audience poll winner, the route via Yellapur. Couple of additional questions, though:

1. From NH 4 to Yellapur there seems to be multiple options - Bankapura-Yellapur, Tadas-Kalaghatgi-Yellapur and Hubli-Yellapur. The last mentioned is the longest but is it still the preferred one?

2. Beyond Yellapur to Karwar is it better to take the direct route via Kadra dam or the one hitting NH 66 at Ankola?

I am driving a Ford Endeavour so some bad roads are fine. But I'm with family so all bad roads won't be.

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

If you’re at the Devbag beach resort, you’ll have a good time. Cheers.

Yes, and thanks!

[normaltusker]

The last time I went to Goa, It was in Dec 2020. There were sections that had only mud roads and were being built. Have those been completed? is the road motorable now?
This was the road I had arrived at by taking the left towards Goa on the Hubli - Dharwad bypass.

This was the route that I had followed -> https://goo.gl/maps/Q3ZCWhvDjqk1aKse7

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by binand

Thanks, everyone. I will go with the audience poll winner, the route via Yellapur. Couple of additional questions, though:

1. From NH 4 to Yellapur there seems to be multiple options - Bankapura-Yellapur, Tadas-Kalaghatgi-Yellapur and Hubli-Yellapur. The last mentioned is the longest but is it still the preferred one?

2. Beyond Yellapur to Karwar is it better to take the direct route via Kadra dam or the one hitting NH 66 at Ankola?

I am driving a Ford Endeavour so some bad roads are fine. But I'm with family so all bad roads won't be.

Yes, and thanks!

I’ve always taken the Hubli-Kalghatgi-Yellapur stretch and then taking a right at the dead end to Karwar. I don’t recall touching Ankola ever. The Kadra dam route sounds interesting and I may explore next time.

From my past times, I’ve left home ( south blr) around 4.30 and have managed to reach Kali river bridge by 1 pm. Just one break at Apoorva, Davangere for b/fast.

[the_joker]

Originally Posted by binand

...
1. From NH 4 to Yellapur there seems to be multiple options - Bankapura-Yellapur, Tadas-Kalaghatgi-Yellapur and Hubli-Yellapur. The last mentioned is the longest but is it still the preferred one?
...

I agree with jkrishnakj. Take the Hubli - Kalghatgi - Yellapur, not via Tadas or Bankapura

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

I’ve always taken the Hubli-Kalghatgi-Yellapur stretch and then taking a right at the dead end to Karwar. I don’t recall touching Ankola ever. ...

If you take a left at that dead end, Ankola town is very close (maybe less than a km).