[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by sahil624

Reason I am considering second option because of horror reviews on the Maharashtra side of NH48 towards Vadodara.

Thanks.

If I were you, depending on where I want to reach in NCR would go via Indore. If I had not lose 3 hrs on NH48, the drive time is easily 21-22 hrs via Indore. We were able to do Indore-G.Noida via Gwalior in 12.5 hrs which is pretty decent IMHO.

If you have to reach Gurgaon/Delhi via DME (post KOTA) will be for sure faster.

NH48, leaving or entering Mumbai can derail all your plans. I would recommend everyone to avoid it till they finish the construction.

[sahil624]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

If I were you, depending on where I want to reach in NCR would go via Indore.
If you have to reach Gurgaon/Delhi via DME (post KOTA) will be for sure faster.

I am going to Sarojini Nagar in Delhi. I think to reach there going through Vadodara Godhra Dahod and then DME makes much more sense but the bottleneck is NH48 construction that is why I am confused.

[subuiyer]

Originally Posted by sahil624

...about my upcoming Delhi to Mumbai trip. It will be done over two days with one night halt in between.... Thanks.

Not clear if you are doing Delhi to Mumbai or other way round? Any way...

• If you have to reach Delhi from Mumbai within two days then via Nasik route is a safer bet. Mum - Vadodara is a risk till the MH side road work is complete.
• DME gives you the thrill of 120KMPH but to reach the MP DME section, you will end up driving at avg of 30-50 partly rural roads for over 2 hrs (via Dhar on MP side or Dahod from GJ side).
• MP DME section has no fuel/ food option (at least until 10 days ago) unless you are willing to take a detour and get off the DME for a few KMS into local town near one of the exits. Still won't recommend this route if travelling with children/elderly especially in summer.
• The first half of the route between the MP DME (ending at Bhanpura) to the RJ DME (starting at Jaisapura/Khustala) is not that great. The second half mostly via NH 52 has more civilization (food/fuel stops).
• If you are going to Delhi/GGN then taking RJ DME can save 1-2 hrs depending on entry day/time, but Mum to Delhi can also be done via the Agra route in two days with an overnight halt anywhere in the Indore - Gwalior stretch.
• Mum - Indore one can do 80-90 except for a few stretches. Indore to Gwalior road is superb that even with speed limit of 100KMPH one can make good progress.
• Getting past Agra can be a pain but once you hit Inner RRd/Yamuna Exwy, Noida will be a breeze. Today, I would prefer this if I was going into UP side of NCR.

Delhi to Mum you can take the DMEs but then I recommend taking the Thandla - Dhar - Nasik - Thane route unless you are at leisure and sure the NH8 traffic is low.

Overall, the situation is changing / improving every few weeks. So, keep checking this thread (and of course Gmap). Happy journey!

[RC@5]

Dear enthusiasts. I plan to travel from Mumbai to Delhi around week 4 June. Would appreciate if someone could help with the latest update on the DME and recommendations for the route. I can see a lot of opinions on the route options and a lot of variations in the travel time, ranging from 15 hours for some youtubers to 26 hours in the forum. Wouldn't dare planning this journey unless I have a clear route mapped on maps. P.S. I'll be traveling with my four legged buddy so need to be extra cautious about the best route possible.

[rd_maverick]

Hey, I did Mumbai-Dehradun in March and return on 28th May.
I also travelled with my 2 dogs and did it in a very relaxed manner taking more than adequate stops and limiting the driving to not more than 9-10 hrs in a day.

On the Mumbai-Dehradun leg:

Day 1: Started around 6AM and we took NH48 and went on to Ahmedabad for a night halt. Not so great roads and the construction work on Mah-Guj border is being poorly executed and is very dangerous.

Day 2: Ahmedabad-Jaipur, good roads and absolutely nothing to complain about.

Day 3: Jaipur-Dehradun, took the DME and the EPE onto Delhi-Meerut expressway which connected to the Delhi-Dehradun road. Again, good roads and smooth drive.


Return leg
Dehradun-Mumbai

Day 1 : Dehradun - Sawai Madhopur,left at 5 AM took the NE4 DME which has an exit at Sawai Madhopur, reached the hotel by 1PM. Wanted to avoid driving more in the heat.

Day 2: Sawai Madhopur-Vadodara, left early at 5AM and took the route to Kota vis NH552/NH148 onto NH52. We further connected to NE4 for 210kms and made rapid progress (This NE4 part has no petrol stations or food options). Approx last 200kms are through SH and not some rural roads.

Day 3: Left Vadodara at 5AM and made good progress on NH48 and even with multiple stops we had covered around 300kms in 5hrs. The last 120kms took us 4 hours and it was horrible. This has sworn me off the Vadodara route till they fix it. It was extremely painful and the traffic in Mumbai did not help.

I took the Mumbai-Nashik-Indore-Agra-Dehradun route last year and i think that will be my route of choice when i make this trip again in July.

India is not pet friendly and most highway food stops would not allow pets. We generally pick up food and stop at large petrol stations where we have some space for our dogs to walk about.We prefer not to drive after 5PM and our route and stops are dictated by availability of pet friendly hotels along the way.

Hope you have a good trip.

Originally Posted by quasimodo

Thanks for this detailed report. It's very helpful. I am planning to do the Delhi (GK1) to Mumbai (Chembur) in the second week of August, with my dog and wife. Curious to know if you managed to identify any pet-friendly stays in this route. We are planning to only drive during daylight hours and hence plan to stay at Udaipur and Baroda/Surat.

Originally Posted by RC@5

Dear enthusiasts. I plan to travel from Mumbai to Delhi around week 4 June. Would appreciate if someone could help with the latest update on the DME and recommendations for the route. I can see a lot of opinions on the route options and a lot of variations in the travel time, ranging from 15 hours for some Youtubers to 26 hours in the forum. Wouldn't dare planning this journey unless I have a clear route mapped on maps. P.S. I'll be traveling with my four legged buddy so need to be extra cautious about the best route possible.

[d_payne]

Originally Posted by rd_maverick

I took the Mumbai-Nashik-Indore-Agra-Dehradun route last year and i think that will be my route of choice when i make this trip again in July.

Thanks @maverick, this is exactly how I love to drive too!

I am planning a Lucknow-Mumbai drive in 10 days and was wondering what the ideal route is.

I am assuming Mumbai-Nashik-Indore-Jhansi-Lko. But is there a route I am missing?

Anyone else who has driven up from Mumbai who can pitch in with an idea?
Is it better for me to do:

A. Lucknow > Indore > Mumbai in 2.5 days
OR
B. Lucknow-Delhi via Yamuna Eway on day 0. And then do Del-Mum via DME in 2 days? or is DME very unfinished still?

[d_payne]

Also, any suggestions for pet friendly hotel recos on the Indore-Lucknow route?

[d_payne]

Alright, we did Mumbai-Lucknow via a completely different route which I thought may help some folks. Will furnish a longer, detailed travelogue this week.

Summary:
We did: Mumbai-Nashik-Jabalpur-Lucknow via the Samruddhi Mahamarg.

We did two mistakes for this route, but still made it in 23hrs for 1698kms.
The highlight of this trip was the Mahamarg, covering nearly 600kms in under 5hrs is mind boggling. The roads connecting MH and MP are darn good too, and it was only after entering UP did we encounter bad tarmac.

Overall, a brilliant brilliant drive.

[sinharishi]

Bom-NCR Route Update:

DOJ: 3rd-4th July
Route: Mumbai-Surat-Vadodra-NE1-Ahmedabad (Halt)-Udaipur bypass-Bundi-NH148-DME-WPE-EPE-G.Noida

Left home at 7am from Western Suburbs - Kandivali (E). We managed to reach Talsari, MH-GJ border in exactly 2 hrs. Kept cruising comfortably till Vadodra. Did not take NE4 as I had to meet a friend in Vadodra. Joined NE-1 and reached Ahmedabad in the evening.

Started from Ahmedabad at 7am and rained accompanied us all day. Progress was slow due to heavy showers. It rained very heavily once we crossed Chittorgarh junction on NH27, google showed a quicker route via Bundi-NH52-NH148D to NE-4. Roads are in top notch shape and most of the stretch is concrete. We just went ahead with Google’s suggestion and did not regret it one bit. The SH29, from NH27 to Bundi is Single laned concrete passing thru a forest area. This in comparison to Bhilwara-Deoli stretch is way better.

Once on NH52, we had the option to continue and cross Tonk then take 123 to DME or take 148D to DME. We took 148D which is again single laned but wide enough, this highway connects to Sowai Modhpur. DME-WPE-EPE was smooth. Reached G.Noida at 10pm.

EDIT: A funny incident happened at the exit of NE-1. Our car was stopped by a bunch of cops for checking. They asked me if I am carrying any alcohol, I said no, however one of the guy insisted in checked the bags. They found the hot water flask in my kiddo’s bag and one guy said, please check what is inside this. The oversmart cop poured hot water on his hands and burned his hands. I just laughed, told them what else were you expecting in a hot water flask?

We all had a good laugh and they let me go!

Stops taken en-route:

• Ahura, Talsari, MH
• Jagdish, Vadodra, GJ
• Shamlaiya food court, near GJ-RJ border (Avoid)
• Mcdonald’s @ DME, just ahead of Jaipur entry (North bound)

Crossing Narmada



At Jagdish Food Center



On NE-1



One of the many diaper change breaks for my kiddo



Udaipur Bypass





On SH29



Towards Bundi/NH52



Mcdonald’s @DME



Home

[Roan J]

[quote=sinharishi;5799018]Bom-NCR Route Update:

DOJ: 3rd-4th July
Route: Mumbai-Surat-Vadodra-NE1-Ahmedabad (Halt)-Udaipur bypass-Bundi-NH148-DME-WPE-EPE-G.Noida
QUOTE]

Thank you for this info. Has tolling begun on the Sawai Madhopur interchange. Any any Rest stops and fuel pumps operational between Sawai Madhopur and the Dausa interchanges.

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by Roan J

Thank you for this info. Has tolling begun on the Sawai Madhopur interchange. Any any Rest stops and fuel pumps operational between Sawai Madhopur and the Dausa interchanges.

Yes tolling has begun. You need to exit at NH123, take the round about and rejoin DME. The 100 odd metres are closed on DME over NH123 is closed, not sure why.

[drGicher]

Travelled from Pune to Moga(Punjab) via Mumbai - Vadodara route on 31st May. The NH48 after hotel fountain was having road construction where it took 4 hours for 100 odd kms.

Does any one know if the road construction is complete or still its the one to avoid for longer route??

[Sunseeker]

Planning to travel from Mumbai to Delhi during the 15th August weekend. Any recommendations on which route would be the safest to take given the heavy rainfall we’re seeing these days.

[sinharishi]

I drove to Mumbai from G.Noida on 2nd-3rd August. Route taken was EPE-DME-NH123-NH52-Deoli-Jahazpur-Jojwa-Barundani-Parsoli-NH27-Udaipur bypass-Ahmedabad (Halt)-NE1-NE4-Ankleshwar-Surat-Velagaon-Mumbai.

• Google maps suggested a faster route towards Ahmedabad via Jahazpur-Jojwa-Barundani-Parsoli-NH27. Very bad decision made by us, we took the road meant only for SUVs, in a sedan.
• We went thru a lot of small villages, narrow roads, no roads, waterlogged streets. Slavia managed everything well but with a lot of caution.
• Once on NH27 at Parsoli, our progress picked up speed. Took a lunch break just after crossing Chittorgarh highway.
• From here all the way till Mumbai, we were accompanied by heavy to very heavy rains. From Shamlaji till Ahmedabad it rained cats and dogs. Even though we were able to maintain 80-90 kmph and comfortably made it to Ahmedabad in 14.5 hrs. The warm 4300k yellow leds made a lot of difference.
• Stayed overnight at Mani Mansion, Paldi. Left Ahmedabad early morning and took first break post Baruch. The ETA to home when we started showed 3pm and kept reducing.
• Rains picked up post surat and it made very difficult to move at a decent pace. Trucks, rains, poor roads made it next to impossible.
• Near Manor, there was a delay of 1+ hr on NH48. Without thinking twice I left NH48 towards boisar and took Velagaon road to join Palghar road and back to NH48. The detour was very narrow and the worst state one can imagine. But when in MH such roads are a norm.
• Finally made it to Mumbai in a painful 14 hrs. From Talsari to Home took us 4+ hrs. The ETA was 3pm when we were on NE1, we reached at 7pm.

[TSIched'Out]

I did round trip from Mumbai to Delhi as part of my Spiti circuit last month. Here’s the route that I took in my Scorpio-N:

Day 1: Bandra, Mumbai-Thane-Shahpur-Igatpur-Nashik-Malegaon-Dhule-Shirpur-Sendhwa-Sirsodiya-Dhar-Ratlam Bypass, Overnight stay at Ratlam, 660KM, 10.5 Hours Drive time

Day 2: Ratlam-Nayapura Interchange-DME-Bhanpura Interchange-Ramganj Mandi-Modak-Kota-K Patan-Kapren-Lakheri-Kushtala-Jaisapur Interchange-DME-Sohna-Gurgaon-Vasant Kunj, Delhi, 749 KM, 10.5 Hours Drive time

Took the same route while coming back as well except from Ratlam to Sirsodiya wherein I took Ratlam-Manpur-Gujri route to avoid narrow roads in Ghats near Dhar as it was raining. You need to pay extra toll though.

There is too much of stray cattle menace in Rajasthan so please be careful.

Some sections of Ratlam bypass and Ratlam to Dhar/Manpur have sunk-in sections which can be dangerous if you are at high speed.

This route doesn’t have any decent eateries which caused significant issues. I had breakfast at Shahpur and then Lunch at some non-descript Dhaba near Shirpur which was awful. Similarly on day 2, in search for clean and hygienic place, I had delayed lunch around 4pm at McDonalds on DME near Dausa.
There is hardly any traffic on DME and you can do 120KMPH (legal limit) at stretch with cruise control. But I guess these days will be over soon.