[Selective]

Regarding the food option, there is a restaurant Naivedyam just few hundred meters before the Hospete exit on Chitradurga bypass. I believe this is at the right spot for breakfast before taking the diversion towards Hospete-Vijayapura. After this, in 3-4 hours one can stop at Vijayapura for lunch.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Selective

Regarding the food option, there is a restaurant Naivedyam just few hundred meters before the Hospete exit on Chitradurga bypass. I believe this is at the right spot for breakfast before taking the diversion towards Hospete-Vijayapura. After this, in 3-4 hours one can stop at Vijayapura for lunch.

Looks like quite many have opened up on the bypass. I see one Sai Grand as well on the other side.

[W@SIM]

Originally Posted by ampere

Looks like quite many have opened up on the bypass. I see one Sai Grand as well on the other side.

Yes there are many, i had stopped at Hotel Guruprasad, this is towards bangalore and has some amazing scenery around

[HappyWheels]

Originally Posted by KK2001

...
But despite all of the diversions, would still recommend NH48 because taking the longer route via Solapur doesn't make sense.

Reckon this would depend on which side of Pune is one traveling to.

[KK2001]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

Reckon this would depend on which side of Pune is one traveling to.

Agreed. I didn't take the solapur route because-
1)Longer time wise and distance wise too
2)Getting onto MPEW from the Solapur highway will be a hassle

[zodiac01]

Folks opting for the Solapur route and starting early morning from Bangalore, could try out Anand Vihar for breakfast; this comes after Chitradurga, before Hosahalli.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by zodiac01

Folks opting for the Solapur route and starting early morning from Bangalore, could try out Anand Vihar for breakfast; this comes after Chitradurga, before Hosahalli.

I have halted at this restaurant twice on my trip to Akkalkot using the Solapur route but the issue is the halt was early in the morning around 7.30 am and there was not enough options for the breakfast. Had to have whatever was available. If this is just a tea/coffee halt then its good but slightly under rated for breakfast halt.

Third time I travelled on the route halted here only for Tea/coffee as breakfast was packed from home.

[mayukh42]

Back from an impromptu trip to Belagavi. Couple of things to report:

1. The diversion at the end of Ranebennur byapss has some nasty speed breakers, I had to take them at an angle and still got a loud thud.
2. After about 3 years since the 6 lanes were opened between Chitradugra and Hubbali, toll rates have finally increased, and has now gone through the roof:

• Hebbalu (130 from 65)
• Chalageri (140 from 75)
• Bankapur (100 from 55)

Not much to complain, since highways in many other states too have similar high rates per km. Though it does feel overpriced as distance between Hebbalu and Chalageri ain't much.

In both journeys I took Hubbali/ Dharwad city and avoided the bypass. Since it was weekend or afternoon I did not lose much time. When coming back, another car which started from the same hotel in Belagavi, reached almost 30 mins later than us at the lunch place. Considering they took the under construction bypass, it seems I made a good decision.

[Dr.AD]

About a week ago, I did another Bangalore-Pune roundtrip in my Thar. Since my place in Pune is in the Western parts of the city, close to Pune-Satara highway, I took the usual NH48 (Bangalore-Belgavi-Kolhapur-Pune) route in both the directions. Here are some observations:

1. I was driving my Thar, and hence the speed-breakers or the diversions were not an issue. But on the other hand, Thar is slower than any good sedan on the flat straight sections of the highways, and that meant my overall time in Thar was still more than what I could do in a sedan.

2. I did both directions on weekdays. That helped a lot. Weekend traffic on this route can be quite heavy. Weekday traffic is noticeably lesser on this route.

3. For Bangalore to Pune journey, I started at around 5AM on a weekday, and reached till Karad relatively OK, without any issues. Yes there are many diversions, but on a weekday the traffic is thin, and I was able to keep a decent pace. No blockages as such anywhere upto Karad. However, since I reached Karad town by the late afternoon hours, and given that major road work is in progress in Karad, I faced a major traffic jam there. It took about 20 minutes to cross one intersection in Karad, due to the traffic jams. Avoid passing through Karad at any time other than very early morning or very late night. Absolutely avoid passing through Karad in the evening hours.

4. After Karad, it was again a smooth journey till the western parts of Pune.

5. On the return leg from Pune to Bangalore, I started at 4AM (on a weekday again) from Pune. That helped a lot and I crossed the entire stretch including Satara, Karad, and Kolhapur in the morning hours without any traffic whatsoever. In fact, on many of the diversions of the road, my car was the only one and those diversions felt like no big deal at all. Even with a good 40 minutes breakfast break at Sai International at Yelur (my usual stop for breakfast), I was crossing Belgavi by around 9:45AM. Overall, return journey was very peaceful with no traffic anywhere, and the diversions being no problem at all.

In summary, this usual road (NH48) is still fine if you start early morning on a weekday (avoid weekends as much as possible), and avoid passing through Karad in the evening hours. Honestly, I think the bottleneck in Karad is the biggest one on this route, and that jam in Karad is much worse than the diversions between Belgavi and Kolhapur that are discussed so much in this thread. I think Kolhapur to Satara section needs more careful planning and avoiding evening hours, and is more likely to cause delays than the Belgavi-Kolhapur section, in spite of more number of diversions in that section.

[KnightRider77]

I'm planning my maiden solo trip to Wanoworie, Pune from Bengaluru in the last week of July. I'll be doing the journey in my faithful Skoda Rapid (Skoda Rapid 1.6L Petrol (Gollum) - Owner's Review) which has been my trusty road warrior for the past 12 years.

Looking at the recent threads and from Google Map's suggestion it looks like the Solapur route is the better one (the Map doesn't even suggest the Belgavi route to me!). I had a couple of queries that I hope veterans in this thread can help me on:

1) I am not so sure about doing the entire trip of 15-16 hours in one go (not so young anymore, sadly). I thought of taking an overnight break after doing 8-10 hours and continuing the next morning. Are there any good hotels with clean rooms and bathrooms that I can opt for?

2) Given that I am driving in the middle of monsoons, any concerns that I should be aware of along this route? My car is as a sedan that lacks hill assist and other new fangled features (ADAS etc) so I am a bit wary of sharp inclines and waterlogged roads.

3) Is the route generally safe for driving solo? I plan to leave Bengaluru by 5AM and hope to take short breaks (15 mins or so) every 3 hours. If I can find an overnight place to stay I may break just for breakfast and lunch.

4) Are there enough petrol bunks and mechanics along the way? I usually use Shell oil, but IOC would be my second preference.

Thanks in advance for any inputs!

[HappyWheels]

Though not a veteran in this route, will give this a go, as I did two trips to Pune in the last 4 weeks. And, I am not young either!

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

...

1) I am not so sure about doing the entire trip of 15-16 hours in one go (not so young anymore, sadly). I thought of taking an overnight break after doing 8-10 hours and continuing the next morning. Are there any good hotels with clean rooms and bathrooms that I can opt for?

...

I started, both times, at 3:30am from Bangalore, once on a working day and next on a Saturday and was able to reach my hotel at Pune well before 12 hours of drive time. I was driving at mostly on 100kmph, which is quite safe considering the sparse traffic once sees here, as compared to highways to Chennai/ KL from BNG. You have to be careful when reaching towns, enroute, especially the road humpat Illkal and then between Chitradurga and Hoskete where every intersection seems to have a hump on the highway.

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

...
2) Given that I am driving in the middle of monsoons, any concerns that I should be aware of along this route? My car is as a sedan that lacks hill assist and other new fangled features (ADAS etc) so I am a bit wary of sharp inclines and waterlogged roads.
...

Good roads through out, with minor deviations. None of these assists absence will impact you, unless you are already used to them on long drives.

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

...
3) Is the route generally safe for driving solo? I plan to leave Bengaluru by 5AM and hope to take short breaks (15 mins or so) every 3 hours. If I can find an overnight place to stay I may break just for breakfast and lunch.
...

Yes, safe.

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

...
4) Are there enough petrol bunks and mechanics along the way? I usually use Shell oil, but IOC would be my second preference.
...

Enough petrol pumps enroute from various providers, though Shell was not noticed. Maybe try out the Jio pumps that are newly opened.

As for mechanics, you might find them at towns you end up crossing.

[KnightRider77]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

I started, both times, at 3:30am from Bangalore, once on a working day and next on a Saturday and was able to reach my hotel at Pune well before 12 hours of drive time. I was driving at mostly on 100kmph, which is quite safe considering the sparse traffic once sees here, as compared to highways to Chennai/ KL from BNG. You have to be careful when reaching towns, enroute, especially the road humpat Illkal and then between Chitradurga and Hoskete where every intersection seems to have a hump on the highway.

Thank you for the info! This is good to know since I myself rarely breach the 100kmph mark. Feel better about making the trip now.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

I'm planning my maiden solo trip to Wanoworie, Pune from Bengaluru in the last week of July.

Just a note, keep all your papers in order (Insurance, PUC and driving license). MH police is super active especially near Naldurg fort to gracefully give you a grand welcome. When you enter MH keep your speeds below 90 (keep an eye on speed limits), you will find interceptor vans or the police themselves hiding behind bushes with a speed gun.
Have a safe trip

[KnightRider77]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Just a note, keep all your papers in order (Insurance, PUC and driving license). MH police is super active especially near Naldurg fort to gracefully give you a grand welcome. When you enter MH keep your speeds below 90 (keep an eye on speed limits), you will find interceptor vans or the police themselves hiding behind bushes with a speed gun.
Have a safe trip

Yep. I usually keep those updated. Will keep an eye on speed limit for sure. Hopefully the limits are posted clearly on the roads.

[murlidar]

Planning a Mumbai to Mangalore trip via the Pune kolhapur Belgaum highway within 2 days. I and my wife both senior citizen driving my Jimny. Planning to do Mumbai Belgaum before sunset and stay overnight in Belgaum before continuing next day via Gokarn to Mangalore doing the stretch in 2 parts. Would appreciate any advice as to the rain water flooding of the roads/diversions and also any recommended eateries on the way. Though I have been driving long distances, My main fear is the problems associated with flooding of the roads. Thanks in advance for advice and suggestion.