[napster]

Originally Posted by evilshantanu

Thanks, this helps.
One last question - Is the Solapur stretch all four laned?

Yes its all 4 laned with good quality road and relatively sparse traffic.

I had captured a detailed view of this route last year Here (Bangalore - Pune - Mumbai : Route updates & Eateries).

[Capri89]

Originally Posted by autoweirdo

Post Solapur I really struggle for nice break options ...

Used to be like that. Recently I spotted Kyriad at Ilkal, slightly inside off the highway. Moderate taste, but pricey. Also a small detour into Vijayapura will get you Kamath that is good

Originally Posted by evilshantanu

Thanks, this helps.
One last question - Is the Solapur stretch all four laned?

Four laned all the way.

[autoweirdo]

Originally Posted by evilshantanu

Thanks, this helps.
One last question - Is the Solapur stretch all four laned?

Yes its all four laned with bypasses for major towns like Solapur, Vijayapura, Hospet.

Originally Posted by Capri89

Used to be like that. Recently I spotted Kyriad at Ilkal, slightly inside off the highway. Moderate taste, but pricey. Also a small detour into Vijayapura will get you Kamath that is good

Yes had been to Kyriad but service was quite slow and taste was not worth it. In recent trips I have been stopping at Punjabi dhaba before Hospete which has clean washrooms and separate family seating area along with better tasting food.

Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/czBa2C1fdbx43ESP9

[rg12]

How is the NH48 road condition in Maharashtra these days? Planning a BLR-MUM drive in next week. Appreciate if some one can update the recent drive experience and time taken?

[bijayks]

Planning a Bangalore - Shirdi - Mumbai - Pune - Bangalore trip this weekend.

Google suggests via Bijapur (plan to halt there for the night) towards Shirdi - what are places to stop for food on this route? Will be visiting Ellora and close places before proceeding to Mumbai.

On the return, Google suggests via Bijapur from Pune. From reading this thread, this seems to be the best compared to the normal route.

Any suggestions for places to stop and see is very much appreciated!

[AKSO]

Originally Posted by bijayks

Planning a Bangalore - Shirdi - Mumbai - Pune - Bangalore trip this weekend.

Google suggests via Bijapur (plan to halt there for the night) towards Shirdi - what are places to stop for food on this route? Will be visiting Ellora and close places before proceeding to Mumbai.

On the return, Google suggests via Bijapur from Pune. From reading this thread, this seems to be the best compared to the normal route.

Any suggestions for places to stop and see is very much appreciated!

There are no restaurants between Bijapur and Hospet. This applies to any decent petrol pumps as well.

[--9--]

Hello! I am planning to drive from Whitefield to Pune on next weekend (19-Apr-2025).
What route should I prefer? Usual Kolhapur one or Solapur One?
Also - From Whitefield - is it advisable to take STRR in early morning or should I stick with Nelmangala route? I shall be starting at 5 am in morning.

[rg12]

Originally Posted by --9--

Hello! I am planning to drive from Whitefield to Pune on next weekend (19-Apr-2025).
What route should I prefer? Usual Kolhapur one or Solapur One?
Also - From Whitefield - is it advisable to take STRR in early morning or should I stick with Nelmangala route? I shall be starting at 5 am in morning.

If you start early morning, you may take NH48 via Kolhapur. It will be faster if you are planning to take just a few quick breaks but be ready for the frequent diversions and speed breakers.
Solapur route will be better if you are looking for a peaceful drive. Also if your destination is towards eastern part of Pune, then Solapur route will suit you better and it's almost similar driving time than NH48.

[amolpg]

Originally Posted by --9--

Hello! I am planning to drive from Whitefield to Pune on next weekend (19-Apr-2025).
What route should I prefer? Usual Kolhapur one or Solapur One?
Also - From Whitefield - is it advisable to take STRR in early morning or should I stick with Nelmangala route? I shall be starting at 5 am in morning.

I live in Pune and travel to Kharadi, Hadapsar side regularly from Western Pune.
I have driven through Belagavi and Pune few times in the last 6 months, and Pune - Hyderabad twice, here is my overall comparison/analysis of these routes:

- Lot of diversions between Kagal and Hattargi.
- Its better on the Maharashtra side between Satara to Kagal
- If you can pass Kagal - Hattargi section early morning its less painful, one option is to stop over in Kolhapur or Belagavi
- If you are staying in the central or western side of Pune then reaching Solapur road is even more painful than diversions on NH48
- There are fewer options for breaks on Solapur road, especially if you are traveling with family
- Traffic on Solapur road is more unruly than Belagavi route (By no means NH48 traffic is a blessing, its lesser of the evil)

To summarise people staying/traveling to Western Pune save no time or stress by using Solapur route.

[amolpg]

Are there any good breakfast and lunch places from Belagavi to Mysuru route?
I am hoping to start from Belagavi at 7ish so breakfast place somewhere between Hubli and Haveri? and lunch places on NH150A?

[IamGetz]

Originally Posted by amolpg

- Traffic on Solapur road is more unruly than Belagavi route (By no means NH48 traffic is a blessing, its lesser of the evil)

To summarise people staying/traveling to Western Pune save no time or stress by using Solapur route.

Thanks for this update as I was debating between Kolhapur vs Solapur route options.

I will be starting early morning tomorrow from Bangalore to Pune with a night halt at Belgavi.

Will post Kolhapur road status updates soon.

[autoweirdo]

Originally Posted by amolpg

Are there any good breakfast and lunch places from Belagavi to Mysuru route?
I am hoping to start from Belagavi at 7ish so breakfast place somewhere between Hubli and Haveri? and lunch places on NH150A?

I use to take meals / tiffin items at Gayatri Veg. Taste is fine and washroom were clean with ample space for parking, its just before start of flyover so slow down when near restaurant.

Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/boKekRY6XvCUYmjP9

[IamGetz]

Originally Posted by IamGetz

Will post Kolhapur road status updates soon.

Reached Pune today afternoon via the NH48 route via Belgavi, Kolhapur, Satara and Pune

Since my earlier visit last year, there has been a marked improvement in the quality of service roads near most of the diversions.

There are a few diversions starting Belgavi and then more service road diversions from Kolhapur to Karad

I saw work ongoing on the third lane being added as part of new development

This has definitely helped improve manoeuvering space especially when faced with one slow truck overtaking another loaded container truck.

My progress from Belgavi to Satara was much faster than what I had anticipated. Lighter traffic volume today definitely helped travel faster

As repeated by others things to watch out for:

• Unmarked speed bumps especially on the service roads in MH. Watch out for them if you value your vehicle suspension as they are real nasty

• Some of finished roads in MH do not roll smoothly onto the old roads. At higher speeds, it will feel like travelling over a sharp hump with a load thud from the tyre/suspension

• The rumbler strips near Katraj (approaching Pune) should be approached with caution and lower speeds. From a distance they look like usual rumblers which we tend to speed over. However these have a deceptive depth which gives a nerve racking thud from the tyre/suspension when you accidentally rollover them at speed.

All in all this route has improved considerably since my last year's visit.

[ssjr0498]

I travelled 2 weeks ago to Pune and took the Blr-Chitradurga-Hosapet-Vijayapura-Solapur-Pune, route and reached there in about 11hrs. Road conditions were good and didn't find any issues en-route. Took the same route while returning and was able to complete the trip in 10hrs as we left Pune early.

[Rambo65]

Thank you for the inputs, I just wanted to update on the trip to Sringeri.

We started from Kothrud (near Chandni Chowk) at 5.15 am. With a breakfast halt at "ViranguLa" (a very nice Maharashtrian B/f option near Wai - Mahabaleshwar junction), we sailed through the Karad bypass nightmare quite easily at around 8.15ish. We reached Kognoli toll plaza by 9.50 am. We stopped for lunch after the Hubli bypass at a newly opened place (claimed so by the waiter!) by name "Sankranti" (decent food).

We moved off the highway at Ranebennur at around 4.00 pm. The Ranebennur-Honnali-Thirthahalli-Sringeri route was mostly SH but not bad. The 180 Km from Ranebennur to Sringeri we covered in about 3 hrs and reached Sringeri at 19.00 hrs (Distance 720 km - total drive time 11 hrs 15 min ; Extra halt time 2.5 hrs).

It is not an impossible drive, if you have a good SUV kinda vehicle (Daughter and I shared the drive and we were in a Suzuki Grand Vitara Full Hybrid).

On the return, we started at 6.20 AM from Sringeri and reached home by 21.00 hrs (with 2.5 hrs of halts). Overall a good drive!