[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by ampere

That also reminds me. You may want to try Kunigal-Magadi-Nice? It may help beat the Nelamangala jam. But yes this would also add time in Magadi. How I wish, we had a bypass for Magadi town. Would have been perfect.

Yes, Nice - Magadi - Kunigal will help us to avoid the Nelamangala jam. I haven't been in the Magadi - Kunigal stretch since ages. However I have done the Nice - Magadi stretch sometime back when I explored the SH-85 route to Sullia. The roads were good but the traffic was heavy and it was difficult to overtake. If only the Nagamangala - Magadi part of SH-85 had been good, I would have taken Bellur Cross - Nagamangala - Magadi without second thoughts. It'll avoid two toll booths of NH-48.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

If only the Nagamangala - Magadi part of SH-85 had been good, I would have taken Bellur Cross - Nagamangala - Magadi without second thoughts. It'll avoid two toll booths of NH-48.

Why all the way to Nagamangala? Why not Magadi-Kunigal? That stretch is quite good. At least thats how it was quite some back. I have no reasons to believe it would be bad. We should confirm of course. That road joins just before the Kunigal bypass.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

A quick question to the experts of these roads. I'll be driving from Bangalore to Udupi tommorow. My destination in Udupi is Ambalpadi, which seems to be on the Mangalore Udupi road.

After Shiradi I plan to turn right towards Dharmasthala. Then Ujire - Belthangady - Bajegoli - Nitte - then right towards Shiriva - Bantakal - Shankarapura - Katpadi and then join Mangalore Udupi highway.

Is this a good option to reach Ambalpadi or am I better going via Mangalore?

Also after Bajegoli am I better off turning right towards karkala? This route takes me to Udupi town. From there I 'll have to cross the town and come back towards Ambalpadi.

I am not a frequent traveller to these places, I am just looking at the map. Thanks in advance.

Had a brilliant drive from Bangalore to Udupi and then Udupi to Sirsi yesterday.

The route I took was Yeshwanthpur - Nelamangala - Sakleshpur - Shiradi - Dharmastahala - Bajegoli - Karkala - Udupi. Started from BLR at 5:30 AM (Sanjaynagar) and reached Udupi at 12 noon with a half hour break for breakfast. Roads very good except for a few small stretches near Dharmasthala. Shiradi ghats were is excellent condition and traffic was sparse. Some roads were newly laid and driving on the black carpets was true bliss.

I had to attend a wedding at Udupi and then had to proceed to Sirsi. From Udupi I took the Kundapur - Bhatkal - Mudeshwar - Honnavar - Kumta - Sirsi road. I was a bit wary of this road, but got some local info that roads are in good condition. Roads are not just good, they are in brilliant condition! THere are a few large potholes that spring up surprisingly amidst smooth roads and can catch one unawares. These are real tyre killer potholes as you don't expect them. I was real lucky to avoid a couple of them. Started from Udupi at 2 PM and reached Sirsi by 5:30 PM. Even at the end of the whole journey (620 kms), I was fresh enough to drive for a couple more hours.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by ampere

Why all the way to Nagamangala? Why not Magadi-Kunigal?

This way the Devihalli toll booth can be avoided. The waiting time at this toll booth is around 20 mins on Sundays. The traffic density increases considerably after Bellur Cross. Also the 16 km stretch of Bellur Cross - Nagamangala is too good.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Have you done the magadi - kunigal stretch recently? This has always been my preferred route whenever driving alone to mangalore

Originally Posted by ampere

No not done recently. Once the 4-lane was up, I totally gave up that route. Hence even I was curious as to how it is today? The only issues on this stretch were the winding roads to Magadi and crossing the town itself. Beyond that, as per what I remember it was very good.

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

Yes, Nice - Magadi - Kunigal will help us to avoid the Nelamangala jam. I haven't been in the Magadi - Kunigal stretch since ages........It'll avoid two toll booths of NH-48.

Magadi route is in good condition all the way to NH 48 from the NICE road junction. However I am not sure if the recent spell of rains has affected the road condition.

@ampere, crossing Magadi town is not a very big pain compared to the entering and exiting traffic to/from Bangalore. There is heavy traffic between the NICE road junction and Tavarekere, but after that it thins out. Early morning departures from Bangalore should not be a problem, but sunday evening and weekday morning arrivals to Bangalore is a mess. Even with the tolls and heavy traffic on a sunday evening, the NH48 is comparatively faster as the Magadi road will not allow overtaking opportunities as you near Bangalore. So, it is a big irritant.

But for an early morning relaxed drive out of Bangalore, this is a good option considering you miss a couple of toll booths too.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

But for an early morning relaxed drive out of Bangalore, this is a good option considering you miss a couple of toll booths too.

Then in that case looks like it does not help much in resolving the problem. Because early morning, one would tend to prefer the 4-lane. Yes even I remember seeing heavy traffic from Magadi road NICE exit to Tavarakere. And thanks to winding roads and 2-lane over taking is painful.

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

This way the Devihalli toll booth can be avoided. The waiting time at this toll booth is around 20 mins on Sundays. The traffic density increases considerably after Bellur Cross. Also the 16 km stretch of Bellur Cross - Nagamangala is too good.

Can you pls share this route on a google maps link ?

Almost every weekend we drive , we end up getting stuck at the toll booths and Nelamangala .

[Samurai]

Fortunately, I always drive against the traffic. I drive away from Bangalore on Sunday, and drive towards Bangalore on Saturdays. It is when I break this rule, I get caught by traffic.

[rohittunga]

For the first time I got stuck at the toll plazas while coming back to Bangalore. The safest lane to be is the extreme right lane. There was utter chaos at all other lanes with Tempo travellers and cabbies testing the patience of truck drivers. Spent almost 30 minutes collectively at all the tolls.

Also worth noting is the reappearance of potholes. Could spot at least 4 massive potholes after descending Shiradi, the biggest one and the most painful being on a turn 8kms before Uppinangady. My advice is to go slow once you see the 10km milestone to Uppinangady

[Ashwinbr]

Mods - Please point me to the right thread if this is inappropriate here.

Friends
I will be doing Hyderabad - Manipal -Bangalore - Hyderabad starting 31 May(1st leg route finalised - courtesy ampere). We will be proceeding to Bangalore (from Manipal) on the 4th of June to visit some friends but do not want to be in bangalore before the evening of 6th June and hence can I seek for some suggestions on things to do / places to visit enroute to Bangalore? I am aware that's the right season for rains to kick in and praying to save my Figo as much as possible.

I have gathered some info but everything points me to Chikmagalur. I have already experienced Coorg and I do not want another coffee estate experience unless I am missing something.

Bhadra reserve forest? If so, any nice place to stay there?

We just need a place to literally unwind and relax for about 2 days before hitting bangalore on the 6th.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Can you pls share this route on a google maps link ?

Almost every weekend we drive , we end up getting stuck at the toll booths and Nelamangala .

link

Bellur Cross - Nagamangala is great. Nagamangala - Huliyurdurga is not that good. Half way between Nagamangala and Huliyurdurga i.e, upto Devalapura has been recently tarred. The other half was bad when I traversed it around 6 months back. No idea if the work has progressed. Again the stretch from Huliyurdurga to Magadi is narrow at some places and has some potholes inside villages. This route can be taken only if work at all the above stretches is completed. Until then NH-48 is the only option.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Ashwinbr

Friends
I will be doing Hyderabad - Manipal -Bangalore - Hyderabad starting 31 May(1st leg route finalised - courtesy ampere). We will be proceeding to Bangalore (from Manipal) on the 4th of June to visit some friends but do not want to be in bangalore before the evening of 6th June and hence can I seek for some suggestions on things to do / places to visit enroute to Bangalore? I am aware that's the right season for rains to kick in and praying to save my Figo as much as possible.

Places that you can choose to stay:
- Sakleshpur (Estates) Visit fort, Kukke Temple
- Hassan : Belur/Halibedu/Shravanabelagola
- Chikkamagulur : Estates and visit Hilltops
- Bhadra : Jungle Lodges. Very nice, but pricey. You may have to book in advance. Check availability.

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Can you pls share this route on a google maps link ?
Almost every weekend we drive , we end up getting stuck at the toll booths and Nelamangala .

As @GFB shared the link, please note, as he also mentioned, Magadi-Huliyurdurga-Nagamangala section on SH85 is a road of mixed conditions. Great at places, and with potholes at some.

[hallik9]

Quick recap on my drive from Bangalore to Kundapur and back to Bangalore.

Started from Bangalore(Electronic City) at 7.10am on 22nd May and managed to reach Kundapur by 2.25pm(With a break at Kamats for breakfast of around 25 mins). Roads were great all the way(Including Shiradi) and traffic was sparse. Do watch for those cabbies on the toll who would want to overtake you and get in front. The roadwork on the NH stretch from Udupi to Kundapur is progressing at some points but I suspect this will turn into a mess with the monsoon expected in another week's time.

Started my return journey yesterday at 3pm from Kundapur and took the same route and managed to reach Electronic city by 10.15pm(Just had one 15 min break at Mayura for a quick snack). Hope the monsoons wont have a bad impact on the roads. I also heard from a few locals that the route from Kollur to Shimoga is being repaired on a brisk pace. Not sure about the current condition though but from what I hear,this is being readied as the authorities plan to shut down Shiradi for major facelift soon

[hsprabhu]

Bangalore -> Shimoga -> Thirthahalli -> Udupi -> Mangalore -> Bangalore.

Drove my cousins Swift DZire Petrol last Thursday. Started from BTM Layout at 9:00PM. Drove to Shimoga via Tiptrur->Arsikere->Bhadravathi. Good roads throughout. Avoided Chitradurga route as I was driving during the night. And Chitradurga-Shimoga is a pretty deserted route. Reached Shimoga at 2:10AM after a couple of stops. I felt the Swift DZire petrol lacked power.

Started from Shimoga on Saturday at 3:30PM. This time drove brother's Ford Figo Diesel. Reached Udupi at 6:50PM after a stop each in Thirthahalli and Agumbe. Again very good roads throughout.

Started from Udupi on Sunday at 8:30AM. This time drove cousin's dzire. Had a 2 hrs break in Mangalore. Lunch break in Sakleshpur. Reached JP Nagar at 7PM. Good roads throughout again. The toll booths were quite crowded.

Few points I noted. Felt DZire petrol lacked power. I own an XUV. And while driving DZire I tried to engage the car into 6th gear a couple of times. Scared the life out of me.
If you are passing through Agumbe remember to eat the vada's and have coffee at the cart near the forest check post. Padiyar maam(uncle in konkani) is irritable but a nice guy. Or have neer dosas in the restaurants in Someshwar or Seethanadi. Plus the carbonated buttermilk in Someshwar (soda majjige in local lingo)
While driving through Agumbe ghat always remember to give way to ascending vehicles.

[ak916]

Hello All. I need a suggestion. We are heading to Kollur on Saturday from Bangalore. I want to break the journey about 2 hours short of Kollur and need suggestions. Our only criteria is that the hotel has to be clean and about 2k per room. We are open to going via sagar/honnavar or Shimoga/Agumbe or via Shiradi. Now that the shiradi route is fine, we are more keen to take this route. We do not want any options in Mangalore though because it will take away from the "touristiness" of the trip

Do you have any recommendations for a good clean hotel about 100 kms or so from Kollur? Ofcourse, there should be some place to visit etc.. a beach, ancient monument, river.. anything will do.