[Rajat347]

I have been in Pune for around 10 years now. From my higher education to fatherhood, Pune gave me all.
But one thing was always missing, I have never been to Goa.
I hate bus journeys and flights never attracted me. Never found a companion though and my old Chevrolet Beat failed to give me confidence.
Finally my wife agreed for a road trip and my 6 months old son smiled too.

The Plan was to leave Pune on 18th Dec and be back by 22 Dec. Preparations have started 2 months ago. We made our baby habitual of Car Seat and baby carrier.

My Honda Amaze 2018 V Petrol sanity check was also performed which included,

• Engine oil viscosity check.
• Wiper Blades and Headlamps.
• Brake Oil level and Tyre conditions.

Routes for Goa :
Pune -> Gandhingalaj -> Amboli -> Sawantwadi -> Calangute



Route Back Home
Calangute -> Sanquielim ->Chorla Ghat -> Belgaum -> Pune



Here comes the day and I was super excited

The Plan was to leave at 6 AM but keeping baby's sleep in consideration we started at 7 AM.



420 L of Amaze's Boot was filled by Baby's Luggage alone:



Petrol Tank was filled to the Brim a day before so that we can start straight. But only after 44.7 we hit a road block and it was a massive Traffic Chaos at Khed - Shivpur Toll Plaza which ate our 15 Minutes.
Some how we passed through it and a traffic Jam met us again. There was an under construction fly over and no proper diversion were arranged. We ended up wasting our 30 minutes again.
We were on the road for 2 hours but covered only 80KMs so far.

Any ways the road was clear then and we were cruising with average speed of 80 - 100 KMPH. Road was fine till Satara which is called as AH 47, a 4 Lane Highway

After Kolhapur it was butterly smooth road till Belgaum.



As per the plan it's time to get off the AH at Sankeshwar and we took right turn to enter a state highway.This hotel can be taken as a landmark.



We made a huge mistake.



After covering 2 KMs the road condition improved. The SH pass through cities and our speed was very slow. More over its sugarcane harvesting season so there were long tractor trollies proudly blocking the road with sugarcane load and moving at snail's pace.

The road condition improved only after crossing Ajra and it was less crowded but narrow road ahead.



Then came the Amboli Ghat.
I am always comfortable in the Ghats but It’s not advisable to stop at Ghats which are crowded with monkeys. We didn't click any pictures there. After driving down Amboli we reached Sawantwadi.
It was beautiful but the sun started its descend and we still have to travel for 70 more KMs.
We took a right turn after Sawantwadi and joined NH 66. Believe me the road is in precarious condition with huge construction going on. It was getting dark now and my son was feeling uncomfortable.

Finally reached our hotel at 6:30. It took us 11:30 Hours to cover 455 KMs with some breaks for baby's diaper change and meals.
Amaze returned a Mileage of 19.3 KMPL with AC on and not good roads.



It’s time for some rest and our Welcome Drink.

Now Day 1, Keeping baby's sleep and feed in mind we started our day at 12 Noon.

1) Fort Aguada: famous for its old Light House and Dil chahta Hai moment. Remember Goa has Pay and Park system with flat rate of rs 100. The fort is in good condition and offers a spectacular view of Arabian Sea.



2) Now its time for some refreshment and we ended up at a place called as Taste of India in Calangute. Had famous Goan Fish Curry there.

3) An Evening at Baga Beach. This beach is famous for all night parties and Lights. There were hundreds of shacks in a row.



The Famous Tito's Lane in Baga



Day 2, Its time to see other side of North Goa and Anjuna was on our List. My Wife wanted to visit Anjuna flea market but it opens only on Wednesday which we were not aware of.

1) Anjuna Beach , Bit rocky but beautiful. A must have on any traveller's list. It is less crowded, less commercial, bit smaller than Baga but its beautiful.



Our son touching sea for the very first time


Rocky Patches on Anjuna



Spent some time there at the beach.


2) While returning from Anjuna, we found this lovely place called as Artjuna Cafe. Had great coffee and green cheese omelette sandwich there.



3) Evening was spent at Calangute beach but that could have been avoided.



Now Day 3, we decided to drive a bit and explore Vagator and Candolim. Though they both are in opposite directions but I wanted to have a glimpse of both.

1) Vagator Beach, some 25 minutes’ drive from Calangute, this beach has beautiful white sands with clear water. Only two shacks were there with lots of foreign tourists.





Thank Amy for bringing me here.



2) It was 4 PM, and we decided to head towards Candolim to have a good view of sunset but there were couple of stops on the way..

Saw this beautiful Church which was getting ready for Christmas Celebrations.



My Car, quite dusted but a reliable companion.



Also a refuel break was required. Petrol was 80 Rs in Pune, 77 Rs in Karnataka and 70 Rs in Goa.



3) Reached Candolim which was too much crowded but had clean golden sands.



Now it was Sunday and time to go home. The idea was to start by 8 AM but again we started at 9:15 AM. This time as per the plan it was decided to goa via Chorla Ghat crossing Belgaum.

Said final good bye to Goa



Chorla Ghat was clean and so was Belgaum, But we reached Home by 9:30. Just 30 KMs before Katraj, Pune we were struck in terrible traffic jam and wasted 2 hour there

Finally we reached home and took a reading of the FE.



Note: Whether one takes Belgaum or Amboli route, ghats are inevitable. The road passes through forests land and there is no support in case of any emergency so always keep ample snacks and water. Though scenic it becomes scary in dark.

I know it was a long read but many thanks for your support.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Simhi]

Originally Posted by Rajat347

I have been in Pune for around 10 years now. From my higher education to fatherhood, Pune gave me all.
But one thing was always missing, I have never been to Goa.

Wonderful write-up. Thanks a lot. I have bookmarked your post for future reference. I am also yet to visit Goa though have been in Pune for more than a decade now.

[ankitsharma]

Nice writeup Rajat. Welcome to team-bhp.

Ex-Virage Member

[satrikon_454]

I traveled to Goa with the fam on the 21st of this month and got back on the 28th. We drove down from Bangalore and encountered some horrendous roads after crossing the Dharwad toll. The non-existent roads leading to Ramnagar were so bad that we had to wrap our noses with make-shift masks despite closed windows and internal circulation mode on. So, anyone traveling to Goa in the coming days, do make a note of it.

By the way, nice write-up there. Goa wasn't as lively as it generally is at this time every year. I wonder if it's because of well-planned, well-in-advance cheap international trips that can cost almost the same price.

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by Rajat347

I have been in Pune for around 10 years now. From my higher education to fatherhood, Pune gave me all.
But one thing was always missing, I have never been to Goa...

I know it was a long read but many thanks for your support.

Excellent writeup Rajat. I have been in Pune since 2000 and its somehow the same story as yours. Though I had been to Goa once, but that was as part of my RE group, so the priorities were different, you know

If possible, can you please share the details about the hotel, accommodation charges etc. December to Feb I heard is peak hour and pretty expensive. How did you book your hotel? I did check with Trivago etc. but the rates are do not do justice at all. Also according to you, if one is on a tight schedule, which one is a better option, North or South Goa. Makes no sense at all in trying to visit all the places of interest and getting tired at end of day.

Thank you once again; this travelogue is going to be saved till I complete my Goa trip with family. This one is simple, touches all the key aspects, yet gives a very good overview. Thank you for sharing...

[Rajat347]

Originally Posted by satrikon_454

I traveled to Goa with the fam on the 21st of this month and got back on the 28th. We drove down from Bangalore and encountered some horrendous roads after crossing the Dharwad toll. The non-existent roads leading to Ramnagar were so bad that we had to wrap our noses with make-shift masks despite closed windows and internal circulation mode on. So, anyone traveling to Goa in the coming days, do make a note of it.

By the way, nice write-up there. Goa wasn't as lively as it generally is at this time every year. I wonder if it's because of well-planned, well-in-advance cheap international trips that can cost almost the same price.

Agreed, In fact it was totally different with what I used to hear from people. Most of the shacks were empty with no occupancy. Some of the reason which locals assumed:

1) Demonetization: It almost killed foreigners flow.
2) A huge crackdown on open alcohol drinking. Which I think is pretty much required. There were traffic cops checking on drink and drive which was not earlier.
3) As you mentioned, sky high hotel prices in season. Clubbed with air tickets it can be very very expensive.

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Excellent writeup Rajat. I have been in Pune since 2000 and its somehow the same story as yours. Though I had been to Goa once, but that was as part of my RE group, so the priorities were different, you know

If possible, can you please share the details about the hotel, accommodation charges etc. December to Feb I heard is peak hour and pretty expensive. How did you book your hotel? I did check with Trivago etc. but the rates are do not do justice at all. Also according to you, if one is on a tight schedule, which one is a better option, North or South Goa. Makes no sense at all in trying to visit all the places of interest and getting tired at end of day.

Thank you once again; this travelogue is going to be saved till I complete my Goa trip with family. This one is simple, touches all the key aspects, yet gives a very good overview. Thank you for sharing...

I always wanted to stay in South Goa or near Vagator or Anjuna but being a first timer my wife insisted on staying near Baga.
I booked a room in The IBIS style for 7K per night and believe me it was not worth it. The room was very small with a tiny bed .
Booking was done from booking.com but here is a catch. You can get the same room for 5k also but it won't be refundable booking with no free breakfast. So it means they charge extra for free cancellation eligibility and there is never free breakfast. We pay for it.
I assume you are going with family. So i recommend staying in OYO Homes, Air BNB or any good branded resort and please avoid beach bamboo cottages. They have issues with hygiene, insects and above all the rooms are not sound proof.
About the traffic ? The most problematic stretch is from Katraj Tunnel to Bhor. Be prepared to waste 1 hour there because of huge traffic chaos arisen because of under construction flyovers and un organized toll booth.

[jd10ent]

I've been in Pune for over 2 decades now and visited Goa 20 odd times, the most recently being 14-16 Dec 2019. It was a solo trip, by bike (Dominar). Took Pune - Nipani - Amboli - Sawantwadi- Goa route which I was able to do in 6.5 hrs, including breaks. Return was via a little used road via Tilari ghat, connecting to Belgaum.
Over the years I've done all the ghats, Amboli, Tilari, Chorla, Anmod & Ansh. The best roads were Ansh & Chorla. For Amboli ghat, taking the turn from Nipani instead of Sankeshwar is a better option.
I've lived in a range of places, from 5-star resorts to budget Home-stay options. Goa has a lot to offer apart from the typical 'touristy' places which can be covered in 3-4 days max. After that its more about taking in the culture and relaxing in the environs. South Goa for a more relaxing trip and North Goa if you're into partying all night.

[Deveshs5]

Amazing write-up. I live in Shiroda, a small town near Goa-MH border, so my dream of roadtrip to Goa is still incomplete. But I will soon plan one with my friends from Mumbai.

Also, there are lot of untouched beaches in Sindhudurg region(Shiroda, Vengurla, Khavne, Bhogve, Nivati, Tarkarli), and one in Goa (Querim) that I know of. If anyone wants to know more, I will be happy to guide you.

[jomson13]

Nicely written Rajat, I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your post. The pictures have come up quite well too.
I am a big fan of the chorla ghats, In fact I did this trip about the same time last year. I remember that some sections of the ghat were a bit broken; hopefully they would have been done up by now.

Goa is a place that never gets old or boring no matter how many times you visit it. During my latest visit, I had a friend who grew up in Goa, he showed me a whole new part of Goa - one that is away from all the beaches and the hustle and bustle. I'd highly recommend you do the trip once more and explore the non touristy places.

Wish you many more such trips, Stay safe.