Navi Mumbai to Goa via NH66: Route update including road conditions

This was my first trip on NH66 because in spite of being a frequent traveler to Goa, I had always preferred the Expressway-Pune-Satara-Kolhapur route.

BHPian devilking recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I did the Navi Mumbai - Goa drive via NH66 on the 6th of December.

Started at 9:50 AM from my place and had already planned to reach North Goa by night with stops for lunch in between. This was my first trip on the NH66, because inspite of being a frequent traveler to Goa I had always preferred the Expressway-Pune-Satara-Kolhapur route.

Panvel-Pen-Nagothane stretch is doable, though the road surface is not very smooth and there are frequent speed breakers which one can come across without any prior warning. There are diversions at many places till Mangaon. But I will not complain too much about this stretch as I have seen worse.

We reached Indapur by 12 and took a 15 minutes break. After Mangoan, the section till Khed is very good. The Kashedi Ghat tunnel is open only on Goa-Mumbai side but is being used with a makeshift divider for both sides traffic.

Reached Chiplun around 2 in the afternoon and stopped for lunch. Started at 3 and the plan was to cover the bad parts of the highway before sunset. The Sangameshwar till Lanja section is under construction, and it will take at least 2 years best case for it to be fully functional. Better to avoid this stretch, and there is an alternate route via Devrukh that folks recommend.

After Lanja, the highway is butter smooth. Whatever time was lost navigating the diversions and gravel roads on the earlier sections was made up on this leg.

Reached our destination in North Goa by 8:15.

On the return leg, plan to travel via Anuskura Ghat to avoid the worst parts of NH66.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.