Off late, Goa has been our goto destination. We have visited Goa 3 times over the last 3 years. And each time, we had a Bangalore to Goa drive or Bangalore to Goa road trip. But, each time the experience was different. The first and the second time time on our Bangalore to Goa drive, we halted in Hubli on the way. But then these were longer trips from Bangalore to Goa.
Our first Bangalore to Goa Drive Via Hubli
On the first trip, we first drove from Hubli to Gokarna, spending a day in Gokarna. And then drove from Gokarna to Palolem Beach in South Goa where we experienced staying in a beach hut in Goa. From there, we further moved up the next day, to Benaulim Beach in South Goa. And we stayed at Biera Mar Beach Resort here for 2 weeks. In fact, we worked from Goa during these two weeks. And did day trip to explore North Goa from South Goa. And did a heritage walk of Fontainhas Latin Quarters of Panjim. Apart from that, we mostly spent our days working and evenings on the beaches in Goa.
While returning, we again took a halt in Hubli. So, on Saturday we drove from Benaulim to Hubli. And on Sunday from Hubli to Bangalore. We stayed in hotel Naveen Lakeside in Hubli which was a good hotel, with nice breakfast spread and very huge lawn besides the lake for kids to enjoy the evening.
Here’s the route taken on this trip :
Distance from Bangalore to Hubli : 412 km
Time taken to drive from Bangalore to Hubli : ~6.5 – 7 hrs
Bangalore – Hubli highway, NH 48 is a 6 lane highway for most parts. And is in excellent conditions. As a result, it is a breeze to cover the 412 km from Bangalore to Hubli. We started around 5:30am from our home, halted for breakfast around 7:30-8:00 am for over an hour. And still reached Hubli by 1:30pm.
Distance from Hubli to Gokarna : ~149 km
Time taken to drive from Hubli to Gokarna : ~ 4 hrs
The route from Hubli to Gokarna via NH52 is winding through western ghat hills. Although the roads to Gokarna are in good condition, it took us a lot of time to navigate the route. Because – (1) the roads are narrow (2) a lot of heavy vehicles ply on this route, they drive really slow and it is difficult to overtake them.
Overall, we started around 10:30am from our hotel in Hubli and reached Gokarna by 2:30pm in the afternoon.
Our Second Bangalore to Goa Drive Via Hubli
On our next Bangalore to Goa trip, we drove again from Bangalore to Hubli. And then drove from Hubli to Panjim. This time around we had a one week plan to work from Goa. Initially, we stayed at the Grand Leoney Resort in Vagator. And explored the Chapora Fort and few North Goa beaches from Vagator in the evening post office. Also, we visited the Wednesday Anjuna Flea Market and the Anjuna beach. And then, we shifted to Agonda Beach in South Goa for the rest couple of days of our trip to Goa this time. While returning, again we halted in Hubli for the night. And then drove from Hubli to Bangalore the next day.
Distance from Hubli to Panjim : 183.5 km via NH 67 and NH 748
Time taken for Hubli to Panjim drive : ~ 5 hrs pertaining to the ghat road
Our direct Bangalore to Goa Drive
Finally, on our third trip from Bangalore to Goa, we decided to do a direct Bangalore to Goa Drive. Since, this time around our trip was lasting only 4 nights. So, we couldn’t waste time halting in Hubli. It seemed a bit of a stretch with kids and parents tagging along. But we decided to take the plunge. We started from our home in Bangalore around 4:30am in the morning. And halted for a quick breakfast after crossing Dhavangere around 8:30 am. By 10:30 am, we had reached Hubli bypass.
Since this time, we didn’t have plans to stay in Hubli. So, we took the Hubli bypass road that connects NH48 to NH67. The 30km road on this stretch was 2 lanes only, without divider. So, it took around an hour to cover this stretch. Then we arrived on NH 67 and continued on our journey to Goa. Soon, the ghat roads started. I must say, the roads are not in excellent condition on Karnataka side. There are patches and broken stretches on the road.
But as soon as we crossed the border over to Goa, the scenario changed instantly. The roads are as smooth as they can be. And the drive from here on till Panjim is a breeze. We halted for a late lunch around 3:00pm on the last stretch of highway before Panjim. And then continued our onwards journey. Since, this time, we were staying in an airbnb in Calangute, right next to Panjim. We reached our stay by 5:30 pm in the evening. Not bad right?
So, here’s a summary of our direct Bangalore to Goa drive :
Bangalore to Goa drive distance : ~ 560km
Bangalore to Goa drive time taken : ~ 11 hours (including breakfast, lunch and few other bio breaks)
Route for the best Bangalore to Goa drive by car taken :
NH 48 = NH 67 – NH 748
Bangalore – Neelamangala – Tumukur – Chitradurga – Dhavangere – Hubli – Doodhsagar – Panjim – Calangute
I recommend this as the best route from Bangalore to Goa by car. And this Bangalore to Goa drive itinerary that we followed is an excellent one. The key is to start early from Bangalore so that we can cross the city traffic in the early morning hours. And then continue on Bangalore – Hubli highway. Since this highway is an excellent 6 lane highway, it is easy to maintain an average speed of 100 km / hr on this highway. And thus, we reach Hubli by 10:30am.
We aimed to reach early and cross Hubli early so that we could easily navigate the Hubli – Goa ghat roads in daylight. And we were successful in doing that. By 2:30pm, we had already crossed the ghats and arrived in the plains. After which, we halted for a lunch break. There are several “dhaba” style restaurants on this stretch of road. Although you will not get fancy meals here. But decent “thalis” and both North and South Indian cuisines will be available.
From here to Panjim is a beautiful drive, winding through several villages and smaller towns of Goa, through lush green ghat sections intermittently and crossing over the Mandovi river towards the end, before we enter the city of Panjim.
Return trip from Goa to Bangalore
On the day we returned from Goa to Bangalore, we again resolved to start early from Goa. Since, we wanted to arrive in Bangalore before the weekend traffic start building on the streets of the city. So, we started around 7:30am in the morning from our airbnb. And crossed the Ghat road, reaching the Karnataka – Goa border by 8:30 am. We halted right near the state border check post for breakfast. It was a very small and quiet reasonably priced hotel. We had idlis here for breakfast.
Post breakfast, around 9:15 am, we started from here. And crossed Hubli around 11:30am. There after we halted for lunch around 2:00pm at an A2B. And continued further till Bangalore. Surprisingly, we didn’t encounter much traffic in the city. And we were at home by 6:30pm. Towards the last stretch of the drive, we drove around 3.5 hours continuously without any breaks 🙂 So, we reached back from Goa to Bangalore in around 11 hours with 2 long breaks for breakfast and lunch each. This trip has enhanced our confidence to take up longer trips. This road trip from Bangalore to Goa is no doubt, one of the best road trips in India.
Bangalore to Goa by car – cost incurred
Fuel cost on round trip Bangalore to Goa drive by car : ~ INR 8000/-
Food cost on the way :Â ~ INR 3500/- for our family of 4
More resources from our Goa trips
Exploring the flea markets of Goa
The Saturday Night Market at Arpora Goa
Things to do in Goa beyond the beachesÂ
Our stay at Beleza by the Beach in South Goa
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Good summary. So you think the road from Hubli > Ramnagara> Dodhsagar > Panjim is the best road? I am interested in a good road condition. Not the shortest by google map. These shortest routes have actually non-existant roads. You cannot call them roads. The unfortunately to reach goa is there is no good express highway either from Bangalore or Maharashtra. All roads are 2 lanes with no maintenance.
Yes, the road we took from Hubli via Doodhsagar to Goa is the best of all we have explored. Because Bangalore to Hubli is a super expressway. Hubli to Goa boarder has some patches here and there but as soon as you cross the border over to Goa, its a very smooth road. Via Karwar is another option for south Goa but that has a lot of heavy vehicles plying through the ghat road which will slow you down considerably