Bombay to Goa

Hitting it off from Bombay…
Hitting the road from the 'City of dreams' - Bombay to 'The Pearl of the East' - Goa, can be a trip of a lifetime. The 582 km stretch road from Bombay to Goa on NH 17 is a smooth and picturesque drive through numerous towns & villages, hills & plains, coastlines & grasslands. While the highway itself is a pleasant drive, getting off the highway and exploring the coast on the west side and the hills to the east can make the journey more interesting. Any plans to travel to Bombay, one should opt for this trip from Bombay to Goa.

The first obstacle one faces is getting out of Bombay's is the traffic. The best way to get out of the melee is to take the flyovers between Bombay and Panvel and go over the Thane creek-bridge. After you have burned 17 kms to Panvel city, take the road for Panaji. About 30 kms later you will come to Pen road junction and from here take NH 17. The best route to take from here is the Alibag route, also called the scenic route.

Rolling on from Alibagh…
Keep your eyes on the road as you near Alibag because the road narrows down. Onwards from Alibag, the scenery turns to the Arabian coastline. There are the beaches of Kashid, the fort at Murud Janjira (makes for a nice halt and overnight stay), the temples and beaches at Harihareshwar, and the ancient caves near Mahad. Mahad offers some nice restaurants and motels. At the next town of Poladpur one can take a left to the popular hill station Mahableshwar or continue straight through Poladpur to the hilly twisty roads of the Western Ghats till one comes to the town of Khed. If you turn right from the highway you'll reach the wonderful beaches in Harnai. This is a nice place to relax and brace-up for the onward journey.

All the way to Goa…
After a refreshing halt, you can drive back to Khed to join NH17. Driving through the twisty hilly sections into Chiplun and Nivli, one can head right for the beaches of Ganpathiphule by taking state highway 106. The resort here is right on the beach and a great place to stay overnight. Continuing past Nivli for about 136 Kms on NH17 one comes to the small town of Kasal where you turn off on the right onto State Highway 118 to the small fishing village of Malvan and onto Tarkali beach. One can have a good night rest before getting back to Kasal and following NH17 into Goa. From here you are almost there. Goa is situated right on the highway.