The Best Ever Road Trip - Mumbai to Coorg and Back Part 2

This is the part of journey we were eagerly waiting for. We had planned for coastal route for some part of this journey and some amazing views were instore for us. I didn't have to wait for long. As we left Ganpatipule and drove on SH4, vast span of Arabian Sea was in front of us. 

The Best Ever Road trip - Mumbai to Coorg and Back Part 1

Finally, it happened. We had the best ever road trip - from our home Mumbai to all the way to Coorg. And what a journey it was! We witnessed the black, rich and fertile soil in Maharashtra, turned orange in Goa and then, became red till Karnataka. It was an ultimate realization of different worlds. They were three different civilizations. One, rushing towards work, second lazy and contented and third is busy enjoying and indulging in the best life!

Onto journey was as per plan, that is, Mumbai to Ganpatipule, Ganpatipule to Devbagh and Devbagh to Coorg.

We left Mumbai at 5:45am. The weather was hot and cloudy. 

All set for a driving holiday from Mumbai to Coorg

Beautiful serene beaches of Ganpatipule, crowded streets of Goa, and seashore divine temples of Karnataka, I am up for a real trip!

If India is full of hidden treasures, western coastline is one of those treasures. It is one of the must do excursion for every travel enthusiast. This summer vacation, we planned a road trip with an aim to be close to the shore as far as possible. 

Mumbai to Udaipur - A Road Trip

Mumbai - Vapi - Vadodara - Halol - Godhra - Modasa - Kherwada - Udaipur

Yes, you read it right!

Mumbai to Udaipur on a road trip.

It is around 770 kms and we did it on a stretch. All thanks to my husband's passion for driving and my navigation skills.

We decided to go for this driving trip just a day before! One of the reasons to go by road was expensive flight tickets also. But at the end it was proven to be a good decision.

We didn't have much time to decide for hotel. It was one of the long weekends and most of the good hotels were fully booked. We checked on Tripadvisor.com and the best possible options were Amet Haveli and the two hotel managed by HRH Hotels (Historic Resort Hotels). We obviously wanted to stay near the lake side. Amet Haveli seemed as better option as per tripadvisor’s ratings and it was also reasonably priced. So we went ahead with the bookings with Hotel Amet Haveli.

We researched for the route and we were in two minds. One route suggested that we should take state highway after Vadodara, and the other recommended to go via Ahmedabad. We enquired a little more and decided for the former.

A road trip from Mumbai to Shirdi

A journey from Sunrise to Sunset....

Shri Sai Baba Devasthan in Shirdi is very famous and holds a strong religious affiliation in India. The most interesting part is that it is equally popular in all religions. Shri Sai baba used to live in this small town of Shirdi in early 19th century.  With his powers He helped many humans and animals. Now, Shirdi is the location of holy shrine of Sai baba. Like many, we also are very strong believer of Sai baba.  Known for fulfilling the wishes of His devotees, He has never let us down. So we decided to go to Shirdi for a long pending thanksgiving trip.

We usually make plan for Shirdi trip for two days. It is around 250 kms from Mumbai and takes almost 5-6 hours for family one way. But this time we decided to come back on the same day. We planned it on a Sunday and we got up at 6 am. We decided to take the Ghoti route to avoid Nashik city. So the itinery is: Mumbai - Igatpuri - Ghoti - Sinner - Shirdi.