Annual Winter Migration : From Nainital To Goa and back by road

Onward to Goa

This year we decided that I will drive down to Goa for our Annual migration in late November. We usually hire a car for the period we are there, a boring grey Maruti Swift. But this year we would have our distinctive turquoise blue Tata Nexon with us. I was a little hesitant to drive down all the way, nearly 2500 without a co-driver so I asked my friend and colleague Satish whether he would consider coming along with me for the drive. Satish and I had taken a couple of driving tours for work in the last year, and he had shown an interest to go on a longer drive. Satish agreed and the planning began. It was agreed that Susheela would also drive down and they would have a small holiday with us in Goa before they returned. Jashodhara unfortunately couldn’t come with us because of earlier engagements, and she flew down to Goa and was there to welcome us when we reached.

Our route down to Benaulim in Goa was straightforward. We left Buribana on the 28^th of November 2024 and spent the night with Satish and Susheela at their place in Indirapuram in Ghaziabad. The next morning Jashodhara took a morning flight to Goa while we took to the road. The plan was Satish and I would change places every 3 hours or so and we would drive from 7 am to 7 pm to cover as much distance as possible. On the 29^th, the second day of the road trip, we drove on one section of the newly constructed Delhi – Mumbai Expressway through Rajasthan and spent the night at Ratlam. The next day we drove through Madhya Pradesh and then through Maharashtra and spent the night at Beed. On the 1^st of December we drove through Maharashtra, entered into Karnataka for a short distance and then went back into Maharashtra before we entered Goa. We reached our place in Benaulim around 8.30 pm. Over four days we had driven for 40 hours and travelled 2340 kilometers. Having shared the driving, neither Satish not I were feeling too tired. The first part of my driving project was now complete. A  more detailed description of our drive down to Goa is here.

Driving back

Having taken the car to Goa we had to bring it back. Even though I drove only half the distance on the way to Goa, I felt quite excited to drive back even though I would have to shoulder the whole drive. Jashodhara and I decided that it would be a better idea to limit the daily driving to 6 or 7 hours and include some sightseeing on the way. After some intense discussion on possible routes and places that we could visit we decided on a 12 day route with breaks. the plan that emerged looked somewhat like this.

17th March Monday - Benaulim to Ganapatipule via Malvan 6.30 hr.  Night stay at Ganapatipule MTDC

18th Tuesday - Ganapatiule to Lonavla. Night stay at Meritas Adore Resort. If possible visit Bhaja or Karla caves 

19th Wednesday - Lonavla to Talasri near the Dahanu. Night  stay at Hill Zill Winery Resort

20th Thursday - Dahanu to Vedchhi (3.5 hours), visit our old friends Uma and Surendra Gadekar and then drive on to Baroda (3 hours). Night stay at Hotel Hampton by Hilton, Baroda

21^st Friday – Tourism in Baroda

22nd Saturday - Baroda to Udaipur - 6 hr. Night stay at Hotel Mahendra Pratap

23rd Sunday – Tourism in Udaipur, if possible visit Chittorgarh

24th Monday - Udaipur to Ranthambhore- 5 hours.  Night stay at Hotel Shani Vilas

25th Tuesday – Safari in Ranthambore National Park  

26th Wednesday - Ranthambore to Delhi 5.30hr. Night stay at India International Centre

27th Thursday – Halt in Delhi. Catch up with friends.

28th Friday - Delhi to Buribana. Home sweet home!

On our Trip back we drove over 2800 km but it was exciting and enlightening as well. Road trips are a great way to learn about our vast and diverse country!

There are day-wise write ups with photographs and other information for those who are interested. Just follow the links above.