Road trips are a popular way to spend quality time with family and friends. Nowadays, the idea of road trips is quite popular among young masses. Generally, travel enthusiasts love road trips for the sole purpose of road trips, explains a way to explore nature, get associated with it, or to take a break from the daily hustle of life. Pune, also known as the sister city of Mumbai, is a city that provides a lot of traveling and trekking opportunities to the tourists as well as locals. It is surrounded by the Western Ghats, leaving you with destinations like Mumbai, Karnala, Lonavla, Shirdi, Mahabaleshwar, etc. which are perfect for taking a road trip.
Road trip to Mumbai
Traveling from Pune to Mumbai via road takes only 2 to 3 hours. One can avail Pune to Mumbai car rental with an experienced driver for a comfy journey. These routes offer you the incredible sight of the Western Ghats, and you pass through some remarkable natural views, historical places, and religious spots. Flora and fauna of the Western Ghats highlight the ethereal connection that humans share with mother nature. Apart from Monsoon and the beginning of Winter, the rest of the year is considered to be an excellent time to visit Mumbai. Due to heavy rainfall, Monsoon is the worst time to take a road trip to the City of Dreams. Also, if you are planning to start your journey during the night time, it is advisable to take necessary safety measures.
The Mumbai-Pune Expressway
The Expressway is the fastest and shortest route to Mumbai as the distance is just 150 km. This route features various famous pit stops such as Tapovan Hill, Devghar, Rajmachi Fort, Pawna Lake, Bushi Dam in Lonavla, Karnala Bird Sanctuary at Karnala, and Duke’s Nose Park at Khandala. You can enjoy mouth-watering delicacies while traveling through this route as well. An added advantage of this route is that except for holiday season and monsoons, it experiences less traffic.
NH-48, Mumbai-Pune Highway
The Mumbai-Pune Highway is the alternative route, which will take you 3 to 4 hours to reach Mumbai due to traffic. It features two pitstops for food. This route also lets you experience some magnificent natural sights like Kamshet, Bushi Dam, Rajmachi in Lonavla, Zenith Waterfall, and Imagica Theme Park at Khopoli, Duke’s Nose Park at Khandala.
Road Trip to Shirdi
Shirdi, a small town in India, attracts a lot of devotees every year and is believed to have a unique divine aura. It is famous for its religious landmarks and tourist places. By road, the distance from Pune to Shirdi is about 184 kilometers. You can book cabs from Pune to Shirdi for a comfortable road trip. October to February is the best time to visit Shirdi due to a pleasant climate and a favourable temperature. Sri Sai Baba Temple, Shani Shignapur Temple, and Khandoba Mandir are some of the most prominent and renowned religious spots in Shirdi. You can also pay a visit to the Water n Joy park for an enthralling experience. There are two routes to take a road trip from Pune to Shirdi.
Pune-Ahmednagar Highway and NH160
Although this route is slightly longer, that is 201 kilometers, it takes 4 to 5 hours to complete the journey. It has various appreciable food courts, along with other amazing places to visit. Bhima Koregaon Vijaystambha in Perne Phata, Ahmednagar Fort in Ahmednagar, Futala Lake in Nagpur are some of the spots that are worth remembering on your journey.
NH60
The estimated journey time is 4 to 5 hours via this route, along with excellent eateries. There are several attractive places to visit like Bird Velly Udhyan at Chinchwad, Sri Venkateswara Balaji Mandir at Narayanpur, Chandanpuri ghat forest department at Gunjalwadi.
Road Trip to Lonavala
Lonavala is a hill station famous for its hills, flora, fauna and caves. The Bhaja Caves and Karla Caves are carved out of rocks and are Buddhist shrines that have massive pillars and intricately made structures. It is located 66 kms from Pune, making it a preferred holiday destination in close vicinity.
Mumbai-Pune Highway
It will take you about 1.5 hours from the highway. You can book cab services from Pune to Lonavala which provide comfortable cabs and experienced drivers.
Apart from these three, there are a lot of places around Pune that hold historical importance around and are full of natural scenic beauty. It will take you about 2 hours to 6 hours to travel to these places from Pune. For a road trip, you should take some safety measures and carry some essential medicines and first aid along with you to avoid unexpected situations. It would be best if you take a professional driver for a safe journey. To take full advantage of the trip, pre-plan the details of the road trip, including the food outlets and landmarks.
