BHPian pcpranav recently shared this with other enthusiasts: Sharing details of my recent trip done in Nov-2025. I have done this stretch numerous times, maybe few times a year, and the last was in July’25 – monsoon had created additional havoc, poor roads and traffic jams. On a personal note, generally have reduced my driving speed, and become more cautious on the road. Over the years I have witnessed so many accidents, poor road discipline, and hence this precaution. Few years back, the same stretch I used to do much faster, but now its quite a relaxed drive, including more refreshment breaks. So, my timings could seem off to many here.Mumbai to Vadodara : all along NH48.We started at around 8.30 AM from Mira Road, and immediately there was a bit traffic build-up till Fountain signal wasting ~15-20 minutes, because of ongoing road works. Afterwards, the roads were mostly clear. Repeating myself the N time, the concretization of road is a very poor quality work, vehicle is bouncy, and many potholes. Occasionally I could see traffic buildup on the opposite lane, and we were thinking of a ordeal in our return journey. Gujarat side has mostly tar (asphalt) roads, and its a pleasure to drive on such surfaces. Generally we stop at Shree Datta Snacks or Silver Miles at Manor for breakfast, but this time we skipped and continued with some fruits that we carried from home. At 10.30 AM we reached Charoti Toll, and found big potholes just few feet away from the toll barrier. I got frustrated and went inside the nearby admin office. The officers and manager there was so casual and least-bothered approach, and told me that their job (Eagle Infra pvt contractor) was only to collect toll money and that about road repair to be complained directly to NHAI on tollfree, so absurd !! After a bit of pushing, finally they gave me the NHAI complaint book, wherein I put my hand-written complaint – not sure if anyone really would act upon it. Pathetic. Beware of the police barricading near Talasari, mostly can be “handled calmly” to proceed ! At 11:00 AM we reached Hotel Ahura, had some breakfast, and bought their famous cashew and almond cookies for some friends in Vadodara. We really enjoy doing our food stops all along and often try new places. This time we stopped at Ajay’s Food Court at Navsari highway at 02:00 PM. This place is quite nice, spacious, clean bathrooms, and nice food. The small narrow bridge just before entering Makarpura Vadodara was luckily clear this time (last few times it was quite choked). Construction of bridge widening can be seen. After beating the evening traffic in city, we reached Vadodara home at ~5.30 PM ===Return – Vadodara to Mumbai : mix of NH48 and NE4:Due to some personal reasons, we had to leave quite late in afternoon and had few long stops on the way. Overall, we did encounter regular traffic and some evening rush enroute. At Kim town (before Surat), we can clearly see a left diversion to join NE4 – and some traffic jams at this junction. We took the NE4, which was a clear road; however being concrete road this is still bit bouncy. For now, this NE4 exits at Palsana (Ena toll), covering ~48 KM, and rejoins the NH48 highway. In future as more NE4 work is completed, the route would be made further available. At 9.40 PM we stopped at Dungri (before Valsad) to enjoy eating winter special dish “Umbadiyu” at Babubhai’s stall. Entering Maharashtra will be clearly indicated by the rough roads, and bouncy cement stretches. At some stretches I did see construction going on even at late hours. At 00:15 AM we stopped for a quick tea break near Pelhar, and luckily we didn’t get any traffic jams ahead (especially near Fountain bridge), apart from a bit slowdowns. Reached Mira Road home by ~02.30 AM. Noteworthy, last week I went for lunch at a dhaba just 2 KM ahead of Fountain bridge, and my return trip costed me 2.5 hours, totally frustrating !!! — Looking at our timing & circumstances, initially we had thought of booking a hotel stay in Valsad / Vapi, however since I was quite fresh & comfortable, so pushed till home. In my previous trip in July’25, I did drove from Vadodara (Bhayli) NE4 to Bharuch (Dehgam), rejoining NH48 near Zadeshwar. Overall the highway was bouncy, and had many potholes / cracks filled with tar. The exit stretch from Dehgam to Bharuch has too much traffic, mainly due a to bridge construction enroute. As of today’s availability of NE4, I dont prefer taking it for my Mumbai – Vadodara trip. Maybe in future, once infra improves and widens. —- Regards,Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
