[srikanthns]

Originally Posted by kala

Last time I drove from Trivandrum to Bangalore, I stopped for breakfast at Hotel Saravanabhavan (not sure if it's an original or a pretender) about 10 kms before Kovilpatti. Was quite a decent place. Can't recall the exact name of the place, but the coordinates are Latitude 9.1242845, Longitude 77.7080453 (Search for "9.1242845,77.7080453" in Google maps, you should find the place on the map).
.

Thank you very much for the encouraging input. May be I can reach this place by 700hrs and have a peaceful breakfast!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by kala

Just checked my logs for that Trivandrum trip - I passed Nagercoil at 6 AM and was at the start of Madurai bypass by 8:40 AM. That was inclusive of a break of around 20 minutes at Kovilpatti for breakfast. So 4 hours is certainly an overkill for Nagercoil-Madurai, the distance is only around 225 kms. And as you said since it is a 4 lane stretch with excellent road surface and sparse traffic, you can actually average 100kmph without going over 120 at any time.

My bad. I thought it about 300 and hence said about 4 hours. But I think Srikanth should still budget about 3+ hours of drive, given he is driving for the first time on a long stretch.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by srikanthns

I am planning to travel from Trivandrum to Sullurpet. Google Maps gives the distance as 860 km. I plan to start by 1700hrs, go to a colleague's house near Valliyoor, 30 km from Nagercoil. Stay the night in my colleagues house. Start the next day by 0600 or max 0630 hrs and plan to reach Sullurpet by 1800 hours. Is this plan Ok? Only I hear that there are no good hotels between Nagercoil to Madurai. So break fast is a problem (I cannot ask my colleague prepare breakfast at such early hours!) any known hotels on the way? Lunch can be managed at Ulundurpet, I gather from the earlier posts in this thread. This will be my first long drive. I have driven a maximum of 120 km one way till date.

You can stop at Hari's restaurant, Kappalur(Madurai). This is just before the Kappalur toll plaza, the diversion to chennai comes immediately after this toll plaza. And Vallioor to this location takes around 2 hours.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Va...151!2d9.840959

[hamster]

^^^ Adding to Arun and Kala's inputs, if by any chance you are not having hunger pangs (I am sure you will have with an early morning start), better have it Saravana Bhavan (not the original) at Sattur or at Hari's just before Kappalur Toll.
Both of them are quiet decent.

Drive Safe

[srikanthns]

Hi Arun_josie,kala & hamster, thank you for your valuable inputs. My journey is postponed by a week. Will use your guidance when I start afresh. Thanks once again

[Dan9ie]

Hello everyone, Can anyone please comment on the condition of the thenmala and tenkasi road ? I am planning to drive from trivandrum to chennai. And am looking at an option to avoid nagerkoil in the evening. Will this be a viable option ? Thanks!

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Dan9ie

Hello everyone, Can anyone please comment on the condition of the thenmala and tenkasi road ? I am planning to drive from trivandrum to chennai. And am looking at an option to avoid nagerkoil in the evening. Will this be a viable option ? Thanks!

I haven't driven Trivandrum-Tenkasi in the evenings. The roads were good. I definitely won't advise taking Tenkasi-Tirumangalam after sundown, the roads might be better but traffic is terribly irritating as Kavalkinaru-Trivandrum drive.

Madurai 2-lane bypass too is highly irritating if you travelling between 1900 and 0200. I'd suggest to go via Dindigul to Trichy, while the route is about 10-15 km longer it'll be faster than spending driving anywhere above 45 min in the Madurai 2-lane bypass.

[Dan9ie]

Originally Posted by narayans80

I haven't driven Trivandrum-Tenkasi in the evenings. The roads were good. I definitely won't advise taking Tenkasi-Tirumangalam after sundown, the roads might be better but traffic is terribly irritating as Kavalkinaru-Trivandrum drive.

Thanks for the info. I decided to take the normal route and though nagercoil was fine but I got stuck for about 45mins just trying to get out of trivandrum. I might try the alternative route via tenkasi on my way back tomorrow.

[Dan9ie]

I decided to try the route via tenkasi on the way back.
Had lunch at Hari's, was a good place. Turned off from Tirumangalam, the roads till Rajapalayam were good with minimal traffic, from there onwards to tenkasi the traffic increased but the roads were OK. Then onwards to thenmala the the hilly section started and progress was slower. The my initial decision was to go via sh2 but the road was narrow and I decided to turn off it from kulathupuzha towards ayoor to join mc road. That was a good decision and progress was easier from then onwards as well.

But overall I think the route via tenkasi was nice and definitely more interesting that nh7 and even though its shorter by about 50kms, it took the same amount of time and probably added more fatigue as well.

The roads were decent but pick this route if you are not pressed for time.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Dan9ie

The my initial decision was to go via sh2 but the road was narrow and I decided to turn off it from kulathupuzha towards ayoor to join mc road. That was a good decision and progress was easier from then onwards as well.

This is a good observation. So taking the MC road diversion at Kulathupuzha than taking the Palode route. Palode route however sees lesser traffic compared to MC road and is know typically narrower.

[Dan9ie]

Well my reason for switching over to mc road was two fold actually. My final destination was technopark/kazhakuttom and so coming down via mc road gave me the option of reaching directly via pothencode.

[freakmuzik]

Guys, I just completed Trivandrum - Chennai in my Nano GenX . Since it was just delivered, i took lots of breaks and mostly maintained 60-70 kmph (80 kmph few times).

Started from West Fort (near the Eanchakkal) at 6.00
Roads were quite fine till Nagercoil to be frank. The road widening near Pappanamcode wasn't as scary as i thought, especially in the morning.

The surface has been relaid in most of the stretches till nagercoil and hence the drive was smooth. Took 90 mins to cross Nagercoil.

Roads from then on were awesome! Totally no traffic at most of the places. The only grouse I felt was the switchover from NH 7 to NH45B from Thirumangalam. The roads were not so good and there was a good amount of traffic too.

I reached NH 45B (Vikram Hospital) at 12.00 pm. Had food with my uncle who then came with me till Chennai. We started at 12.45pm, refueled in between, reached Trichy crossing by 2.45, took a break from 3.40pm to 4.00 pm and my uncle drove from there to Tindivanam. Reached Tindivanam at 6.15pm. Took a break again and he handed over the keys to me.

Started at 6.45pm and reach home at Koyambedu by 9.15 pm. The roads were filled with bikers and autos and buses right from Kattankulathur and the traffic was horrible. Everyones in so much of a hurry and can't even wait to overtake - so much that my rear view mirrors blinded me because of the constant headlight flashes! So i slowed down, permanently remained on the Left lane (except in junctions) and let everyone pass by.

Took the Maduravayol bypass and entered Koyambedu. Even this road was full of horrible traffic for the first 5 kms and then things eased a bit.

Total distance - 786km

Overall the drive was fantastic and refreshing for and should say the GenX impressed me a lot too. I took nearly 15 hrs because my car was running in and with lots of breaks. Need to do this road once again after the run-in.

Thanks for all the inputs friends which made the trip so enjoyable!

Cheers!

[Makin Rulesz]

I got the confirmation that chennai-trichy-dindigul-madurai-nagercoil-trivandrum is the best route to take.
Does anyone has the latest information on road condition on this stretch? Also helpful would be the duration it takes to cover it on a saturday morning 5am start from chennai.

[Gannu_1]

This is the best stretch without doubt. The Nagercoil-Trivandrum section is the only bottleneck with the single-laned road; the rest is a mix of 4/6 lanes, beautifully paved.

A 5 AM start from Chennai implies you would reach Madurai around 12 PM after a breakfast break and Nagercoil around 5 PM after a lunch break. You should touch Trivandrum outskirts around 7 PM. I've driven to Madurai last month via this route and the roads were in good shape.

[Grand Drive]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

trichy-dindigul-madurai

Trichy - Viralimalai - Melur - Madurai is the direct route. Any specific reason to go via Dindugul?