Trivandrum to Bangalore by Road

[gops2009]

I plan to drive from Trivandrum to Bangalore . Plan to take the route via Madurai, could anyone who has taken this route recently provide information on the road condition, the driving time and good place for lunch enroute. I'm not keen on taking the route through Kochi and Coimbatore as the traffic is heavy and the monsoons have also set in.

The plan is to Start on Sunday Morning and reach Bangalore by around 7:30PM, I'm not much of a night driver. I checked the threads on this subject most of these are over a year old.

The car is Hyundai Accent , 5 passengers ( 2 adults. 2 children and our pet dog )

Awaiting suggestions and Info...

[csentil]

There's already a thread for this: Please use the same thread...

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...fo-needed.html (Bangalore - trivandrum. Info. Needed)

See hvkumar's entry on exact distances.

Tvm - Nagerkoil - Tirunelveli - Mdu - Dindigul - Karur - Namakkal - Salem - Krishnagiri - Bangalore.

Road work is still continuing between Nagerkoil - Madurai and Madurai - Salem. However most stretches between Nagerkoil - Madurai have been completed and driving should be pretty easy. However these are traffic heavy sectors and you would have to be careful especially in areas were you have to switch lanes due to road construction.

Madurai - Salem especially Karur - Namakkal - Salem there would be a lot of work and a lot of deviations. I don't have current updates.

Salem - Hosur would be a breeze especially Salem - Krishnagiri being the highlight.

Hosur - Bangalore is ok except for Attibele, Chandapura and EC due to bridge construction. Otherwise 6 laning is almost done.

Depends on how early you start and how you drive. You can push all the way to Tirunelveli for breakfast and Dindigul for lunch.

[TomRider]

Have a look at this thread for Bangalore-Madurai-Kanyakumari. It may be of some help.

[gops2009]

Thanks a ton Csentil, for info update on the tvm bangalore route, I had gone through the link you mentioned, but thought the info to be a bit dated , atleast considering the hectic road widening activity in this stretch. I have taken this route several times earlier but a lot is changing very rapidly on this route and with monsoons in I want to be a bit cautious and updated on the route. So thought starting a new thread would be a good idea.
I plan to start from Trivandrum around 5:30 Am, I would be the only one driving .

Tomrider, thanks for providing the link, the info here is a bit too summarised, but guess I shall try and contribute the details once I'm back

[GSMINC]

You asked for good eating joints, here you go:
Tirunelveli-hotel ramakrishna veg- on the bypass junction.
Madurai-Murugan Idly kadai-veg- on the bypass & inside the city
Madurai-Muniyandi vilas-nonveg-on the bypass
Madurai-Rayappaas chettinad-non veg- on the bypass
Madurai-apart from these,the usual suspects, Madurai meenakshi bhavan, Adayar ananda bhavan, Hotel saravana bhavan etc.
Karur-Adayar Ananda Bhavan-veg-just off the bypass, any autodriver can guide you
Salem-Selvi mess-nonveg- on the bypass & opp to bus stand, superb biryani
Salem-Saravana Bhavan-veg-off bus stand
Dharmapuri-Hotel Ramakrishna-veg-looks old & dated but good snacks/meals

There are a few more joints, but if you tell me what kind of food you prefer I may suggest several more.

[gops2009]

Hi Gsminc, thanks for the comprehensive update on eateries along the route pal. Since you asked, I love spicy and tasty authentic cuisine, veg or non veg does not matter, neither do calories . I think you did full justice to this topic...burp!!! :-) thanks once again..

[gops2009]

I returned from Trivandrum to Bangalore on Sunday. Started from TVM at 7:15AM was at electronic city at 7:00PM. Thanks once again to Csentil, Tomrider and Gsminc, all your inputs were useful.

Trivandrum -Nagercoil is a crowded stretch and will take time, truck traffic is heavey but being a Sunday did help matters I suppose

Nagercoil- Tirunelveli- Most of the stretch is completed with two lanes in each direction, need to watch out for tarring done at different levels and small portions left incomplete, ran into one such situation , tried hard to brake, but had to bear the sound of front hook hitting the metal in the dip on road..not the most pleasant sound to the ears.

Tirunelveli -Madhurai- Most of the road work is complete, however the road discipline is not maintained yet, so care is needed here, would not recommend this stretch for night driving yet. It would be very difficult at night to know if the vehicle from the opposite side is coming in the wrong lane

Madhurai- Dindgul - First stretch of about 30km is too crowded and the road condition is bad, after this you have the four lane highway, most of the work is completed save for a few flyovers. Again caution to be exercised here as there are unpainted humps built at diversions which can take you by surprise.If you need to refuel, suggest you do it in Madhurai as there are only few pumps enroute and some of them are on the right side

Dindigul -Salem- Most of the roadwork is completed , very good roads, save for 5-10 kms close to Dindigul and Salem

Salem - Krishnagiri- Krishnagiri- Bangalore- Good roads again. Be prepared for encountering traffic from Electronic city onwards

Four toll booths functional enroute , a few more being constructed and would come up in a couple of months.

Total Distance covered 733 Kms, for food guide , please refer to Gsminc's post in this thread, he sure knows about good food and this will help you whatever time you start

[GSMINC]

Originally Posted by gops2009

for food guide , please refer to Gsminc's post in this thread, he sure knows about good food and this will help you whatever time you start

Thanks, I guess a few people still live to eat, we have to keep the hotel industry running.
If you liked the food, tell others so that it might help them, If you didnt like the food, tell me so that I can give you more choices,
Anyway, where did you eat along the way for breakfast, lunch & dinner