[iTNerd]

So, my relocation to Bangalore is getting paced, and now, the only thing left is to get my civic to Bangalore. I am planning tentatively for the journey on 1st week of June, leaving Delhi early 4th June.

Now, the question is which route to take? From reading some past threads, the shortest route is via Delhi-Agra-Gwalior-Nagpur-Hyderabad-Bangalore. (2050 kms approx)

Another is via the Golden Quadrangle - Delhi - Jaipur-Udaipur-Vadodara-Mumbai-Pune-Bangalore. (2350 kms approx)

Which of these routes do you recommend, taking into consideration, road condition, security and of course, sight seeing? I am aware there are naxalite problems in MP and AP. But I won't be doing night driving.

If I take the GQ route, how many days would it take for the whole journey? I am assuming, Delhi to Udaipur (some 650 kms) can be completed within 8-9 hrs. So, with some sight seeing in Udaipur and spending the night, will head to Mumbai early next morning, which is around 750 Kms. Spend the night in Mumbai and head to Bangalore next morning again. Mumbai to Bangalore is around 1000 kms approx. Would it be possible to cover that distance within a day (no night driving)?

Now, about the car, any special checks/tools I might need to carry for the journey? I am guessing the GQ roads are mostly good, so, the civic should not have any problem with the terrain (I have the stupid body kit on it!). Any special precautions I might need to take?

Tools I already have:
1. Battery powered tyre pressure pump
2. First Aid box
3. Spare tyre
4. 10 L jar (backup petrol)

Anything more that I would need?

Advise/suggestion are very much welcome! (Also, if any Team-BHPian interested in joining the trip, you are welcome. At least, would have a company for the journey).

[v&v]

@ iTNerd, Take the GQ. The road is good and you will enjoy the drive
you can refere the link we did last october.

You can easily do delhi - surat - Day 1, Surat - Satara - Day -2 , Day 3 by evening you will be in bangalore.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...rs-3300-k.html

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

So, my relocation to Bangalore is getting paced, and now, the only thing left is to get my civic to Bangalore. I am planning tentatively for the journey on 1st week of June, leaving Delhi early 4th June.

Now, the question is which route to take? From reading some past threads, the shortest route is via Delhi-Agra-Gwalior-Nagpur-Hyderabad-Bangalore. (2050 kms approx)

Another is via the Golden Quadrangle - Delhi - Jaipur-Udaipur-Vadodara-Mumbai-Pune-Bangalore. (2350 kms approx)

Which of these routes do you recommend, taking into consideration, road condition, security and of course, sight seeing? I am aware there are naxalite problems in MP and AP. But I won't be doing night driving.

If I take the GQ route, how many days would it take for the whole journey? I am assuming, Delhi to Udaipur (some 650 kms) can be completed within 8-9 hrs. So, with some sight seeing in Udaipur and spending the night, will head to Mumbai early next morning, which is around 750 Kms. Spend the night in Mumbai and head to Bangalore next morning again. Mumbai to Bangalore is around 1000 kms approx. Would it be possible to cover that distance within a day (no night driving)?

Now, about the car, any special checks/tools I might need to carry for the journey? I am guessing the GQ roads are mostly good, so, the civic should not have any problem with the terrain (I have the stupid body kit on it!). Any special precautions I might need to take?

Tools I already have:
1. Battery powered tyre pressure pump
2. First Aid box
3. Spare tyre
4. 10 L jar (backup petrol)

Anything more that I would need?

Advise/suggestion are very much welcome! (Also, if any Team-BHPian interested in joining the trip, you are welcome. At least, would have a company for the journey).

You dont really have to fill that 10L jar,the GQ is littered with petrol pumps and I am not convinced that it is a safe practice either to be carrying jarred petrol while driving through urban areas(drives to mountains are a different story altogether)

As for the route,as V&V has commented,stick to the GQ,the entire stretch has been completed till Bangalore.

If you cant drive till Surat,then I would suggest stay at Himmatnagar at Landmark Hotel,Himmatnagar on Day 1.On Day2,you can stay at Ginger,Pune on the NH4 bypass in Pune,it should take you around 10-11hours.On Day 3 you can reach Bangalore in approx 10hours.Facilities are excellent enroute.

[dadu]

There is a difference of 300kms between the two routes but I am wondering how much of that will convert to time saved over the other or not.

[ramanan.skr]

West Coast will be raining starting June 1st week. I am just bringing this to you as I am not so sure whether this will impact your journey through GQ. Mumbaikars, throw some light on this?

[hvkumar]

3 days on the GQ route. Halt at Udaipur and Bombay/Pune.
No safety issues anywhere en route.
Night driving is OK.
Bombay city is simple to bypass.
Check out the entire route plan in teh following route plan:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?...lNOUE&hl=en_GB

You can see the same route (in reverse order) but with more detailing, especially of hotels (with tel nos) in this second link:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?...Y0eEE&hl=en_GB

Please note the following:
- Don't forget to take the NH79/76 route via Bhilwara & Chittorgarh to Udaipur, and NOT via Ajmer.
- Get onto Sardar Patel Ring Road to avoid Ahmedabad city
- If you need help navigating Bombay bypass (not the "real" one, but the route via Thane, Mulund, Airoli & Turbhe), please let me know by PM.

[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by v&v

@ iTNerd, Take the GQ. The road is good and you will enjoy the drive
you can refere the link we did last october.

You can easily do delhi - surat - Day 1, Surat - Satara - Day -2 , Day 3 by evening you will be in bangalore.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...rs-3300-k.html

Thanks @V&V. Your thread certainly does get lot of useful information, which I might need. Did you drive all alone till Bangalore, before picking up your co-passenger?

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

You dont really have to fill that 10L jar,the GQ is littered with petrol pumps and I am not convinced that it is a safe practice either to be carrying jarred petrol while driving through urban areas(drives to mountains are a different story altogether)

As for the route,as V&V has commented,stick to the GQ,the entire stretch has been completed till Bangalore.

If you cant drive till Surat,then I would suggest stay at Himmatnagar at Landmark Hotel,Himmatnagar on Day 1.On Day2,you can stay at Ginger,Pune on the NH4 bypass in Pune,it should take you around 10-11hours.On Day 3 you can reach Bangalore in approx 10hours.Facilities are excellent enroute.

Thanks @ranjitp1. Yes, GQ it is! How many hours would it take from Delhi to Surat, assuming I leave delhi at around 4 AM? This is my first solo trip and for such long distances, I appreciate any advises, pointers for the journey. I will keep a mini-journal to note down all these info.

Originally Posted by ramanan.skr

West Coast will be raining starting June 1st week. I am just bringing this to you as I am not so sure whether this will impact your journey through GQ. Mumbaikars, throw some light on this?

Yes, that will be a concern. June 1st week - how bad would the highways get? I guess, I have to fix the date, based on the weather condition prevailing on the norther/western india.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

3 days on the GQ route. Halt at Udaipur and Bombay/Pune.
No safety issues anywhere en route.
Night driving is OK.
Bombay city is simple to bypass.
Check out the entire route plan in teh following route plan:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?...lNOUE&hl=en_GB

You can see the same route (in reverse order) but with more detailing, especially of hotels (with tel nos) in this second link:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?...Y0eEE&hl=en_GB

Please note the following:
- Don't forget to take the NH79/76 route via Bhilwara & Chittorgarh to Udaipur, and NOT via Ajmer.
- Get onto Sardar Patel Ring Road to avoid Ahmedabad city
- If you need help navigating Bombay bypass (not the "real" one, but the route via Thane, Mulund, Airoli & Turbhe), please let me know by PM.

Thanks @ramanan.skr. Yes, that was the plan I had of halting at Udaipur, and Pune for the nights. I will buy a All India map book, to jot the NH79/76 route.

BTW, I have a garmin GPS with Ovi maps. I guess that might come handy in unknown cities.

[v&v]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

Thanks @V&V. Your thread certainly does get lot of useful information, which I might need. Did you drive all alone till Bangalore, before picking up your co-passenger?

My family was with me. I drove the whole route. Its pretty easy & the roads are good. Day - 2 ie from surat till pune express highway would be a little tiring. High truck traffic. Pune - Bangalore is fantastic to drive.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

BTW, I have a garmin GPS with Ovi maps. I guess that might come handy in unknown cities.

Garmin GPS with OVI Maps? It should have been MMI or Satgudie.
Ovi today is I think only available with Nokia phones. Am I missing something?

[iTNerd]

Originally Posted by ampere

Garmin GPS with OVI Maps? It should have been MMI or Satgudie.
Ovi today is I think only available with Nokia phones. Am I missing something?

I think, Garmin is owned by Nokia.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by iTNerd

I think, Garmin is owned by Nokia.

They are two independent companies. Totally different.

[Janjua]

Hello iTNerd.

I did this route end of December 2010 during my Chandigarh-Kanyakumari-Chandigarh road trip.
I strongly advice you against taking the Delhi-Gwalior-Nagpur-Hyderabad section. The road from Gwalior onwards till Seoni and from Nagpur to Adilabad is going to break your back. The roads are so bad that one cannot help but curse the MP Government. I remember recalling the 'MP Ghazab Hai' advertisement that comes on TV and cursing the Government even more. Your vehicle will also be subjected to the wildest 'test ride' ever. So, please avoid MP as far as possible.
I did Chandigarh-Udaipur on day 1. Then Udaipur-Pune day 2. Pune-Hosur day 3. So it is very doable and very very enjoyable.
Best of luck for your trip.
PS - Don't bother carrying extra fuel, etc. Filling stations and eateries galore all along the highway. Resting well at night is the key. A good GPS will make your life a lot easier. I had MapMyIndia's Zx150. Cruised through the big cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad like a breeze.

Originally Posted by Janjua

The road from Gwalior onwards till Seoni and from Nagpur to Adilabad is going to break your back.

According to this map as on 31 March 2011 of NHAI, most of the sections on this route is completed. Very few small section is still under implementation. The recent travelers on this route may throw more light on the condition of this route.

Welcome to NHAI

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

According to this map as on 31 March 2011 of NHAI, most of the sections on this route is completed. Very few small section is still under implementation. The recent travelers on this route may throw more light on the condition of this route.

Welcome to NHAI

The last thing you should do is to read the nonsense NHAI publishes in its web-site. Nothing could be further from the reality. The Jhansi-Gwalior road is in such a bad mess that even locals shudder to go on it nowadays. The Dholpur Chambal bridge has been lagging behind in construction for so many years. Jhansi still does not have a proper bypass despite it being the only city in India where the North South Corridor intersects the East West Corridor!

Thanks a lot for prompt response and enlightening me, hvkumar. I wanted to try NS corridor for a change. I think, I will have to take GQ once again!