[coolclouds]

Hi All,

I am in initial planning stage of doing a road trip from Churu (Rajasthan) to Bangalore/Kochi

Why?
My brother is in Churu for the last few years with family and now planning to come back and settle down in Kochi by this year end. Hence we need to bring two cars (one Indica DLG and another Innova) to Kochi.

What car?
This time, we are bringing the Indica and by year end, planning for another trip, may be with his family (kids are 11 and 7 years) in Innova.

When?
We roughly planned the dates to be Sept 1st/2nd week (subject to leaves)

I am thinking of taking my wife for this trip but not sure about her leaves. If not, my brother or a friend from Bangalore will join.

If its with wife (50% chance) I don't indent to take any unknown/unsafe route. The plan would be:

Day1: Churu-Surat (or at least Ahmedabad/Vadodara)
Day2: Surat (Ahmedabad) - Pune (visit friend)
Day3: Pune - Bangalore.

Google maps do not suggest GQ route at all, may be because its the longest route (2300+ kms).

NH7: 2260 kms
NH211: 2108 kms
NH4: 2192 kms

Our recent longest routes includes Delhi to Bangalore in 2009 with brother via:
Delhi - GQ till Dharwad - Ankola - Mangalore - Calicut - Kochi

and Bangalore to Jaipur in 2010 all the way via GQ (Thanks to HVK for your .xls dictionary you sent me)

Brief on drivers: We are used to night driving, hate bad traffic, love any kind of terrains with good surface, can drive non stop for 500+ kms.

NOW,Kindly request your inputs on:

Since its an Indica (no offence to anyone, I am not much used to this car), is it really tough to maintain overall 75 km/hr and reach Surat on day 1 with very short breaks?

How about other routes suggested by google above in terms of traffic, road condition, good fuel stations, average speed etc?

What is the best start time to do Vadodara to Mumbai/Pune?

[ampere]

I dont know about Churu-Kishangarh.
Kishangarh-Chittorh-Ratlam-Indore. (Kishangarh-Indore is 4L NH79. The 4L stops some distance before Indore at Lebad).
There is I think a by-pass from Lebad to Mhow. Not sure about it.

(Mhow)Indore-Nasik-Pune is the right sector for the route. (But others can explain it well)

Pune-Bangalore-Kochin is standard NH4/NH7/NH47.

[ampere]

Sorry for back-to-back posts.

Here is the route link:

Churu, Rajasthan to Kochi, Kerala - Google Maps



Churu-Kishangarh-Chittor-Neemuch-Ratlam-Lebad-Mhow-Dhule-Nasik-Pune-Kolhapur-Belegaum-Hubli-Chitradurga-Bangalore-Salem-CBE-Trichur-Palakkad-Cochin.

NH79/NH3/NH50/NH4/NH7/NH47

HVK can confirm the same.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by ampere

Sorry for back-to-back posts.

Here is the route link:



Churu-Kishangarh-Chittor-Neemuch-Ratlam-Lebad-Mhow-Dhule-Nasik-Pune-Kolhapur-Belegaum-Hubli-Chitradurga-Bangalore-Salem-CBE-Trichur-Palakkad-Cochin.

NH79/NH3/NH50/NH4/NH7/NH47

HVK can confirm the same.

Thanks Ampere for the update.

I was under an impression that GQ will be faster and better. How about the traffic between Kishangarh and Indore? Is there any byepass in place at Indore?

[ampere]

As per what I remembered last (based on what HVK mentioned) there are two ways. One is via GQ which is NH8. This is under quite some construction work. HVK can confirm.

The other is via Indore. The Ratlam-Indore 4L stops at Lebad. From there I think you dont have to go to Indore. There is a bypass which would take you directly to Mhow and you can continue on NH3.

NH3 is not all that great, but the good part is you can bypass Bombay and directly hit Pune,

HVK again can confirm which is a better option. The one via Mumbai or via Indore.

[coolclouds]

Thanks Ampere.
Bypassing Mumbai would be great if possible. Let us wait for HVK and others from north to comment within next few days as all of us are worried and busy with Mumbai blast news now.

[hvkumar]

I will not suggest going by Indore since post-rains all roads in MP area take a big beating!

The best route is to connect with the Bhatinda-Kishangarh highway (via Fatehpur, Sikar & Makrana), and after reaching NH8 take the NH79/NH76 (Bhilawara, Chittorgarh) route to Udaipur and then via Ahmedabad & Bombay.

If you leave Churu in the morning, you can even reach Vapi by end of the day. I would not suggest Baroda or Surat because there are no good places to stay on the highway. You can also stay at Ankleshwar.

Please note to avoid the Bharuch-Ankleshwar NH8 bypass (instead, go through town) else you will stuck in River Narmada bridge traffic jams.

Please note that Surat-Bombay will be slow thanks to road widening and rains. Bypassing Bombay is not an issue. If you wish to avoid Bombay, then you will have to go from Surat on NH6 to Dhulia, then via Nashik to Pune, but I think that route is more complex and difficult compared with NH8 via Bombay.

On Day 2 (assuming you leave from Ankleshwar), you can reach Kolhapur or Belgaum, and Day 3, push it to Kochi (maybe, if you get delayed, you may reach Salem at least).

Like ampere says, you can also connect to NH8 via Jaipur, but the direct route to Kishangarh is maybe faster.

[mm403]

My two cents .. This summer on my trip to MP, I had seen a toll road from Ujjain to Ratlam. From Ujjain to Indore there is new 4 lane toll road, then there is by pass which takes you to NH3. NH3 is excellent upto Dahiwad. Only betweeen Dahiwad - Dhule for a stretch of around 50 km road was bad due to construction work. From Shule onward till Pune via Manmad, Shirdi is no problem. Was able to cover Ujjain Pune stretch in 12 hrs.

[ampere]

HVK, Is NH3 that bad after rains? How is the traffic ? (I remember in Indore they more commonly used to call it AB road for Agra Bombay road)

Is there 4L being done?

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I will not suggest going by Indore since post-rains all roads in MP area take a big beating!

The best route is to connect with the Bhatinda-Kishangarh highway (via Fatehpur, Sikar & Makrana), and after reaching NH8 take the NH79/NH76 (Bhilawara, Chittorgarh) route to Udaipur and then via Ahmedabad & Bombay.

If you leave Churu in the morning, you can even reach Vapi by end of the day. I would not suggest Baroda or Surat because there are no good places to stay on the highway. You can also stay at Ankleshwar.

Please note to avoid the Bharuch-Ankleshwar NH8 bypass (instead, go through town) else you will stuck in River Narmada bridge traffic jams.

Please note that Surat-Bombay will be slow thanks to road widening and rains. Bypassing Bombay is not an issue. If you wish to avoid Bombay, then you will have to go from Surat on NH6 to Dhulia, then via Nashik to Pune, but I think that route is more complex and difficult compared with NH8 via Bombay.

On Day 2 (assuming you leave from Ankleshwar), you can reach Kolhapur or Belgaum, and Day 3, push it to Kochi (maybe, if you get delayed, you may reach Salem at least).

Like ampere says, you can also connect to NH8 via Jaipur, but the direct route to Kishangarh is maybe faster.

Originally Posted by mm403

My two cents .. This summer on my trip to MP, I had seen a toll road from Ujjain to Ratlam. From Ujjain to Indore there is new 4 lane toll road, then there is by pass which takes you to NH3. NH3 is excellent upto Dahiwad. Only betweeen Dahiwad - Dhule for a stretch of around 50 km road was bad due to construction work. From Shule onward till Pune via Manmad, Shirdi is no problem. Was able to cover Ujjain Pune stretch in 12 hrs.

Thanks HVK and mm403 for the inputs.

So, the route would be:

Churu - Sikkar - Kishangarh - Chittorgarh - Udaipur - Ahmedabad - Vadodara - Surat - Mumbai - Pune - Bangalore - Kochi

Google maps shows a short cut between Shamlaji and Napad to bypass Ahmedabad. Did anyone try this route recently? Considering the beautiful NE1, is it worth to take?

HVK, can you please help me with some info to skip the Ankleshwar byepass and go through city? Is there sufficient signage? Else we usually follow the main traffic and may end up in the byepass itself!

[hvkumar]

Is NH3 bad? Going by past experience, it is one of the worst roads to take after rains. North of Indore, the roads crack up badly and that also causes long traffic jams.

South of Indore, the 4 laned road is pretty new and one cannot say for sure whether it will last the rainy season. Going by what I have seen in some of the newly-laid roads - such as Panna-Amanganj-Katni - I would not be comfortable that it will last long! Further, once you hit the MH border after Sendhwa, be prepared for some bad roads since roads are being widened till Dhulia.

Considering how good the NH8-NE1 option is, it is pointless to take the Shamlaji-Modasa-Godhra-Kalol-Baroda route (which used to be a popular short cut before 4-laning on NH8 was completed). It is faster to stick to the route via Ahmedabad. Bypassing Ahmedabad is very easy since the Sardar Patel Ring Road intersects NH8 at the Ranasan Circle - which is 14 kms after the Chiloda Circle, when you are coming from the north side) and signages for Vaddara are very clear.

Bharuch-Ankleshwar bypass on NH8 is to be avoided because of the narrowingf of the River Narmada bridge. When you are approaching from Baroda side, you will near Bharuch (<5 kms) - at the point where you see a large fertliser plant to your right, there is a flyover, which you must NOT take (flyover goes onto the bypass). Instead take a right turn under the flyover, go 1 km or so, then take a left turn into town. Go straight on that road through Bharuch town and immediately after crossing the Bharuch railway station you will cross the Narmada on the Golden Bridge - a narrow 1881-built bridge. Once on the other side, you will reach Ankleshwar town shortly and rejoin NH8 beyond the traffic jams.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Considering how good the NH8-NE1 option is, it is pointless to take the Shamlaji-Modasa-Godhra-Kalol-Baroda route (which used to be a popular short cut before 4-laning on NH8 was completed). It is faster to stick to the route via Ahmedabad. Bypassing Ahmedabad is very easy since the Sardar Patel Ring Road intersects NH8 at the Ranasan Circle - which is 14 kms after the Chiloda Circle, when you are coming from the north side) and signages for Vaddara are very clear.

Bharuch-Ankleshwar bypass on NH8 is to be avoided because of the narrowingf of the River Narmada bridge. When you are approaching from Baroda side, you will near Bharuch (<5 kms) - at the point where you see a large fertliser plant to your right, there is a flyover, which you must NOT take (flyover goes onto the bypass). Instead take a right turn under the flyover, go 1 km or so, then take a left turn into town. Go straight on that road through Bharuch town and immediately after crossing the Bharuch railway station you will cross the Narmada on the Golden Bridge - a narrow 1881-built bridge. Once on the other side, you will reach Ankleshwar town shortly and rejoin NH8 beyond the traffic jams.

Thanks HVK for the detailed info. So we will stick to regular Ahmedabad route itself and the route through Bharuch town.

Also, What is the approximate running time between Ankleshwar and Mumbai (Pune E-way entrance)? and what is the best start time from Ankleshwar?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Also, What is the approximate running time between Ankleshwar and Mumbai (Pune E-way entrance)? and what is the best start time from Ankleshwar?

Difficult Q to answer! There is lots of traffic on this stretch, but if you leave Ankleshwar by 4 am, you will have a easy drive till Vapi after which there will be lots of traffic, starting at approximately 9 am. The 4 am start will ensure you cross Vapi before 8 am. You may have a small problem in the Thane/Bombay region when trucks are allowed into the city, but nothing very serious. Assuming you cross Thane/Bombay region by 12 noon, you should be in the expressway by 1-2 pm (takes 1.5 hours without traffic from Ghodbunder to eway beginning at Kalamboli).

[coolclouds]

Google maps shows a deviation around Surat (Kamrej to Kadodra) while going towards South and NH8 itself towards North.

Here is the link:

Can anyone clarify this please?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Google maps shows a deviation around Surat (Kamrej to Kadodra) while going towards South and NH8 itself towards North.

Here is the link:

Can anyone clarify this please?

You do not go into Surat city, NH8 bypasses it - as you can see from the GM - and there is no confusion whatsoever.

Please do follow the log book that I had shared sometime ago, there is no scope for confusion. Please shut off your navigators and go by these log books or by the signage, you will make no mistake.