[Fauji]

Originally Posted by samm

Of all these, if you love the journey, it has to be Bangalore - Wayanad - Calicut (Kappad beach). Nothing in your list beats this. Best, to drive - its simply great for its refreshing nature and scenery.

Perfect Samm.

My only recommendtaion to Androdev is not to go to only to Tranquebar and combine with other options as mentioned by me. I dug out some pictures of Bungalow on the beach and Sterling swamimalai. Take a look.

Agraharam style layout of Sterling Swamimalai - Notice the well



In front of our room - Vernacular architecture style



View of sea from the balcony of the room in Bungalow on the beach



The beach



The Danish fort in Tranquebar



Church built by Danes in 1718

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by prabingade

I stayed in Tranqubar in Dec 2010 and would not recommend the place. The Bunglaw on Beach is good but the beach is dirty, flooded with the tourists and not at all maintained. With small children and parents, this is not an enjoyable beach. With this rainy weather, I am sure beach is going to be extremely dirty (the water can be cleaner than Pondy but whats the use if the beach is not clean)

I also stayed in Radisson, Mahab in Dec 2010 for 4 nights and would highly recommend for a vacation with small children and parents. It is a clean resort, the beach facing chalets have great view and the beach is very well maintained.

Though I have not stayed there personally, suggest you to consider "The Lalit" in Bekal, north Kerala. Google maps gave me <400 kms from Bangalore.

Surprising! When I went in peak tourist season last year (Dec), the beach was spotless and there were hardly two dozen people around, all of whom were staying at the resort.

I totally agree with you over Radisson though - their private beach and the sea facing chalets are a fantastic place to relax. I had a really good time at their sea food restaurant as well.

[androdev]

Thank for all the suggestions guys! Really appreciate it.

Unfortunately I am the only one who is enthusiastic about vacations in my family. Parents find the travel too tiring and wife hates the additional burden of managing kids in a new environment. They hate sitting in car and prefer flying. And as a fellow t-bhp member, it isn't a vacation for me unless there is a drive involved. What I am getting to is: we are a lazy bunch, and not the enthusiastic holidayers. If I mention the phrase "great drive" - they give me a dirty look.

Radisson is a safe bet. We have been planning to do that for sometime. However after going through tranquebar, "I" am excited. Combining it with Velakanni and Trichy-friend-meet, it becomes a strong contender.

West coast: My wife is a Malayali so we get to see a lot of Kerala from close quarters (and food :-)) We usually combine family functions with Kerala vacations.

It is mostly between Radisson (Mahabs) and Tranquebar.

My next hassle is to find dates that work for everyone in the family, sadly I wont be able use your help there!

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by androdev

Radisson is a safe bet. We have been planning to do that for sometime. However after going through tranquebar, "I" am excited. Combining it with Velakanni and Trichy-friend-meet, it becomes a strong contender.

It is mostly between Radisson (Mahabs) and Tranquebar.

My next hassle is to find dates that work for everyone in the family, sadly I wont be able use your help there!

Radisson temple bay (earlier GRT temple bay) is a great place if you are staying with kids. Awesome pool and if your kids love pool, you could look at staying in rooms right next to pool. Those are newer as well. If you haven't been to Mahabs before, you could take kids to "crocodile park". You can also visit shore temple and couple other places as well.

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by androdev

Radisson is a safe bet. We have been planning to do that for sometime. However after going through tranquebar, "I" am excited. Combining it with Velakanni and Trichy-friend-meet, it becomes a strong contender.

It is mostly between Radisson (Mahabs) and Tranquebar.

Originally Posted by hondadude

Radisson temple bay (earlier GRT temple bay) is a great place if you are staying with kids.

Radisson Mahabalipuram is a great place. Book in advance as weekends are generally full by "Madrasis" coming there for weekend trips.

BTW, this hotel is designed by one of the famous architects of the country - Charles Correa when he did this assignment for ITDC Ashok group. Rooms are spacious and view of sea is lovely. Yes, the pool is to die for.

[speedsatya]

Karwar,Gokarna near mangalore while Ganpatiphule near Goa are also options you could consider .But none of these can be done in under 5 hours .

[kirantp]

Originally Posted by samm

Of all these, if you love the journey, it has to be Bangalore - Wayanad - Calicut (Kappad beach). Nothing in your list beats this. Best, to drive - its simply great for its refreshing nature and scenery.

Bangalore - Wayanad : Till Gundalpet (midway - about 200km, 4 hrs, not very exciting. Now you enter the forest. 2 lane road, decent, right through the Bandipur tiger reserve. From here to Wayanad, it is about 50km ( 1hr). This time of year will be excellent to drive through the lush green forest, and enjoy the atmosphere. There are plenty of resorts in Wayand, you can select based on your budget.

From Wayand to Calicut, its 100km (2 hrs), through the western ghats. Drive will be simply great, and the view from the top is fantastic. All through, you will see lush greenery on both sides of the winding roads. Roads are not too wide, but there are no humps and potholes. 60-80kmph is possible, but be careful about the buses coming from opposite side. Not too many, though.

From Calicut to Kappad, its about 20km (30mins), and the beach is lovely. You can wade into the sea in knee deep waters. Calicut beach is not very great, but you can still spend time there. There are good resorts in Kappad as well. As @Fauji indicates, there are good hotels also.

If you eat non veg, and fish, you can have a feast!

I completely agree with Samm. We had done the BLR-Waynad route couple of years ago. Had booked homestay at Waynad. Then we drove off to Kapad beach, had fun there most of the day and back to Waynad. It was great fun as we got to enjoy the nature amidst the greenery and also got to visit the beach.

[androdev]

Looks like it will be radisson after all. Tranquebar is all sold out for the long weekend during this month end.

Radisson is Rs 40K per room for three nights (incl tax and breakfast) so that is 80K just for the stay. No wonder lot of people prefer to go to Thailand and stuff! Booking the sea-view chalet as recommended by some of the members.

What is the conservative travel time by car to Radisson from NICE road Hosur road exit?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by androdev

What is the conservative travel time by car to Radisson from NICE road Hosur road exit?

6-8 hours.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2464549

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by androdev

Looks like it will be radisson after all. Tranquebar is all sold out for the long weekend during this month end.

Radisson is Rs 40K per room for three nights (incl tax and breakfast) so that is 80K just for the stay. No wonder lot of people prefer to go to Thailand and stuff! Booking the sea-view chalet as recommended by some of the members.

What is the conservative travel time by car to Radisson from NICE road Hosur road exit?

Oops!!! that is too high. They have always been on the higher side but this seems crazy. Going to Thailand is cheaper!! I dont think it is value for money at that price.

Since you want to go to beach why dont you look at Zest by Club Mahindra on the outskirts of Pondy? Good rooms, pool and excellent food and almost a private beach. The rates should be around 4-5K. Also look at a new peoperty called Le Pondy on the outskirts of Pondy. Looks lovely.

[dhuli]

Originally Posted by kirantp

I completely agree with Samm.

And I agree with Kiran. I have forever been contemplating a trip to Kappad (to stay at Kappad rennaissance) via Banasura in the hills near Vellamunda (which seems to have a nice 'earthy' resort Banasura Resort - Wayanad | Kerala Eco Hotel | Nature Resorts | India ). To ways to approach this - via Bangalore-Mysore-Manathanvady-Banasura (stop)-Kalpetta-Wayanad-Calicut-Kappad. Other option Bangalore-Mysore-Gundulpet-Sulanbathery-Kalpetta-Banasura (stop)-Kalpetta-Wayanad-Calicut-Kappad. Hoping to do this in next month or so. Fingers crossed!

Originally Posted by Fauji

Oops!!! that is too high. They have always been on the higher side but this seems crazy. Going to Thailand is cheaper!! I dont think it is value for money at that price.

Since you want to go to beach why dont you look at Zest by Club Mahindra on the outskirts of Pondy?

I agree with Fauji on the Mahabs scene. Always sold out when you enquire at a short notice. I have stayed at Radisson twice once when it was its modest self as GRT, erstwhile TN Tourism run, and once more recently in the much expanded Radisson property. Well maintained. However, I find them tad arrogant. @Androdev: I would in fact say you check out Fisherman's Cove. Funnily, they seem to have changed. THey are much warmer, fantastic service. For the price Radisson is charging you can easily get a fantastic Garden facing cottage (try C20 or C15) you can get it for 10K including breakfast if lucky. Food is ok. Radisson is no great shakes either. Fisherman's Cove service excels. Besides, the beach is super. It is near Kelambakkam. So it is much closer than Mahabalipuram where Radisson is located. I assume you will take Sriperumbudur-Tambaram-Vandalur-Kelambakam. You should be there in 6 hrs or less. BTW, I have stayed at Ideal Beach resort which has quite a nice beach with lots of shade from coconut trees, good food, huge rooms. My vote is for Fisherman's cove cottage stay.

Zest Pondicherry, closer to Cuddalore is a great place. I have been there twice. Typical Club Mahindra spread, which tends to have some kid friendly stuff including activities. Very relaxing resort. Surely will recommend this as the place for a beach in and around Pondicherry.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by ampere

6-8 hours.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2464549

That post talks about Pondy not mahabs. Something amiss?

Originally Posted by dhuli

I assume you will take Sriperumbudur-Tambaram-Vandalur-Kelambakam.

General opinion seems to be Kanchipuram - Mahabs. Will Sriperumbudur route save time compared to Kanchipuram road?

Originally Posted by Fauji

Oops!!! that is too high. They have always been on the higher side but this seems crazy. Going to Thailand is cheaper!! I dont think it is value for money at that price.

I might get it for Rs 10,500 + tax (18%) per room per night which is a bit of discount from Rs 12,000. These rates are for sea facing rooms during a weekend. Sep 1st week being a long weekend, I am kinda happy I got the rooms I wanted. Usually things get sold out by the time I start planning This rate is nearly the same as what I paid for Radisson in the heart of London few days back!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by androdev

That post talks about Pondy not mahabs. Something amiss?
...
General opinion seems to be Kanchipuram - Mahabs. Will Sriperumbudur route save time compared to Kanchipuram road?

Sorry, my mistake. The best route is via Kanchi-Chengelpattu. The timing would be about 6-7 hours. Crossing Kanchi town can be painful. You may need to ask people how to land up on the Chengelpattu SH. Its a decent SH.

[androdev]

Finally went to radisson at mahabalipuram (no hill station, just beach). Good place and comfortable drive (6hrs excl breaks). Radisson is a fantastic resort, lot of space and nice beach access, nice swimming pools, good sea-side restaurant, etc. Notes on radisson:

- 1st floor room with sea view and a nice balcony.


- Being close to Chennai, it is a busy place with tons of people, including corporate team-outing crowd. But the place is also huge so kind of compensates. If you avoid restaurants during peak-time, you may not notice the crowd. I saw people waiting for tables on Sunday to have their breakfast.

- Lot of kids :-) If you have kids, then you will like it. If you are there for a solitary time, you might get bugged.

- Service: great at times and "average" at other times.