[hemanth.anand]

For current route conditions and tenting locations, other members will answer for sure.

Originally Posted by 220kmph

If there is any other place which you could recommend as a must-see, then I could make some changes in my plan.

Statue of Unity should be one of the places IMO


Also I don't know if the white Rann would be dry in December. Since the Rann festival is starting from Nov 1 2018, you have hopes

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by 220kmph

Gujarat in Dec 2018.

No mention on how many days. You should budget 3 days for Bhuj. Lakhpat-Narayan Sarovar-Mandvi trip alone is a full-day affair. So would the ride towards India Bridge and Rann Utsav. You should be looking at doing Dholavira, Modhera (Sun Temple) and Patan (Rani ki Vav). I'd keep anything accessible from NH8 in lower priority, as these can be done as stopovers on a later RJ trip or so.

If you have 3 more extra days, you can plan to do Saurashtra (Somnath, Porbandar, Dwarka, Jamnagar). If you do Saurashtra, I'd suggest visiting Diu instead of Daman.

Overall if you have 9-10 days in hand ex-Bombay, you can explore quite a bit.

[220kmph]

Originally Posted by narayans80

No mention on how many days. You should budget 3 days for Bhuj. Lakhpat-Narayan Sarovar-Mandvi trip alone is a full-day affair. So would the ride towards India Bridge and Rann Utsav. You should be looking at doing Dholavira, Modhera (Sun Temple) and Patan (Rani ki Vav). I'd keep anything accessible from NH8 in lower priority, as these can be done as stopovers on a later RJ trip or so.

If you have 3 more extra days, you can plan to do Saurashtra (Somnath, Porbandar, Dwarka, Jamnagar). If you do Saurashtra, I'd suggest visiting Diu instead of Daman.

Overall if you have 9-10 days in hand ex-Bombay, you can explore quite a bit.

Thanks so much. That is a great input. Yes, I have about 10 days ex- Mumbai, so I should work on this plan.

Any inputs on home stays, camping sites etc are also welcome.

Thanks again

[am1m]

Dug up a photo from my trip to the Rann almost exactly 11 years ago. (Nov 2007) No Google maps, everything was planned with the Eicher Road Atlas.

Don't recall which road this was, in all probability they have made this a proper tarred road now for tourists. But this is exactly why I want to avoid the time of the Rann Utsav- after seeing the White Rann in all it's glory like this, without another soul in sight, I'm not sure seeing it with groups of other tourists (of course, i'm a tourist too!), screaming kids and selfie takers would be the same! And from what I read, there is even garbage being dumped in the Rann these days :(

Also remember just leisurely riding along this road, stopping wherever we wanted to to walk into the Rann, so was wondering why this is not possible and everyone HAS to see the White Rann at Dhordo or whatever government/tour operator defined spots. As long as it's not close to the border, any other vantage point should be ok, right?

[am1m]

Something tells me this is that road now:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/roopesh_kohad/32180394831

Yikes!

After seeing this I'm planning to push my trip even further out to late March. The heat is better than this kind of crowd. Defeats the whole point of going all the way to see a unique desert!

[vinay_ss]

What would be the best route for pune to Statue of Unity ? Google.maps shows 3 options, of which the road via Mumbai is the quickest (approx 11 hours, although distance is only 552 kms). This seems like a very slow stretch and is it because one needs to pass through Mumbai?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vinay_ss

What would be the best route for pune to Statue of Unity ?

The one highlighted would be where you fork out of Kosamba for Saradr Sarovar.

This seems like a very slow stretch and is it because one needs to pass through Mumbai?

Density of traffic, many cities to cross despite of bypasses are the major reasons.

Typically, I would take 6.5-7 Hours to do Ghodbunder - NE1 Exit (entry to SP Ring road) with one or two breaks. Hence you would notice that 8 hours for Mumbai - Ahmedabad is standard.

The other reason would be the road after getting out of Mumbai - Ahmedabad Highway is single carriageway, around 110 kms and can easily consume at least 2+ hours alone till destination.

Also, try setting the starting point as Ghodbunder (Vasai Creek Bridge) to Statue of Unity and the time reduces to 6.5 Hours, which is pretty much decent on this stretch.

So most of the time spend is doing Pune - Vashi - Thane and 3.5-4 Hours considering traffic is normal for this piece.

[kkg]

Hi all,

I am planning a road trip from Delhi to Statue of Unity and back. The tentative dates would be 21-24 December. My proposed plan is:-

21 Dec- leave from Delhi at 4am, reach Vadodara.
22 Dec- Leave from hotel at around 12 to Statue of Unity, come back in evening.
23 Dec- check out from Vadodara to Jodhpur. Stay there for a night.
24 Dec- Back to Delhi.

I will be travelling in Our Figo TDCI with my wife and seven year young daughter all excited for the trip to make her own vlog. Some of my qureries are:-

1. Is Vadodara advisable to stay or should i opt for Ahmadabad.
2. Where to stay in either of the places? I don't want to get away far from the highway and need a decent hotel for 2 nights with good parking and breakfast,budget is around 2k/night.Please suggest the area to look for the hotel.

I have already done Goa-Delhi by car in 2016 so I know I can do Delhi-Ahmadabad/Vadodara in a single day. Please suggest IF my plan is ok or needs rework.

Thanks.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by kkg

1. Is Vadodara advisable to stay or should i opt for Ahmadabad.

Definitely yes! Baroda will be closer and viable to stay if you intend to visit Statue of Unity.

2. Where to stay in either of the places? I don't want to get away far from the highway and need a decent hotel for 2 nights with good parking and breakfast,budget is around 2k/night.Please suggest the area to look for the hotel.

Not sure on budget but I have suggested Plazzo Resorts right on the highway to quite a few folks and the review has been positive.

I have already done Goa-Delhi by car in 2016 so I know I can do Delhi-Ahmadabad/Vadodara in a single day. Please suggest IF my plan is ok or needs rework.Thanks.

Indeed no further suggestions with the plan there learning that you have done this before. So you know the best times to start and how the route is.

Only advise - There is a protest by the association of hotels in Western India (was in Gujarat and may spread to Maharashtra too) and they have boycotted popular portals like MMT and Goibibo. So please book your stay carefully. A call to the hotel may also be a good idea.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by kkg

Hi all,

I am planning a road trip from Delhi to Statue of Unity and back. The tentative dates would be 21-24 December. My proposed plan is:-

21 Dec- leave from Delhi at 4am, reach Vadodara.
22 Dec- Leave from hotel at around 12 to Statue of Unity, come back in evening.
23 Dec- check out from Vadodara to Jodhpur. Stay there for a night.
24 Dec- Back to Delhi.

Some of my qureries are:-

1. Is Vadodara advisable to stay or should i opt for Ahmadabad.
2. Where to stay in either of the places? I don't want to get away far from the highway and need a decent hotel for 2 nights with good parking and breakfast,budget is around 2k/night
I have already done Goa-Delhi by car in 2016 so I know I can do Delhi-Ahmadabad/Vadodara in a single day. Please suggest IF my plan is ok or needs rework.

Which route are you planning take for reaching A'bad/Vadodara ?
If you are traveling via Udaipur, then at Shamlaji you will have an option to avoid A'bad and reach Vadodara. But if you are traveling via Palanpur, then you will have to use expressway to reach Vadodara.

Towards end of September 2018, I had traveled to Ratanpur near Shamlaji and road from Ratanpur (GJ-RJ border) till Vadodara are in good condition. Avoid traveling at night on this route in my view, its a bit difficult to get help as traffic density is bit less.

Vadodara to Statue of Unity is around 100 kms. IMO, reach Vadodara and travel via Palanpur. Just in case you get tired, you can halt at A'bad itself instead of reaching Vadodadra. On the other route via Shamlaji, after Shamlaji till Vadodara getting places to have overnight halt might be limited. Places to stay will be aplenty in A'bad and Vadodara, but A'bad traffic even on S.P. Ring road can be time consuming. On return journey, reach A'bad from Statue of Unity. Ahmedabad-Vadodara is relatively stress free thanks to Expressway and you can then start from Delhi next day. This way, while starting for Delhi, you will have a couple of hours as buffer vis-a-vis starting from Vadodara to Delhi.

[kkg]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

Which route are you planning take for reaching A'bad/Vadodara ?
.

I will be doing usual Delhi-Beawar-Udaipur-Ahmadabad/Vadodara.

Thanks for advising to go to Vadodara straight away and avoiding Ahmadabad and its jams. It would be really nice if somone can guide me which area to stay in Vadodara so that I can avoid entering the main city.

Driving on third day is least of worries as I would be haeding to Jodhpur which is 550 odd kms from Vadodara. Thank you anyways.

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by kkg

. It would be really nice if someone can guide me which area to stay in Vadodara so that I can avoid entering the main city.

If you stick to NH48, you won't be entering in Baroda city. There are plenty of hotels, resort and motel kind of Stay options on NH48 itself. Watch out for L&T area or Azava Crossing(on NH48) there are plenty of options.

[SJM1214]

People travelling to Gujarat/Ahmedabad, please keep this news in mind.

Ahmedabad hoteliers boycott MakeMyTrip & Goibibo.

Around 270 hoteliers in the city have stopped taking bookings from two major online travel portals - MakeMyTrip and Goibibo - alleging heavy commission and indiscriminate discounts offered by these platforms on room tariffs.

The decision to boycott the online booking platforms over the commission and indiscriminate discounts were taken at a meeting of Gujarat chapter of the Hotels and Restaurants Association (HRA) last week.

News Source.

[kkg]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

People travelling to Gujarat/Ahmedabad, please keep this news in mind.

[b]Ahmedabad hoteliers boycott MakeMyTrip & Goibibo.

Thanks for giving this important bit of information and yes about the area to stay. Now I am in dilemma whether to book online form OYO and Treebo (will their bookings be honored) or hunt for hotels when I reach there.

What do you suggest? I always prefer to book in advance specially when travelling with family to avoid any surprises.

Is arriving there and then looking for hotels advisable as I think the hotelwalas take advantage when they see a family with kid along at around 7-8 pm. May be it doesn't happen in that part of India but here in north specially in hill stations it is quite rampant.

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by kkg

What do you suggest? I always prefer to book in advance specially when travelling with family to avoid any surprises.

From last many years, I have stopped relying on any third party booking sites for hotel bookings. Why don't you search hotels on google for your preferred area? Most of the hotels have their phone numbers updated in the google search. It is better to call them directly for hotel booking. I am sure they will give written confirmation (by email) for your booking after transferring token amount to their own bank account.