[rahul_sinha]

Hi,
I am planning a mini-alumni meet (just some close buddies) at my alma-mater REC(NIT) Warangal.

The plan as of now is this:

24th Dec: Pune to Hyderabad(Lingampally) (NH9) : ~ 11 hrs drive
25th Dec: Hyderabad to REC Warangal: 2.5 hrs drive
26th Dec: @REC(NIT) Warangal
27th Dec: Hanamkonda to Vizag: ~ 11 hrs drive
(Hanamkonda-Jangaon-Suryapet-Vijayawada-Rajamundhry-Vizag)
28th Dec: Vizag to Borra caves n Araku valley : ~ 2.5 hrs drive
29th Dec: Araku to Vizag : ~ 2.5 hrs drive
30th Dec: Vizag to Hyderabad (Vizag - RJM - Vijayawada-Suryapet-Hyderabad) : ~ 11 hrs drive
31st Dec: Rest day @Hyderabad
1st Jan 2012: Hyderabad to Pune: ~ 11 hrs drive

Few queries in that regard:

Q1. For Pune to Hyderabad trip, I will be going with my wife and kid on my Cruze. Should I stick to NH9 ONLY or take a detour to Baramati to avoid Indapur section, while approaching Sholapur?

Q2: From Hanamkonda to Vizag: 2 families (4 adults + two 5 yr old kids) in Cruze. Is the route Hanamkonda-Jangaon-Suryapet-Vijayawada-Rajamundhry-Vizag alright for us? I suppose Vijayawada to Vizag route is GQ so should be breeze. From Hanamkonda do I need to take Khammam route to go to Vijayawada?

Q3: Is Vizag to Araku doable in Cruze loaded with 2 families? I saw a thread on this forum sometime ago wherein a family had done Araku in Verna, but need to be sure, else will drop Araku altogether.

Q4: Does the overall plan looks do-able, or will it be tiring for the kids?

Need some assurances, so that I can apply for hotel bookings @Vizag and Araku, once leaves are approved

[prabingade]

The plan looks good and certainly doable. I went to Araku in my scorpio couple of years back and I certainly think that it can be doable in Cruze loaded with 2 families.

I leave the answers of Q1 and Q2 to the folks who have recently taken that route.

The overall itinerary looks good and doesn't seem tiring for the kids. However, I am not sure why you would like to go back to Vizag from Aruku. From Aruku you can come directly to Anakapalli and take the NH5. So unless it is a must to go to Vizag both the times, suggest optimizing that part.

Also, I stayed in Jugle Bells, Aruku couple of years back around 25th Dec and recommend that place.

[ksrchowdary]

Originally Posted by rahul_sinha

Q2: From Hanamkonda to Vizag: 2 families (4 adults + two 5 yr old kids) in Cruze. Is the route Hanamkonda-Jangaon-Suryapet-Vijayawada-Rajamundhry-Vizag alright for us? I suppose Vijayawada to Vizag route is GQ so should be breeze. From Hanamkonda do I need to take Khammam route to go to Vijayawada?

The route suggested by you is longer. Best route is Hanamkonda-Khammam-Sattupalli-JangareddyGudem-Rajamundhry-Vizag. This will be shorter by ~100 Kms and you can save 2 hours compared to the route suggested by you. Rajamundhry-Vizag is part of GQ, I had done the route Hanamkonda-Rajamundry in first week of October in less than 6 hours. Road is good except for ~ 30 Kms mostly between Sattupalli and Jangareddygudem. Traffic is much less in this route compared to the route via Vijayawada.

[rahul_sinha]

Originally Posted by ksrchowdary

The route suggested by you is longer. Best route is Hanamkonda-Khammam-Sattupalli-JangareddyGudem-Rajamundhry-Vizag. This will be shorter by ~100 Kms and you can save 2 hours compared to the route suggested by you. Rajamundhry-Vizag is part of GQ, I had done the route Hanamkonda-Rajamundry in first week of October in less than 6 hours. Road is good except for ~ 30 Kms mostly between Sattupalli and Jangareddygudem. Traffic is much less in this route compared to the route via Vijayawada.

Is it doable in a sedan(Cruze) with 2 families? I had put off this route due to a point by HVK (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...tml#post517805).

Another point then is, originally I wanted to do Hanamkonda-Araku directly, but the route is completely unknown, although shortest. Any comments?

[ksrchowdary]

Originally Posted by rahul_sinha

Is it doable in a sedan(Cruze) with 2 families? I had put off this route due to a point by HVK (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...tml#post517805).

Another point then is, originally I wanted to do Hanamkonda-Araku directly, but the route is completely unknown, although shortest. Any comments?

I had done the Hanamkonda-Khammam-Rajahmundry route in a WagonR with 5 adults on board. So, it shouldn't be a problem for Cruze. Hanamkonda to Khammam is in excellent shape and you can easily cover the 125 Kms in 1.5 hours. Generally December by end the few patches that are not good will be repaired.

Regarding doing Hanamkonda-Araku directly, it is not advisable because of the following reasons.
1. Beyond Bhadrachalam road is narrow and not good.
2. You need to cross into Chattisgarh and Orissa and enter back into AP to reach Araku.
3. Some of the areas on this road are stronghold for Maoists.

[subbaraomr]

I an a senior citizen and plan to travel Pune to Vizag in Renault Fluence. I have seen a lot of information from Pune -Hyderabad-vijayawada - Vizag. Roads seem to be wonderful but has the Hudud cyclone damaged access to Vizag and have these been repaired? I plan to travel end January 15 so if any work is going on as of Dec 14 I would be interested as it will hopefully complete by Jan end

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by subbaraomr

I an a senior citizen and plan to travel Pune to Vizag in Renault Fluence. I have seen a lot of information from Pune -Hyderabad-vijayawada - Vizag. Roads seem to be wonderful but has the Hudud cyclone damaged access to Vizag and have these been repaired? I plan to travel end January 15 so if any work is going on as of Dec 14 I would be interested as it will hopefully complete by Jan end

Without any doubt, you can complete your journey safely. Roads have not been damaged so badly during the cyclone. You can comfortably reach Vizag in your Fluence.