[SDP]

Thank you everybody who helped and contributed to the planning of this trip!

We are heading out to Gujarat tonight. Here's the FINAL plan:

Day 1 (Sun-18-Nov) -> Start around 5am from Mumbai and reach Ahmedabad by 2pm. Head for Akshardham@Gandhinagar directly. Reach Akshardham not later than 4pm. Spend next 3-4 hours at Akshardham. Water-screen laser show and other exhibits at Akshardham. Return to Ahmedabad for dinner around 9pm. Stay at hotel Treatotel in Memnagar.

Day 2 (Mon-19-Nov) -> Start around 9am in the morning. Day trip to Adlaj (Adlaj ni vav) -> Modhera (sun temple) -> Patan (Rani ni vav, Sahasraling Talav, Patan Patola Salvi family) -> Sidhpur (Rudra temple remains, Bohra community houses). If time permits visit Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad in the evening. Stay at Treatotel.

Day 3 (Tue-20-Nov) -> Take Ahmedabad city tour (Dekho Amdavad) operated by the tourism department. 8am till 1pm. Post lunch some shopping. Evening at Kankaria lake or take rest. Stay at Treatotel.

Day 4 (Wed-21-Nov) -> Start around 6am from Ahmedabad and reach Somnath by 1pm. Visit Somnath temple and Bhalka Tirth post lunch. While the family takes rest, I would drive to Sasan Gir to complete the formalities for the morning and evening lion safaris on 22nd Nov. Sasan Gir office timing 5-7pm for this formality. Stay at Lilavati Guesthouse of the Somnath trust.

Day 5 (Thu-22-Nov) -> Wake up in the middle of the night and travel to Sasan Gir just in time for the morning safari. Lunch at Sasan Gir. Post lunch, evening safari and then travel back to Somnath. Stay at Lilavati Guesthouse.

Day 6 (Fri-23-Nov) -> Start around 6am towards Porbandar and Dwarka. Stop at Porbandar for a quick visit to Kirti mandir. Might try to cover Sudama Mandir, Ballak Tirth and Triven Sangham as well. Reach Dwarka around 12 noon. Head for Bet Dwarka directly post lunch and cover Dwarkadhish temple, Rukmini Devi temple and Nageshwar Jyotirling after returning from Bet Dwarka. Stay at Hotel Gomti in Dwarka.

Day 7 (Sat-24-Nov) -> Start around 9am from Dwarka. Possibly get Dwarkadheesh darshan in the morning. Head for Jamnagar. Call up Hotel president the day before to check the feasibility of visiting Narara marine park and low-tide timings in the morning. Cover Narara island if possible. Head to Vadodara through Rajkot -> Limbdi -> Vataman -> Borsad -> Vadodara. Reach Vadodara by 8-9pm. Stay at Vadodara. Hotel booking not confirmed yet. Travel agent working on it.

Day 8 (Sun-25-Nov) -> Cover Laxmi Vilas palace and the Sayaji Baug in the morning. Start for Mumbai around 1pm. Reach home by 7-8pm.

Would have access to internet during the trip (although slow). I am open to any last minute suggestions/recommendations for places to visit as well as alternate routes to take .

Thank you so much everyone.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by SDP

Day 4 (Wed-21-Nov) -> Start around 6am from Ahmedabad and reach Somnath by 1pm. Visit Somnath temple and Bhalka Tirth post lunch. While the family takes rest, I would drive to Sasan Gir to complete the formalities for the morning and evening lion safaris on 22nd Nov. Sasan Gir office timing 5-7pm for this formality. Stay at Lilavati Guesthouse of the Somnath trust.

Day 5 (Thu-22-Nov) -> Wake up in the middle of the night and travel to Sasan Gir just in time for the morning safari. Lunch at Sasan Gir. Post lunch, evening safari and then travel back to Somnath. Stay at Lilavati Guesthouse.

Day 6 (Fri-23-Nov) -> Start around 6am towards Porbandar and Dwarka. Stop at Porbandar for a quick visit to Kirti mandir. Might try to cover Sudama Mandir, Ballak Tirth and Triven Sangham as well. Reach Dwarka around 12 noon. Head for Bet Dwarka directly post lunch and cover Dwarkadhish temple, Rukmini Devi temple and Nageshwar Jyotirling after returning from Bet Dwarka. Stay at Hotel Gomti in Dwarka.
.

Day 4: Do try and visit Geeta Mandir near Somnath. That is the place from where Lord Krishna left this earth. There are also ruins of an ancient Sun Temple ( built in 13th century AD) nearby, but the road may be a bit confusing.

Day 5 : Driving and parking near Kirti Mandir is extremely congested, specially if you have a big vehicle. Best bet is to park your vehicle a little far away from Kirti Mandir.

Day 6: To head for Bet Dwarka, you have to ride on a boat from Okha opposite the Indian navy base in Okha. I am not sure, but those boat trips do not run in the afternoons and re-start only after 4 PM. Need to confirm this.

* Since elections are not so far away in Gujarat, there is a lot of strict checking on the roads. Make sure that you have all your papers in order.

Good Luck, Have fun and Drive Safe .

[SDP]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Day 4: Do try and visit Geeta Mandir near Somnath. That is the place from where Lord Krishna left this earth. There are also ruins of an ancient Sun Temple ( built in 13th century AD) nearby, but the road may be a bit confusing.

Day 5 : Driving and parking near Kirti Mandir is extremely congested, specially if you have a big vehicle. Best bet is to park your vehicle a little far away from Kirti Mandir.

Day 6: To head for Bet Dwarka, you have to ride on a boat from Okha opposite the Indian navy base in Okha. I am not sure, but those boat trips do not run in the afternoons and re-start only after 4 PM. Need to confirm this.

* Since elections are not so far away in Gujarat, there is a lot of strict checking on the roads. Make sure that you have all your papers in order.

Good Luck, Have fun and Drive Safe .

Sandesh, thanks a lot again! I am slightly confused about Geeta Mandir. Isn't it the same place as Bhalka Tirth?

Day 6 planning is the weakest. Ferry timings as well as Dwarkadhish temple darshan timings are the 2 biggest uncertainties that can seriously dent the day-6 plan. If that happens, we would sacrifice Jamnagar on day-7 and spend half a day in Dwarka itself on day-7.

From Somnath/Veraval to Sasan Gir - I am budgeting around 1 hr for this drive. Is this optimistic? Should I allot more time for this stretch? This is especially important on day-5 when we have to start from Somnath and be at Gir for 6:30AM Safari.

Also, would you recommend any hotels for lunch/dinner at Somnath/Veraval and Sasan Gir?

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by SDP

Sandesh, thanks a lot again! I am slightly confused about Geeta Mandir. Isn't it the same place as Bhalka Tirth?

You are welcome. According to legend, Bhalka temple is the place where Lord Krishna was shot at and hit by a Hunter's arrow. From there, he walked up to a spot(what today is Geeta Mandir, near Somnath), and there he stepped into the other world. That is the significance of Geeta Mandir. It is around 1-1.5 kms from Somnath temple. After you complete your Somnath temple darshan, just tell the police wallahs you need to got to Geeta Mandir, they will let your vehicle pass(the road ends at Geeta Mandir).

Originally Posted by SDP

Day 6 planning is the weakest. Ferry timings as well as Dwarkadhish temple darshan timings are the 2 biggest uncertainties that can seriously dent the day-6 plan. If that happens, we would sacrifice Jamnagar on day-7 and spend half a day in Dwarka itself on day-7.

On a crowded day, you will need around two hours at the temple just for the darshan. Visiting places in Porbandar will further delay ETA(Dwarka). I don't think you will be able to reach Dwarka before 11: 30 AM. Instead of rushing things, it may be better to add an extra a day or half a day in Dwarka/Okha.

Originally Posted by SDP

From Somnath/Veraval to Sasan Gir - I am budgeting around 1 hr for this drive. Is this optimistic? Should I allot more time for this stretch? This is especially important on day-5 when we have to start from Somnath and be at Gir for 6:30AM Safari.

One hour is enough on normal days, but the roads are bad and under repair/re-construction on the Veraval-Talala-Gir section. There were alteast two diversions on the veraval-Talala road. It would be advisable to keep a safety cushion of half an hour to the approximate travel time of one hour.

Originally Posted by SDP

Also, would you recommend any hotels for lunch/dinner at Somnath/Veraval and Sasan Gir?

Hotels serving *good* non-veg food are non-existent in Veraval. For veg food, I would advice either Hotel Sukh Sagar or Hotel Lords Inn. Both are just half a km away from Somnath(Lilavati guesthouse) on the Veraval bye pass.

[mm403]

Originally Posted by SDP

Thank you everybody who helped and contributed to the planning of this trip!

We are heading out to Gujarat tonight. Here's the FINAL plan:

Day 1 (Sun-18-Nov) -> Start around 5am from Mumbai and reach Ahmedabad by 2pm. Head for Akshardham@Gandhinagar directly. Reach Akshardham not later than 4pm. Spend next 3-4 hours at Akshardham. Water-screen laser show and other exhibits at Akshardham. Return to Ahmedabad for dinner around 9pm. Stay at hotel Treatotel in Memnagar.

Day 2 (Mon-19-Nov) -> Start around 9am in the morning. Day trip to Adlaj (Adlaj ni vav) -> Modhera (sun temple) -> Patan (Rani ni vav, Sahasraling Talav, Patan Patola Salvi family) -> Sidhpur (Rudra temple remains, Bohra community houses). If time permits visit Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad in the evening. Stay at Treatotel.

Thank you so much everyone.

If you are starting at 5 from Mumbai , you should reach Ahd between 1 to 2 pm depending on breaks.(I started from Pune at 5, reached Thane at 7 and Ahmedabad at 3). Would take another hour to reach Akshardham. Take Sarkhej Gandhinagar Road. For Dinner on the way back Infocity Gandhinagar on left hand side has number of good options

Adlaj is near Gandhinagar, you should be able to cover it in 30 min, so if reaching Ahmedabad early cover it before Akshardham

Modhera is around 80km so better start early

[SDP]

Although a proper travelogue would be coming up after we return, here are some execution updates:


Day 1 (Sun-18-Nov) -> Started from Mumbai at 4:30AM. One hour breakfast at Valsad. Reached our hotel in Memnagar @Ahmedabad at 12:30PM. Visited Akshardham temple @Gandhinagar from 3:30pm till 8:30pm.

Day 2 (Mon-19-Nov) -> Started from hotel at 9AM. Visited Adalaj Vav. Drove to Mehsana-> Modhera. Saw the Modhera sun temple. Drove to Patan. Saw 'Rani ni vav', Sahastraling Talav and visited the Salvi family. Skipped Siddhpur as it was getting late. Drove back via Chanasma-> Mehsana -> Ahmedabad. Reached hotel by 9PM.
----------------------------------------------------------

Today (i.e. Day 3), planning to venture into the Ahmedabad city on our own. Could not book 'Dekho Amdavad'. Post lunch some shopping and Kankaria lake. Let's see how it goes today.

Early impressions -> Gujarat rocks! Loved the roads obviously, but more importantly the traffic is well behaved. Hardly anybody tries to squeeze past you. No tailgating, no honking. When you flash the high beam, 75% vehicles leave the lane and allow you to pass. State and city buses do not try to bully you off the road. People are helpful when approached for directions. Overall, Thank You Gujarat for the stress-free driving experience so far!

[vaibhav_a_a]

Hi SDP - Did you see any good hotels in Modhera / Patan? I've planned a very similar trip in December this year but we're coming from Jaipur. After visiting Modhera and patan we dont want to bactrack to Ahmedabad (can leave for Ambaji from there itself) hence looking for a place for the night.

Awesome updates - am glued to this.

[mm403]

Originally Posted by SDP

----------------------------------------------------------

Early impressions -> Gujarat rocks! Loved the roads obviously, but more importantly the traffic is well behaved. Hardly anybody tries to squeeze past you. No tailgating, no honking. When you flash the high beam, 75% vehicles leave the lane and allow you to pass. State and city buses do not try to bully you off the road. People are helpful when approached for directions. Overall, Thank You Gujarat for the stress-free driving experience so far!

Agree fully, infact all the the way from Dahisar till Ahmedabad, driving is a pleasure. Even off the highways road quality is excellent. Infact if coming from NH8, one immediately realises the bad surface quality on Mumbai Pune expressway

[SDP]

Originally Posted by vaibhav_a_a

Hi SDP - Did you see any good hotels in Modhera / Patan? I've planned a very similar trip in December this year but we're coming from Jaipur. After visiting Modhera and patan we dont want to bactrack to Ahmedabad (can leave for Ambaji from there itself) hence looking for a place for the night.

Awesome updates - am glued to this.

We did not encounter any decent hotel options at Modhera and Patan. In fact, we even struggled for getting any decent food-options at both the places mentioned.
Please plan accordingly.

[SDP]

Here are some more execution updates:

Day 3 (Tue-20-Nov) -> Ventured into old Ahmedabad city and Sabarmati Ashram. Did some shopping at Law Garden after lunch. Spent the evening at Kankaria lake. Stayed at Treatotel @Ahmedabad.

Day 4 (Wed-21-Nov) -> Started late from Ahmedabad (~8am) and reached Somanth quite late (~4pm). Had lunch enroute. After a quick darshan of Somnath, I started at 5pm and drove to Sasan Gir to collect the permits for the next day. Drove back to Somnath by 7:30pm. Stayed at Lilavati Guesthouse.

Day 5 (Thu-22-Nov) -> Started at 5am and reached Sasan Gir around 6:10am. Did the mornign lion safari. After breakfast around 9am, went to Devaliya Gir Interpretation Zone. Did afternoon Safari at 3:30pm. Started back from Sasan Gir around 6:45pm. Reached Lilavati Guesthouse @Somnath around 8pm.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by SDP

... Here's the FINAL plan:
...
Day 6 (Fri-23-Nov) -> Start around 6am towards Porbandar and Dwarka. Stop at Porbandar for a quick visit to Kirti mandir. Might try to cover Sudama Mandir, Ballak Tirth and Triven Sangham as well. Reach Dwarka around 12 noon. Head for Bet Dwarka directly post lunch and cover Dwarkadhish temple, Rukmini Devi temple and Nageshwar Jyotirling after returning from Bet Dwarka. Stay at Hotel Gomti in Dwarka.

Day 7 (Sat-24-Nov) -> Start around 9am from Dwarka. Possibly get Dwarkadheesh darshan in the morning. Head for Jamnagar. Call up Hotel president the day before to check the feasibility of visiting Narara marine park and low-tide timings in the morning. Cover Narara island if possible. Head to Vadodara through Rajkot -> Limbdi -> Vataman -> Borsad -> Vadodara. Reach Vadodara by 8-9pm. Stay at Vadodara. Hotel booking not confirmed yet. Travel agent working on it.

Day 8 (Sun-25-Nov) -> Cover Laxmi Vilas palace and the Sayaji Baug in the morning. Start for Mumbai around 1pm. Reach home by 7-8pm.
...

Final execution updates:

Day 6 (Fri-23-Nov) -> Started from guesthouse by 6:45am. Spent 45 minutes to cover Geeta Mandir, Triveni Sangam and Bhalka Tirth before heading to Dwaraka via Porbandar. Visited Gandhi's birthplace (Kirti mandir) at Porbandar. Wasted around 45mins in search of a decent hotel for breakfast. Started from Porbandar for Dwaraka around 11am. Reached Hotel Gomti at Dwaraka at 12:45pm. Post lunch covered Nageshwar Temple, Rukmini devi temple/Gopi Talav. Reached Okha Port by 4:30pm. Returned from Bet Dwaraka by 6:30pm. Drove back to our hotel in Dwaraka, parked and went for Dwarakadheesh darshan. Post dinner stayed at Hotel Gomti in Dwarka.

Day 7 (Sat-24-Nov) -> The previous day was quite hectic and day-7 would have 500kms drive. So dropped all sight-seeing plans (i.e. Narara island) for day-7 and instead started late (10:15am) from Dwaraka after taking good rest and a morning round to the Dwarakadheesh temple. Drove to Vadodara through Rajkot -> Limbdi -> Vataman -> Borsad -> Vadodara. After taking right for Vataman, saw a sign announcing Lothal just 10kms away. It was 4:45pm. Took the diversion and covered Lothal in 45 mins. Reached Vadodara by 8:45pm. Stayed at Saffire Regency @Vadodara.

Day 8 (Sun-25-Nov) -> Drove around the town and visited Laxmi Vilas palace. Also spent good time at the Sayaji Baug in the morning. Returned to hoel by 1:30pm. Left for Mumbai by 2:30pm after lunch. Reached home by 11pm after a 30 minute tea-break and 1:15 hr dinner break.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Overall the plan was executed decently well. A photologue comming up soon.

Thank you everyone who helped with the planning!
The sightseeing tips (what to see and how much time would it take), route information and estimated driving time for certain stretches (based on the latest road-conditions) were extremely helpful. Thank you all for all the help!

[SDP]

Guys, the travelogue for this trip is up at http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ravelogue.html.

I am done till first two and half days of the trip. Planning to finish the entire travelogue by weekend.

Enjoy!

[laxmanrk]

Hi all

Its been a long time since we did a family road trip.

Finally after some planning and lots of arguments we have decided to drive from Hyderabad to Gir, Gujarat.

The Crew:
Me - The driver
My Wife - Navigator and DJ
Passengers
My 2 kiddos, both aged 7

The dates:
9th Jan 2016 to 17th Jan 2016

Now, I will be updating this thread with pre-planning on the trip and the trip itself.

Firstly, I am looking forwards to help on the routes.

Option 1:
Hyderabad - Solapur - Pune - Mumbai - Surat - Vadodara - Rajkot - Gir

Option 2:
Hyderabad - Nanded - Aurangabad - (Nashik?) - Surat - Vadodara - Rajkot - Gir

Other road options are also welcome.

Now, the first problem is since the drive will be undertaken in 2 legs, Day1 - 700~800kms and Day2 the remainder. We are yet to figure out a good location to split the journey and rest for the night.

In option 1, I am aware that the Hyderabad to Solapur section is the main issue and it has been very bad for quite a while now. Post Solapur its supposed to be good.

Under option 2, I am aware that the road from Hyderabad to Nanded is good since I have driven this lots of times. Post Nanded the route via Aurangabad to hit NH8 is still a large unknown to me. Any feedback on this area is highly appreciated.

Also, have heard a lot from people here and elsewhere that roads in Gujarat are quite good. Will be more than happy if someone can share info on this too. Hence in both options above the route post Surat remains the same.

Coming to the sightseeing part of things - Somnath and Dwarka are already on our list and not to forget the Gir National Park itself. Any other places of interest from other BHPians is always welcome.

The broad itinerary is a below:

9th Jan Leave from Hyderabad drive about 700~800kms and rest - Location unknown
10th Jan Leave from (unknown location) and reach Somnath
10th Jan night we will be staying at Somnath/ nearby places as bookings work out
11th Jan reach Club Mahindra Gir (11th to 14th morning bookings done)
12th Jan free
13th Jan Lion Safari (early morning) then rest of day free
14th Jan checkout and start drive back to Location unknown
15th Jan leave from (unknown location) and reach Hyd by evening

Now when we leave on 14th Jan from Gir we are open to stretch the holiday by 2 days and return to Hyderabad by 17th depending on interesting places we can figure out on the drive back to Hyd. But given that we are able to make the bookings now.

Coming up next. . .

The vehicle to be driven, selection of route, other bits missing above

Request t-bhpians help in figuring out the route and other information that may aid our trip.

Thanks in advance

[ampere]

Originally Posted by laxmanrk

Option 1:
Hyderabad - Solapur - Pune - Mumbai - Surat - Vadodara - Rajkot - Gir

By and large this is a better route. But for the last leg:

Vadodara-Borsad-Bhavnagar-Chavand-Amreli-Bagasra-Visavadar-Medarada-Gir

Route Link

Good roads all the way.

Coming to the sightseeing part of things - Somnath and Dwarka are already on our list and not to forget the Gir National Park itself. Any other places of interest from other BHPians is always welcome.

Porbandar is on the way. You can add.

Leaving the planning part aside:

- Make sure you have Safari booking online. Else you need to start in the queue for quite some time. (Hours)
- After Gir, if you plan to visit others places, Somnath is hardly 40-50km,
- Somnath-Dwarka is about 200 via Porbandar.
- From Dwarka, make way to Ahmedabad via Jamnagar/Rajkot.
- All roads are good.
- Please chalk out rest of the plan as well.

[SwatiS]

Hi All,

I need some advice from you all. Planning for a trip to Gujrat. Please tell me if its doable or if I can do anything different and better.

Day 1 : Fly Bangalore to Ahmedabad - Reach there by 2 PM
Take overnight train to Bhuj
Day 2: Go to Rann
Day 3: Rann Utsav
Day 4: Morning come to Bhuj then go to Dwarka
Day 5: Dwarka to Somnath , then go to Gir
Day 6: Gir.Night leave for Ahmedabad
Day 7: Rani ki vav and other placesaround
Day 8: Early morning leave for Udaipur and reach by 2PM
Day 9: Fly back to Bangalore

All the travel will be done by buses and train and will be travelling alone.