[narayans80]

Originally Posted by sreepathy

thanks for the suggestions. i know mumbai, pune-satara will be problems from my mahabaleshwar trip. bharuch is no more an issue.. i think the bridge has been fixed. it was a breeze (again during my mahabaleshwar trip) last december.

The problem resurfaced again recently (less than a month). Your better bet is to use the good old Golden Bridge.

I second lone_driver's suggestion of branching off from NH47 at Avinashi and doing Palladam-Pollachi-Kollengode-Alathur-Thrissur that way you can escape Walayar and Kuthiran. You could see more upto-date discussions in the All roads to Kerala thread.

[sreepathy]

Originally Posted by lone_driver

if you can reach kolhapur on day one then you can make it to thrissur on the second day in 15-16 hrs . considering that taking the coimbatore- walayar - palakkad - thrissur ( via kuthirtan ) is a bad option . your best bet is to drive via kolhapur - belgaum - dharwad - hubli - bangalore nice road - hosur - salem - avinashi - palladam - pollachi - kollengode - alathur - thrissur ! you can do superb speeds upto avinashi( roads are 4 and 6 lanes wid thin traffic except at hosur , thoppur ghat section and around salem ) after which speeds will be more of 80-100 type .

best stay option at kolhapur is hotel opal on the highway itself .

if you plan to stretch upto belgaum then hotel ramdev international , again on the highway .

a bit more stretching will take you to dharwad , where you can stay at kamat yatri nivas .

on the route you can find various eating joints .
kamats at dobbspet
mcdy , ccd etc at shoolagiri HPCL .
COCO BP and A2B near dharmapuri toll
A2B at krishnagiri
various option at salem .
saravana bhavan travellers inn just before salem toll gate , vaikundam
hotel chennis at perundurai bypass
paray village country hotel , kollengode

these are my usual stops .there are a lot many more . food at all the above places is uniformly good !

that was some great info. inspiring too, which will help me convince my wifey for the trip.
a friend of mine who was in ahmedabad for some years (he is now in singapore) too suggested a similar route, complete with hotel opal. he even advised diversions to goa and wayanad. so, looking at that options too, so that the drive will be interesting.

[Sandy28]

Originally Posted by narayans80

The problem resurfaced again recently (less than a month). Your better bet is to use the good old Golden Bridge.

I was on the Narmada bridge on 9th August evening and had faced the usual jam; lost about 35 min on the bridge before cars were given the preference to move on. But in your case, since you will be starting from Ahmedabad early morning, the bridge should not be a problem.

Past Hubli, no body has suggested taking the Hubli-Ankola route and then moving on to NH 17 via Udupi-Mangalore-Thrisur route. Is is due to bad road conditions?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Sandy28

Past Hubli, no body has suggested taking the Hubli-Ankola route and then moving on to NH 17 via Udupi-Mangalore-Thrisur route. Is is due to bad road conditions?

Some bad roads, but most importantly traffic conditions get worser as you to Udupi, Mangalore and North Kerala areas. With 2 days in hands to do that sort of distance, its simply not worth the hassle.

Even with the Hosur mess, average speeds for the entire section would be phenomenally more than taking the coastal NH17 route or even diverting to Chitradurga-Pandavapura-Mysore-Nilambur will get you much less average speeds.

[sreepathy]

Originally Posted by lone_driver

if

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

these are my usual stops .there are a lot many more . food at all the above places is uniformly good !

how long does it take you to cover bhopal - kerala? you drive alone or do you have somebody else who could drive? any bad experiences?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sreepathy

how long does it take you to cover bhopal - kerala? you drive alone or do you have somebody else who could drive? any bad experiences?

I would say dont stretch too much any of the days. If you feel, 800km is more than enough for the first day, you may be better off staying in Satara itself. Hotel Mahendra is a good place. No point over stretching. If you can drive till Kolhapur, then there are many hotels. See trip adivsor. Opal is one. The other is Raysons Regency, sightly more upmarket. But please note, none of them is on the highway. You need to come into Kolhapur. For the second day you can drive till Salem if you can start from Kolhapur. That should be doable with good roads all the way. Only hitch is Bangalore-Hosur.

And for the last day use Avinashi-Mangalam-Pollachi-Kollengode-Vaddakkenchery-Kuthiran-Trichur approach. You exit 4-lane at Avinashi and join back NH47 at Vadakkencherry.

[sreepathy]

Originally Posted by ampere

I would say dont stretch too much any of the days. If you feel, 800km is more than enough for the first day, you may be better off staying in Satara itself. Hotel Mahendra is a good place. No point over stretching. If you can drive till Kolhapur, then there are many hotels. See trip adivsor. Opal is one. The other is Raysons Regency, sightly more upmarket. But please note, none of them is on the highway. You need to come into Kolhapur. For the second day you can drive till Salem if you can start from Kolhapur. That should be doable with good roads all the way. Only hitch is Bangalore-Hosur.

And for the last day use Avinashi-Mangalam-Pollachi-Kollengode-Vaddakkenchery-Kuthiran-Trichur approach. You exit 4-lane at Avinashi and join back NH47 at Vadakkencherry.

Totally agree with you. Don't want to stretch it too much. Then it will feel like a chore. I have enjoyed driving on roads in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. though I am from Kerala I haven't driven over there and am very apprehensive about the road quality and other bottlenecks. If I follow your routes and suggestions, will I be able to take a break in wayanad without affecting the schedule much?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by sreepathy

how long does it take you to cover bhopal - kerala?

Not sure where Bhopal gets on the way from Ahmedabad and Thrissur. But this is what it would approximately take:

Bhopal-Nagpur 7 hrs
Nagpur-Bangalore 14 hrs
Bangalore-Thrissur 8 hrs

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sreepathy

If I follow your routes and suggestions, will I be able to take a break in wayanad without affecting the schedule much?

The route we are all suggesting here does NOT go via Waynad. Because that would make you end-up taking many interior routes and not arterial 4-lanes which are very comfortable for the long distance cruising.

If you insist to visit Waynad, then maybe on the way back, I would suggest, you drive from Trichur to Calicut bypass and there on to Waynad.

From Waynad, for day 1 of your drive back home, you should do :

Waynad - Gundlupet - Mysore - Srirangapatna - Neligere - Huliyar - Hiriyur - Hubli - Belgaum. (Stop at Hubli or Belgaum depending on how much you can cover). Rest of the leg you already know.

[Sandy28]

Originally Posted by sreepathy

I have enjoyed driving on roads in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. though I am from Kerala I haven't driven over there and am very apprehensive about the road quality and other bottlenecks.

The experience of driving in Gujarat and in Kerala is totally opposite. Road conditions are not great; especially during the rains it takes a serious beating. Traffic is absolutely messy and the local buses out there rule the road. Pedestrians walk / cross the road as if they are in the fields. However having said that, it is still an experience in itself

[lone_driver]

Originally Posted by sreepathy

how long does it take you to cover bhopal - kerala? you drive alone or do you have somebody else who could drive? any bad experiences?

The driving time from bhopal to chengannur , kl for me was about 38 hours .
Route was - bhopal - indore - nashik - pune - kolhapur - dharwad - bangalore - salem - perundurai - kangeyam - palladam - pollachi - govindapuram - kollengode - alathur - theissur - angamali - ernakulam - allepy - cherthala - changnassery - chengannur !

First day was only bhopal - indore ( spent a day at sis's place )

Second day was indore - dharwad ( 4:30 am to 9 pm ) stayed at kamat yatri nivas

Third day was dharwad to pollachi ( 9:30am to 9:00 pm ) stayed at hotel ramanujam , took an hrs break at bangalore to meet a frnd . Did not want to take a night halt , but aince mom and dad were wid me so had to take a break !

Fourth day was pollachi - chengannur. ( 5:30am to 11 am )

I am the sole driver for all my highway trips

When I go to kerala alone then the timings are
First day - Bhopal 3AM to belgaum 9PM

Second day - Belgaum 9AM to chengannur 6AM next morning .

Return is usually through the same route .

Day 1 - chengannur to davangere ( 4 am to 9 pm )

Day 2 - Davangere to bhopal ( 4:30 am to 1:30 am )

OR

Day 1 Chengannur to kurnool ( 3 am to 8:30 pm )

Day 2 kurnool to bhopal via nagpur ( 5:30 am to 2 am )



Sent from my iPhone using Team-BHP

[sreepathy]

Originally Posted by lone_driver

The driving time from bhopal to chengannur , kl for me was about 38 hours .
Route was - bhopal - indore - nashik - pune - kolhapur - dharwad - bangalore - salem - perundurai - kangeyam - palladam - pollachi - govindapuram - kollengode - alathur - theissur - angamali - ernakulam - allepy - cherthala - changnassery - chengannur !

First day was only bhopal - indore ( spent a day at sis's place )

Second day was indore - dharwad ( 4:30 am to 9 pm ) stayed at kamat yatri nivas

Third day was dharwad to pollachi ( 9:30am to 9:00 pm ) stayed at hotel ramanujam , took an hrs break at bangalore to meet a frnd . Did not want to take a night halt , but aince mom and dad were wid me so had to take a break !

Fourth day was pollachi - chengannur. ( 5:30am to 11 am )

I am the sole driver for all my highway trips

When I go to kerala alone then the timings are
First day - Bhopal 3AM to belgaum 9PM

Second day - Belgaum 9AM to chengannur 6AM next morning .

Return is usually through the same route .

Day 1 - chengannur to davangere ( 4 am to 9 pm )

Day 2 - Davangere to bhopal ( 4:30 am to 1:30 am )

OR

Day 1 Chengannur to kurnool ( 3 am to 8:30 pm )

Day 2 kurnool to bhopal via nagpur ( 5:30 am to 2 am )



Sent from my iPhone using Team-BHP

that's a hell of a schedule, specially when you are alone.
since you own a volkswagen vehicle, have you ever encountered any problems to your car during any of your long drives? have you ever utilised the volkswagen roadside assistance?

[lone_driver]

Originally Posted by sreepathy

that's a hell of a schedule, specially when you are alone.
since you own a volkswagen vehicle, have you ever encountered any problems to your car during any of your long drives? have you ever utilised the volkswagen roadside assistance?

never ! its been a trouble free ownership !
Volkswagen vehicles are awesome highway machines .. sturdy as a rock every at 140+ . very confidence inspiring .
last time kerala trip was a 7200 km round trip . did not face any problem , not even a puncture .

with some careful navigation the car did not even bottom down once on some really bad stretches also , where I saw even a bolero maxi-truck take a hit !
GC also was never an issue with 3 adults and luggage filled to the brim !