[josebi]

Thanks much NPV and Ravi.
One question to NPV, did you suggest Palladam - Pollachi route to avoid the over-crowded toll plazas (6 of them) in the CBE bye-pass?
and one question to Ravi too, why did you take the Mysore road till Maddur to reach Kollegal instead of the route through Kanakapura?

[werfish]

Please avoid Gundlepet - Gudalur - Nilambur, The roads are very bad and give Shiradi Ghats a competition.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by josebi

One question to NPV, did you suggest Palladam - Pollachi route to avoid the over-crowded toll plazas (6 of them) in the CBE bye-pass?
and one question to Ravi too, why did you take the Mysore road till Maddur to reach Kollegal instead of the route through Kanakapura?

Expecting a lot of traffic at all the toll booths nearing Coimbatore as that is the regular route for most of the traffic heading to Kerala. The Palladam-Pollachi-Kollengode route sees lesser traffic but 2 laned roads, so this is a gamble in a way as it's a long weekend when you travel. Alternately, take the 4 laned roads all the way from Bangalore (the regular NH7+47 combination).

**The Maddur-Malavalli road is quite bad from what I know, please avoid.
In terms of road conditions, you're better off going via Kanakapura-Malavalli.

Originally Posted by josebi

why did you take the Mysore road till Maddur to reach Kollegal instead of the route through Kanakapura?

My home is in Basaveswara Nagar. It is easy to drive via Magadi Road>ORR>Kengeri satellite town>Mysore Road SH 17 - all 4-lane roads. So I prefer that route.

[josebi]

Thanks Ravi and NPV for the valuable inputs.
@werfish, thanks for your inputs too.

I started from Bangalore around 6AM on 23rd Dec and took the below route,

Bangalore - Kanakapura - Malavalli - Kollegal - Dhondenling - Hasanur – Dhimbam Ghat – Bannari Amman Temple – Bhavani Sagar – Pullampatti - Annur - Pollachi - Kollengode - Vadakkencherry - COK

By taking this route I avoided the possible mad rush in toll booths all along the highway and the CBE bye-pass. Bye-passing Chamrajnagar, Sathyamangalam, CBE, and PKD saved me a lot of time. But the bad traffic jam at Dhimbam ghat which might have taken more than 30 minutes and the heavy vehicular movement at Wadakkancherry - TSR stretch and near Mannuthy as well as Angamaly might have eaten up another 1 hour. In total, it took around 12 hours to reach COK.

[pokerface23]

Hello, I am driving down from Mumbai to Kochi and would be starting off at around 4 this evening. The Mumbai-Bangalore highway is fairly straightforward with decent roads. But I do not have any idea about roads thereafter from Bangalore till Kochi (Ernakulam). Request someone to kindly guide me on the best possible route from Bangalore to Kochi. From my basic research, I noted that the route should be Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Bhavani - Avinashi - Coimbatore - Palakkad - Thrissur - Kochi.

Is the above route the best route. Or is there any other better route which someone can suggest. Any update about the existing road conditions of the above route would also be invaluable. Thanks in advance.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by pokerface23

Request someone to kindly guide me on the best possible route from Bangalore to Kochi. From my basic research, I noted that the route should be Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Bhavani - Avinashi - Coimbatore - Palakkad - Thrissur - Kochi.

Is the above route the best route. Or is there any other better route which someone can suggest. Any update about the existing road conditions of the above route would also be invaluable. Thanks in advance.

This is the best route. Pretty much 4 lane and straightforward all the way now apart from 2 stretches. 2 lane between Coimbatore L&T bypass entry to Kerala Border at Walayar (4 lane work is happening on this stretch) and then there is a 2 lane stretch of I think 30km between Palakkad and Thrissur. So road conditions may be average on these 2 stretches. Rest of it is great.

When you cross Salem, watch out for the exit you need to take to get on the Coimbatore Highway. Can be missed.

[pokerface23]

Thanks mate. How long should this whole stretch take? A conservative estimate considering sedate driving speeds of around 80kmph n a few short breaks of 15-20 mins??

[NPV]

Originally Posted by pokerface23

The Mumbai-Bangalore highway is fairly straightforward with decent roads. But I do not have any idea about roads thereafter from Bangalore till Kochi (Ernakulam).

You can bypass Bangalore city by taking the NICE road from NH 4 and then taking the NICE road exit for Hosur road. This will ensure you bypass the city and get to NH 7 for your journey towards Salem.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by pokerface23

Thanks mate. How long should this whole stretch take? A conservative estimate considering sedate driving speeds of around 80kmph n a few short breaks of 15-20 mins??

You can do Bangalore (Electronic City)- Coimbatore bypass (Madukkarai) in about 5-6 hours with sedate driving and a couple of short breaks. From there until Walayr where you have a 4-lane highway, you'll need about 30mins. Walayar to Vadakkenchery can be done in an hour. Vadakkenchery to Mannuthy which is 2-laned can take you 45min to over an hour depending on the traffic and time of the day. Mannuthy to Kalamassery will take less than 2 hours. Beyond that, the Kochi metro construction will slow you down a lot.

Budget a total of 9-11hours depending on the speeds you do, the number of breaks you take and traffic inside Kerala. Don't expect an average speed of over 50kmph once you're on Kerala roads. Unless you drive a private bus or a Mahindra Pick-up carrying toddy

[pokerface23]

Thanks lot for all the invaluable inputs and help. We did a 27 hours non-stop drive from Mumbai to Kochi. Except roads near the TN - Kerala Border and interior Kerala, the whole drive was a breeze. On our way back, since we had 2 days, we came via NH-17 till Goa and then we took Chorla Ghat to Join NH-4 in Belgaon and thereafter on NH-4 till Mumbai. The return journey was a 36 hour non-stop drive from Kerala. The WagonR proved us wrong by behaving well above our expectations. The road back was really scenic. But so many small villages and towns within short distances really slowed us down. Also roads after Kasargod till Mangalore were bad. The highlight was driving through Goa and Chorla Ghat till Belgaon between 2 and 5 in the morning. This was the first time I did such a long drive and I'm sure its the first of many more to come. Thanks a lot again for all your invaluable inputs.

[arun_josie]

From this thread, I understand that the Bangalore-Coimbatore-Palakkad-Thrissur-Cochin is the direct route to Cochin. And it takes around 10 hours to reach Cochin.

After I enter Kerala, is it OK to just follow the GPS or is there any turns/deviations that I should be careful not to miss them?

Also, any recommended place to stop after entering Kerala for a quick stop?

Note: I have not gone beyond Coimbatore.

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

From this thread, I understand that the Bangalore-Coimbatore-Palakkad-Thrissur-Cochin is the direct route to Cochin. And it takes around 10 hours to reach Cochin.

After I enter Kerala, is it OK to just follow the GPS or is there any turns/deviations that I should be careful not to miss them?

Also, any recommended place to stop after entering Kerala for a quick stop?

Note: I have not gone beyond Coimbatore.

It depends on the time and day of travel. Usually I start by around 4AM and would reach Kochi by 1PM, with a single stop for breakfast. Once inside Kochi city, you may get slowed down by traffic, especially due to the metro work. I travelled last saturday and the only traffic jam I encountered was at Edappally junction. I did not take the byepass, but went straight towards the city and the traffic was very minimal.

After Coimbatore, the roads have a lot of deviations till the Kerala border due to the 4-lane work.

Which part of the city is your destination?

For a refreshment stop after entering Kerala, you will find Malabar Hotel to the left around 10-11 kms after you cross the border. Its on a curve and you need to careful not to miss it. Its a typical north kerala non-veg restaurant with decent rest rooms. Further ahead at Palakkad byepass junction(take left for Kochi, and straight goes to the Palakkad town), you will find KFC, McD, Aaryas on the left.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by bejoy

Which part of the city is your destination?

For a refreshment stop after entering Kerala, you will find Malabar Hotel to the left around 10-11 kms after you cross the border. Its on a curve and you need to careful not to miss it. Its a typical north kerala non-veg restaurant with decent rest rooms. Further ahead at Palakkad byepass junction(take left for Kochi, and straight goes to the Palakkad town), you will find KFC, McD, Aaryas on the left.

Thanks for your quick response.

We are planning for 4:00 AM start and the destination is near Kakkanad. If possible, we will do it one-stop.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Thanks for your quick response.

We are planning for 4:00 AM start and the destination is near Kakkanad. If possible, we will do it one-stop.

If you start at 4AM, I think you should easily pass Salem by 6:30, now that Krishnagiri is easy.

Before Sankari by pass after Salem there is a Saravana Bhavan (at Vaikundam), which is a good place to stop. I think now there is an A2B at Perundurai bypass as well.