[romyeo4u]

Folks,

I'm planning to leave tonight to Pondi, me , wifey and my 8 month old son in a santro, which is the best route? BLR -Salem-Pondi or BLR-Vellore-Pondi?

Suggest a good beach resort, last time I stayed in St James.

[Orko]

Originally Posted by romyeo4u

Folks, I'm planning to leave tonight to Pondi, me , wifey and my 8 month old son in a santro, which is the best route? BLR -Salem-Pondi or BLR-Vellore-Pondi?

Earlier this month, I took the Vellore-Arcot-Vandavasi-Tindivanum route, following the detailed guide posted in this thread. In Pondicherry, I heard from another person who took the regular road that it is in terrible shape and was looking to go back to Bangalore via Vellore. Is that the Salem route?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by romyeo4u

Folks,

I'm planning to leave tonight to Pondi, me , wifey and my 8 month old son in a santro, which is the best route? BLR -Salem-Pondi or BLR-Vellore-Pondi?

Suggest a good beach resort, last time I stayed in St James.

Roads are good. But I do hope you are able to spot the right exit points at night. Thats the only catch.

[dass]

Originally Posted by raveesh_k

Hi Guys,

I just returned from a 4 day trip to Pondicherry from Bangalore. Took a lot of help from various posts on this thread so thought that I will also contribute a little bit from what I can add to the information already provided.

Journey Statistics:

Bangalore-Pondicherry

Route taken: BLR-Krishnagiri-Vellore-Arcot (bypass)-Cheyyar (bypass)-Vandavasi (bypass)-Tindivanam (bypass)-Pondicherry
Cheers!

I am driving down to Pondy with wife and son on the 10th. Would this still be the best route to take? There are so many routes available on this forum, however none are as detailed as this one and hence the question.

[raveesh_k]

Originally Posted by dass

I am driving down to Pondy with wife and son on the 10th. Would this still be the best route to take? There are so many routes available on this forum, however none are as detailed as this one and hence the question.

Yes Dass, it is very much valid. You will surely enjoy the drive. Do update in this forum as to how your experience was on this route. Will help others as well.

Cheers.

[gadiyar]

Originally Posted by dass

I am driving down to Pondy with wife and son on the 10th. Would this still be the best route to take? There are so many routes available on this forum, however none are as detailed as this one and hence the question.

I took the Hosur -> Salem -> Villuppuram -> Pondicherry route on the independence day weekend. On the way back, we took Pondicherry -> Tindivanam -> Villuppuram -> Salem -> Hosur -> Bangalore
Villuppuram -> Pondicherry is about 30 km but will take an hour sometimes as you need to go through towns. Going via Tindivanam will take about the same amount of time as it's a toll road.

Once you clear Hosur, it's a nice road throughout. I got my best-ever mileage and a tension-free drive. The scenery is nice too. It's a 4-lane road almost everywhere, except for small stretches of 2-lane between Salem -> Ulundurpet (the road surface is excellent everywhere).

This route is longer by about 60 km (and another 30 odd km if you go via Tindivanam).

A route map is here: http://goo.gl/maps/nF4Rl

I will try and post a better map with rest stops soon.

[dhuli]

Originally Posted by dhuli

2-Laning of Krishnagiri-Tindivanam (Approved Length 170 Km.)
Stretch: Km. 37.6 to Km. 214.11
Tamil Nadu
Funding: Annuity (BOT)
NH66
Length: 176.51km
Supervision consultant: Transstroy (I) Ltd. - Corporation (India) + OJSC Consortium (Russian).

I am always hopeful that the shortest route to Pondicherry from Bangalore gets that decent top. So I googled and found this update from NHAI

And here is the update below. Now, someone can share which 53 odd km is done!

• Stretch - 2-Laning of Krishnagiri-Tindivanam (Approved Length 170 Km.) Km. 37.6 to Km. 214.11
• NH - 66
• Length - 176.51
• Length Completed - 53.155
• Category - NHDP Phase IIIA
• State - Tamil Nadu
  
  Source cited - Information Technology Planning Division National Highways Authority of India
  
  As on - Friday, August 30, 2013

[Voyager-1]

Here is another thread with pictorial updates from June 2013. It also talks about a ring road being constructed around Thiruvannamalai.

http://richardarunachala.wordpress.c...iruvannamalai/

[dhuli]

Originally Posted by Voyager-1

Here is another thread with pictorial updates from June 2013. It also talks about a ring road being constructed around Thiruvannamalai.

http://richardarunachala.wordpress.c...iruvannamalai/

Thank you Voyager-1. This is great news! And according to the latest report from NHAI, they have completed 53.155Km of NH66. Like one comment in the post said...perhaps pace has picked up due to forthcoming elections.

[avimal]

did anyone do NH66 from bangalore to pondy recently? I am going to pondy on dushera weekend.

[hrman]

I'm planning to drive down to Pondy from Bangalore this Dussera weekend. Route planned is:
BLR -> Krishnagiri -> Vellore -> Arcot (cross river bed) -> Cheyyar (bypass) -> Vandavasi (bypass) -> Thindivanam (college bypass) -> Pondicherry.

Is there any way we can program this route on google maps and follow it? How reiable is Google maps for this route?
I am not so good when it comes to directions and wanted a reliable method to reach..

[ampere]

Originally Posted by avimal

did anyone do NH66 from bangalore to pondy recently? I am going to pondy on dushera weekend.

Not worth it. Take the Arcot route. If you have a reason to go to Tiruvannamalai, you can try Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur option.

Originally Posted by hrman

I'm planning to drive down to Pondy from Bangalore this Dussera weekend. Route planned is:
BLR -> Krishnagiri -> Vellore -> Arcot (cross river bed) -> Cheyyar (bypass) -> Vandavasi (bypass) -> Thindivanam (college bypass) -> Pondicherry.

Is there any way we can program this route on google maps and follow it? How reiable is Google maps for this route?
I am not so good when it comes to directions and wanted a reliable method to reach..

If you mark you route into my places, I think it would work.

Can you download sygic India GPS for mobile ? Its available on Google play for free and has map my india maps.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by ampere

If you mark you route into my places, I think it would work.

Can you download sygic India GPS for mobile ? Its available on Google play for free and has map my india maps.

Thanks Ampere. Yes. Got Sygic on my phone. I guess it would be more helpful than Gmaps. Let me give it a shot.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by hrman

Thanks Ampere. Yes. Got Sygic on my phone. I guess it would be more helpful than Gmaps. Let me give it a shot.

Just to confirm I hope you have also downloaded the whole of India maps (that about 800MB to a GB), apart from the app itself.
Sygic works very well and navigation is quite good. I would say Google more for finding places within city. (Of course its a personal opinion. Every one has his own)

[avimal]

Originally Posted by ampere

Not worth it. Take the Arcot route. If you have a reason to go to Tiruvannamalai, you can try Karimangalam-Morappur-Harur option.

There are 2 ways to reach Arcot. using NH7 via Krishnagiri or using NH4 via Kolar. It seems NH4 one is shorter by few miles. Which one will be a better choice in terms of ride and time both?