[ampere]

Originally Posted by pc1686

Thanks Ampere. Please throw some light on the weather part also for the first week of August.

Weather should be nice! I actually went there in peak summer! But still it was fun. Apart from the usual places to visit, take an evening walk close to Promenade and enjoy the French architecture. There is also a food street close by.

[rohanak1]

Originally Posted by pc1686

Hi,

How will be the weather in the first week of August? I am planning a 4 days trip (6-9th August)

Since the route has been extensively discussed, please let me know some good stay options. Can I expect good offers since this is not a peak season?

Thanks

I stayed in Accord, Pondicherry in the first week of July. Paid 7100/- for 2 nights through goibibo. Good hotel, excellent rooms. Parking here seems troublesome as the basement parking is always full. Valet does his job well though. Good buffet breakfast.
Pondicherry was pretty hot when I travelled with no signs of any rainfall.

[bharat4ever]

I recommend Hotel Du Parc. It's in the white town region of Pondy, with Bharathi park behind, and the sea a 2 min walk away.
http://www.hotelduparc.co.in/

[rish27]

Hi Everyone

Planning a trip this Sunday to Pondi with family, just require a couple of details.

~ Can Google maps be relied completely whilst taking the Arcot / Cheyyar / Tindivanam route and back.

~ Any good & neat eateries.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by rish27

~ Can Google maps be relied completely whilst taking the Arcot / Cheyyar / Tindivanam route and back.

The routes are perfectly mapped in Google. What you may not be able to trust is your data connection on phone. If you can cache the route, it should work.

~ Any good & neat eateries.

- Plan your break before Arcot (That is while you are on the 4-lane)
- And there are many hotels on the 4-lane
- What I would suggest is break after Krishnagiri.
- There is a fantastic place called Sai Sangeeth at Ambur which is about 150km from Bangalore.
- Its an ideal location and its definitely worth the longish drive before a break.
- And also since you are past Krishnagiri, traffic is much lesser as well

[justwheels]

Planning a ride to Pondicherry on bike with wife on 14th August evening. Plan to leave Bangalore around 5 PM and reach by midnight.
Need help on the route, safety and issues I should keep in mind as wife will be with me. Also is it safe to ride at that time. Since have to leave from office, it is difficult for me to leave early. So if I leave at 5 PM, whats the best and safest route for the night.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by justwheels

Planning a ride to Pondicherry on bike with wife on 14th August evening. Plan to leave Bangalore around 5 PM and reach by midnight.
Need help on the route, safety and issues I should keep in mind as wife will be with me. Also is it safe to ride at that time. Since have to leave from office, it is difficult for me to leave early. So if I leave at 5 PM, whats the best and safest route for the night.

The regular route these days is Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Vellore-Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi-Pondicherry (look up previous posts for details, all towns have bypasses). However, for a night drive, I'm not sure on the safety factor beyond Vellore where you get off the NH46. Also, these smaller towns may not have enough facilities - places for breaks/places to stop in case of any emergency with your ride.
If you start by 4pm, you have a better chance of reaching Pondi by 10pm which in my opinion is better, else postpone to next day and start early morning.

[rish27]

Had a quick visit: Bangalore - Pondy - Bangalore 02nd August - 4th August. A few noticeable things worth mentioning.

~ Google maps were 100% accurate, and all the bye passes were perfectly mapped. As what Ampere suggested in the earlier post, the data network needs to be more in sync
~ Stayed in a brand New property opened around 6-8 months ago (Shenbaga Convention Centre) Definitely worth a stay.
~ Considerably hot and humid.

Thank you

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by justwheels

Planning a ride to Pondicherry on bike with wife on 14th August evening. Plan to leave Bangalore around 5 PM and reach by midnight.
Need help on the route, safety and issues I should keep in mind as wife will be with me. Also is it safe to ride at that time. Since have to leave from office, it is difficult for me to leave early. So if I leave at 5 PM, whats the best and safest route for the night.

I would advice you to leave bangalore (say by 4 PM) or else the next day morning by 4 AM.
Unlike the NH, on the SH once you cross Vellore, you may not find that many people movement. In the case of emergency (god forbid such a thing should happen), you will be stranded as no one will be there to help you.
If you leave the next morning by 4 AM, you can reach Krishnagiri in about 1.5 - 2 hrs. You then have daylight and hotels also will be open by the time you reach Ambur.
Do note that most of the hotels open by 7 AM.

[amiya.c]

Dear All,

I have planned a trip to Pondicherry in last weekend of August. The most preferred route looks like Bangalore-Vellore-Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi-Tindivanam-Pondicherry

But when I am using the google maps it is showing the first preferred route as
Bangalore-Mulbagal-chittoor-Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi-Tindivanam-Pondicherry

The 2 routes to Arcot are completely different, so has anybody used the Mulbagal-Chittoor route lately? Has it become a preferred route nowadays ?

Please also let me know the kind of weather in late August in Pondicherry

Thanks,
Amiya

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by amiya.c

Please also let me know the kind of weather in late August in Pondicherry

Thanks,
Amiya

Weather:Warm and maybe rains at times.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by amiya.c

The 2 routes to Arcot are completely different, so has anybody used the Mulbagal-Chittoor route lately? Has it become a preferred route nowadays ?

This route via Old Madras Road-KR Puram-Hoskote is 4 laned upto the Karnataka border, a little beyond Mulbagal and is a toll road. From here it is 2 laned and if not timed well (starting from Bangalore around 5am will be good) can be painful, especially in the evenings with truck traffic you may not have overtaking opportunities and will cut your speed down. At chittoor you take the bypass to right side after Cafe coffee day towards Ranipet/Vellore. Also decide on this route if you stay close to Indiranagar side, else just take the regular route via Hosur Road and go via Krishnagiri-Vellore.
On one of our trips to Pondy during the month of August, it rained on all the days!

[amiya.c]

Originally Posted by NPV

This route via Old Madras Road-KR Puram-Hoskote is 4 laned upto the Karnataka border, a little beyond Mulbagal and is a toll road. From here it is 2 laned and if not timed well (starting from Bangalore around 5am will be good) can be painful, especially in the evenings with truck traffic you may not have overtaking opportunities and will cut your speed down. At chittoor you take the bypass to right side after Cafe coffee day towards Ranipet/Vellore. Also decide on this route if you stay close to Indiranagar side, else just take the regular route via Hosur Road and go via Krishnagiri-Vellore.
On one of our trips to Pondy during the month of August, it rained on all the days!

Thanks a lot for these inputs, I live in Kalyan Nagar, I can catch this route in no time but I stay confused whether to take this route or not, not sure how it is going to be from Mulbagal to Arcot. After Arcot it joins the usual route.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by amiya.c

Thanks a lot for these inputs, I live in Kalyan Nagar, I can catch this route in no time but I stay confused whether to take this route or not, not sure how it is going to be from Mulbagal to Arcot. After Arcot it joins the usual route.

If you are starting early morning, I would say stick to Hosur-Krishnagiri. That would be faster. Plan a break after Krishnagiri say at Ambur (Sai Sangeet). That would be ideal.

[rohanak1]

I second Ampere on Sai Sangeet. The food is excellent. I had used the Ranipet - Chittoor - Bangalore route on the NH4. Frankly, it was quite tiring and I would suggest using the route via Hosur -> Krishanagiri. I used it while travelling to Pondi and never felt tired. Stick to this route even if you stay near KR puram