[TorqueyTechie]

Folks,

I would be driving down to pondicherry this friday and will take the Vellore-Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi-Tindivanam route as it is the preferred route. I would be starting at 6AM from my place and plan to reach pondicherry by 1 with stopover for breakfast and probably coffee.

1. Is it doable considering the route and the traffic?
2. Any suggestions for breakfast with good restroom facilities?
3. Things to do in pondicherry apart from visiting the regular places like promenade, auroville and probably aurobindo ashram?
4. Good petrol bunks preferably IOC ones as I have a branded cc?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

1. Is it doable considering the route and the traffic?

Most traffic only till Krishnagiri if any.

2. Any suggestions for breakfast with good restroom facilities?

Break after Krishnagiri. There are many options. Prominent ones being Sai Sangeeth (after Vanyambadi), A2B (Arcot just before exit from 4-lane), Coffee Day etc

3. Things to do in pondicherry apart from visiting the regular places like promenade, auroville and probably aurobindo ashram?

Ousteri Lake, Chunnambar Back waters. There are a couple of temples if you want to visit. One at Panchavati (Hanuman Temple like Nanganallur, Namakkal etc; Huge statue). Another one right next Ashram (Ganesha Temple)

4. Good petrol bunks preferably IOC ones as I have a branded cc?

Dont remember anything specific. I usually look for bunks which have high truck traffic and fill in!

[procrj]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Things to do in pondicherry

- Paradise beach if you are not staying on a beach front place
- Old port dock - good place to watch sunrise https://goo.gl/maps/Q4h9xwDeeFs
- Visit Zuka if you are a chocolate fan or if you are travelling with a kid https://goo.gl/maps/sD96Zg8X9pw
- Go to a pizza place around the promenade and eat some good wood fired pizza. Would suggest
a. La Terrasse - its not a fancy place but serves some delicious wood fired pizza https://goo.gl/maps/7R4AUy1Zj1w
b. New farm fresh - new place but good food https://goo.gl/maps/PguKBqeeiMH2

Good petrol bunks preferably IOC ones as I have a branded cc?

Here are 2 IOC filling stations I have used in the past. Both did allow you to pay via points - not sure if that has changed post demonitization
1. https://goo.gl/maps/Sbjuwk2mFez
2. https://goo.gl/maps/Kr1qgzBXTgN2

[ayankm]

Originally Posted by procrj

-
- Go to a pizza place around the promenade and eat some good wood fired pizza. Would suggest
a. La Terrasse - its not a fancy place but serves some delicious wood fired pizza https://goo.gl/maps/7R4AUy1Zj1w
b. New farm fresh - new place but good food https://goo.gl/maps/PguKBqeeiMH2

To add to the pizza place, there is one called Cafe Xtasi at the junction of Mission St and Needarajapayar St. They make amazing pizzas and pastas. You can search for this place on Google maps. This place is highly rated and not to be missed.

[procrj]

Originally Posted by ayankm

Cafe Xtasi

Tried going there a couple of times but was very crowded and parking in that area was a problem. This is what lead me to discover La Terasse & Farm fresh.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by procrj

Tried going there a couple of times but was very crowded and parking in that area was a problem. This is what lead me to discover La Terasse & Farm fresh.

Agree. I went to cafe xtaci last week reading the reviews and the pizza doesn't justify the crowds. Even the service was pathetic.

I would recommend Tantos at auroville for Italian food including ravioli.

[SAPVEN]

Hi Friends,

Am planning to drive down to Pondi from Bangalore, this weekend in an XUV . Have heard that the old route via Krishnagiri-Uthangarai-Thiruvannamalai-Tindivanam is OK to use , and is the best option . Planning to start early , by around 5.30 am.

Has anybody done this route above recently ? Have heard that lot of work has
been completed in the stretch from Krishnagiri till Uthangarai.

Any feedback will be helpful.

Rgds,

[chethan.ram]

Driving to Pondicherry on Monday, considering Krishnagiri - Tiruvannamalai - Puducherry route. Has anyone done this route recently? Or should I take the route mentioned above?

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

Driving to Pondicherry on Monday, considering Krishnagiri - Tiruvannamalai - Puducherry route. Has anyone done this route recently? Or should I take the route mentioned above?

First option is via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Vellore, Arcot, Cheyyar, Vandavasi and Tindivanam
The next best option is Via Hosur, Krishnagiri, Bargur, Tirupattur, Singarapettai, Chengam, T V Malai. I drove on the 2nd route till Chetpet last May. No issues whatsoever. You have road widening work going on in Singarapettai.

[Torqy]

Originally Posted by SAPVEN

Am planning to drive down to Pondi from Bangalore, this weekend in an XUV . Have heard that the old route via Krishnagiri-Uthangarai-Thiruvannamalai-Tindivanam is OK to use , and is the best option . Planning to start early , by around 5.30 am.

Originally Posted by chethan.ram

Driving to Pondicherry on Monday, considering Krishnagiri - Tiruvannamalai - Puducherry route. Has anyone done this route recently? Or should I take the route mentioned above?

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post4119948

[redcruiser]

Guys look out for foggy conditions around attibele/hosur if you have a 6 am start.

[SAPVEN]

Originally Posted by Torqy

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post4119948

Thanks. This provides all the info I need .
So Krishnagiri-Bargur-Tiruppattur- Singarapettai-Tiruvannamalai-
Tindivanam-Pondicherry it is !

I have only problem at Tirupattur. If I recall, the signage leaves a lot to be desired. Its a madhouse situation . Are there some simple directions to zero in to the the Singarapettai road ( SH 18A) , without going round in circles
?

Thanks.

[iamnarayang]

Originally Posted by SAPVEN

Thanks. This provides all the info I need .
So Krishnagiri-Bargur-Tiruppattur- Singarapettai-Tiruvannamalai-
Tindivanam-Pondicherry it is !

I have only problem at Tirupattur. If I recall, the signage leaves a lot to be desired. Its a madhouse situation . Are there some simple directions to zero in to the the Singarapettai road ( SH 18A) , without going round in circles
?

Thanks.

Hosur to Thiruvannamalai, via Tirupattur.

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ho...2841!3e0?hl=en

[TorqueyTechie]

Originally Posted by TorqueyTechie

Folks,

I would be driving down to pondicherry this friday and will take the Vellore-Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi-Tindivanam route as it is the preferred route. I would be starting at 6AM from my place and plan to reach pondicherry by 1 with stopover for breakfast and probably coffee.

1. Is it doable considering the route and the traffic?
2. Any suggestions for breakfast with good restroom facilities?
3. Things to do in pondicherry apart from visiting the regular places like promenade, auroville and probably aurobindo ashram?
4. Good petrol bunks preferably IOC ones as I have a branded cc?

I did the pondicherry trip this weekend and I went with the recommended Vellore-Arcot-Cheyyar-Vandavasi-Tindivanam route (even google shows that as the default option). Good routes all along except for very minor patches but nothing to worry about.

Thanks to ampere for the suggestion to have breakfast at saisangeet. Food was good and place was clean.

Thanks to ayankm for mentioning about cafe xtasi. Had an awesome wood fired pizza after a long time. As mentioned by procj the place is crowded but we got lucky to get a place very soon.

One more place I would suggest is the Bay of Buddha. It is a roof top restaurant on "The Promenade" hotel and has a good view of the beach. Taste and quality of the food is good and the service is also nice.

[SAPVEN]

Originally Posted by SAPVEN

Thanks. This provides all the info I need .
So Krishnagiri-Bargur-Tiruppattur- Singarapettai-Tiruvannamalai-
Tindivanam-Pondicherry it is !

I have only problem at Tirupattur. If I recall, the signage leaves a lot to be desired. Its a madhouse situation . Are there some simple directions to zero in to the the Singarapettai road ( SH 18A) , without going round in circles
?

Thanks.

Did the Bangalore - Pondicherry trip last weekend and the salient points noted below :

ONWARD : Bangalore-Krishnagiri-Tirupathur -Singarapettai-Tiruvannamalai- villupuram-Pondicherry ( took the Villupuram route since we had to arrive south of Pondicherry). Started at 5.30 AM and reached at 12.00 noon.
Journey Time - 6.5 hours.
The road after Singarapettai was bad in stretches which resulted in slow speeds . Bad, but doable.

RETURN : Pondi-Tindivanam-Vandavasi-Cheyyar-Arcot-Ranipet-Chittoor-
Kolar-Hennur . Started at 8.30 AM and reached by 2.00 pm.
Journey Time - 5.5 hours !!!!!
It was smooth sailing throughout and I would recommend this route to
Pondicherry, till the Turuvannamalai route is fully done .
South Bangalore drivers can turn left at Arcot to Krishnagiri, Hosur and
Bangalore.

Thanks for all advance tips from BHPians