[fundagenie]

Originally Posted by Naren4140

My destination in north-east TVM i.e. Perrorkada/Ambalamukku area can somebody advise me on Bangalore->Madurai->Rajapalyam->Tenkasi->Nedumangad->Perrorkada

By any chance did you try this route.... Planning to drive from bangalore to tvm this weekend. And would like to try this route...

FundaG

[kap04]

I'm also travelling to Trivandrum via Madurai on Dec 21st early morning ( 3:30AM ). And planning to take the Poovar route from Nagercoil.

Its been a year since i drove on this route , hence wanted to check with you guys about safe hotels on the way for BF & lunch.

I intend to stop at Karur ( 300 kms ) for BF, Might be around 7:30AM when i reach. Last time we visited a hotel right before the toll, but i dont remember the name now. Or are there any better ones in the vicinity?

Lunch is being planned at Nagercoil. Any suggestions on places to grab a lunch?

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by kap04

Its been a year since i drove on this route , hence wanted to check with you guys about safe hotels on the way for BF & lunch.

I intend to stop at Karur ( 300 kms ) for BF, Might be around 7:30AM when i reach. Last time we visited a hotel right before the toll, but i dont remember the name now. Or are there any better ones in the vicinity?

Lunch is being planned at Nagercoil. Any suggestions on places to grab a lunch?

There is one after karur, it should be around 3-4Kms from Karur, around .5 Km from a BP. Its not great though. Last time I started around 2:30 AM and reached Madurai for BF, there is one saravana bhavan and Haris(near the toll).

I am starting on 21st as well, initial plan was to start by 3:00 AM, but now some has come-up and hence it could be afternoon.

[sbkumar]

Originally Posted by kap04

I'm also travelling to Trivandrum via Madurai on Dec 21st early morning ( 3:30AM ). And planning to take the Poovar route from Nagercoil.

Its been a year since i drove on this route , hence wanted to check with you guys about safe hotels on the way for BF & lunch.

I intend to stop at Karur ( 300 kms ) for BF, Might be around 7:30AM when i reach. Last time we visited a hotel right before the toll, but i dont remember the name now. Or are there any better ones in the vicinity?

Lunch is being planned at Nagercoil. Any suggestions on places to grab a lunch?

A2B near karur bus stand, around 1 KM from the highway. Not much of a detour really.

If you are a vegetarian, Hotel Udupi ( near vadasery bus stand) or Hotel Gauri Shankar, near chunkankadai (after crossing Nagercoil) are decent options. For Non-Veg, Hotel Prabhu near tower junction is good, but might be crowded.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by sbkumar

A2B near karur bus stand, around 1 KM from the highway. Not much of a detour really.

Is this on the same road where Hotel Arunachala is located?

Btw, Hotel Arunachala is a good option for lunch and dinner. Its around 50-100 M from the highway.

[pramodpk]

Drove Kavalkinar - Kesavadasapuram via Nagercoil - Marthandam - Kalyikkavilai - Poovar yesterday. Took 4 hours to cover 103 KMs. Avoid this stretch and take Tenkasi route instead. It may be bad but it is 60 KMs shorter ( for me) and toll can be avoided. NH47 between Kavalkinar and Kaliyikkavilai (the turn off to Poover) is completely broken at many places. There were kilometre long traffic jams in the opposite lane (Trivandrum to Nagercoil). It took a long time to cross Marthandam as the traffice signals were off and Traffic police was controlling the traffice by randomly allowing vehicles from all directions. I was driving from Rameshwaram. Hence could not take this route. To add to the misery, there was pothole filling in one place blocking one side of the road in such peak traffic. Once you take the Poovar route, drive is peaceful but it is almost 15 KMs longer for me.

[arun_josie]

I came to nagercoil from bangalore on 21st. The stretch between Kavalkinaru and Nagercoil is in a very bad state, only in few places i was able to go over 30kmph.

- Avoid overtaking in this stretch because in middle of overtake you might be stopped by any big potholes
- Don't try to follow these state buses, they just don't care about these potholes
- There are couple of diversions as well.

[sbkumar]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Drove Kavalkinar - Kesavadasapuram via Nagercoil - Marthandam - Kalyikkavilai - Poovar yesterday. Took 4 hours to cover 103 KMs. Avoid this stretch and take Tenkasi route instead.

Going by the progressive deterioration of NH47 in this stretch and the traffic, I wonder if it's time to try out this route - http://goo.gl/maps/kfY3o . May be the next time I go home I will try this out.. It goes through numerous small towns and villages and either you need to be aware of the route or follow a good navigation tool, but I somehow feel this would be less stressful than the kavalkinar-ngl-kaliyakavila-poovar option.

[kap04]

Originally Posted by sbkumar

Going by the progressive deterioration of NH47 in this stretch and the traffic, I wonder if it's time to try out this route - http://goo.gl/maps/kfY3o . May be the next time I go home I will try this out.. It goes through numerous small towns and villages and either you need to be aware of the route or follow a good navigation tool, but I somehow feel this would be less stressful than the kavalkinar-ngl-kaliyakavila-poovar option.

Kavalinar-Kaliyikkavilai is a horror. Had taken it last week, I'm lucky the tires are still in shape. A friend of mine had taken this route a while back, and the sidewalls of two of his tires ruptured.

[guruji]

Just did this trip to tvm - took madurai > Tirumangalam > Srivilliputhur > Tenkasi route. The roads are in excellent shape. Little high traffic due to Sabarimala season.

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

The stretch between Kavalkinaru and Nagercoil is in a very bad state, only in few places i was able to go over 30kmph.

Originally Posted by kap04

Kavalinar-Kaliyikkavilai is a horror. Had taken it last week, I'm lucky the tires are still in shape. A friend of mine had taken this route a while back, and the sidewalls of two of his tires ruptured.

Is the state of the road still the same? Planning for a Bangalore trip from Tvm, and the tentative plan is to cover this stretch in the 3-4 AM time frame, which would mean, under lights. Or alternate routes recommended.

[sarathlal]

Is the Google suggested route a better option to avoid the dreaded stretch?
Also, any idea on the road condition and traffic in this route?

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by sarathlal

Is the Google suggested route a better option to avoid the dreaded stretch?
Also, any idea on the road condition and traffic in this route?

Attachment 1187043

Some time back I checked with one of my friend who lives on this route and he said the route via nagercoil is better.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by arun_josie

Some time back I checked with one of my friend who lives on this route and he said the route via nagercoil is better.

Please note that NH47 is in a bad shape across 50% of the strech b/w T'drum and Nagarcoil - potholes and heavy traffic!!

[sarathlal]

To avoid traffic at Tvm-Nagercoil and Hosur area, planning to start the Tvm-Bangalore trip at 2 AM, for both to and fro journeys.

Given this start time, do we have any recommendation for decent place for breakfast and lunch ideal for family? Decent food, restroom and ease of access/parking being the priorities.

During the 6 AM start, Gowri Sankar, Capsi, A2Bs and CCD were the pit stops, but would be in totally different place this time.