[travelmate]

Wonder what would be the best route from Kottayam to Goa this Dec during Christmas?

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by travelmate

Wonder what would be the best route from Kottayam to Goa this Dec during Christmas?

Kottayam-Kumily-Salem-Bangalore-Hubli-Dharwad-Goa -> Good surface and stress free route (much longer than regular route)

Kottayam-Trichur-Kozhikode-Mangalore-Karwar-Goa -> Scenic but slow route

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by travelmate

Wonder what would be the best route from Kottayam to Goa this Dec during Christmas?

Kottayam-Peermade-Cumbum-Theni-Dindigul-Salem-Hosur-Electronics City-NICE Road-Tumkur-Hubli-Ankola-Karwar-Madgaon-Panjim

You could stay in Hubli on Day 1 and on your return,you can stay in Bangalore or Salem.

Dindigul onwards all the way till Hubli-4 laned.From thereon excellent roads via NH63 Ankola.NH17 from Ankola till Madgaon is also in good condition.

Do not take the NH17 route from Kerala,it would be a long and tiring and never ending drive.

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?saddr...mra=ls&t=m&z=7

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by travelmate

Wonder what would be the best route from Kottayam to Goa this Dec during Christmas?

I would take the NH17 route one way via Mangalore (more scenic) & return the other way via Bangalore (faster)

[travelmate]

I did the Goa- Mangalore route but that was more than 10 years back and I guess a lot would have changed since then, especially the traffic.
The route Ranjitp1 has detailed seems to be the one I will follow I guess. Coolclouds has mentioned it as well.
I hate doing the same route to return on any long trip.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by travelmate

I did the Goa- Mangalore route but that was more than 10 years back and I guess a lot would have changed since then, especially the traffic.
The route Ranjitp1 has detailed seems to be the one I will follow I guess. Coolclouds has mentioned it as well.
I hate doing the same route to return on any long trip.

If you are able to do (Kottayam)-Mangalore/Udupi NH17 during night/off peak hours to avoid traffic, its worth a try for the scenic route though its time consuming. You can do Hubli-bangalore route while coming back for a quick/relaxed return.

[travelmate]

I never drive after 7pm on long trips unless the destination is an hour or so away, but I get your point.

[satshen]

Did Bangalore to Nilambur over the weekend (24/11/2012).

Bangalore - Gundlupet road is in good condition, however road through some villages are narrow.

Road through Bandipur forest range is in good condition but speed restricted by lots of speed breakers. Unfortunately didn't sight any wild animals - only a couple of tame elephants with their mahoots!!

Madhumalai road is deteriorated in some places but wasn't a problem to drive.

Gudalur to Nilambur road is good except for large potholes on some of the curves in Nadugani Churam - could easily negotiate these.

[travelmate]

A 6.30 am start on a Sat in an i10 Sportz should get me to Hubli at what time approx?

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Kottayam-Peermade-Cumbum-Theni-Dindigul-Salem-Hosur-Electronics City-NICE Road-Tumkur-Hubli-Ankola-Karwar-Madgaon-Panjim
=========

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by travelmate

A 6.30 am start on a Sat in an i10 Sportz should get me to Hubli at what time approx?

630 IMO is a bit too late as local Kerala traffic would delay your progress.Ideal time would be 4-430am.Approx 5hrs to Dindigul,2.5hrs to Salem,3hrs to Electronics City,1-1.5hr to Tumkur,5-5.5 hrs to Hubli.Approx 16-17hrs drive to Hubli.4 laned all the way from Dindigul to Hubli.With a 4 am departure,you should be reaching Hubli by 8 in the night(ofcourse dependant on your speeds).

If this is too much,then you can stay the night at Hotel Naveen in Tumkur http://naveenregency.com/tum-overview.php or Hotel Naveen regency at Chitradurga(the only good place in town).The Tumkur one is far better than the Chitradurga one.

Tumkur-Cdurga should take you a little more than an hour,or else stay at Davangere which is approx 3 hours from Tumkur.

At Davangere-Genesis Resort on NH4 Bypass,Shankar Comfort near KSRTC,

[Geo_Ipe]

Just an Update:

Did a Vellore - Coimbatore - Vellore over the weekend.
Vellore - Krishnagiri 6 laning in progress, lots of deviations but well demarcated.
Krishnagiri - Salem - Avinashi is as smooth as ever.

Last 50 km before CBE is difficult especially at night. Deviations are numerous, and the surface is horrible. Had to shift down till first in my Santro to get outta the trenchs. And the smoother parts in between the deviations have no markings painted, making it difficult to judge the left side of the road. To make matters worse, buses coming in the opposite direction kept trying to push me to my extreme left.

Took 7 hours to complete 400 km one way (15.30 - 23.30), hardly ever crossing the 100 kmph mark. Return took half an hour less (14.30 - 21.00) as I did CBE - Avinashi during daylight. I got an FE of 16+ with AC on all the time.

Hope its useful for people planning to drive via CBE to Kerala from Chennai or Bangalore!

[varunmukund]

I did a drive from Udumalpet to Bangalore on Monday morning in a Palio 1.9D. I left Udumalpet at morning 4 am and I reached my house in Kundalhalli by 11. I took the below mentioned route.

Udumalpet-->Dharapuram-->Kangeyam-->Perundurai-->NH7-->Salem Bye Pass-->Dharmapuri Byepass-->Palakode-->Rayakottai-->Hosur-->Attibele-->Sarjapur-->Varthur-->Kundalhalli

Update on road conditions:
1. Udumalpet to Dharapuram was a breeze. Beautiful roads. At one point around 12 kms from Udumalpet, there are two speed breakers and they are marked.

2. Dharapuram to Kangeyam again was decent. No in particular bad patches but roads around the Kangeyam town are not upto the mark.

3. Kangeyam to Perundurai had some bad patches in between, especially when nearing Perundurai and from Perundurai till NH7. If you are following a GPS device, then after crossing Perundurai town, watch out for the NH7 bridge. We need to take a left cut and go under the bridge. The GPS was suggesting to take right.

4. NH7 till Dharmapuri byepass was a complete breeze. Kept the speedo at a consistent 100.

5. At this point, we need to take a left to Palakode. The roads till Palakode were quite decent. While nearing Palakode town, we need to take a right deviation which takes us to a bye pass road. The bye pass road is not the best, however it does save us from Palakode town traffic.

6. From Palakode to Rayakottai was pretty decent with a mix of good and bad roads. Overall satisfied from this stretch as nothing deadly was encountered.

7. Rayakottai till Hosur stretch was rather average to below average on the road condition. The Stretch from Dharmapuri byepass till Hosur was done in 2 hours. I'm not sure was it worth it or not considering the 6-laning work in progress between Hosur and Krishnagiri. However it does save a toll and around 15 kms.

[arvi86]

I am planning to go on a long drive to Kumarakom from Chennai in the last week of December. Browsing through the internet, I find that the best route is Chennai-Trichy-Dindigul-Theni-Kottayam. Is this route correct or is there any other route that is better and I should consider?

Also, I want to know the next big town after Theni for which I should ask the way. I have driven to Munnar before (Theni-Bodi-Bodimettu-Munnar) but I guess the road to Kumarakom is different from that.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by arvi86

I am planning to go on a long drive to Kumarakom from Chennai in the last week of December. Browsing through the internet, I find that the best route is Chennai-Trichy-Dindigul-Theni-Kottayam. Is this route correct or is there any other route that is better and I should consider?

Also, I want to know the next big town after Theni for which I should ask the way. I have driven to Munnar before (Theni-Bodi-Bodimettu-Munnar) but I guess the road to Kumarakom is different from that.

Instead of turning off right to Munnar after Theni town, continue straight on NH220 towards Kumili & Kottayam. Straightforward route, one road all the way to Kottayam.

Route is as follows:
Theni-Kambam-Kumili-Kuttikanam-Mundakayam-Kanjirapally-Kottayam

[travelmate]

In Kottayam turn right after you pass the Collectorate (police manned mini circle) and then keep straight on till the next police manned circle a 100 metres away and continue straight so that you pass the Railway station and head on to the next mini circle where you turn left and then keep straight till you reach yet another police manned mini circle where you turn right and you are then on the Kottayam - Kumarakom road, the destination being 16 Km away.

This is just so that you avoid the town traffic which at times can be a headache. If the trip is on a Sunday then it does not matter.