[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by shifu

Many thanks for the input guys. Looks like best option is to go to Kumarakom from Kochi and then go to Kottayam for the wedding.



The wedding is on a Thu. So I would like to fly to Kochi to Wed eve/night, and go to Kumarakom. On Thu morning/afternoon I come down to Kottayam to attend the wedding and go back to Kumarakom that eve/night. Then stay there on Fri, Sat and Sun.

Does that sound good?

You can spend max 2 nights at Kumarakom. You can also go to Thekkady & Munnar.

[binand]

Originally Posted by shifu

Then stay there on Fri, Sat and Sun.

Sunday you could go to Kochi in the morning and roam around, prior to taking an evening flight back. Though cosmopolitan, it is also an ancient city with a lot of historical and cultural connections. There are several museums, palaces and places of worship that can interest you.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by shifu

Many thanks for the input guys. Looks like best option is to go to Kumarakom from Kochi and then go to Kottayam for the wedding.



The wedding is on a Thu. So I would like to fly to Kochi to Wed eve/night, and go to Kumarakom. On Thu morning/afternoon I come down to Kottayam to attend the wedding and go back to Kumarakom that eve/night. Then stay there on Fri, Sat and Sun.

Does that sound good?

Airport to Kottayam is going to take you around 2-2.5hrs.So choose your flight accordingly.4 nights kumarakom is going to be an overkill.Like Binand suggested,you could choose to stay at Kochi and go around for 2 nights and then take the flight back.There are no self-drive rental agencies in Kochi or whole of Kerala.There are single-owner operators-but my suggestion would be to stay away from them.Cabs are easily available,so sticking to them would be easiest.

[sumeshmani]

Hi All,
I will be traveling from Bangalore to Kayamkulam next month. Please help me choose a route.
Option-1: Bangalore-Coimbatore-Palakkad-Trissur-Kochi-Alappuzha-Kayamkulam
- I know this route, and this the shortest one
- how is the road condition from Coimbatore to Kochi.
- i know the traffic will be a problem from Kochi onwards

Option-2: Bangalore-Madurai-Rajapalayam-Thenmala-Adoor-Kayamkulam
- this is the longer route
- not sure about road conditions and traffic
- I have never used Thenmala-Kayamkulam route

[JohnnyBoss]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

Hi All,
I will be traveling from Bangalore to Kayamkulam next month. Please help me choose a route.
Option-1: Bangalore-Coimbatore-Palakkad-Trissur-Kochi-Alappuzha-Kayamkulam
- I know this route, and this the shortest one
- how is the road condition from Coimbatore to Kochi.
- i know the traffic will be a problem from Kochi onwards

Option-2: Bangalore-Madurai-Rajapalayam-Thenmala-Adoor-Kayamkulam
- this is the longer route
- not sure about road conditions and traffic
- I have never used Thenmala-Kayamkulam route

Coimbatore to Walayar some deviations due to road construction, nothing to worry.

Walayar to Vadakkencherry is a breeze. Vadakkencherry to Mannuthy is not in great condition. Mannuthy to Cherthala very good. Cherthala to Kayamkulam is in bad condition.

I did Kayamkulam - Thenmala in last January and it was all good roads then, with lots of twists.

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoss

Coimbatore to Walayar some deviations due to road construction, nothing to worry.

Walayar to Vadakkencherry is a breeze. Vadakkencherry to Mannuthy is not in great condition. Mannuthy to Cherthala very good. Cherthala to Kayamkulam is in bad condition.

I did Kayamkulam - Thenmala in last January and it was all good roads then, with lots of twists.

So the Cherthala route will be slow due to bad roads and traffic, Thenmala route will be slow due to narrow twisty roads. Which one would you choose?

[kala]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

Hi All,
I will be traveling from Bangalore to Kayamkulam next month. Please help me choose a route.
Option-1: Bangalore-Coimbatore-Palakkad-Trissur-Kochi-Alappuzha-Kayamkulam
- I know this route, and this the shortest one
- how is the road condition from Coimbatore to Kochi.
- i know the traffic will be a problem from Kochi onwards

Option-2: Bangalore-Madurai-Rajapalayam-Thenmala-Adoor-Kayamkulam
- this is the longer route
- not sure about road conditions and traffic
- I have never used Thenmala-Kayamkulam route

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

So the Cherthala route will be slow due to bad roads and traffic, Thenmala route will be slow due to narrow twisty roads. Which one would you choose?

Another option is Bangalore-Dindigul-Kumily-Mundakkayam-Erumely-Ranni-Kozhenchery-Mavelikkara-Kayamkulam. Roads should be fine, but may take slightly longer than the NH47 route because of the ghat sections between Lower Camp (just before Kumily) and Mundakkayam, and the generally curvy roads thereafter at least till Ranni.

[sumeshmani]

Originally Posted by kala

Another option is Bangalore-Dindigul-Kumily-Mundakkayam-Erumely-Ranni-Kozhenchery-Mavelikkara-Kayamkulam. Roads should be fine, but may take slightly longer than the NH47 route because of the ghat sections between Lower Camp (just before Kumily) and Mundakkayam, and the generally curvy roads thereafter at least till Ranni.

The ghat section with the narrow roads was the reason I was not considering this route. I would prefer this route for the return trip, I like the Kumily section a lot.

[tharian]

Back after a 5 day trip from Kerala.
Route taken:
Bangalore - Coimbatore - Thrissur - Ernakulam bypass - Cherthalla - Alleppey - Changanassery - Thiruvalla - Kottayam - Mulanturutti - Ernakulam and back via the same route to Bangalore.

Overall the road conditions were good except that nearing Ernakulam and in Alleppey town, we were stuck in jams which added more than a hour to the time.
I'm traveling by road after two years to Thrissur and after 5 years to Ernakulam. Crossing Walyar is a breeze now with the beautiful 4 lane. Very few diversions there which is not a hassle.
The only congested bit is Kuthiraan with potholes here and there, but it's not bad. You have to be more attentive to avoid the potholes and it's fine.
Thrissur to Ernakulam bypass was madness. We left Thrissur at 9am on Saturday and later came to know it was the wrong time since traffic will be bad nearing Ernakulam.
It was raining heavily leaving Thrissur but it was fine since it was 4 lane roads.

The traffic jam started from Angamali itself and it was bumper to bumper till the bypass with the buses trying get ahead when there is no space.
Bypass thankfully didn't have much traffic and continued to Allepey. Roads between Ernakulam and Allepey like mentioned by others were annoying.(from the end of the divided road) It had potholes as well as big cracks which at the end made me look like I'm gaming with the constant steering left to right to avoid them and add to that constant flow of traffic in both the directions.
That ended in a traffic jam entering Allepey town and through it till we took the left to Allepey - Changanassery road. This road was a bit better, but had cracks too with the asphalt missing, but not bad as a pothole.
Inner roads were good with very few bad stretches. I enjoyed the road between Kottayam and Mulanturutti with its nice sweeping turns and ups and downs. Traffic is not much on these roads either.
Return was from via the same route from Ernakulam and was quick. Left early to escape jams in Ernakulam and Bangalore. Covered in 10 hours including halts.
Realized weekdays are the best days to travel especially between Bangalore and Salem due to low traffic.

It was nice to see rogue buses between Thrissur and Walyar stick to the left lane once the 4 lane begins. It's the same story on the single carriageway.
On the other hand I'm expecting some speeding tickets by post as I later found out where they were the cameras were located.

[JohnnyBoss]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

So the Cherthala route will be slow due to bad roads and traffic, Thenmala route will be slow due to narrow twisty roads. Which one would you choose?

Of the two I'd choose the one via Thenmala, given the current condition of roads between Cherthala and Kayamkulam.

Originally Posted by kala

Another option is Bangalore-Dindigul-Kumily-Mundakkayam-Erumely-Ranni-Kozhenchery-Mavelikkara-Kayamkulam. Roads should be fine, but may take slightly longer than the NH47 route because of the ghat sections between Lower Camp (just before Kumily) and Mundakkayam, and the generally curvy roads thereafter at least till Ranni.

This would also be a good option, good roads through scenic areas.

[rrajant]

What are the good veg restaurants near NH between Mannuthy and Alleppey?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by rrajant

What are the good veg restaurants near NH between Mannuthy and Alleppey?

Plenty of Aryaas and Saravana Bhavans on both sides of the highway till Edappally.INdia Coffee House outlets also plenty(but they serve non veg ).

[kavu75]

Originally Posted by sumeshmani

So the Cherthala route will be slow due to bad roads and traffic, Thenmala route will be slow due to narrow twisty roads. Which one would you choose?

I would prefer Thenmala route.
It's a pain to drive between Aluva - Vyttila, Cherthala-Ambalapuzha depends on at what time you are passing these sections (Especially while crossing Edappally and Alappuzha).

[silversteed]

Got this photo of one of the twin tunnels at Kuthiran:



Source: Kochi Konnect

[noblecr]

Current road condition of NH 47 near Haripad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJdYy4U_a_0