[Mohan Mathew A]

Originally Posted by binand

Oh wow. That is what, 450 km in 4 hours? Your car has a turbojet? :-)

:-) no, just a turbo. I don't think i ever went beyond 120 (i hope i am not breaking any rule by mentioning this) but was able to maintain consistent speed all throughout and traffic was sparse. The toll booths too were a breeze.

My plan was to see when i reach Tumkur and then decide whether to take Gundulpet or Salem route, so i did push on that stretch. Since i reached Tumkur quite fast, the decision became quite easy.

In the end it worked out wonderfully well. Thanks for your inputs

[Bibin]

Any recent updates on Kuthiran tunnels? Can we expect them to be open anytime soon?

[sachinpk]

Originally Posted by Bibin

Any recent updates on Kuthiran tunnels? Can we expect them to be open anytime soon?

Had a quick trip on that route two weeks back. From what I saw, don't expect the tunnels to be opened up any time soon. 2-3 months is what I foresee. The approach roads to the tunnels are also a big mess.

[treadmark]

Anybody travelled to Kerala through Hosur Salem in the last two days?
Heard from few of my colleagues that KA registered vehicles are not being allowed after Attibele by Karnataka police?
If this is true than this will be a big deterrent / discomfort for folks planning to drive for Vishu (Malayalam New Year)

Cheers!

[Repsol]

Originally Posted by treadmark

Anybody travelled to Kerala through Hosur Salem in the last two days?
Heard from few of my colleagues that KA registered vehicles are not being allowed after Attibele by Karnataka police?
If this is true than this will be a big deterrent / discomfort for folks planning to drive for Vishu (Malayalam New Year)

Cheers!

If that is the case, then the next option is to take the Mysore > Bandipur > Calicut route, though this will be totally frustrating and tiring.

I have a trip coming up next month to Alleppey. Just hoping that everything settles by then.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by Bibin

Any recent updates on Kuthiran tunnels? Can we expect them to be open anytime soon?

Originally Posted by sachinpk

From what I saw, don't expect the tunnels to be opened up any time soon. 2-3 months is what I foresee.

Work on Mannuthy - Vadakkencherry road stopped for the past 41 days as the workers are on strike due to non payment of wages. The construction of tunnels is also stopped due to non payment of dues to the company that has taken sub contract. Here is the news article in Malayalam.

http://www.mathrubhumi.com/thrissur/...nnel-1.2723408

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by treadmark

Anybody travelled to Kerala through Hosur Salem in the last two days?
Heard from few of my colleagues that KA registered vehicles are not being allowed after Attibele by Karnataka police?

Cheers!

One of my friend traveled to Kerala today via Hosur, Salem. Situation is normal. His is a KA registered vehicle.

[aarcee]

I am planning to travel from Delhi to Kerala by car (2016 Baleno Zeta Petrol) with family (total four persons) in the last week of May 2018 and the return trip would be in the second week of June. I know the route till Vadodara as I had driven from Delhi to Vadodara and back, twice, in 2005 and 2006.

In the forthcoming expedition, on the first day, I am planning to travel from Delhi to Udaipur (650 km) and second day, from Udaipur to Vadodara (350 km). Or is it advisable to drive till Vadodara on the first day itself (1000 km)?? By starting early, say at around 4:00 AM and minimizing the stops, it may be possible to reach Vadodara by 9:00 PM (because the roads are excellent). But is it advisable to drive without stops for long durations during peak summer? Can the car withstand it??

After that, the second day (presuming the first day’s travel was upto Vadodara) from Vadodara to Pune (550 km), the third day from Pune to Bangalore (850 km) and the fourth day, from Bangalore to Tiruvalla (630 km) (or at least till Ernakulam).

Is the plan a realistic one. Upto Vadodara, there should not be any problem at all as the roads are excellent. I require expert advice on routes beyond Vadodara. Is the distance from Pune to Bangalore (850 km) doable in a day? What is the condition of those roads at present? And the condition of the roads beyond Bangalore??

There is one more thing to add here. The left front tyre of the car had got punctured sometime back which was repaired promptly. Will that create any problem during the long run? (Recently I did a Delhi-Chandigarh-Delhi trip (approx. 500 km) and there was no problem at all).
Thanks

[SajiNSalin]

You can easily do Delhi to Ahmedabad in a day. I have done this on several occassions. If you start early from Delhi, say 5am, you can comortably reach Vadodara in about 14 hours. Try to minimise stops to fuel and bio breaks and maybe one lunch stop. The Baleno is a very capable car and can easily go the whole day without stops. No issues on that score. It is usually the people who get tired or bored. If you have multiple drivers, switch every four hours or so. Carry snacks which will keep everyone full so you can avoid food stops to the extent possible. Quick tea stops of less than 15 minutes morning and evening will be advisable.

The second and third day drives are easily doable. Make sure you start the drive not later than 5am. The initial few hours will be traffic free and you can make good progress.

Pune to Bangalore road is very good and you can make good time. Bangalore to Thiruvella should see you drive up to Coimbatore and take the Palakkad-Thrissur-Angamali-Muvattupuzha-Kottayam-Thiruvella route. Avoid driving on the national highway beyond Angamali as there are too many traffic signals which will slow you and the traffic is also heavy.

If your spare tyre is in good shape, switch the punctured tyre with the spare. Puncture repaired tyres don't generally give any problems till they encounter the next nail or sharp object. Just keep an eye on the tyre pressure. Before you start the car, it is a good idea to walk around the car and look for any problems, such as a flat tyre, leaking oil etc.

All the best and have a great trip; drive safe.

[binand]

Originally Posted by aarcee

Is the distance from Pune to Bangalore (850 km) doable in a day? What is the condition of those roads at present? And the condition of the roads beyond Bangalore??

I myself have done both Mumbai-Bangalore and Bangalore-Mumbai via Pune in a day a few times. It is perfectly doable. Please refer to the Pune-Bangalore thread (Bangalore - Pune - Mumbai : Route updates & Eateries) for detailed information.

Bangalore-Salem-Palakkad-Ernakulam is for most of us, about 10 hours of drive. Your ability to move fast is severely curtailed once you enter Kerala. One problem spot is the 30-odd km between Alathur and Mannuthy on the Palakkad-Thrissur section where there is tunnel work happening (or not happening, as per latest reports).

[sparky@home]

Originally Posted by abn

Hi all,

I will be travelling to kerala next weekend,exactly to cochin. Can anybody give an update on how the road condition after mansoon. I think roads upto valayar will be ok, what about valayar to trissur? Or can i take any different route, which bypasses palakkad like a route through marayoor-munnar?
Thanks in advance.

I have used the Walayar/Trichur stretch in the last week around 4 times including night travel after 8 pm, and road is quite good except for some patch near kuthiran where the tunnel work is being carried out, and also a stretch nearing thrissur where we have to use the service road, but there is nothing to write home about, youcan travel quite comfortably.

[aarcee]

Originally Posted by SajiNSalin

You can easily do Delhi to Ahmedabad in a day. I have done this on several occassions.
===========
All the best and have a great trip; drive safe.

Thanks alot. As you may be aware, the spare tyre is smaller in size and cannot do beyond 80 km/h of speeds. So I will use the original tyre only and hope for the best.

[arjithin]

Originally Posted by aarcee

I am planning to travel from Delhi to Kerala by car (2016 Baleno Zeta Petrol) with family (total four persons) in the last week of May 2018

How many drivers do you have?? If you have 2 drivers, you probably can cut down 1 day from your plan. Start early every day (4 AM preferred, and finish eary (5PM) so that you utilize the offpeak hours to the fullest. The first 5 hours of the day will see you cover half of your days target.

If possible, dont worry too much about pre planning your night stops. plan it as you go. You can easily find a good room in 2 hour notice with your smartphone. May be you can identify possible hotels before the travel.

You can also consider the Nagpur route as well to Bangalore. Roads are generally good except some 150 km where road work is in progress towards MH - TS border.

Also consider when you reach big cities, bypassing them at early morning will save 1-2 hours easily.

Another update: Two families travelled to KL (via Salem ) from Bangalore yday, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and road was clear. No issues reported due to protests.

[sparky@home]

The Mannuthy flyover was opened up yesterday, without any fanfare. It's a six lane road.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by sparky@home

The Mannuthy flyover was opened up yesterday, without any fanfare. It's a six lane road.

A couple of pics received on Whatsapp: