[bejoy]

Originally Posted by JayG

Hi
I am planning a drive to BLR (near Silk Institute) from Trivandrum this month. My last drive was in early 2023 when the Krishnagiri - Hosur stretch was fine. Now, having read the suggestions in this thread as well as in the BLR-CBE thread, I was wondering about Dharmapuri - Rayakottai - Anekal - Jigani- NICE road, entirely bypassing Hosur and Attibele. Please advise if this is a reasonable alternative. The idea is to reach destination by 6-7 PM. Thank you in advance.

You can take the Dharmapuri - Rayakkottai - Kelamangalam - TVS Factory - Attibelle and join NH44. This way you can skip Hosur ring road traffic. I think Anekkal-Jigani-Bannerghatta road will be crowded in the evenings. Joining NICE from Hosur road is not so bad.

[SideView]

Originally Posted by sajiseb

I am planning to start the trip from Kottayam to Bangalore by 5 am.
Is there a big difference (in traffic) if I start the return trip from Bangalore by 11 am or by 1 pm ?
Thanks

I don’t anticipate issue will be Bangalore. Ecity is hardly ~15 kms (on six lane). It will be the flyover constructions in TN (i took the rayakotta road this Sunday and skipped Krishnagiri) and after Angamaly that you will hit traffic bottlenecks, but haven’t traveled at the times you have mentioned so can’t comment. I usually start back also at 5 A.M.

[Repsol]

Originally Posted by sajiseb

Hi Repsol,
Any particular reason ? ( I understand that NH44 is 20 kms longer and has more traffic)
Thanks

I think no specific reason. I have been using this route for many years now, and apart from those few flyover deviations, the route is pretty smooth throughout.

This could be because I haven't encountered any bottlenecks so far post these new flyover works started (as I normally travel early). But this might change the day I encounter some traffic/bottleneck. Will try that 844 route then

[JoeMichael]

Originally Posted by sajiseb

Hi,
I am planning to drive from Kottayam to Banglore after two weeks. Which route will be better, via Palakkadu or via Dindigul ? (in terms of better roads & less traffic)
Planning to start by 5 am.

Thanks in advance.

I keep traveling Ettumanoor to Bangalore every other month. If my start time is later than 4am, I prefer Dindigul route, else we would hit the L&T stretch during peak morning hours and get stuck behind numerous college buses and two wheelers . If you prefer a more scenic but a bit more arduous route, you may try dhimbam-satyamangalam option.

[sajiseb]

Originally Posted by JoeMichael

I keep traveling Ettumanoor to Bangalore every other month. If my start time is later than 4am, I prefer Dindigul route, else we would hit the L&T stretch during peak morning hours and get stuck behind numerous college buses and two wheelers . If you prefer a more scenic but a bit more arduous route, you may try dhimbam-satyamangalam option.

Thanks Joe. L&T stretch is the bypass across Coimbatore? Will it be still crowded even after 10:30 am? (if I leave Ettumanoor by 5 am)

We are considering the Satyamangalam route on the way back.

[deathwalkr]

Trivandrum - Thoothukudi - Trivandrum:

As usual, the stretch between Kaliyakkavilai and Nagercoil is horrendous. Some of the potholes are so damn scary that even KSRTC buses slow down and treat it with caution!

At night it was a nightmare to navigate.

Other than that stretch, it was smooth sailing.

[balenoed_]

Can anyone advise the suggested route from Karunagappaly to Madurai? Seeing multiple options until Thenmala.

[JoeMichael]

Originally Posted by sajiseb

Thanks Joe. L&T stretch is the bypass across Coimbatore? Will it be still crowded even after 10:30 am? (if I leave Ettumanoor by 5 am)

We are considering the Satyamangalam route on the way back.

Yes it's the coimbatore bypass. That stretch would be pretty much crowded 8:30am - 8:30pm.Add to that rash overtaking by drivers frustrated getting stuck behind trucks and suicidal bikers riding at crazy speeds on shoulders.

[RROD]

We are planning for a Kerala trip in December
We are planning to drive to Kochi.
Spend 3 nights in Kochi and then drive to Kannur.
How are the roads between Kochi and Kannur ?
Any insights of how the roads are within Kerala and any driving tips would be of great help.
This will be our first time within Kerala with kids.

[Thanos-VV]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Can anyone advise the suggested route from Karunagappaly to Madurai? Seeing multiple options until Thenmala.

I used to take Karungappally (Puthiyakavu) > Bharanikkavu > Cinemaparambu > Puthoor > Kottarakara > Punalur > Thenmala.

[Repsol]

Originally Posted by Repsol

I have another trip planned to Alleppey this weekend, and I will again stick to NH44 only. I think it would be even better as I will be starting early this time (around 5-5:30 AM)

Originally Posted by Repsol

I think no specific reason. I have been using this route for many years now, and apart from those few flyover deviations, the route is pretty smooth throughout.

This could be because I haven't encountered any bottlenecks so far post these new flyover works started (as I normally travel early). But this might change the day I encounter some traffic/bottleneck. Will try that 844 route then

I had a quick trip to Alleppey and back yesterday. Started on Saturday morning @ 5 AM from E-city. As mentioned earlier, though google kept alerting me to take 844 route, I sticked to NH44 via Krishnagiri, and as always, it was a smooth passage.

There are exactly 5 flyover being built from Attibelle toll till Krishnagiri toll, and I could pass through each of the deviations without any hiccup (maybe because of starting early). But during my return yesterday, again I skipped 844 and took NH44, I could see long queues for all the deviations. This was at 2 PM.

So, if one cannot cross this stretch during early hours, then I think it would be better to take 844. For me, since I always start early, I will stick to NH44 for onward journey, and might switch to 844 for return leg, as I normally reach this section post lunch.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by RROD

How are the roads between Kochi and Kannur ?
Any insights of how the roads are within Kerala and any driving tips would be of great help.
This will be our first time within Kerala with kids.

Kochi to Kannur will be a tiresome drive. In general expect high traffic and 2 lane roads. Also, this drive will mostly be along NH66 which is getting 6 laned all through. Although pockets of 6 lane are open (Maybe 10% of the overall distance), most of the places work is happening and traffic moves on the either sides of the construction (basically what will be the service roads once the main highway work is done). Expect to travel only 25-30km in a hour on an average. So budget for that. You will also pass through lot of small towns where bypasses are not open.

The silver lining is that since you are on the left most service road most of the time, no need to worry about oncoming traffic in large parts, not much chance to overtake also. So just plod along and hope traffic keeps moving at a decent pace.

Google may route you from Kochi via NH544 to Thrissur and then through a place called Kunnamkulam, but my suggestion would be to stick to the NH66 route.

This route will be Kochi-Edapalli-N Paravur-Kodungalloor-Triprayar-Chavakkad-Ponnani-Chamravattam-Kuttipuram- Valanchery-Kottakkal-Calicut bypass-Vadakara-Mahe-Thalassery byepass-Kannur.

If you start from Fort Kochi, you may be able to take the Vypin-Kodungalloor road.

[RROD]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

This route will be Kochi-Edapalli-N Paravur-Kodungalloor-Triprayar-Chavakkad-Ponnani-Chamravattam-Kuttipuram- Valanchery-Kottakkal-Calicut bypass-Vadakara-Mahe-Thalassery byepass-Kannur.

If you start from Fort Kochi, you may be able to take the Vypin-Kodungalloor road.

Thank you sir for taking time out and responding.
Looks like the roadwork needs some more time, we may change our plan based on your feedback.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by RROD

Thank you sir for taking time out and responding.
Looks like the roadwork needs some more time, we may change our plan based on your feedback.

Any particular reason for going from Kochi to Kannur? Is it for site seeing on the Kannur side?

[RROD]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Any particular reason for going from Kochi to Kannur? Is it for site seeing on the Kannur side?

We have to go to Udupi. So we wanted to use Kannur as a stopover and may be spend half-a-day before heading to Udupi.
If traffic is going to be a pain to drive, we may opt to do BLR --> GOA --> UDUPI --> BLR instead of BLR -> KOCHI -> KANNUR -> UDUPI -> BLR.
May be KL next year during kids summer holidays.