[madmax_rak]

Originally Posted by RROD

We are planning for a Kerala trip in December
We are planning to drive to Kochi.

Hi, My hometown is Kannur, and I'm currently working in Kochi. I used to travel twice a month on this route. NH66 route via Kochi - Kodungalloor - Chavakkad - Chamravattom - Tirur - Kozhikode - Kannur would be the fastest route. If you are starting after 8 in the morning, it will take a minimum of 8 to 9 hours to reach Kannur. You will be completely exhausted when you reach Kannur.
I used to start early morning around 4 AM. Then you can reach Kannur before 11 AM.

[binand]

Originally Posted by RROD

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...

Kochi to Calicut - 200 km, will take between 5.5 to 6 hours.
Calicut to Kannur - 90 km, will take about 3 hours.

You are looking at a 8-9 hour drive to cover about 300 km. In contrast, back in May I drove Udupi-Panaji (approx same distance) in less than 6 hours.

Caveat: Not aware of the current detours due to the Shirur landslide and Karwar bridge collapse.

It is so stressful that I personally prefer longer routes with less traffic. Like, via Thrissur-Perinthalmanna-Arekode for Kochi-Calicut and via Puttur-Virajpet for Udupi-Calicut.

[RROD]

Originally Posted by binand

Kochi to Calicut - 200 km, will take between 5.5 to 6 hours.
Calicut to Kannur - 90 km, will take about 3 hours.

Based on the above information.
Altering the plan like this .
Drive from BLR to Kochi. Spend 3 nights.
Drive from Kochi to Kozhikode. On the way visit Guruvayur temple.
Drive from Kozhikode to Udupi - start early around 6am to avoid traffic.
Does this plan sound OK.

Again thank you all for sharing your inputs.

[Auto_guy_101]

Originally Posted by RROD

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.

If your main plan is Udupi, I'd suggest this as a far better option. Goa - Udupi is about 8 hrs and a friend of mine visited Udupi last week and said the beaches there are a lot less crowded (hence better) than the infamous Goan beaches.

[Auto_guy_101]

Hi All,

Of late, I have been making a Kochi-Bangalore trip every month by road. Sharing the routes and road conditions for prospective travellers.

Start point: Near Kochi Airport
End point: Near Manyata tech park or New town, Yelahanka
Normal start time: 6-6:30 AM
Normal End time: 4-5 PM

Route 1: Kochi - Thrissur - Palakkad - Coimbatore (L&T bypass) - Salem (NH544) - Dharmapuri (NH44) - Krishnagiri - Hosur - e City - (jungle safari through blr traffic at Koramangala, Cunningham road etc.). Here the roads are mostly great with some diversions here and there (maybe total of 10 diversions). Lots of tolls, small ghat section after Salem and the roads are 4-6 lane except for the L&T bypass. This route has the most traffic and Salem town is sometimes a real headache.

Route 2: Took NH844 from Dharmapuri and joined back NH44 around Hosur. The 1st 40 odd kms of NH544 is like a dream - you can simply cruise at triple digits with hardly a vehicle on the road. Then there's a not yet operational toll, some 2-lane under construction sections (some sections have terrible roads), and then Rayakottai town (which is a huge traffic snarl), and some more 2-lanes till the entry to NH44.

Route 3 (the scenic one): After coimbatore, turn off from NH544 towards Satyamangalam (2 lane) and take the Dimbam ghats upto Chamrajnagar (2 lane), proceed to Maddur or Nanjankode to enter the Mysuru Expressway. This route is super scenic, but best avoided on a weekend. It includes 27 hairpins and a few hundred speed breakers. It is also the lowest in distance and cheapest toll.

Here are some really great stops:
1. Maddur Tiffany's, Maddur
2. Shivalli Tiffin Room, near Mysuru Exp way Maddur exit
3. Murugan Idli, Krishnagiri
4. Sai Sangeeth, Dharmapuri
5. A2B Ettimadai (TN-Kerala border)
6. For a fine dine, head to the Raddison or Grand Estancia in Salem (on the Blr-Kochi direction of the highway, right on the road side)
7. Sharavana Bhavan, Karuvathampetty
8. There are a lot of A2B's in the TN stretch, but beware of similarly named restaurants (Eg: Ananda Bhavan Delight near Salem). You also have a Junior Kuppanna near Coimbatore bypass.
9. McD - Krishnagiri or Tex valley

[MSAneesh]

Originally Posted by Auto_guy_101

Route 3 (the scenic one): After coimbatore, turn off from NH544 towards Satyamangalam (2 lane) and take the Dimbam ghats upto Chamrajnagar (2 lane), proceed to Maddur or Nanjankode to enter the Mysuru Expressway. This route is super scenic, but best avoided on a weekend. It includes 27 hairpins and a few hundred speed breakers. It is also the lowest in distance and cheapest toll.

What is your average travel time on Route 3?

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by RROD

Based on the above information.
Altering the plan like this .
Drive from BLR to Kochi. Spend 3 nights.
Drive from Kochi to Kozhikode. On the way visit Guruvayur temple.
Drive from Kozhikode to Udupi - start early around 6am to avoid traffic.
Does this plan sound OK.

Again thank you all for sharing your inputs.

This is a reasonable plan. Also, if you like visiting temples then Kodungaloor and Triprayar temples will also be on the way. And of course visiting Guruvayoor is a good plan. Expect to take 2-3 hours for darshan in Guruvayoor, or you have the option of taking a special ticket and bypassing most of the queue. This is INR 1000 per person and the counter is on the right side of the main entrance and queue.

Kozhikode beach is generally buzzing till very late night and although crowded can be visited.

[Auto_guy_101]

Originally Posted by MSAneesh

What is your average travel time on Route 3?

10-11 hours including stops. I have made this journey in as low as 9 hrs as well.

[sajiseb]

Originally Posted by Auto_guy_101

10-11 hours including stops. I have made this journey in as low as 9 hrs as well.

How is the road condition ? Presume there wont be much traffic on Friday / Thursday. (I am considering taking this route while going)

Thanks

[Auto_guy_101]

Hi All,

I'm posting what might be more of a rant on Kerala roads. I learnt to drive in this state, have driven a fair bit here over the last decade and just don't see some things making sense.

Kerala is divided into 3 parts whichever parameter you slice it: The southern tip (Trivandrum to Kochi districts, with Trivandrum city as a major center), the center part (Kochi and Thrissur districts, with Kochi city as a major center) and the Northern part (Up from Thrissur - Palakkad, Kozhikode, Malapuram, Wayanad, with Kozhikode city as a major center).

This division of the state becomes clear in terms of resources, with people, materials and money flowing between these 3 centers of the state. These centers (of power if you will) have existed for years and years. However, one needs to keep in mind, Kerala has limited outflow of goods and considerable inflow - which should translate to more incoming loaded trucks, more rail goods etc. It is also a state challenged for space, being quite narrow and long in geographic structure. Last but not the least, it is also a state with immense natural beauty - be it in the beaches, the streams, rivers, waterfalls, flora and fauna or even historic beauty.

Having said all this, when you look at Kerala roads, a few things become very clear:
- There's a clear arterial highway from the border at Palakkad to Kochi (4 and 6 lane), but one littered with signals and pretty heavy traffic

- There is as of yet no 4 lane roads connecting Kochi to Trivandrum. The 2 broad options that exist (via Kottayam and via Alleppey) pass through some towns, have signals and have a pretty heavy amount of traffic

- There is also no proper high traffic capable road infra from Kochi to Kozhikode (NH 66 is supposed to solve both these points, but when is it getting ready?)

- The state has seen an uptick in traffic and is known for its car loving population (the brands I see on the roads sometimes shock me. Kochi has BYD, German trio, Porsche, Lexus, JLR showrooms). It becomes very clear that there should be some planning for this.

Now, I shall come to the city limits of Kochi, which I frequently travel through: The traffic here is just as bad as larger metros, with some road connectivity choices just making no sense. Fort Kochi side is kind of cut off from the city with only 2 options to get there by road and this is a major tourist attraction. Edapally junction and Aluva bypass remain traffic hurdles all the time.

And as you progress to the smaller areas, like near abouts of Kozhikode (say Feroke) or Kothamangalam or Idukki or Wayanad, all the roads are 2 lane, mostly well maintained but severely lacking for the amount of traffic it takes on. I don't know how this is going to end for the end users on the road.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Auto_guy_101

Hi All,

I'm posting what might be more of a rant on Kerala roads. I learnt to drive in this state, have driven a fair bit here over the last decade and just don't see some things making sense.
- There is also no proper high traffic capable road infra from Kochi to Kozhikode (NH 66 is supposed to solve both these points, but when is it getting ready?)

I closely follow the NH 66 work in Kerala through the updates from couple of vloggers. In my view, the NH66 is going to be a game changer for travel in Kerala. NHAI seems to have done a lot of things right.

• Starting from doing a 6 lane + service road highway in spite of the 45 meter width restriction.
• Thinking in advance and making it pretty much a signal free highway. Every junction has an overpass or underpass. Not the earlier approach where they make a 4 lane, then have to do a 6 lane and then add flyovers over a period of time at junctions where it was not done earlier.
• Willingness to update design on the fly taking local inputs. As construction was happening, they approved several additional underpasses and overpasses.
• Some major bypasses. Like the Kottakkal Bypass and the Valanchery bypass in Malappuram. The Valanchery viaduct is a sight to behold.
• Elevated sections like the Aroor-Thuravoor elevated portion.
• Lot of realignments to avoid the winding, twisted roads- Especially in Malappuram District and also places like the N Paravur Bypass.

In short NH 66 is going from a 2 lane, narrow winding road straight to an almost expressway like 6 lane + service road set up is greatly going to ease road commute in Kerala. I can easily see Kozhikode to Ernakulam being done in 2.5-3 hours once this is complete.

Now the big question: When will it get done. Seeing the progress and having driven personally on a lot of the sections. Kasaragod till at least Chavakkad/Triprayar will mostly be complete by end of next year. Sections after that are a mixed bag but there is an NHAI deadline of 2026 end I think.

Of these, the reaches in Kasargod are almost done. Calicut to Chavakkad is almost 75% done (from personal experience).

So hoping for the best and looking forward to a full completion.

These are 2 good channels to follow for progress:

• https://youtube.com/@nishadpadhinhat...dCiQI455SRmDGK
  
• https://www.youtube.com/@hakzvibe1916

[nevinfrancis]

Agree, the NH 66 work is being done in a brisk pace in the northern part of Kerala,
but the section from N Paravur till Kollam - there is a lot of work to be done.

And as far as I know, they haven't yet decided on what they are going to do at the Edappilly Lulu intersection , maybe an Underpass coming up.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

[*]Some major bypasses. Like the Kottakkal Bypass and the Valanchery bypass in Malappuram. The Valanchery viaduct is a sight to behold.[*] Lot of realignments to avoid the winding, twisted roads-

In short NH 66 is going from a 2 lane, narrow winding road straight to an almost expressway like 6 lane + service road set up is greatly going to ease road commute in Kerala. I can easily see Kozhikode to Ernakulam being done in 2.5-3 hours once this is complete.

To add to this, bye-pass for congested towns like Taliparamba, Kannur, Telichery-Mahe (bypasses already open), Koyilandy, Vadakara etc in Kannur and Kozhikode district.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Now the big question: When will it get done. Seeing the progress and having driven personally on a lot of the sections. Kasaragod till at least

I too feel most stretches in North Malabar would be open for traffic by end of 2026. Progress is very brisk in Kasargod district. The Thalappady-Chengala 42 odd km stretch would probably be open in another 3 months.
Kannur bye-pass is one of the most challenging with the wetland terrain around Pulooppi. Even there the progress has picked up considerably now. This stretch when completed would be a treat for the eye !

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

I closely follow the NH 66 work in Kerala through the updates from couple of vloggers. In my view, the NH66 is going to be a game changer for travel in Kerala. NHAI seems to have done a lot of things right...

Unlike the NH47/NH544 upgrade, there's a much better coordination between various govt departments and the NHAI now.

More than the NH, I'm looking forward to the other two projects taking shape - the coastal highway and the hillside highway (Malayora highway). They will hopefully reduce the load on the tolled NHAI infra and improve the average speeds.

What the state badly needs is some form of high speed rail connectivity - not the hyped Vande Bharat, but something on the lines of RRTS.

[RROD]

Folks,
Here is our almost finalised plan. Thanks to all your inputs.

Drive from BLR to Kochi. Dec 21st.
Day 1: Start Dec 21st early morning at 4 am.
Visit Vadakkumnathan temple in Thrissur on the way. Reach Kochi.
Spend 4 nights in Kochi.
Day 2 : Visit Kumbalangi.
Day 3 : Fort Kochi
Day 4 : Vipin Island in and around
We plan to stay at Roses Inn at fort kochi. I see that around this place there is no parking. All parking is done on the roads. Considering its touristy place is it OK to park on the roadside. Do we get parking here ? Online reviews mention there is plenty of parking around this place.Please share your inputs.
Day 5 : Checkout . Drive to Guruvayur temple. Visit temple.
Then drive to Kozhikode.
Day 6 : Start early drive to Udupi

This our current plan in Kerala.
Any inputs or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you