[aargee]

^^^IMO, Salem-Krishnagiri-Chennai is the best route & you don't need to worry anything on traffic after Coimbatore; try to cross the ghat section of Thrissur-Palaghat-Coimbatore preferably early morning to breezy drive on narrow two lane highway.

I did this route last December; started at 5:15 AM from Muvattupuzha; 09:00 at Coimbatore; 14:00 at Salem; 17:00 at Chennai, took around 12 hours.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by aargee

^^^IMO, Salem-Krishnagiri-Chennai is the best route & you don't need to worry anything on traffic after Coimbatore; try to cross the ghat section of Thrissur-Palaghat-Coimbatore preferably early morning to breezy drive on narrow two lane highway.

I did this route last December; started at 5:15 AM from Muvattupuzha; 09:00 at Coimbatore; 14:00 at Salem; 17:00 at Chennai, took around 12 hours.

Even I would say the same. Kochi to Trichur is also a breeze with a nice bypass available. Its the small section of Palaghat/CBE which creates the problem. But if you start early, that would be a small price to pay, for the overall comfort you get for NH47/NH7/NH46 and NH4.

[coolclouds]

Thank you guys for the info. So I will stick on to the Krishnagiri route itself.
I'm used to this route till Krishnagiri on my regular drive between Bangalore & Kochi.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Thank you guys for the info. So I will stick on to the Krishnagiri route itself.
I'm used to this route till Krishnagiri on my regular drive between Bangalore & Kochi.

Plan to have a lunch/food break at A2B near Thoppur. You don't have good places on NH46 (Krishnagiri to Chennai). It may too late by the time you reach Vellore, where you may find some eat-outs.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by ampere

Plan to have a lunch/food break at A2B near Thoppur. You don't have good places on NH46 (Krishnagiri to Chennai). It may too late by the time you reach Vellore, where you may find some eat-outs.

Good info. Thank you!

I'm planning to start from Kaloor (Kochi) at 4am and reach Krishnagiri at 10.30am. What is the driving time/Kms between Krishnagiri and Vellore?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Good info. Thank you!

I'm planning to start from Kaloor (Kochi) at 4am and reach Krishnagiri at 10.30am. What is the driving time/Kms between Krishnagiri and Vellore?

I would say about 2 hours max. Its about 130 Km.

[benbsb29]

Did a to-n-fro Bangalore-Kerala drive last week. Took the usual Hosur-Salem-Dindigul-Theni-Kumily-Mindakayam route, which was good all along. Ended up paying about 250 bucks in tolls one way, but i can live with that.

Thank you very much, NHAI.

[aargee]

See the toll fare in my other post here;

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Good info. Thank you!

I'm planning to start from Kaloor (Kochi) at 4am and reach Krishnagiri at 10.30am. What is the driving time/Kms between Krishnagiri and Vellore?

6:30 hrs from Kochi to Krishnagiri??? IMHO, you may want to recheck your plan; I'm not saying its not doable, but feel it should take more time under good driving speeds.

Regarding Krishnagiri-Vellore distance you've the answer from ampere.

[csentil]

You should be able to do Coimbatore - Krishnagiri in 4hrs+ . 90 minutes from Krishnagiri to Vellore. You might want to check out if Cochin - Coimbatore can be done in 2 hrs time

[aargee]

Originally Posted by csentil

You should be able to do Coimbatore - Krishnagiri in 4hrs+ . 90 minutes from Krishnagiri to Vellore. You might want to check out if Cochin - Coimbatore can be done in 2 hrs time

^^^ Agree with you Senthil; IMO, Kochi-Coimbatore should take nothing less than 4-5 hours on good driving speeds excluding the breaks.

[deepclutch]

Originally Posted by aargee

^^^ Agree with you Senthil; IMO, Kochi-Coimbatore should take nothing less than 4-5 hours on good driving speeds excluding the breaks.

last time I travelled to Coimbatore(Gandhipuram) from Muvattupuzha(≅ kochi),It took 2hrs50minutes to reach.but ,obvious ,it was in the early morning time.

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Did a to-n-fro Bangalore-Kerala drive last week. Took the usual Hosur-Salem-Dindigul-Theni-Kumily-Mindakayam route, which was good all along. Ended up paying about 250 bucks in tolls one way, but i can live with that.

Thank you very much, NHAI.

How much time you took for this trip? I am planning this route for my trip to Kottayam in April. Did you travel back the same route?

[vasoo]

Btw, I plan to visit Thekkady during my trip to Kottayam next month. Any good recommendations for hotels in/around Thekkady? What is the best time for boating in the lake there?

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by vasoo

How much time you took for this trip? I am planning this route for my trip to Kottayam in April. Did you travel back the same route?

Both my journeys were along the same route. When returning, i had stayed over at my relative's place in Kumily, and so started the journey from Kumily at 0530 hours, and reached Electronics City phase 2 at 1430 hours. This ofcourse included 2 food breaks, one photography break and and one tea break. I usually stick to the 100-110 kmph mark.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by deepclutch

last time I travelled to Coimbatore(Gandhipuram) from Muvattupuzha(≅ kochi),It took 2hrs50minutes to reach.but ,obvious ,it was in the early morning time.

Ok; I'll recheck my timing using toll fare receipts & post them here