[mobike008]

Originally Posted by longhorn

I plan to do Hyderabad - Chennai coming Sunday. I don't know the local language but I can manage Hindi and Tamil. Is it advisable to go via Vijayawada as the roads are supposed to be good and no need to ask for directions(I guess) since its a four lane road all the way hence no need to take any detours.

No Clue about the route as never did Hyd-Chennai.

But, you needn't worry about language in Hyderabad. Hindi is quite predominant and it will help you sail you through your visit.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by longhorn

I plan to do Hyderabad - Chennai coming Sunday. I don't know the local language but I can manage Hindi and Tamil. Is it advisable to go via Vijayawada as the roads are supposed to be good and no need to ask for directions(I guess) since its a four lane road all the way hence no need to take any detours.

Longhorn,

Apart from the language one more weapon in your arsenal should a GPS. I would say serious think of getting a Garmin with MMI/Satguide maps.
It is really worth it. Once you mark your routes, most of the cases you dont have to ask anyone.

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by longhorn

I plan to do Hyderabad - Chennai coming Sunday. I don't know the local language but I can manage Hindi and Tamil. Is it advisable to go via Vijayawada as the roads are supposed to be good and no need to ask for directions(I guess) since its a four lane road all the way hence no need to take any detours.

Based on the time of the day when you are starting, one has to decide the route. I wouldn't suggest NH9 TO Vijaywada and then NH5 as Hyd - Vijaywada highway is highly congested. I would suggest taking the Hyd - Ibrahim Patna - Nagarjuna Sagar - Chilkaluripet road to come out at NH5 as this is short and has very less traffic.

[longhorn]

Thanks for the reply guys. I plan to start at around 10:30 AM. Being a Sunday, I guess the roads should be relatively free of traffic.

@ Mile Cruncher - Keeping this in mind could you confirm whether the Vijayawada route or the Hyd - Ibrahim Patna - Nagarjuna Sagar - Chilkaluripet route to NH5 would be better.

How are the roads (single/double laned/ rubberised tarring) on the the Hyd - Ibrahim Patna - Nagarjuna Sagar - Chilkaluripet route ?

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by longhorn

Thanks for the reply guys. I plan to start at around 10:30 AM. Being a Sunday, I guess the roads should be relatively free of traffic.

@ Mile Cruncher - Keeping this in mind could you confirm whether the Vijayawada route or the Hyd - Ibrahim Patna - Nagarjuna Sagar - Chilkaluripet route to NH5 would be better.

How are the roads (single/double laned/ rubberised tarring) on the the Hyd - Ibrahim Patna - Nagarjuna Sagar - Chilkaluripet route ?

I would suggest starting much earlier may be 5.30 am so as to reach Chennai before it gets dark. Roads whether Saturday or Sunday will be choc-a-bloc. Please don't take the NH-9 as you'll repent it. Hyd - Sagar - Chilakaluripet is a double laned road and is pretty good. Another option to travel to Cheenai is via Goothy - Kadapa - Tirupathi. This route is slightly longer but being devoid of traffic and excellent roads you'll make up time.

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

I would suggest starting much earlier may be 5.30 am so as to reach Chennai before it gets dark. Roads whether Saturday or Sunday will be choc-a-bloc. Please don't take the NH-9 as you'll repent it. Hyd - Sagar - Chilakaluripet is a double laned road and is pretty good. Another option to travel to Cheenai is via Goothy - Kadapa - Tirupathi. This route is slightly longer but being devoid of traffic and excellent roads you'll make up time.

Actually I'll be in Hyd on Sun morning only. So 10:00-10:30 is the earliest I can start. If Hyd - Sagar - Chilakaluripet is double laned I'll take that route. Just a bit worried of getting stuck in the middle of nowhere and no one to ask directions. Are there any sign boards at the major points showing the route to Chilakaluripet / Ongole? this is the first time i'm setting foot in Hyd. Worst part is I'll be a driving an AP regd car without knowing Telugu.

[r_devakumar]

Done Chennai to Hyderabad last week. Took the route: Chennai (Tambaram) - Ongole - Chilakaluripet - Narasaraopet - x Roads - Piduguralla - Dachepalle - Sagar - Mallepalli - Yacharam - Some village roads - Shamshabad Airport - Gachibowli
Satruday: Started from Tambram at 2:30 p.m. and Reached Ongole 8:30 p.m (332 KM). Road is 4 lane, very good. Heavey traffic till crossing Chennai and after AP border traffic is very less.
Sunday: Started from Ongole at 7 a.m., Reached Hyderabad (Gachibowli) at 3:30 p.m (392 KM). From Chilakaluripet to Sagar, the road is average and some sections are very bad. After Sagar, road is good. Road is 2 lane (no median) after Chilakaluripet.
Plan to take different route on my return after two weeks (Kurnoon, Kadappa, Chitoor, Ranipet, Kanchipuram, Walajabad, Tambaram). How good is the road between Kurnoon and Ranipet?
I have used GPS (N95, BSNL Gprs) with google maps (route link below) and never asked for directions to anyone .
Ongole to Hyd - R1 - Google Maps

[Ravveendrra]

Originally Posted by r_devakumar

Done Chennai to Hyderabad last week. Took the route: Chennai (Tambaram) - Ongole - Chilakaluripet - Narasaraopet - x Roads - Piduguralla - Dachepalle - Sagar - Mallepalli - Yacharam - Some village roads - Shamshabad Airport - Gachibowli
Satruday: Started from Tambram at 2:30 p.m. and Reached Ongole 8:30 p.m (332 KM). Road is 4 lane, very good. Heavey traffic till crossing Chennai and after AP border traffic is very less.
Sunday: Started from Ongole at 7 a.m., Reached Hyderabad (Gachibowli) at 3:30 p.m (392 KM). From Chilakaluripet to Sagar, the road is average and some sections are very bad. After Sagar, road is good. Road is 2 lane (no median) after Chilakaluripet.
Plan to take different route on my return after two weeks (Kurnoon, Kadappa, Chitoor, Ranipet, Kanchipuram, Walajabad, Tambaram). How good is the road between Kurnoon and Ranipet?
I have used GPS (N95, BSNL Gprs) with google maps (route link below) and never asked for directions to anyone .
Ongole to Hyd - R1 - Google Maps

That is brilliant routing and decent times. Where did you stay in Ongole? If it is a hotel, a review and some tips would be nice.

For your return, Absynthguzzler suggests that one go upto Gooty on NH7 (Bangalore road) before turning left for Cuddapah. It is a bit longer than the route via Nandyal but the road is much better and cuts down driving time + fatigue.

Cheers,

[longhorn]

Just completed the Hyd -Chennai trip yesterday. Started from Hyd (Masab Tank) at 10:15 AM and reached Chennai (Madipakkam) at 09:55 PM. The route taken was Hyd - Sagar Rd - Macherla - Durgi - Karempudi -Narasaraopet - Chkaluripet - Ongole - Nellore - Red Hills -Chennai. The trip was done HVK style- almost non stop driving all the way. Took 3 breaks totalling 30 minutes including refuelling. Hence total driving time was 11 hours and 40 minutes.

It took one hour to get out of Hyd city and reach LB nagar circle. Similarly once I entered Chennai lost the way in between and around 30 minutes was lost due to that. I reached Padi(Chennai city outskirts) at 8:35PM and from there it took nearly 1.5 hours to reach my house from there partly due to traffic conditions and partly due to losing my way in between.

The Sagar Road is quite good though the tarring has started to wear away in patches at some places. From Nagarjunasagar Dam till Macherla the roads are good but narrow for a few kms once you cross the dam. Macherla -Durgi - Karempudi are having some bad patches along the way. These were the worst roads of the entire trip. Karempudi to Narasaraopet roads are good. Narasaraopet to Chikaluripet is also in good shape.Once you hit the NH 5 at Chikaluripet its a straight road upto Padi circle where you enter Chennai city.

I wouldn't recommend the Chikaluripet - Hyd route if you are planning to do a night drive. Though the traffic is minimal even during the day, during night if you face any problem with your vehicle you would be stuck in the middle of nowhere.

[r_devakumar]

I returned back from Hyderabad to Chennai last week. This time i want to try the new route.

Hyderabad to Chennai via NH7

Started from Hyderabd (Gachibowli) at 10:35 a.m (Wagaon R) and Reached Anantapur at 4:45 p.m. (360 KM). Stayed in Hotel Sapthagiri. Road is completely 4 laned. Hyderabad to Karnool is completely done and in very good condition. After that till Anantapur work is in-progress in many places (around 50% completed).

Next day started at 9:30 a.m. and Reached Chennai (East Tambaram) at 6:15 p.m. (426 KM) From Anantapur it is SH 205. Road condition is good, but road is running through many small size cities. Palamaner to Walajapet (NH 4) road traffic is high and after Walajapet once again 4 lane toll road till Chennai.

Overall road condition is good, but driving time is high and distance is around 70KM more than the route via Ongole - Sagar. If you are in a pleasure trip with family, then you can try this route. Braking at Harseley hills may be a good option in this route.

[alexkrish]

r_devakumar, Am planning a trip to Chennai on my WagonR with my family. The most popular route seems to be Hyderabad NH-9 - Narkatpally - Piduguralla - Narsaraopet - Chilakaluripet - Nellore - Chennai.

I am planning to hit the road during the third week (15th - 17th July). I would be leaving during the early hours to avoid the city traffic.

Let me know if you have any pointers for me on this route.

[ranjitp1]

Bumping up an old thread...Hyd-Chennai via VJA-is this a good option considering that departure time from HYD would be 3am.How many hours of drive does it take to chennai via this route?Any other pointers would be helpful..thanx

[MileCruncher]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Bumping up an old thread...Hyd-Chennai via VJA-is this a good option considering that departure time from HYD would be 3am.How many hours of drive does it take to chennai via this route?Any other pointers would be helpful..thanx

Just sent you a PM but here it goes again.
DONOT take NH-9 and rather follow this route Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India to Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India - Google Maps

Cheers

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Just sent you a PM but here it goes again.
DONOT take NH-9 and rather follow this route Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India to Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India - Google Maps

Cheers

Thanx a ton for this route,was a good one.A stretch of around 15kms between Karempudi & Narasaraopet is broken up and suspect will break up further as the areas are receiving heavy rainfall.From Sainikpuri to Chilkaluripet took 5.5 hours via LB Nagar-Sagar-Mancherla-Karempudi-Narsaraopet-Chilkaluripet-NH5.

No eating or rest facilities anywhere,the only one being the Haritha at Nagarjuna sagar.Even on NH5,eating facilities are very poor as compared to other highways in the country.

Return came via Vijayawada due to certain unavoidable reasons.VJA(mg road)-HYD(LB Nagar)took 5.5 hours(270kms).Road widening is full swing,but road quality and tarmac is excellent.Local info that I gathered is this highway is good during June to Sep,oct as the rivers are full and so the sand lorries cannot get sand from the rivers.

NH9-Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway:Brand new place to eat & refresh,its called 7-Refuel,Rest,Refresh.Its is a huge food court 3 kms before suryapet(towards vja),7kms after suryapet(towards hyd).140kms from hyd.Amazing place,excellent food,world class washrooms and best part is-it is 24X7.One cant miss it,airconditioned,clean,spic and span and what comes as a surprise-free wifi

[gajadonga]

Nice to hear you reached Hyd-Chilkaluripet in 5.5hrs.If the Vijayawada stretch is done from Hyderabad it will be worth while going through this route to chennai