[SBR]

Originally Posted by ravib

Go with Trichy/Tanjore option.
Ravi

Thanks much Ravi sir. Good to hear from you. Took the Trichy / Tanjore route but did the mistake of taking Tajore - Nagapattinam route which is in really bad shape. The 70 odd kilometer's was more stressful to drive than the Bangalore - Tanjore route.

I am at Velankani as I type this message and plan to take Thiruthuraipoondi - Mannargudi - Tajore - Trichy - Thuraiyur - Namakkal - Salem - Bangalore for the retun journey.

[dean5545]

Hey guys,
Came back from Velainkanni yesterday night. The trip was good.
The hotel Clinton Park Inn was very good. Walkable distance from the shrine. Rooms were decent although a bit pricey(I paid around ₹5,500 for 3 people a night). They provided complimentary breakfast.

Took Mumbai-Chennai flight and landed at Chennai at around 9am. Booked a cab from airport for 2 days. They charged us ₹10,500 for a Swift Dzire, which I feel is very expensive. But the other counters had more expensive options. Tried searching on Ola outstaion but it didn't show 24hr+ option so went ahead with the Dzire. Reached Velainkanni by 5.15pm. Visited all the churches and went back to the hotel. Next day went for 10.00am mass in English and left for Chennai airport at 12.00noon. Reached airport at 7.40 pm for my flight at 8.40pm.
Thank you all for your recommendation really helped us a lot.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by dean5545

Hey guys,
Came back from Velainkanni yesterday night. The trip was good.
The hotel Clinton Park Inn was very good. Walkable distance from the shrine. Rooms were decent although a bit pricey(I paid around ₹5,500 for 3 people a night). They provided complimentary breakfast.

Accommodation in Velankanni is always pricey when it comes to proximity to the Church. Many times, they will have odd time policy. Even if you come in the evening, they will ask you to vacate by morning. It is prudent to check before you confirm your booking - especially if you are from other states.

If you come by car, there is another option: stay in Karikal where you get decent hotels at reasonable rates.

[dean5545]

Originally Posted by Prowler

Accommodation in Velankanni is always pricey when it comes to proximity to the Church. Many times, they will have odd time policy. Even if you come in the evening, they will ask you to vacate by morning. It is prudent to check before you confirm your booking - especially if you are from other states.

If you come by car, there is another option: stay in Karikal where you get decent hotels at reasonable rates.

Actually even I faced the same situation regarding check-out timings. We checked in at 5.30pm and checked out before 12 noon. I had a flight to catch so didn't matter to me but yes effectively I used the room for just 18 hours. But that's the case almost everywhere I book through Make my trip.

Will keep the Karikal stay option in mind.

[tharian]

Planning for the yearly visit to Velankanni next month.

I wanted to be sure of the road condition from Thanjavur to Nagapattinam since last time I completely forgot about it and had taken a different route on the return due to this.

Are the road works progressed or is it is still in bad state due to construction of dual carriageway. Anyone who has done this recently or any good alternate routes to avoid it if the roads are in bad state.

I had posted few pages back of a route I took on the return from Tranquebar to Bangalore which was good, but too confusing if I have to retrace it now.

Any updates would be

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by tharian

Planning for the yearly visit to Velankanni next month.

I wanted to be sure of the road condition from Thanjavur to Nagapattinam since last time I completely forgot about it and had taken a different route on the return due to this.

Are the road works progressed or is it is still in bad state due to construction of dual carriageway. Anyone who has done this recently or any good alternate routes to avoid it if the roads are in bad state.

I had posted few pages back of a route I took on the return from Tranquebar to Bangalore which was good, but too confusing if I have to retrace it now.

Any updates would be

I took the below route in Aug and the road conditions are good throughout. Encountered bad traffic in Mannarkudi town.

Salem Namakkal Musiri Srirangam Tanjore Mannarkudi route. Total travel time of 8.5 hours.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by m8002?

I took the below route in Aug and the road conditions are good throughout. Encountered bad traffic in Mannarkudi town.

Salem Namakkal Musiri Srirangam Tanjore Mannarkudi route. Total travel time of 8.5 hours.

The road works are complete between Tanjavur and Nagapattinam? That's a surprise since it has been going on for years.

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by tharian

The road works are complete between Tanjavur and Nagapattinam? That's a surprise since it has been going on for years.

This is not via Nagapattinam. You divert to Mannarkudi in Tanjore. Take Tanjore, Mannarkudi, Thiruthraipoondi Velankanni.

[vvijayakrishnan]

Originally Posted by tharian

The road works are complete between Tanjavur and Nagapattinam? That's a surprise since it has been going on for years.

Yes. This route is good. Thanjavur - Mannargudi - Thiruthuraipoondi / Thiruvarur - Velankanni.

Also when coming via Musiri, one need not go to Srirangam. One can take the bye-pass as one enters Trichy and exit at Palpanni to Thanajvur.

[BigWheels]

Originally Posted by m8002?

I took the below route in Aug and the road conditions are good throughout. Encountered bad traffic in Mannarkudi town.

Salem Namakkal Musiri Srirangam Tanjore Mannarkudi route. Total travel time of 8.5 hours.

I will be taking this trip next week. Any additional pointers will be a big help.
What time did you leave Bangalore?

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by BigWheels

I will be taking this trip next week. Any additional pointers will be a big help.
What time did you leave Bangalore?

Just saw the message. I left blr at 4/4:15 am. Had breakfast at A2B after Salem. Then a tea and bio break near Tanjore. Lunch at Velankanni.

On return encountered traffic in Namakkal in the evening.

[BigWheels]

Hi,
We have come to Velankanni from Bangalore on the route recommended by m8002 and we could reach Velankanni by 1pm. We found the route from Tanjavur to velankanni kinda long and narrow. Is there an alternate back? Can we try kumbakonam route.

Thanks

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by BigWheels

Hi,
We have come to Velankanni from Bangalore on the route recommended by m8002 and we could reach Velankanni by 1pm. We found the route from Tanjavur to velankanni kinda long and narrow. Is there an alternate back? Can we try kumbakonam route.

Thanks

There are many routes from Velankanni. A shorter route - around 430 km is Velankanni - Karikal - Tranquebar - Sirkazhi - Chidambaram - Vadalur - Panruti - Thrivannamalai - Chengam - Krishnagiri -> Bangalore.
The route from Velankanni to Chidambaram is 2 way and people in Madras have been doing this for ages. This route is shorter but may take a little longer time.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by BigWheels

Hi,
We have come to Velankanni from Bangalore on the route recommended by m8002 and we could reach Velankanni by 1pm. We found the route from Tanjavur to velankanni kinda long and narrow. Is there an alternate back? Can we try kumbakonam route.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Prowler

There are many routes from Velankanni. A shorter route - around 430 km is Velankanni - Karikal - Tranquebar - Sirkazhi - Chidambaram - Vadalur - Panruti - Thrivannamalai - Chengam - Krishnagiri -> Bangalore.
The route from Velankanni to Chidambaram is 2 way and people in Madras have been doing this for ages. This route is shorter but may take a little longer time.

I returned from Velankanni on the 16th and took the above route via Thiruvanmallai just for a change. It took a total for 11 hours from start to finish with a total of probably 90 mins halt. The distance was 440 kms till home. The roads at most of the stretches are not great, especially from Chengam to Krishnagiri. Average speeds reduce a lot since roads are narrow most of the way with lots of two wheelers and locals on the road along with cattle.
The other route I did onward seemed to be quickest which is via Mannarguddi, Thanjavur, Trichy bypass, Musiri, Namakkal, Salem, Bangalore.

The route via Kumbakonam is again slow and narrow from the coast till Kumbakonam, but good roads after that all the way Salem from what I did in 2017.

[coolrats]

I had taken the Mannarguddi route way back in 2016 and was much better

Originally Posted by tharian

I returned from Velankanni on the 16th and took the above route via Thiruvanmallai just for a change. It took a total for 11 hours from start to finish with a total of probably 90 mins halt. The distance was 440 kms till home. The roads at most of the stretches are not great, especially from Chengam to Krishnagiri. Average speeds reduce a lot since roads are narrow most of the way with lots of two wheelers and locals on the road along with cattle.
The other I did route seemed to be quickest which is via Mannarguddi, Thanjavur, Trichy bypass, Musiri, Namakkal, Salem, Bangalore.

The route via Kumbakonam is again slow and narrow from the coast till Kumbakonam, but good roads after that all the way Salem from what I did in 2017.