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Just to add to what Ampere has already mentioned,NH17 you would lose considerable amount of time and you would be fatigued by the end of the drive thanks to the strain of driving,plus negotiating Kerala traffic from Nileeshwaram all the way till Thrissur is not a very pleasant thing.

On the other hand,if you take the NH4-NH7-NH47 combo,the only sore points would be at Walayar Check Post and on the Kuthiran ghat on NH47,other than that its just a stress free drive and 4 laned all the way till the L&T Bypass at Coimbatore.

Eating options are plenty enroute.Feel free to PM(pvt msg) me in case you need options for staying enroute.

Thanks Ranjit for the info, I will contact you. Looks like I am gonna miss the scenic beauty of the coastal route at Mahe :/

If you must take the coastal route,then I would suggest the following route:

Thane-Pune-Satara-Kolhapur-Belgaum-Dharwad-Hubli.From the HUbli bypass,get onto NH63 and go via Yellapur-Ankola.At Ankola take a left towards Gokarna.You are now on NH17.Thane-Hubli would take you around 8hours.Hubli-Ankola anothr 1.5-2hrs.

From Ankola onwards NH17 all the way till Akkikavu.The route is :

Thane, Maharashtra to Thrissur, Kerala - Google Maps

Day 1:You can stay at RNS Residency at Murudeshwar on day.Ankola to Murudeshwar would take you 1.5-2hrs.Redefining the grace of Murdeshwar

Day 2:If you leave after breakfast,you should be in Thrissur by late evening.

You could go via one route(NH4) and come back by the NH17 route.We usually do that.We took the NH17 route for coming to Mumbai during our last drive.we left Thrissur at 430am and we were at Karwar by 7pm.Stayed at Lotus Riverview Resort.

Morning after breakfast left Karwar by 730 and we were at Borivli by 630pm.

I am still in two minds as to which route to take. you guys have been of great help and all your inputs will come handy whichever route i take.
@Ranjit the route you mentioned touches Hubli, there is a shortcut from Yerikoppa (before hubli) which i had taken the last time, which was many years ago Thane, Maharashtra to Thrissur, Kerala - Google Maps Any idea how this road is now? Last time it was Ok, managed decent speeds touching 110. I am planning to leave thane by 3am, contemplating abt the route... may go for a coin toss :)

No idea of the road that you mentioned,its not much of a distance,so you could take a chance or ask locals at the turn off point.I suppose you would save on some toll as well as you wouldnt be travelling the whole bypass?

If you are going to be returning to Thane as well,then why dont you go via one route and come back via the other?

There is a toll booth at the entry to this road. Its about 14 km short than via hubli, so no saving toll.

I will do that, Ranjit going one way and come back the other.

Hi Joen23, waiting for your experience for the thane kerala journey

please enlighten us.

Guys I am planning a seven day road trip to Kerala. Here are places that I want to cover wishfully:

- Munnar
- Thekkady
- Alleppey
- Fort Kochi

Additionally (if possible):
- Ooty
- Coorg

Plan is to start from Pune on 28th evening and halt in Kolhapur for the night. I need the following information.

- Order of travel I should plan. This is my first roadtrip beyond Bangalore. I have been through all of NH17 on Kerala on bikes way back in 2003 and don't remember a thing. From the maps, it looks like I should do:

Day 1 (29Dec'12): Kolhapur - Bangalore
Day 2 (30Dec'12): Bangalore - Munnar
Day 3 (31Dec'12): Sight seeing in Munnar and head to Alleppey in the evening.
Day 4 (01Jan'13): Day trip to Fort Kochi.
Day 5 (02Jan'13): Start for Thekkady from Alleppey.

Beyond this, I am not very sure on the journey to undertake. Any advice on hotels, houseboats, route conditions, etc will be very helpful.

Thanks!

Perfect Sequence.

If you have time you can do Ooty on the way. And bypass Bangalore and stay some where in between on the way back.

- Halt at Bangalore for the night.
- Munnar : Good places include Club Mahindra/Sterlin and Sienna apart from good estate bungalows.
- Take the route via Perundurai-Udumalpet as you dont plan to come on the same way.

- You can do Thekkady as a day trip from Munnar if you dont plan on staying there.
- Because if you do that, then you dont have to come this way and can try going to Ooty on the way back via Trichur/Coimbattore
- Does your 7 days also include drive times? If yes, then it would be difficult to squeeze all.
- Because you should at least 2-nights in Munnar and cover Thekaddy as a part of it.

I had done a similar route last year
https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=P...mra=ls&t=m&z=7

Day 1 - Pune (started at 6 AM)
Bangalore (overnight halt)
Day 2 - Bangalore - Munnar (reached in the evening )
Day 3 - Munnar Sightseeing
Day 4 - Munnar - Thekkady - Allepey
Day 5 - Houseboat (Allepey)
Day 6 - Allepey - Ooty (Dont take the route via Comibatore - ask for a better route, I think it is this https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=P...sz=11&t=m&z=12. )
Day 7 - Ooty Sightseeing, Ooty - Mysore
Day 8 - Mysore, Mysore - Kolhapur
Day 9 - Kolhapur-Pune

I can PM you a agent through which I had booked Kerala hotels. Ooty/Mysore I just walked in.

The route plan has to be as follows:
Pune-Bangalore-Munnar-Thekkady-Alapuzha-Kochi

You can see full route details in the attached link where I have prepared a plan from Bombay onwards to Munnar, Thekkady, Alapuzha, Kochi & beyond, in the order of your travel.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzW...WtJWHJSWU1GU00

Names of hotels are also there in the file.

Expect huge crowds through X'mas & the year-end.
Almost all roads leading into Kerala - and also many inside - are congested with pilgrims to Sabarimala. Please drive with utmost care.
Being peak season, there is limited scope for negotiating downwards hotel rates.

What return route do you plan to take?

P.S. As you will note from the detailed route plan that I have give above, I have also added Athirapalli, Valparai, Ooty & Wayanadu, and further into Coorg also.

Due to unavoidable circumstances I had to postpone this trip and the revised dates are 21Mar'13 to 31Mar'13. Added a couple of days based on your suggestion.

I am told Thekkady is really hot in March and I should avoid it if possible. What do you say?

Please do.

Gurus,

Here's what my tentative plan looks like:

21Mar'13 - Pune to Kolhapur after work.

22Mar'13 - Kolhapur to Hosur (Need suggestion on hotel stay in Hosur if you know any decent ones on a budget)

23Mar'13 - Hosur to Munnar (Need to find out travel time. I plan to start at least by 4:30 am)

23Mar'13, 24Mar'13, 25Mar'13 - Stay in Munnar at Pulimootil estate. Booked a bungalow already. Any interesting things to do other than the usual touristy spots?

25Mar'13 - Munnar to Kochi
25Mar'13 - Visit Fort Kochi and nearby places in Kochi. (Suggestions?)

26Mar'13 - Checkin to a houseboat in Alleppey.

27Mar'13 - Allepey to Kanyakumari (Hotel suggestions in Kanyakumari?)

After this I wish to return via Mangalore and cover Murudeshwar, Gokarna and Karwar. Anything else in Kerala that I must see? What is the best way to accommodate these in the itinerary? I am traveling with my wife and my mother who loves road trips.

Yes it would a bit warm. But if you are keen on wild life, you should go around. And since you visit the place and come back by evening to Munnar, it should not be that bad.

Why stop over at Hosur? You can make it to Munnar itself with an early morning start.

Hotel Victoria, Hosur.


Hotel Tri-Sea, KK

Routing is wonky. You are doing Alapuzha-KK-Alapuzha.
Instead, consider going from Munnar direct to KK (assuming you have not firmed up H/B bookings), then driving from KK to Alapuzha.

Driving NH17 in KL is one of the most miserable things you can do - by day - considering the heavy traffic. If you leave from KK in the morning, consider yourself lucky if you reach Kozhikode by the end of the day.

HVK, wont this be hectic? Take out 1-2 hours for crossing Bangalore and then the troubled Hosur-Krishnagiri section?