[swiftnfurious]

Guys, I had plans of travelling from Kottayam (Kerala) - Bangalore - Goa - Mumbai. However, due to some constraints, Goa plan has been dropped. Now the trip would be Kottayam to Mumbai.

I would ideally want to split the journey into closely equal halves in terms of kilomoters (750 kms each or approximate) for 2 days. I thought of halting in Bangalore (580 kms from Kottayam) initially, but that would leave me with 980 kms for the second day which I believe is a stretch. Could you let me know the route keeping this condition in mind? I would want to know the road condition after Bangalore too.

I do NOT mind travelling thru Mysore and skip Bangalore if I can shave off some kms / time and reach Davanegere / Chitradurga etc for the night halt. Please do provide some decent stay options too in this case.

I also heard that the Pune expressway now has some fines if vehicles reach the toll plaza before 45 mins (from the previous toll plaza)? Like to have more details of this as well.

So in short, I need to travel from Kottayam to Mumbai; would like to take the best route. Need to split the journey (of 2 days) into almost equal halves in terms of kms - please help.

[ak916]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Guys, I had plans of travelling from Kottayam (Kerala) - Bangalore - Goa - Mumbai. However, due to some constraints, Goa plan has been dropped. Now the trip would be Kottayam to Mumbai.

I would ideally want to split the journey into closely equal halves in terms of kilomoters (750 kms each or approximate) for 2 days. I thought of halting in Bangalore (580 kms from Kottayam) initially, but that would leave me with 980 kms for the second day which I believe is a stretch. Could you let me know the route keeping this condition in mind? I would want to know the road condition after Bangalore too.

I do NOT mind travelling thru Mysore and skip Bangalore if I can shave off some kms / time and reach Davanegere / Chitradurga etc for the night halt. Please do provide some decent stay options too in this case.

I also heard that the Pune expressway now has some fines if vehicles reach the toll plaza before 45 mins (from the previous toll plaza)? Like to have more details of this as well.

So in short, I need to travel from Kottayam to Mumbai; would like to take the best route. Need to split the journey (of 2 days) into almost equal halves in terms of kms - please help.

Try to do Kottayam - Nice road bangalore - Tumkur on day 1 and halt at Tumkur. Then do Mumbai the next day. The 900 odd kms on day 2 is easier (relatively) than the 700km on day 1.

Worst stretch on this route would be the kerala part, obviously and then the Satara to Pune expressway stretch. A lot of diversions, bad roads, surprise potholes and two wheeler traffic on this stretch. If you dont mind driving at night, it would be ideal to leave Tumkur in the late evening. There is single carriageway at the hubli bypass though.

I dint face any fines or such on the expressway exit at Pune, while coming from Mumbai 3 days ago.

[gsurya]

I am planning to drive from Mumbai to Guruvayur in May for a wedding with my parents & am looking for a comfortable stress free drive even if it takes more time.

We are prepared to include 2-3 halts on the way if needed at some good places that can include some local sightseeing to make the trip interesting.

Can someone suggest a good route plan? I was thinking Mumbai - Kolhapur - Mysore - Guruvayur over 3 days, but can we do something better?

Thanks in advance.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by gsurya

I am planning to drive from Mumbai to Guruvayur in May for a wedding with my parents & am looking for a comfortable stress free drive even if it takes more time.

We are prepared to include 2-3 halts on the way if needed at some good places that can include some local sightseeing to make the trip interesting.

Can someone suggest a good route plan? I was thinking Mumbai - Kolhapur - Mysore - Guruvayur over 3 days, but can we do something better?

Thanks in advance.

- The best option is to stick to 4-lane. Mumbai-Hubli-Bangalore-Salem-Pollachi-Alathur-Wdakkachery-Guruvayur.
- If you can drive to Bangalore in a day then the second day you make it to Guruvayur. If not, then you can do one stop at Hubli and a second stop at Salem.

If you looking the Mysore option: Then :

- Mumbai-Hubli-Hiriyur-Huliyar-Neligere-Nagamangala-Srirangapatna-Mysore
- Mysore-Gundlupet-Bandipur-Gudalur-Nilambur-Perinthalmanna-Pattambi-Kunnamkulam-Guruvayur.
- This option has lots of two lanes. I would prefer the 4-lane for a relaxed drive.

[Chiro]

Hi, Has someone this group made any recent trips to Kerala? from Mumbai? Wanted to check if the Coimbatore Palakkad roads are any better now? Or is still Pollachi-Dindidul the most preferred route? I am planning to drive down to Kerala starting 22nd Aug. Any information will be helpful. Many thanks in advance

[msk016]

i am planning a Mumbai-Kerala road trip from the 26th September till 9th September. Below is the planned itinerary:
26th: Dombivili to Davengere. Stay at Sai international
27th: Davengere to tiruppur. Stay at friends hotel
28th: tiruppur to munnar. Tiruppur-Palladam-udumalpet-club Mahindra munnar
28th till 30th stay in munnar
1st October: munnar to alleppy
1st till 4th: stay in alleppy
5th: alleppy to kovalam
5th till 7th: stay in kovalam
8th: kovalam to Davengere. Take NH 7 /NH 4 all the way.
9th: Davengere to home

Please let me know if this sounds feasible. Any suggestions or advice is most appreciated.

[rakesh_r]

I am planning to goto my native Palakkad,Kerala on my swift DI.Total Distance comes close 1250KM from Pune.I was planning 3 options-

Option 1
Leave office by 3pm and halt at Kolhapur for the night.Cover the next 1000Km and reach Palakkad by midnight or earlier.

Option2
Leave early morning and stay at Chitradurga or push towards outskirts of Bangalore.Cover the rest 450KM the next day.

Option3
Drive till Salem (1050KM) on day 1 and the rest 200km the next day leisurely.

Which one would be the best option.I will be driving alone.

[Happysmiles]

I have done Pune Cochin almost 1250 + km solo in my Corolla Altis petrol MT (now sold).

Left Pune at 4am crossed Bangalore at 4pm and via Nice road reached Hosur 5pm. Couple of nice hotels to stay on the highway after Hosur. I stayed in Sarovar Portico. Very good food and ambience, nice place to unwind.

Next day post breakfast started at 9.30am and via Salem- Coimbatore-Pallakad reached Cochin at 4pm. Lots of traffic once you enter Kerala.

Had the usual breaks for chai and lunch. IMO best to do the maximum driving the first day.

[couswheels]

Originally Posted by Chiro

Hi, Has someone this group made any recent trips to Kerala? from Mumbai? Wanted to check if the Coimbatore Palakkad roads are any better now? Or is still Pollachi-Dindidul the most preferred route? I am planning to drive down to Kerala starting 22nd Aug. Any information will be helpful. Many thanks in advance

Coimbatore - Palakkad stretch has good 4 lane roads except for very few kms which you can manage. If you are going beyond Palakkad towards Thrissur you need to plan your drive accordingly as you need to encounter 25kms of wadakkancherry which is a two lane without median

[Driiive!]

Hi, have been reading through the posts, and now thoroughly confused.

I am planning a trip in November;

Mumbai - Kabbani (3 nights) - Kerala
Kerala - Goa (3 nights) - Mumbai

My only worry - is Mumbai Kabbani (waterwoods) doable in one day?
request advice from those who have traveled this route, as well as the best routes / stops to take.

[The Adventurer]

Hi folks,

Need some advice on Kochi-Goa routes.

Do I drive up Mangalore via Gokharna or is there a better route?
What are the roads like?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by The Adventurer

Need some advice on Kochi-Goa routes.

Do I drive up Mangalore via Gokharna or is there a better route?
What are the roads like?

The coastal route is not good at many places and sees heavy traffic.
I think you can either drive via Bangalore-Tumkur on NH4 or via Calicut-Srirangapatna-Melukote-Bellur cross-Hiriyur and you're on NH4.
Once on NH4, decide on the route depending on whether your destination is South or North Goa - look up the Bangalore-Goa thread for more details on taking Chorla route versus the Yellapur route.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by The Adventurer

Do I drive up Mangalore via Gokharna or is there a better route?
What are the roads like?

The basic problem is by the time you are done with crossing Kerala, you would be near consumed! Its an extremely harrowing driving. It eases only after you cross Udupi/Kudapur like places (Almost North KA)

If you check Google and type Ernakulam to Panaji, you will see it will report both routes (one via coast and another via BLR). There is a difference of 300km, but surprisingly (not surprising enough!) time taken is the same.

That should give you a picture of traffic and conditions along the coastal route.

[The Adventurer]

Well, I'll have to figure out something for Kerala. A halt in Calicut and an early start perhaps.


My Options are
1 Start from Kochi thurssday early morn drive via Mangalore, (about 18 hours i reckon) check in Friday morning. We are 6 guys who can drive.
2 Halt in Calicut, Continue Friday morning get there by the evening. (Day lost)

Or
Go via Mangalore, Return Via Bangalore and explore both routes or vice versa.
But How long does Bangalore Goa take? I usually start from Kochi at 5 AM to reach Bangalore around 2 PM.

[vrprabhu]

Kochi -> Thrissur -> Calicut wouldn't be an issue. About 4 hours? (Depends on where you stay at Kochi! Thrissur to Calicut can be done in 3 hours. Watch out for cops with speed guns, though)

Calicut -> Thalaserry -> Kannur -> Kasargod -> Mangalore : two lane road, with plenty of traffic. Road gets bad after Kannur and last 60~80 kms to Mangalore is pretty bad. (Took me 7 hours last month, with just a 15 min break at Thalaserry. It was on a Sunday, so traffic was lighter)

Mangalore -> Udupi -> Kundapur -> Bhatkal -> Ankola : part four lane and part two lane. About 5 to 6 hours. (Depends on the number of stops to take in the scenes, especially Marvanthe....)

Ankola - Karwar - Goa : About 2 hours, once again depends on where you want to go in Goa.

If you want to return via Bangalore, I can think of plenty of options -

a. Take the longer route from Goa to Belgaum via Amboli Ghat and then straight to Bangalore.

b. Come back to Ankola. Take the turn to Yellapur and reach Hubli. Then to Bangalore.

c. More adventurous? Come back to Ankola -> Honnavar. Take the road to Sagar (Jog Falls enroute). Sagar to Shimoga. From Shimoga you can go to Chitradurga and same route to Bangalore as above. Or Shimoga -> Bhadravati -> Tiptur -> Tumkur -> Bangalore.

I have done this trip : Calicut -> Kalpetta -> Sulthan Bathery -> Mysore -> Channarayapatna -> Kunigal -> Tumkur. Excellent drive through forests.

So, if you want to avoid Bangalore, you can reach Channarayapatna from Tiptur.