[Bob]

hi

i am BOB from vadodara(baroda) want pros n cons from you bros.

1. is it advisable to travel by road from vadodara to manali in SEDAN its chevvy optra.

2. for stay:should i book in advance or should i go straight without booking.

3. which is the must go places in himachal which i can club with manali.

travel time: last week of march or first week of april
travel pax: me,my wife,2 kids n my mother so 3 adults 2 kids.
travel period: 6 to 7 days

it will be great help by you friends cause i am very fond of drive by myself and my family also having whale of fun.

thanx . . . BOB

same question i have put on other site too.
i will oblige you friends if you give the answers early cause i have to plan accordingly.

[dadu]

Read this travelogue

You will get some tips, places to visit and hints for your planning.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Bob

1. is it advisable to travel by road from vadodara to manali in SEDAN its chevvy optra.

2. for stay:should i book in advance or should i go straight without booking.

3. which is the must go places in himachal which i can club with manali.

travel time: last week of march or first week of april
travel pax: me,my wife,2 kids n my mother so 3 adults 2 kids.
travel period: 6 to 7 days

.

Vadodara to Manali is a nice 2-day drive, assuming you clock into Delhi on Day 1, possible but only you are very fast.

Vadaodara-Delhi is around 1,000 kms via Ahmedabad, Himmatnagar, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Bhilwara, Kishnagarh and Jaipur. In case you are unable to reach Delhi the same day, you could try halting anywhere after Jaipur (lots of motels and hotels en route). Be prepared for an early morning start and late night arrival. In case you are slow, maybe you should try reaching Jaipur (750 kms) where you can get a varoety of budget accomodation. Before Jaipur, hotels are few and far between (at Chittorgarh, Bhilwara, Kishangarh).

Delhi-Manali is a days' drive (around 500 kms) via Panipat, Ambala, Mohali, Kiratpur, Bilaspur, Mandi and Kulu. I would suggest that you do this in one shot. In case you are delayed, stay options are aplenty - good HPTDC hotel at Bilaspur and several private hotels at Mandi.

At Manali, it will not be very cowded at that time, but I suggest that you make a booking there - ideally, book from Day 3 night onwards in case you are not sure of your arrival on day 2 night at Manali.

With just 6/7 days at your disposal, you have just about time to go to Manali and return, but there are lots of other places that ou can cover - either Shimla (Option 1) - which is a day's drive from Manali - or Dharamasala/Dalhousie (Option 2, another day's drive), from where you will need 1 more day to drive to Delhi for the return home.

Kumar

[Bob]

hi hvkumar

oblige you very much for your prompt answer.
i am very happy that i get in touch with you.

btw i am thinking of travel days 11 instead 8

thanx . . .BOB

[hvkumar]

If you have more days, then I think I would do the Baijnath-Dharamasala-Dalhousie circuit.

[Pankaj1126]

Hi Bob,
You can very well do the trip by Optra.

As such I would say journeys within HP are more satisfying than the destination itself. So try to do HP stretches during daytime so that you can do plenty of sightseeing all through your way to the destinations.

Frist day you can try to go 150 kms beyond Jaipur on NH-8. You will get good motels for night stay. Second day, try to reach Chandigarh (Go via Rewari-Rohtak-Panipat if you wish to avoid entering in NCR). Third day you start for Manali from Chandigarh via Roopnagar-Bilaspur-Mandi-Kullu. You would certainly enjoy driving during daytime on this stretch.

As such there are many hotels in Manali but you never know about occupancy during peak season, so book your hotel in advance. Hotel LeGrand in Manali is quite a good option (So three day Baroda-Manali plans will keep your anxities off about missing you bookings because of delayed arrivals)

Fourth day & Fifth day you can keep for Manali sight seeing including Rohtang. Leave Manali on sixth day and head for Manikaran via Kullu. Enjoy hot springs & enchanting natural beauty in Manikaran.

Leave Manikaran around 3:00 PM and head for Palampur and reach there by 9:00PM. Hotel Vishal Residency is good option in Palampur. Seventh day you may go to Dhramsala & do the sight seeing.

You may leave Dhramsala eighth day for Dalhousies. Ninth day afternoon you can leave dalhousie for Jullundher/Ludhiyana & stay for the night.

Tenth day drive from Jullundher/Ludhiana for the same halt where you stayed for the first night of this trip. Eleventh day drive straight to Baroda,

Just my thoughts..

[hvkumar]

To add to what Pankaj said,

RTDC has a decent motel at Behror (100 kms short of Delhi), excellent bargain for money. Beyond Delhi, the Haryana Tourism has got an excellent network of motels (check out in their web-site) which are preferable to staying in expensive hotels in Delhi. I love all the Himachal Tourism hotels, be it on the way to Manali (such as Swarghat, Bilaspur) or at Manali itself (choice of Manalsu, Hadimba Cottages, Log Hut Cottages).

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by Pankaj1126

Fourth day & Fifth day you can keep for Manali sight seeing including Rohtang.

Make this trip in some other car. Road to Rohtang has bad patches. Optra with full load is a really bad idea.

[ishotmydog]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Make this trip in some other car. Road to Rohtang has bad patches. Optra with full load is a really bad idea.

definitely. travelling to rohtang in a sedan is not a very good idea. in manali there are quite a few places which give a maruti gypsy on rent for a trip to rohtang. IMO that is a better option.

[tsk1979]

Manali has lots of HPTDC hotels ranging from Luxury(2000-2500) to budget(500rs).
You can book with credit card on their website hptdc.nic.in after you select the hotel of your choice(Chose Beas circut on website).
Its better to book in advance than haggle on reaching

[Bob]

hi

hvkumar dadu Pankaj1126 Rudra Sen ishotmydog tsk1979

friends, you have amazing depth of knowledge.

thanx . . .BOB

[dadu]

Also if you are first time drivre on the hills better to rent out a vehicle with driver for your local sightseeing.

The road to rohtang is steeper and narrowrer than what you would have experienced on the way.

Originally Posted by ishotmydog

definitely. travelling to rohtang in a sedan is not a very good idea. in manali there are quite a few places which give a maruti gypsy on rent for a trip to rohtang. IMO that is a better option.

[hvkumar]

The road from Manali to Rohtang will be partly open - till Kothi/Marhi - in April. Road is narrow and take care if you do have to drive on snowy roads. The biggest hazard on this road is the traffic jam - unruly drivers, haphazard parking and the occasional breakdowns. Ideally, leave early in the morning (8 am or before) so that you can beat the crowds and return before the rest of the tourist mob wakes up and comes there.

[lancer_rit]

Originally Posted by dadu

Also if you are first time drivre on the hills better to rent out a vehicle with driver for your local sightseeing.

The road to rohtang is steeper and narrowrer than what you would have experienced on the way.

Hi,
Agree. It isn't the easiest hill stretch from Manali to Rohtang mainly due to road conditions (esp for the first timer). You also need to check if the road is open after the winters. It snowed heavily this year - usually road repair starts after winter recedes...

On top of that, there are very reckless HP tourist taxis which are in a tearing hurry and frankly a bigger test than the roads themselves... You can read about my trip from Delhi to Manali in late 2005 here ..

Yahoo! Groups

Besides you can look at Kumar's and my trip logs there..
Regards,
Ritesh

[Bob]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Make this trip in some other car. Road to Rohtang has bad patches. Optra with full load is a really bad idea.

hi

rudra sen ishotmydog lancer_rit

its noble gesture by your side.

is it ok that i can go vadodara to manali in optra.
for local sight seeing i can take local operator as i don't want to let go fun of driving to others at the same time safety of my family also matters.

justify

thanx . .BOB