[straightdrive]

Drove to Bangalore on 28 May and came back yesterday 30 May.

Not much to add to what Kittigadu has said. Better to take food along. You could stop at Gooty or Penukonda but the roads through the towns are fairly congested and I only stopped to stock up on water.

28 May - Took about 10 1/2 hours from home to Hebbal flyover, after leaving at 6.15 am. Lost my way in the city and reached the place I was staying at after almost 12 hours. 607 km in total.

30 May - Door to door - about 580 km in 9 1/4 hours from a 10 am start. Luckier this time as I got the signals at three level crossings on the way which delayed me on the onward trip.

Originally Posted by kittigadu

Be aware of oncoming traffic on either side of the road esp after kurnool till chikaballapur. In my opinion, its better to do this route in daylight rather than in the dark..........

I agree. Some of the wrong side traffic is legitimate - because of diversions to the wrong side. Some because they get confused - while there are signs showing where the diversions start, there aren't always any to show where they end and where you can go back to the correct side. And some of course are the shortcut jokers who take the wrong side to avoid going far ahead for a u-turn.

[kcnetid]

Will be driving to B'lore either on Friday(4thJun) or Sat (5thJun). Driving Cedia sports. Will be starting at Gachibowli around 5:00 am or 6:00 am and planning to reach B'lore before dusk. No heroics, no speeding (by Cedia stds) - just stable and safe driving. Planning a continuous run with just one halt for lunch and some breaks to stretch legs if necessary. Have not decided if I am going to pack lunch or eat at the much recommended hotel Ravi Teja.

Driving back on Monday - 7th and will be back before dusk.

Place for 3 people in either direction. Regret to say that I will be the only one driving. Minimal luggage please and none in passenger compartment. Its a free ride if you are a student. Absolutely no alcohol and no smoking. PM me if you want to join.

[kittigadu]

Most people visiting this thread are those who already decided to drive down in their own transport.

This is exactly why i started a new thread.

Put it here and i am sure you might just fill up in no time.
i was sold out in 2 days.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ey-thread.html


Also, if you start at 6:00 am, reaching hotel RaviTeja will be too late in my view since you will have to take 2 detours with 3 railway crossings. If you are lucky you can be on time. Else you have to spend some time going thru gooty town and waiting at the railway crossings. So better stop at Reliance at dhone town on the LHS. Food is OK. Dont expect raviteja to be like Maddur CCD. It is also a OK type only.

Regards,
Krishna.

[kcnetid]

Originally Posted by kittigadu

This is exactly why i started a new thread.
Put it here and i am sure you might just fill up in no time.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...ey-thread.html

A good idea but that thread seems to be closed. Is there any other thread for this kind of stuff? I think I will start a new thread and hope mods convert it to a public thread or move the post to relevant thread. In US, there are public websites where you can plan tag along trips like these. Maybe we need one too :-)

[kittigadu]

well, thats the whole plan of the thread. Didnt know it was closed.
If it were open, probably this could act as a tag-along place as you said.
Let me write to the mods and see if they can reopen it again.

Anyways, my friend started today at 5:00 am from mehidipatnam with his wife and a kid in a ritz and reached Devanahalli by 1:00 noon without any breaks.

Regards,
Krishna.

[kcnetid]

Thanks to Kittu for the idea.
I started a new thread for this and made a post too: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post1915500

BTW: 5:00 to 13:00 in a Ritz is pretty good going. I suppose I will be doing similar times - its ~ 540 kms as per google maps if I average 70kmph, its ~ 7-8 hrs. Throw in 30-40 mins for lunch. Total time should be ~ 9hrs.

Will update this thread again with road conditions after the trip.

[kcnetid]

Most of the road is excellent. As good as any freeway I have driven in US with certain issues:

Minor issues:
1. Anatapur bypass sucks.
2. Have to go via Gooty town and the condition of road/traffic there is absolutely terrible. But this is just 2-3 kms. Road around Penukonda is not freeway too.
3. Kurnool bypass not so great.

Major issues:
1. Slow moving 3 wheelers, tractors and shared transport vehicles cause trucks to drift to right to avoid these. If you are about to overtake, this can be dangerous. No effective strategy as these small vehicles are hidden by the bulk of the truck and you cannot anticipate them. Need to use horn liberally and flash lights from waaay back.
2. Bikes, tractors, bullock carts coming in the wrong direction and that too just beside the divider in the high speed lane. At > 100kmph in my car, the wind buffeting alone can unsettle a 2 wheeler. Tractor - if you hit them, you are dead. Bullock cart - Bullock cart !!!! Bulloc....!!!......
3. Shared autos/bikes cutting across the whole 4 lanes from right corner of road to left corner across the gap in the median. You can see him but he can't see you and you can kill someone if you are not careful.
4. Underage drivers. I think I saw at least 3-4 kids < 12-14 yrs driving shared autos. They were not even tall enough to see out of the front windshield.

Else the road is a pleasure to drive in. If you start at 6:00 am from Hyd, you can actually be back in Hyd for dinner. It took me 7.5 hrs from Gachibowli to IndiraNagar CMH Road. Started at ~ 7:45 and reached by ~ 3:30/3:45 with a stop for fuel and another for tea. Had a heavy breakfast and did not stop for lunch.
FE of ~ 14.5 kmpl in my Cedia sports. Single occupancy but A/C through out.


Hyd to B'lore - ~ 7 hrs but with a 15-20 mins for lunch and 10-15 mins waiting at train crossing.
Better get fuel before Shadnagar on the way to Hyd. New road between Shaadnagar and Shamshabad and hence no petrol bunk for quite a distance. I drove about 20 kms hoping that my fuel does not run out.

I drove at pretty high speeds on the way back - pushed the Cedia sports. FE was still > 12 kmpl. Appreciated the ABS disc brakes quite a few times when suicidal maniacs came in opposite direction on the freeway.

GPS was a life saver in B'lore. Except for the roads closed due to Metro work, it navigated me very well and knew most of the 1-way roads too. It took me around the destination a couple of times but thats pretty OK considering its B'lore.

Will suggest people to drive down - its pretty convenient. I should say that highways in India are definitely becoming world class.

Smug on buying the Cedia.

[samabhi]

How good is this Anantapur Bypass road Condition? Is it really worth taking this or going through the town will be better?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by samabhi

How good is this Anantapur Bypass road Condition? Is it really worth taking this or going through the town will be better?

Just follow the NH7 & the deviations marked and you wont be disappointed.Hyd-Blr easily doable in 8.5 to 9hrs with an early morning start.

[sriturl]

Originally Posted by samabhi

How good is this Anantapur Bypass road Condition? Is it really worth taking this or going through the town will be better?

Just stick to the bypass as you would do normally. nothing major, but because the other parts of NH are perfect, you feel that this is bad

[kcnetid]

Originally Posted by sriturl

Just stick to the bypass as you would do normally. nothing major, but because the other parts of NH are perfect, you feel that this is bad

I would recommend the same. The bypass is just a few short kms and will definitely be better than navigating the town internal roads.

[Torqy]

Once i was coming back to Bangalore from Hyderabad, no idea where i took the wrong turn, i ended up in Hindupur.
Then i had to take the Doddaballapur route.

-- Torqy

[ranjitp1]

With the NH7 complete now,there is no more scope for any wrong turns,so rest assured if you stick to the NH7 you would land up in Hyd

[AutoB]

Am planning to drive from Hyderabad to Puttaparthi next month. From the recent posts it seems like most of the highway to Bangalore is good except Anantapur bypass/flyover. When is that likely to be ready?

Also, where should I take off from the NH? There is a route via ATP and DMM but someone told me you can go further on the highway and take a left a little after ATP.

[sriturl]

Originally Posted by AutoB

Am planning to drive from Hyderabad to Puttaparthi next month. From the recent posts it seems like most of the highway to Bangalore is good except Anantapur bypass/flyover. When is that likely to be ready?

Also, where should I take off from the NH? There is a route via ATP and DMM but someone told me you can go further on the highway and take a left a little after ATP.

Donot worry about ATP bypass, that is perfectly fine.
To go to SSPN, you can get off NH7 at Guttur/Gutturu before Penukonda.

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India to Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, India - Google Maps