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For a weekday morning start, Mysore road route is fine.
Advantage is that there are lots of options to break, especially when traveling with family. Most eateries open around 6:45am, so 5:30am start will be good.
Bangalore-Mysore is 4 laned and after that it's all undivided 2 laned roads.

You can turn off towards Hunsur road at Srirangapatna going via Eliwala (power grid plant en route) or go till the Columbia Asia hospital junction and turn right onto Mysore ring road. On this road there is a hotel/restaurant called Kalyani which can be a good stop for breakfast. With this one, you would have already crossed Mysore, but maybe you want to start by 5am ?

Alternate route is also good and goes via estates and twisty sections via Somwarpet. Most options for breaks are till the turn off near Channarayapatna (this is the Bangalore-Hassan/Mangalore route and is also 4 laned). Once you turn off at CR Patna, it's 2 laned undivided roads all the way.

I have driven two round trips, both were from Hassan. I only know conditions beyond Holenarsipur.

Beyond Holenarsipur, except for a small stretch between Konnanur and Ramanathapura which is narrow rest of the route is in great shape and hardly any traffic.

Please do watchout for marked and unmarked speed breakers, so I won't suggest speeding post a ton, even though the road conditions are capable of more than that.

From NH48/75 it should take 2 hours to reach Kushalnagar. So I'd suggest to have something on the highway or wait until Kushalnagar where you have lot of options.

Just wanted to add this bit:
As @rajivtelang and @narayans80 have mentioned, you can take the Arkalgud-Ramanathapura-Madikeri route thereby avoiding Somwarpet.

However, Somwarpet is a driver's delight :D, but now that Shiradi ghat is closed, I'm not sure if it sees too much traffic.

How is the Hassan-Gorur-Arakalagud? GMaps kept screaming to take the Gorur route from Arakalagud when I returned 2 weeks back. I was driving in fading light and didn't want to take a chance and ended up taking the Holenarsipur route then. So I am curious :)

This I agree, atleast in Holenarsipur there are proper signages, Arakalagud and beyond had literally none!

From what I have learnt through few friends of mine, this is now ready with wide, fresh and marked road. BHPian Klub_Class had even sent me pictures of the route taken by his parents via Ramnathapura - Arkalgud - Gorur - Hassan 2 weeks back where he mentioned the the roads are good now.

Last I took was an year before when work was still in progress on this stretch.

Personally, I would really not be worried about signage today when Maps come to rescue. I am not referring to areas around here but if one does a proper homework of noting down the via points of the planned route to be taken, there are very less chances of getting confused. All one needs to do is keep checking at every intersection on where your current position is and as per the planned route (only when confused), what should ideally be the next point/place/town on your route.

This is one reason I have a thumb-rule : Always mention as many via points between Point A and B when it is an unusual route so it always helps to trace the same route under any situation where there is ambiguity.

No wonder Google Aunty was showing about 30 mins gain over the Holenarsipur route at Arakalagud.

Thank you all for the tips on the route options! I think the most popular route is the one vide Channarayapatna and Holenarsipur.

I am thinking that if I manage to start by say, 5:30 from my house ( I stay near Phoenix mall, ITPL road ) then I will take the conventional Mysore Road via NICE and then take the exit before Columbia Asia to Madikeri. That way I would have probably crossed the traffic prone sections before breakfast.

If I get late or start after 6:30, then I think the one via Nelamangala, Channarayapatna is the better option.

Or do you guys think that the Mysore route is to be avoided irrespective of the time I start?

Weekday travel, so if you start before 6am, take Mysore road else the Nelamangala-Channarayapatna route.

With the early start+Mysore road option, you can plan to stop for breakfast at Kalyani on the Mysore ring road - ideal stop since you'd have crossed Mysore :)
Look this up on maps, it's a good place to break.

If you turn off near Srirangapatna and go via Eliwala, you will have to plan your breakfast stop elsewhere on the Bangalore-Mysore road before Srirangapatna, but there are several options too.

Thanks for the above input! I did exactly the same! Started from my home in Whitefield, Bangalore at around 5:45 AM, reached Mysore around 8:30. Took a breakfast break at Kalyani, and then reached Madikeri at around 11:00. At Madikeri now for the next 3 days.

But even in the morning the Bangalore- Mysore Road was extremely busy.

I am leaving Madikeri on Thursday afternoon, so my guess is that then the Mysore—Bangalore highway is ruled out? I should look at the other route via Channarayapatna and Holenarsipur?

From Madikeri you can either take Somwarpet route (scenic and goes via estates, not really a ghat road with hairpin bends but winding, avoid if you have people with motion sickness) or take Kushalnagar-Ramanathapura-Arkalgud. Both routes are same from Arkalgud to Bangalore.

The other option would be to drive Madikeri - Hunsur and then from Hunsur you do Hunsur - KR Nagar - Hampapura - Holenarasipura - CR Patna - Nelamangala - Bangalore.

The one downside (If I may call it so) would be to drive Madikeri - Kushalnagar - Hunsur which will be a common route for most but after this the route will be nearly empty and straight all the way to Bangalore. This is extremely suitable if one wants to avoid narrow and twisty roads although Madikeri - Kushalnagar would still have its own share of twists and turns but the roads are wider.

Why go till Hunsur? Wouldn't taking Periyapatna-Ramanathapura be a better option, this'll avoid the narrow Konnanur-Ramanathapura stretch as well.

The road is actually wide for a ghat road, its the traffic that's a pain.

Because the KR Nagar Hampapura Holenarasipura is even more wider and takes you to HN Pura. This is the same road that is known as Bilikere - Belur road connecting Belur with Elwala and designed in similar fashion by the same consortium (Walecha Engineering). If one got the taste of Belur - Hassan during the good old days till humps came up, the stretch after Hassan to Elwala is even better and less traffic prone.

End of it all, priorities will differ based on the type of roads, facilities, time saved or sections avoided; Especially if its Bangalore - Mysore (and Madikeri) and the choices are many depending on what you want.

As we learnt, the Arkalgud option is now a very good choice since its all ready :).

Indeed the case. No wonder its a favorite to reach Mangalore by night buses now which nearly avoid Charmadi.

Take Madikeri-Kushalnagar-Ramanathapura-Arakalagud-Holenarasipura-Channarayapattana-Nelamangala-Bangalore. Roads are good throughout.

Mentioned here already: