[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

This is the standard Bangalore - Bombay road right? I ask cause I did this stretch on my motorcycle back in 2006.

Yes

Can I take this route as a 3 day road trip considering I drive only when there is daylight?

Pune-Udaipur on the Lebad route is a day drive

[bhavtol]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I am starting from Bangalore.

This is the standard Bangalore - Bombay road right? I ask cause I did this stretch on my motorcycle back in 2006.

Can I take this route as a 3 day road trip considering I drive only when there is daylight?

Pune to indore is 600 kms. 11 hrs in day . Pune to udaipur can be done in one day
Provided u start early. Bit stretching it though

[pramodpk]

I want to undertake a road trip to Rajasthan. I have the following queries.

1. Is August a good time to do the trip.

2. I will have 10 days for the trip. Would it be possible to do the trip in this time?

3. I will be travelling with my wife and 3.5 years old daughter. Is it safe? I will only drive during the day. All of us are accustomed to long drives as we make 4- 6 trips a year to Kerala by car. My wife also can drive but I rarely let her drive.

4. It has to be a road trip as i enjoy the drive as much as the destination.

5. Are there any alternatives other than Rajasthan?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

1. Is August a good time to do the trip.

2. I will have 10 days for the trip. Would it be possible to do the trip in this time?

3. I will be travelling with my wife and 3.5 years old daughter. Is it safe? I will only drive during the day. All of us are accustomed to long drives as we make 4- 6 trips a year to Kerala by car. My wife also can drive but I rarely let her drive.

4. It has to be a road trip as i enjoy the drive as much as the destination.

We drove across RJ the same time a couple of years back.No problems whatsoever unless this year has some freaky rains for the region.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...than-m800.html

[andyonwheels]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

I want to undertake a road trip to Rajasthan. I have the following queries.

1. Is August a good time to do the trip.

Did the trip work out for you, Pramod?

(mods - i posted a similar query earlier, which did not come through)

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by andyonwheels

Did the trip work out for you, Pramod?

(mods - i posted a similar query earlier, which did not come through)

No. I did not proceed further as it requires lot of planning. Will do it sometime. Not sure when

[andyonwheels]

I am planning on the roadtrip from Bangalore to Rajasthan during the X'mas - New Year period.

2+2 (both enthusiastic kids ),
16-18 days in hand,
Single driver
(probability of 2nd car joining for length of trip)

Looking for views, general tips and practicality of route, in particular the return trip.
Google map links attached.

Route Option 1 - Bangalore-Pune-Ahmedabad-Rajasthan-Bhopal-Nagpur-Hyderabad Bangalore

Route Option 2 - (This allows for a visit to the famous Ajanta Ellora Caves)
Bangalore-Pune-Ahmedabad-Rajasthan-Ratlam (MP)-Ajanta Caves (Aurangabad) - Solapur - Bangalore

[andyonwheels]

Originally Posted by ampere

In fact I would suggest a better option. A bit longer though.

Hyderabad-Solapur-Baramati-Nagar-Malegaon-Dhule-Indore bypass (Pithampur) - Lebad - Ratlam - Chittorh - Jaipur.

This also gives an option to visit Shirdi on the way. Would rather avoid locations around Beed. Check with @Ashish Pallod more details.

Sorry forgot to add road conditions:

- Beyond Indore its 4 lane all the way
- Hyd - Baramati is NH9. Not a 4 lane.
- Baramati-Nagar-Malegon : Decent road and this goes via Shirdi

Am planning on a similar stretch - Rajasthan (Sujangarh) -Ratlam (MP)-Ajanta / Ellora Caves (Aurangabad) - Solapur - Bangalore

Route Map LINK

You mentioned avoiding Beed. Is it ghat section, bad roads or safety issues?

SInce it's a return trip and considering the distance and tour we would have already taken and given the passengers mentioned earlier, I only would take this stretch (for a visit to the Ellora Caves) if its comfortable enough with good and safe (security-wise) roads. Else, plan to return via the Nagpur - Hyderabad stretch to Bangalore.

Any inputs will greatly help in planning for the trip.

(Dear mods - kindly merge my last post with this post - thanks!)

[ampere]

Originally Posted by andyonwheels

You mentioned avoiding Beed. Is it ghat section, bad roads or safety issues?

SInce it's a return trip and considering the distance and tour we would have already taken and given the passengers mentioned earlier, I only would take this stretch (for a visit to the Ellora Caves) if its comfortable enough with good and safe (security-wise) roads. Else, plan to return via the Nagpur - Hyderabad stretch to Bangalore.

Any inputs will greatly help in planning for the trip.

- Are you coming back to Bangalore or Hyd? If Bangalore, then you dont need to go to Solapur. You can take Ajanta/Ellora-Nagar-Pune-Bangalore.

- But note roads around Shirdi/Ajanta/Ellora are quite bad.
- Nagar-Pune road is a 4-lane, but has huge traffic.

[andyonwheels]

Originally Posted by ampere

- Are you coming back to Bangalore or Hyd? If Bangalore, then you dont need to go to Solapur. You can take Ajanta/Ellora-Nagar-Pune-Bangalore.

- But note roads around Shirdi/Ajanta/Ellora are quite bad.
- Nagar-Pune road is a 4-lane, but has huge traffic.

Thanks for the suggestion, Amp.
Yes, will be returning back to Bangalore.

Any idea on the Kishangarh-Chittorgarh-Ratlam-Jalgaon-Ajanta Ellora caves stretch? How the roads fare all the way from Rajasthan to the caves?
Also, guessing Nagar-Pune is Ahmednagar-Pune, right?

And what is a suggested pit-stop (night halt) enroute Ajanta-Ellora to Bangalore? Would Kolhapur via Ahmednagar-Satara be ideal?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by andyonwheels

Any idea on the Kishangarh-Chittorgarh-Ratlam-Jalgaon-Ajanta Ellora caves stretch? How the roads fare all the way from Rajasthan to the caves?

Amazing 4-lane from Kishangarh to Lebad via Ratlam. Then you bypass Indore via Pithampur. Good roads till Dhule.

No idea about Jalgaon section. Aurangabad has all kinds of hotels for all kinds of budgets.

Also, guessing Nagar-Pune is Ahmednagar-Pune, right?

Yes that is correct.

[andyonwheels]

Originally Posted by ampere

Aurangabad has all kinds of hotels for all kinds of budgets.

Thanks for the info on the stretch from Rajasthan to Dhule.

Sorry wasn't clear initially - i was referring to 'what would be an ideal city/town for an over-night halt in between Aurangabad and Bangalore'?
I was thinking maybe Kolhapur.

On a different note:
am looking for some inputs on the practicality of the overall route and distance planned, which stands at about 5200kms with 16-18 days in hand, considering it will be a single driver, wife, 2 kids and also involve sight-seeing. The itinerary being planned is a mix of 1N to 3-4N stays in different locations, so that does make it a bit well-spaced out, i think.

As a family, we all love the driving experience in general, but we have never done a stretch beyond 2000 kms (in 7days) together.
Tiny caveat - It was in this trip in 2010 that I also threw up in one of the stretches from Vijayawada to Hyderabad. The highway had bumper to bumper lorry traffic and I had just had some heavy dinner. I still get ridiculed for that.

Some experienced opinions and tips will be greatly helpful.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by andyonwheels

Sorry wasn't clear initially - i was referring to 'what would be an ideal city/town for an over-night halt in between Aurangabad and Bangalore'?
I was thinking maybe Kolhapur.

Kolhapur is a good choice. Raysons Regency and Skylark are the two best places out there. If you can push further by another 2 hours you can also hit Belgaum. Sankam is a good place. (A month back I returned from Shirdi and broke journey at Belgaum. While going to Shirdi we broke journey at Kolhapur).

Kolhapur also gives you the option of visiting Mahalakashmi temple there, if you are interested.

On a different note:
am looking for some inputs on the practicality of the overall route and distance planned, which stands at about 5200kms with 16-18 days in hand, considering it will be a single driver, wife, 2 kids and also involve sight-seeing. The itinerary being planned is a mix of 1N to 3-4N stays in different locations, so that does make it a bit well-spaced out, i think.

If the roads are good and if you distribute the ride accordingly, it should not be a problem at all.

As a family, we all love the driving experience in general, but we have never done a stretch beyond 2000 kms (in 7days) together.

Well there is always a first to every thing !

Some experienced opinions and tips will be greatly helpful.

One thing is to never get carried by how much we can cover. We don't achieve anything by that. We need to know our limits. Few members can drive much longer durations than us. But that should not set a precedent to us.

Last but not least, a break at a good hotel at the end of the day is always refreshing. I always look forward to that !

[Drivethru]

Originally Posted by andyonwheels

Thanks for the info on the stretch from Rajasthan to Dhule.

Sorry wasn't clear initially - i was referring to 'what would be an ideal city/town for an over-night halt in between Aurangabad and Bangalore'?
I was thinking maybe Kolhapur.

On a different note:
am looking for some inputs on the practicality of the overall route and distance planned, which stands at about 5200kms with 16-18 days in hand, considering it will be a single driver, wife, 2 kids and also involve sight-seeing. The itinerary being planned is a mix of 1N to 3-4N stays in different locations, so that does make it a bit well-spaced out, i think.

As a family, we all love the driving experience in general, but we have never done a stretch beyond 2000 kms (in 7days) together.
Tiny caveat - It was in this trip in 2010 that I also threw up in one of the stretches from Vijayawada to Hyderabad. The highway had bumper to bumper lorry traffic and I had just had some heavy dinner. I still get ridiculed for that.

Some experienced opinions and tips will be greatly helpful.

In addition to the valued inputs from Ampere, my few tips

Please paste an yellow sticker on your right headlight while driving in Gujarat. This is mandatory in Gujarat. Will save time / effort / money if Gujarat Police were to stop you.

Hotel Opal is also a decent option in Kolhapur. I have stayed in Hotel Atria which was average.

Kishangarh / Ajmer - Recommend stay in Country Inn & Suites By Carlson Ajmer

Good points for hunger / food break:

Mc Donalds near Surat on NH8,
Mc Donalds in Kolhapur. CCD next to Mc donalds Kolhapur on NH4
Kamats at Davangere and Ranebennur on NH4
Food court on Baroda - Ahmedabad expressway NH8
Naveens regency at Chitradurga NH4
Valley view resort, Udaipur (Plot No.10 Nr. Maa Gayatri Hospital, Pratapnagar, Udaipur +91 8107 172222) Adjacent to highway

There is serious shortage of hygenic rest rooms in this country and Mc Donalds seems to atleast solve that problem.

I think 550-700 kms is a decent distance to cover in a day depending on road conditions, traffic, weather and ability to drive safely.

Have a safe trip

[andyonwheels]

Thanks for the insights, Amp and Drivethru.

So it looks like the route planned (map link) is a good one.
If anyone has any other suggestions / pointers, most welcome. Will help plan the trip immensely.

I know the Lonavala stretch will be a good scenic drive.
Wondering what are the roads will mother nature offer the pleasure of scenic beauty on-route.