[andyonwheels]

As December approaches, my excitement levels keep rising for this roadtrip, especially since my ride has arrived!

Attaching my itinerary in excel format here. The sheet has info on distance, buffered travel time, night halts. Also, here is a the Google Map Link to the route.

Below is the route am planning on doing -
Bangalore-Pune-Ahmedabad-Abu-Kumbalgarh-Ranakpur-Jodhpur-Osian-Ramdevra-Jaisalmer-Bikaner-Sujangarh (native)-Ratlam-Ajanta Caves-Kolhapur-Bangalore

Distance - 5100 kms.
Days - 16n/17d

I have already received some inputs here and am looking forward to learning more from fellow comrades. Will be great to hear from anyone who has travelled these routes for any tips and suggestions. Also am open to changing the route and location based on suggestions and ideas here.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by andyonwheels

As December approaches, my excitement levels keep rising for this roadtrip, especially since my ride has arrived!

Attaching my itinerary in excel format here. The sheet has info on distance, buffered travel time, night halts. Also, here is a the Google Map Link to the route.

Below is the route am planning on doing -
Bangalore-Pune-Ahmedabad-Abu-Kumbalgarh-Ranakpur-Jodhpur-Osian-Ramdevra-Jaisalmer-Bikaner-Sujangarh (native)-Ratlam-Ajanta Caves-Kolhapur-Bangalore

Distance - 5100 kms.
Days - 16n/17d

I have already received some inputs here and am looking forward to learning more from fellow comrades. Will be great to hear from anyone who has travelled these routes for any tips and suggestions. Also am open to changing the route and location based on suggestions and ideas here.

Some thoughts on your plan:

I would bypass Bombay region by taking the Airoli-Mulund bridge & not via Kalwa/ Thane as indicated by you.

I would avoid the Ankleswar-Bharuch bypass & go through the towns (& GOlden Bridge) to avoid the perpetual traffic jams in the bypass.

I would not stop in Ahmedabad - unnecessary to get into the town. Instead I would continue to Palanpur or Mt Abu itself.

I would take the SP Ring Road from the Baroda-A'bad expressway to avoid getting into the city & also for easier navigation.

Unsure about the condition of the BIkaner-Benisar-Sujangarh road. Perhaps I would take the Bikaner-Nagaur-Sujangarh route. Also an opportunity to visit the Karni Mata Temple at Deshnoke on the way.

Chittorgarh-Nimbahera road is hell for nearly 30 kms & you should also face big traffic jams.

I would stick to NH3 till DHule & then take NH6 to Jalgaon.

[andyonwheels]

Thanks a lot HVK for going through the route and sharing your views. Will do the passes as suggested.
Any idea if the recent floods in the Gujarat region has affected the roads from Mumbai to Ahmedabad?

[quote=hvkumar;3271304]

I would not stop in Ahmedabad - unnecessary to get into the town. Instead I would continue to Palanpur or Mt Abu itself.

I need to stop here a night as we have family here to visit.

Unsure about the condition of the BIkaner-Benisar-Sujangarh road. Perhaps I would take the Bikaner-Nagaur-Sujangarh route. Also an opportunity to visit the Karni Mata Temple at Deshnoke on the way.

Thanks for the alternate suggestion. Will look into this.

I would stick to NH3 till DHule & then take NH6 to Jalgaon.

Would i need to touch Jalgaon from Dhule to reach Ajanta? Maps show Dhule>Erandol>Neri>Ajanta Caves.


If you get a chance, will be great to know of your views if the itinerary (in the attached Excel sheet in my earlier post), no. of nights in a place and the start times makes sense or is it just driving (as that would annoy my family quite a bit). We are mentally prepared for the distance, but at the same time, if I do not space out the journey well enough, will tire everyone involved. Looking at the excel sheet does scare me a wee-bit and am starting to wonder if there is a way to simplify the trip. So any suggestions on this front will greatly help.

Thanks,

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by andyonwheels

Any idea if the recent floods in the Gujarat region has affected the roads from Mumbai to Ahmedabad?

No impact. Roads are all fine.

Would i need to touch Jalgaon from Dhule to reach Ajanta? Maps show Dhule>Erandol>Neri>Ajanta Caves.

I would stick to the main roads, and the Dhule-Jalgaon-Ajanta is a decent road.

If you get a chance, will be great to know of your views if the itinerary (in the attached Excel sheet in my earlier post), no. of nights in a place and the start times makes sense or is it just driving (as that would annoy my family quite a bit). We are mentally prepared for the distance, but at the same time, if I do not space out the journey well enough, will tire everyone involved. Looking at the excel sheet does scare me a wee-bit and am starting to wonder if there is a way to simplify the trip. So any suggestions on this front will greatly help.

Thanks,

I saw the excel, looks fine to me. Driving holidays are always like this. Make sure you leave early morning to beat annoying commuter traffic on highways around small towns.

[andyonwheels]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I saw the excel, looks fine to me. Driving holidays are always like this. Make sure you leave early morning to beat annoying commuter traffic on highways around small towns.

Thanks HVK for looking into the sheet (has given me a breather of sorts and faith as well ) and for the tip on leaving early morning - i agree city traffic and commuter traffic on highways is very annoying.

[parvezshah]

Hi need help in putting some structure in our ride plan

we are starting our ride from 21st December and plan is to be on road till jan 4th.

following is the unstructured plan
Bangalore --> Lonar crater -- xyz --> jaisalmer (can we pitch our own tent on dune)--> xyz ---> kutch(can we pitch our own tent -- do/see what is to be done in kutch ) --> xyz --> goa -- >bangalore

need help in replacing xyz with some point.
need help in planning how to make most of Kutch and jaisalmer (read all the thread on kutch but still cant make a checklist)

This ride was planned for kutch and jaisalmer, rest of the places are incidental.

idea is to enjoy road.. desert .. kutch .. not much of fort lovers but definitely foodies.
can we squeeze gir forest ?

[sdp1975]

I'm planning on a Rajasthan trip during the Dussehra holidays from Oct 17 - Nov 1 covering the usual tourist places like Udaipur , Mt Abu, Jaisalmer, Pushkar, Jodhpur and Jaipur.

How is the tourist rush that time ? Are hotels generally available or prior reservations necessary ?