[daisyb]

@NPV - How far is Hotel Queens palace from the temple, in Rameshwaram

Madurai, Trivendrum - What other hotel options are available (Not looking for anything high-fi. Need decent rooms with car parking available)

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by daisyb

@NPV - How far is Hotel Queens palace from the temple, in Rameshwaram

If you have the budget Hotel Daiwik is an excellent one at Rameshwaram.New and extremely good.www.daiwikhotels.com Since they are new,you should be able to secure a good deal from them

[explorer09]

Am planning for a 5-day trip ( Oct 24-28 ) to Tamil Nadu from Bangalore. My must-visit spots are Kanyakumari and Rameswaram. Any other place would be subject to availability of time. In that regard, I wanted some info :-

1) If I start at 5 am from Bangalore, can I expect to be in Kanyakumari by 5-6 pm in the evening?
2) Recommended route from Kanyakumari to Rameswaram? And how much time would that take?

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by explorer09

1) If I start at 5 am from Bangalore, can I expect to be in Kanyakumari by 5-6 pm in the evening?
2) Recommended route from Kanyakumari to Rameswaram? And how much time would that take?

1. 12hrs to Kanyakumari is more than enough with 2-3 breaks as the highway is totally 4-laned, big towns bypassed etc.,
2. I took ECR last year that went via Tiruchendur and Tuticorin. We took about 8hrs with a 1.5hr break in Tiruchendur for darshan and lunch. If you take this route please ensure you know how to bypass Tuticorin. Ramanathapuram bypass was not complete then, if it is, you'll save another 10-15mins. The roads are all undivided 2 lane road, sparse traffic with salt mines on either side and the sea always with you at a short distance.

Pl. note that this route, goes via Koodankulam nuclear plant where some agitation is going on.

Prasad

[gajadonga]

Doing a round trip today from Hyderabad- Dindugul -Nilakottai-Theni-Kanjirapally-Punalur
Shenkottai-Rajapalayam-Madurai-Trichy-Hyderabad.
I have been regularly updating the road conditions from this forum thanks all you guys who have been
contributing on this thread.Will update the road conditions once I am back.Cheers.
Any decent place hotel to stay near Madurai airport.Thanks

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by gajadonga

Doing a round trip today from Hyderabad- Dindugul -Nilakottai-Theni-Kanjirapally-Punalur
Shenkottai-Rajapalayam-Madurai-Trichy-Hyderabad.
I have been regularly updating the road conditions from this forum thanks all you guys who have been
contributing on this thread.Will update the road conditions once I am back.Cheers.
Any decent place hotel to stay near Madurai airport.Thanks

IMHO,there are no hotels close to the airport.Apart from that,you might want to consider the following:

Metropole,GRT are good and reccomended.

[flycatcher]

Hello Team,
I am planning to Bangalore-Kanyakumari trip from December 22-25. Here is a brief plan
(1) Day -1: Start afternoon around 12PM - Break for the night somewhere at half way point(Dindigul?)
(2) Day-2: Visit Madurai Meenakshi temple enroute to Kanyakumari. reach Kanyakumari by noon. See the sunset
(3) Day-3: sunrise + Vivekananda rock memorial + some more sight seeing at KanyaKumari
(4) Day-4: Kanya Kumari to Bangalore

I want suggestions on the following
(1) Where to break on Day-1? recommended hotels?
(2) Accomodation at KanyaKumari(Sea facing would be good)
(3) Places to see around at KanyaKumari on Day-3.

Regarding the hotels I am looking Budget hotels. Clean rooms & bathroom ,car parking is only of concern.
Thanks a lot in advance for your suggestions!

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

Hello Team,
I am planning to Bangalore-Kanyakumari trip from December 22-25. Here is a brief plan
(1) Day -1: Start afternoon around 12PM - Break for the night somewhere at half way point(Dindigul?)
(2) Day-2: Visit Madurai Meenakshi temple enroute to Kanyakumari. reach Kanyakumari by noon. See the sunset
(3) Day-3: sunrise + Vivekananda rock memorial + some more sight seeing at KanyaKumari
(4) Day-4: Kanya Kumari to Bangalore

I want suggestions on the following
(1) Where to break on Day-1? recommended hotels?
(2) Accomodation at KanyaKumari(Sea facing would be good)
(3) Places to see around at KanyaKumari on Day-3.

Regarding the hotels I am looking Budget hotels. Clean rooms & bathroom ,car parking is only of concern.
Thanks a lot in advance for your suggestions!

You could easily do Bangalore-Madurai on day 1.12pm departure should see you reaching Madurai latest by 8pm.4laned all the way,easy drive.Plenty of hotels in Madurai depending on budget,most of them have been discussed on this thread a couple of posts earlier.

The best ones are Heritage,Gateway,Metropole http://www.the-metropolehotel.com/home.html.Apart from that a lot many budget options as well.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

Hello Team,
I am planning to Bangalore-Kanyakumari trip from December 22-25. Here is a brief plan
(1) Day -1: Start afternoon around 12PM - Break for the night somewhere at half way point(Dindigul?)
(2) Day-2: Visit Madurai Meenakshi temple enroute to Kanyakumari. reach Kanyakumari by noon. See the sunset
(3) Day-3: sunrise + Vivekananda rock memorial + some more sight seeing at KanyaKumari
(4) Day-4: Kanya Kumari to Bangalore

I want suggestions on the following
(1) Where to break on Day-1? recommended hotels?
(2) Accomodation at KanyaKumari(Sea facing would be good)
(3) Places to see around at KanyaKumari on Day-3.

Regarding the hotels I am looking Budget hotels. Clean rooms & bathroom ,car parking is only of concern.
Thanks a lot in advance for your suggestions!

On Day-1, better break at Madurai, instead of Dindigul.
You can also cover suseendram temple & Thakkalai which are close to Nagercoil & Kanyakumari.

-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

(1) Where to break on Day-1? recommended hotels?
(2) Accomodation at KanyaKumari(Sea facing would be good)
(3) Places to see around at KanyaKumari on Day-3.

A 12PM start from Bangalore would at least take 3-4 hours to Salem. Take into account a break for tea and traffic on Hosur-Krishnagiri sector.
Beyond that its a breeze driving the next 200km which you should be done in 2 to 2.5 hours. So with that you should in Madurai by 7 to 7:30.

But add extra time to reach to the designated place within the city.
Do note many good hotels in Madurai dont have parking. So you need to confirm that before you book.

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

(2) Accomodation at KanyaKumari(Sea facing would be good)

1. Kanyakumari TTDC is sea facing (but not exactly on the beach). Its on a hillock of sorts with good views of the sea in front.
2. However, I stayed in Vivekananda Kendra. They have a huge, tranquil campus and their A/c cottages are very good (Two 2-bed rooms and a large hall and dining). Dining options are limited, but the atmosphere more than makes up (and you can always drive a kilometer or so if you don't like the restaurant there). You can watch great sunrise from within their campus.

I've posted 2 pics:
Pic 1: The cottage
Pic 2: The entrance to the sea side of the campus (the door is opened in some restricted hours, but definitely during the sun rise)

[flycatcher]

Originally Posted by prasad14

1. Kanyakumari TTDC is sea facing (but not exactly on the beach). Its on a hillock of sorts with good views of the sea in front.
2. However, I stayed in Vivekananda Kendra. They have a huge, tranquil campus and their A/c cottages are very good (Two 2-bed rooms and a large hall and dining). Dining options are limited, but the atmosphere more than makes up (and you can always drive a kilometer or so if you don't like the restaurant there). You can watch great sunrise from within their campus.

I've posted 2 pics:
Pic 1: The cottage
Pic 2: The entrance to the sea side of the campus (the door is opened in some restricted hours, but definitely during the sun rise)

The second pic has sealed the deal for me. I will try to get an accommodation there. Thank you so much for this info.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

You could easily do Bangalore-Madurai on day 1.12pm departure should see you reaching Madurai latest by 8pm.4laned all the way,easy drive.Plenty of hotels in Madurai depending on budget,most of them have been discussed on this thread a couple of posts earlier.

The best ones are Heritage,Gateway,Metropole http://www.the-metropolehotel.com/home.html.Apart from that a lot many budget options as well.

I think I will break at Madurai. Any idea how long the Darshan might take at the temple?

Originally Posted by ravib

On Day-1, better break at Madurai, instead of Dindigul.
You can also cover suseendram temple & Thakkalai which are close to Nagercoil & Kanyakumari.

-Ravi

Thanks a lot will try and cover these as well.

Originally Posted by ampere

A 12PM start from Bangalore would at least take 3-4 hours to Salem. Take into account a break for tea and traffic on Hosur-Krishnagiri sector.
Beyond that its a breeze driving the next 200km which you should be done in 2 to 2.5 hours. So with that you should in Madurai by 7 to 7:30.

But add extra time to reach to the designated place within the city.
Do note many good hotels in Madurai dont have parking. So you need to confirm that before you book.

Will take precaution when booking for the hotel. Thanks for the heads up.

I shall update this thread once I am through with the planning.

[Sowmya]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

Hello Team,
I am planning to Bangalore-Kanyakumari trip from December 22-25. Here is a brief plan
(1) Day -1: Start afternoon around 12PM - Break for the night somewhere at half way point(Dindigul?)
(2) Day-2: Visit Madurai Meenakshi temple enroute to Kanyakumari. reach Kanyakumari by noon. See the sunset

Work is going on between Bangalore - Krishnagiri. This will eat up lots of your time. All diversion in the road.

Had been to Madurai recently. We stayed in Vijaya Hotel, near to the Bus Stand. Parking is available. Temple is walkable from this Hotel, you can also take auto (Rs 50) to reach temple.

[prasad14]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

The second pic has sealed the deal for me. I will try to get an accommodation there. Thank you so much for this info.

BTW, you'd need to walk for about 10-12mins to reach the 2nd pic from 1st pic! Though you see a well asphalted road, they'd keep the gates to it closed for some reason, including during the sunrise time.

Prasad

[NPV]

Originally Posted by flycatcher

I want suggestions on the following
(1) Where to break on Day-1? recommended hotels?
(2) Accomodation at KanyaKumari(Sea facing would be good)
(3) Places to see around at KanyaKumari on Day-3.

(1) Day 1 - break at Madurai. Hotel Metropole is good, tariff is around 2-2.5k
This hotel is close to the Airport ring road and very near to the NH49 (Rameswaram) highway. If you stay here, better to take an Auto/taxi to the Meenakshi temple (Auto will not be more than Rs.100).
Alternatively, you can try Hotel Supreme or New College House in the main business centre of the city.
(2) At Kanyakumari other than Vivekananda Kendra and TTDC you can also try Hotel Sea View, very good sea views from the rooms on upper floors. This hotel is very close to the ferry station for rides to the Tiruvalluvar statue and Vivekananda Rock.
(3) Also include visit to Suchindram temple and the Padmanabhapuram Palace.