[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by Sandy28

Reviving an old thread. I am planing a Bangalore-Bhutan family road trip in end March. I plan to take breaks at Tirupati (day 1), Srikakulam (Day 2), Kharagpur or Kolkatta (day 3)and Siliguri (day 4).

Request all to pl share details on the Bangalore to Kolkata route? How is the road condition? Is the above plan doable? Any stretch that I need to be careful? Please help me with the details to help me plan the trip.

Thanks

I may drive down to Kolkata from Bangalore in the next few days and have similar questions. Picked up the following points and will be good to understand more

Congestion outside Vijaywada, does it still happen

How to bypass Rajamundhry, would want to avoid getting into the city

Any chokepoints in Orissa/WB

The following thread is helpful, great if recent folks on the route can comment

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...e-kolkata.html

[condor]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Congestion outside Vijaywada, does it still happen

Any chokepoints in Orissa/WB

As reported by a friend, Yes about Vijayawada. Not much seen upto BBS / Cuttack.

[hothatchaway]

Here’s a trip report of my recent drive to Kolkata from Bangalore -



Bangalore to Tirupati – after the first 110 kms of four laned bliss, you negotiate a two laned nightmare with roadwork and homicidal trucks coming at you right upto Chittoor. Things improve from there till Tirupati as tarmac is superb, but mostly undivided two lane with shoulder. Watch out for fast and furious types staking their (and yours) lives for an overtake. Stopped at the Heritage factory outlet for some flavoured lassi. Enough eateries/rest stops enroute


Tirupati to Naidupet – two laned patchy tarmac. Made me wonder if I should have gone via Hyderabad.

Nellore to Vijaywada – the standard 4 lane experience, the types which make you feel drowsy behind the wheel and I welcomed it. Dedicated Fastag lanes at all three toll booths in this sector with a guard ensuring other vehicles don’t pass. Adequate eateries enroute

Vijaywada to Rajahmundry you have to take NH5 which passes through the city. Road surface is excellent but only two lane along with 2 wheelers/pedestrians all on a death wish. I had an emergency braking moment myself. Two toll plazas immediately after V’wada do not accept fastag. Followed NH5 to Rajahmundry and found the surface to be extremely patchy, with my pocket rocket (K10) thudding from one pothole to another. While there are alternate routes to cross Godavari into Rajahmundry, I decided to stick to the main highway since it was evening by then and dark. From there till Vizag its smooth highways again.
Odisha – Inviting tarmac and equally bad road sense with 2 wheelers/pedestrians/cows all bent on committing hara-kiri. No dedicated lanes for Fastag. Not too many eateries enroute and one may have to take small detours off the highway to OTDC resorts for food.

South Bengal – Kolkata- excellent tarmac on the Kharagpur bypass and dedicated Fastag enabled toll booths. Bad truck traffic at Uluberia which I discovered to my peril if you enter after 10 PM

Did 1075 kms on Day 1 leaving at 5AM from Bangalore and reaching Vizag at midnight. Finished the remaining 910 kms the next day leaving at 830 AM and reaching home in Kolkata at 1 AM. Would have reached 90 minutes earlier if not for the truck snarl.

Distance covered – 1982 kms, fuel consumed – 103 litres. Toll paid – 1900 approx (need to check the fastag report)

[Sandy28]

Thank you very much for this detailed report. I have been looking for more details of this stretch as I will be driving enroute to Bhutan. I have few more questions which I have embedded in your quote if you can help. Thanks

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Here’s a trip report of my recent drive to Kolkata from Bangalore -

Bangalore to Tirupati – after the first 110 kms of four laned bliss, you negotiate a two laned nightmare with roadwork and homicidal trucks coming at you right upto Chittoor.

Tirupati to Naidupet – two laned patchy tarmac. Made me wonder if I should have gone via Hyderabad.

Followed NH5 to Rajahmundry and found the surface to be extremely patchy, with my pocket rocket (K10) thudding from one pothole to another.

How bad are these patches? Will they slow you considerably? My plan is to start by 2 pm and end the day at Ongole.


While there are alternate routes to cross Godavari into Rajahmundry, I decided to stick to the main highway since it was evening by then and dark. From there till Vizag its smooth highways again.

Google map shows a route from Elluru-Nallajerla-Devrapalli-Godavari fourth bridge-Rajmundry bypass. Are you referring to this as the alternate route? Since I will be on this stretch in the morning, do you recommend taking this route?


Odisha – Inviting tarmac and equally bad road sense with 2 wheelers/pedestrians/cows all bent on committing hara-kiri.

How difficult was it to cross the AP-Odisha border? I have heard that there are heavy truck traffic and you can easily loose couple of hours to cross the border.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by Sandy28

Thank you very much for this detailed report. I have been looking for more details of this stretch as I will be driving enroute to Bhutan. I have few more questions which I have embedded in your quote if you can help. Thanks

Here you go

How bad are these patches? Will they slow you considerably? My plan is to start by 2 pm and end the day at Ongole. -

50 odd kms between Bangalore to Tirupati is pretty bad as roadwork is ongoing. Uptill Naidupet, again patch tarmac. Broken tarmac between V'wada and R'mundry, nothing that a high GC/plush suspension ala Punto/Linea cannot handle



Google map shows a route from Elluru-Nallajerla-Devrapalli-Godavari fourth bridge-Rajmundry bypass. Are you referring to this as the alternate route? Since I will be on this stretch in the morning, do you recommend taking this route?
Yes there is a bypass and I did see the turnoff but decided to stick to the main HW as it was already night. I have read that the alternate road is good and scenic passing through villages, think can be tried during the day.




How difficult was it to cross the AP-Odisha border? I have heard that there are heavy truck traffic and you can easily loose couple of hours to cross the border.
There was absolutely nothing. Maybe with GST this practice is now a thing of the past. I crossed into Orissa around 11 AM

[nerd1200]

Completed the Kolkata >> Bangalore trip yesterday. Few pointers below.

• Since I was travelling with family wanted to keep the driving time under 14 hours per day. Hence had halted at Vizag on Day-1 and Tirupati on Day-2. Reached Bangalore on Day-3.
• Compared to highways down south, there are minimal number of good restaurants on the highways of WB, OD or AP. There are dhabas and smaller eateries available, but I really missed the regular A2Bs, CCDs etc. that I am used to. Hence I'd recommend to stick to the cities.
• The highways on AP upto Vijaywada are really quite irritating to drive on. There are small towns every 10-15 KMs and barricading by AP Police near the junctions. These become traffic bottlenecks and will slow you down considerably. A bunch of them are also positioned dangerously like right after exiting a curve.
• In the same stretch there aren't any dedicated Fastag lanes. In some plazas, they were really reluctant to bring out the hand-scanners.
• Nellore to Tirupati: Google was suggesting me to take a diversion before Gudur and continue through the villages which is a really bad option. It's advisable to continue on the highway till Naidupeta and take a right.
• Even for the Naidupeta route, there is an incorrect recommendation. Thhe part circled is closed as there is construction going on. Take a right from the junction squared off instead.
  
• Tirupati-Mulbagal is again a nightmare due to the ongoing four-laning work.

Total Tolls paid - Rs. 2031

[FORTified]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Here you go


Google map shows a route from Elluru-Nallajerla-Devrapalli-Godavari fourth bridge-Rajmundry bypass. Are you referring to this as the alternate route? Since I will be on this stretch in the morning, do you recommend taking this route?
Yes there is a bypass and I did see the turnoff but decided to stick to the main HW as it was already night. I have read that the alternate road is good and scenic passing through villages, think can be tried during the day.

Don't worry about Rajahmundry bypass.
The NH doesn't really go thru the city. It goes from outside.
However, you can bypass Visakhapatnam, if you wish to.
Just before Anakapalle, you need to take a left turn, to take Sabbavaram-Anandapuram bypass. This will completely avoid Vizag and tons of traffic and get you to the otherside of Vizag. Note that the NH goes thru most of the traffic pain points of Vizag and you can easily save 2+ hours if you use the bypass.

[anjan_73]

Doing a road trip from Bangalore Kolkata Bangalore on 26 Jul 2018 anything to lookout for or avoid?

[prasanna_indaje]

Hello everyone,
Please advise on the following drive plan and let me know if any changes are required:
Day 1: Bangalore - Tirupati (Planning to leave by 3.30 PM)
Day 2 : Tirupati - Srikakulam (Planning to leave by 4 AM)
Day 3 : Srikakulam - Kolkata (Planning to leave by 4 AM)
Day 4 : Kolkata - Siliguri ( Planning to leave by 4 AM) Via SH7 and NH12

Also, would there be any benefit if I chose to stay in Durgapur / Bardhaman, instead of Kolkata on Day 3?

Do we still drive on the 'wrong' side of the lane to bypass trucks in Odisha border?

Any suggestions on by-pass roads to take or avoid?

Thanks.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by prasanna_indaje

Hello everyone,
Please advise on the following drive plan and let me know if any changes are required:
Day 1: Bangalore - Tirupati (Planning to leave by 3.30 PM)
Day 2 : Tirupati - Srikakulam (Planning to leave by 4 AM)
Day 3 : Srikakulam - Kolkata (Planning to leave by 4 AM)
Day 4 : Kolkata - Siliguri ( Planning to leave by 4 AM) Via SH7 and NH12

Also, would there be any benefit if I chose to stay in Durgapur / Bardhaman, instead of Kolkata on Day 3?

Do we still drive on the 'wrong' side of the lane to bypass trucks in Odisha border?

Any suggestions on by-pass roads to take or avoid?

Thanks.

You can probably go a little ahead towards Kalahasti on day 1 and stay there. The APTDC resort is right next to the road and is a VFM place to stay.

There's no congestion at the OD border after GST implementation. I avoid entering cities and wouldn't enter Kolkata for staying.

[prasanna_indaje]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

You can probably go a little ahead towards Kalahasti on day 1 and stay there. The APTDC resort is right next to the road and is a VFM place to stay.
There's no congestion at the OD border after GST implementation. I avoid entering cities and wouldn't enter Kolkata for staying.

Thanks @sdp1975. I have booked a room at Harita APTDC, Srikalahasti.
And , I will try reach Bardhaman on day 3, instead of halting at Kolkata.

[justwheels]

Info and help needed to plan my long trip from Bangalore to Kolkata starting in 5 days.
I am driving with wife on-board to Kolkata from Bangalore on my Ecosport. The plan is detailed as below, please do advise if any issues with the plan or any alternatives.

27th Sep (Friday) : Leave Bangalore at 5 PM to Chennai
28th Sep (Saturday) : Leave early morning to Visakhapatnam (reach by late evening)
29th Sep (Sunday) : Leave for Araku by train
30th Sep (Monday) : Visakhapatnam city visit
1st Oct : Start early for Kolkata (reach by late evening)

The reason I plan to go via Chennai is that I wanted to have a night halt somewhere prior to reaching Visakhapatnam as the very next day I have to leave for Araku by 6:30 AM train. If I reach late, it will be hectic for family. Don't know if I should go to Tirupati and reach by midnight and stay there. Chennai route is very familiar, hence the choice.

Do advise if this makes sense or Tirupati route can be taken for the nigh halt?

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by justwheels

Do advise if this makes sense or Tirupati route can be taken for the nigh halt?

If your eventual destination is Vizag or Calcutta, doesn't make sense to do Tirupati or Madras or day 0. Instead do Hyderabad, or Vijayawada if you are a nocturnal

Chittoor-Tirupati-Naidupeta is a high traffic zone at nights. Walajapet-Madras is now a patched up road and Madras-Tada had diversions for more than a decade now, with no sign of finishing.

[justwheels]

Originally Posted by narayans80

If your eventual destination is Vizag or Calcutta, doesn't make sense to do Tirupati or Madras or day 0. Instead do Hyderabad, or Vijayawada if you are a nocturnal

Chittoor-Tirupati-Naidupeta is a high traffic zone at nights. Walajapet-Madras is now a patched up road and Madras-Tada had diversions for more than a decade now, with no sign of finishing.

Hi Narayan,

Thanks for your inputs. Hyderabad route does sound good. Any inputs on how the road is from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam?
Hitting Vijayawada on Day 0 might be a stretch for family, since I will only start by 6 pm feom Bangalore and will eventually delay reaching visakhapatnam next day. So I can plan to stay at Hyd to reduce next day travel and reach by evening.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by justwheels

Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam

All sections are 4-laned. Only challenge is bypassing Vijayawada. There was a youtube video on this sometime back on this.