[Tsixty1]

Planning for visit Gujarat between September 25 to October 7th. I am
not keen to drive all the way from Bangalore in personal car.

What I am looking for a reliable driver and taxi service who will be
with us for the whole time as we travel across Gujarat.

The itinerary will be Bangalore - > Mumbai flight, Mumbai to Ahmadabad train.

Ahmadabad
Bhavnagar
Palitana
Diu
Gir
Dwarka
Bhet Dwarka
Run of Kuch

and back to Ahmadabad or some major city and from there to Mumbai by
train and fly back to Bangalore from Mumbai.

Any help will be great.

[Tsixty1]

Originally Posted by Bapu

Do let me know if you need any other info.

No offence to moderator but looks like my question on Taxi/driver for circuit within Gujarat for 10 days is merged with this thread @ Bapu will be able to help me ? last time in Rajasthan we had two extreme experiences and that is why would appreciate if a local tips or some one who have there before.

[Bapu]

Originally Posted by Tsixty1

Planning for visit Gujarat between September 25 to October 7th. I am
not keen to drive all the way from Bangalore in personal car.

What I am looking for a reliable driver and taxi service who will be
with us for the whole time as we travel across Gujarat.

The itinerary will be Bangalore - > Mumbai flight, Mumbai to Ahmadabad train.

Ahmadabad
Bhavnagar
Palitana
Diu
Gir
Dwarka
Bhet Dwarka
Run of Kuch

and back to Ahmadabad or some major city and from there to Mumbai by
train and fly back to Bangalore from Mumbai.

Any help will be great.

Hi T-Sixty,

You can contact Naimesh Shah on 098254 73822 and give him the ref of Jay Jadeja.

He'll be able to arrange the car and driver for you.

Any specific reason for going to Mumbai and then coming to A'bad?? A'bad bangalore flights are many.

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by Bapu

Hi T-Sixty,

You can contact Naimesh Shah on 098254 73822 and give him the ref of Jay Jadeja.

He'll be able to arrange the car and driver for you.

Any specific reason for going to Mumbai and then coming to A'bad?? A'bad bangalore flights are many.

Hi,

I am planning to do a Kutch trip coming January with my family, and plan to cover the LRK and Bhuj/GRK sections.

I shall most probably put up at the Desert Coursers, Zainabad or the Rann Riders, Dasada resort while visiting LRK. Any recommendations on one among these two?

Since I shall be flying down to Ahmedabad from Bangalore, what should be the most convenient way to reach the resorts?

After seeing the LRK, I plan to directly go to Bhuj. Whatever I have read up on the internet tells me that the nearest railhead/bus station is Viramgam, but the trains to Bhuj are at unearthly hours.

Any idea if the Viramgam station has proper retiring room facilities to stay put till the arrival of the train, or do you recommend getting a hotel nearby?
What are the chances of getting a comfortable Volvo bus to Bhuj from Viramgam in the evening?

Thanks in advance.

[aryasanyal]

I plan to visit the Kutch region of Gujarat coming January (2012) with my family (wife and 4 year old son).
We shall be flying down from Bangalore to Ahmedabad and here's a brief itinerary I have come up with -

Day1:
Arrive at Ahmedabad.
Visit Sabarmati Ashram and Adalaj Vav (time permitting).
Night stay at hotel.

Day2:
Ahmedabad - Zainabad.
Take the safari ride to LRK.
Night stay at Desert Coursers.

Day3:
Take the Morning safari to the Wild A$$ Sanctuary.
Zainabad - Dholavira
Night stay at the Toran Tourist Complex, Dholavira.

Day4:
Visit the Harappan excavation site.
Dholavira - Bhuj
Night stay at Bhuj hotel.

Day5:
Visit Lakhpat/Koteshwar and the Lala Bustard Sanctuary (time permitting)
Night stay at Bhuj hotel.

Day6:
Visit India Bridge, Kala Dungar, Dhordo (White Rann)
Night stay at Bhuj hotel.

Day7:
Visit Mandvi palace and beach.
Night train to Ahmedabad from Bhuj.

Day8:
Morning flight back to Bangalore.


Questions -

1. Does the above itinerary give me enough breathing space to visit places at leisure or will it be too hectic?

2. I need hotel recommendations for all the places.
Initial plans were to stay at Mandvi Beach resort and the Shaam-e-Sarhad, but we are thinking whether it is worth the cost.

3. How do you recommend moving around the places. Buses/taxis? Govt./private?
Any suggestions regarding this would be helpful.

4. How to book the Toran Tourist Complex (Dholavira) room? No online
bookings exist on the Gujarat Tourism website.
Is it worth spending a night at Dholavira?

Please feel free to comment/suggest ways to improve on this itinerary.

I would have loved to visit the Calico Textile museum at Ahmedabad, but seems like they don't allow kids below 10. So we have to skip it.

Thanks in advance.

[aryasanyal]

Anyone has any answer to my queries above?
I need to start booking early as there might be rush later on.

[aryasanyal]

Bumping this one up again. Any responses?

Note to mods: Sorry for bumping this one multiple times. No responses received so far. This is the last bump.

[pcpranav]

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

Bumping this one up again. Any responses?

Note to mods: Sorry for bumping this one multiple times. No responses received so far. This is the last bump.

hello Aryan,
just curious, if you could finish this trip successfully. do share the details.

regards,
Pranav

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by pcpranav

hello Aryan,
just curious, if you could finish this trip successfully. do share the details.

regards,
Pranav

Hi Pranav,

I had the most satisfying vacation in Kutch. We were there last week for around 9 days. My travelogue will come about shortly.
Let me know if you have any specific questions - I'd be happy to help

[pcpranav]

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

Hi Pranav,

I had the most satisfying vacation in Kutch. We were there last week for around 9 days. My travelogue will come about shortly.
Let me know if you have any specific questions - I'd be happy to help

Hi Arya, good to hear and eagerly waiting for your TL. meanwhile, you could update me highlights of the route, and vehicle.

thanks,

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by pcpranav

Hi Arya, good to hear and eagerly waiting for your TL. meanwhile, you could update me highlights of the route, and vehicle.

thanks,

I actually didn't take my car for this trip. I flew down from Bangalore to Ahmedabad and then used a combination of public transport and rented cars to do the tour.
This, of course, afforded me the luxury being at leisure and enjoy the sights and vistas on offer.

Our route was this-

Bangalore-Ahmedabad-Zainabad-Modhera-Patan-Dholavira-Bhuj-Dhordo-Bhuj-Lakhpat-Koteshwar-Bhuj-Mandvi-Bhuj-Ahmedabad-Bangalore.

We didn't rush through things and took it easy, spent enough time at each place and thoroughly enjoyed our vacation. The weather was pleasant and helped in the overall scheme of things as well.

[pcpranav]

Originally Posted by aryasanyal

....
Bangalore-Ahmedabad-Zainabad-Modhera-Patan-Dholavira-Bhuj-Dhordo-Bhuj-Lakhpat-Koteshwar-Bhuj-Mandvi-Bhuj-Ahmedabad-Bangalore.

based upon your inputs, your trip's Google Map may look like :
Ahmedabad, Gujarat to Ahmedabad, Gujarat - Google Maps - Bhuj as the base.

if not a botheration, kindly confirm the granular route, especially Dholavira entry/exits. If I may plan, how are the road conditions, doable in a Xylo ?

[aryasanyal]

Originally Posted by pcpranav

based upon your inputs, your trip's Google Map may look like :
Ahmedabad, Gujarat to Ahmedabad, Gujarat - Google Maps - Bhuj as the base.

if not a botheration, kindly confirm the granular route, especially Dholavira entry/exits. If I may plan, how are the road conditions, doable in a Xylo ?

The Google maps link shows the correct routes that we followed except this stretch:

Patan-Dholavira-Bhuj. The direct route between Dholavira and Bhuj, as shown in the map, doesn't exist. One has to take the route back to Rapar and thereon to Bhuj. We followed the following route for this stretch -

Patan-Dholavira-Bhuj

Roads are very good throughout and should be easily doable in any car. But just take care while venturing into the Rann. Little Rann has tyre marks that you can follow, but it's be better not to attempt this in the Greater Rann, near Dhordo. If you use GPS, then you can get the tracks to cross Little Rann from Harsh's and Tanveer's TLs.

Thanks,
Arya.

[KL07]

Hi,

I am planning to do a road trip from Cochin to Kutch in mid September. The following is the itinerary I am planning to do:

Day 01 : Cochin to Bangalore (stay overnight at Bangalore)
Day 02 : Bangalore to Mumbai (stay overnight at Mumbai)
Day 03 : Explore Mumbai
Day 04 : Mumbai to Anand (stay overnight at Anand)
Day 05 : Anand to Kutch (stay overnight at Kutch)
Day 06 : Explore Kutch
Day 07 : Kutch to Daman (stay overnight at Daman)
Day 08 : Explore Daman
Day 09 : Daman to Mahabaleshwar (stay overnight at Mahabaleshwar)
Day 10 : Explore Mahabaleshwar
Day 11 : Mahabaleshwar to Gokarna (stay overnight at Gokarna)
Day 12 : Explore Gokarna
Day 13 : Gokarna to Cochin

The route was selected on the basis of the places I wanted to visit. However, I have few queries:

i. Since I am coming from Cochin, which would be the best place to stay in terms of area considering the fact that I have to leave for Mumbai early morning next day. Also, how do I connect to the Bangalore- Mumbai route from the Cochin-Bangalore route.

ii. Which area would be most suitable for me to stay in Mumbai keeping in mind that I have a day to explore Mumbai and an onward journey to Anand. Any guidance on the route and road conditions would be very helpful.

iii. Which would be the best way to spend time ( 2 nights and 1 day ) at Kutch and are roads in this region in good shape.

iv. I am also a little confused regarding the route from Kutch-Daman-Mahabaleshwar-Gokarna. It would be really useful if someone could throw light on the route and road conditions.

Thanks in advance.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by KL07

Day 01 : Cochin to Bangalore (stay overnight at Bangalore)
Day 02 : Bangalore to Mumbai (stay overnight at Mumbai)
Day 03 : Explore Mumbai
Day 04 : Mumbai to Anand (stay overnight at Anand)
Day 05 : Anand to Kutch (stay overnight at Kutch)
Day 06 : Explore Kutch
Day 07 : Kutch to Daman (stay overnight at Daman)
Day 08 : Explore Daman
Day 09 : Daman to Mahabaleshwar (stay overnight at Mahabaleshwar)
Day 10 : Explore Mahabaleshwar
Day 11 : Mahabaleshwar to Gokarna (stay overnight at Gokarna)
Day 12 : Explore Gokarna
Day 13 : Gokarna to Cochin

First of all, that one is going to be a lovely circuit, especially after the recent rains that has lashed most of these areas.

i. Since I am coming from Cochin, which would be the best place to stay in terms of area considering the fact that I have to leave for Mumbai early morning next day. Also, how do I connect to the Bangalore- Mumbai route from the Cochin-Bangalore route.

Simple as this:

Cochin - Palakkad - Coimbatore - Salem - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore - NICE Road - Tumkur Road - Hubli - Kolhapur - Pune - Mumbai.

This means, you need not enter Bangalore at all except that you need to bypass Bangalore via NICE Road. At NICE road, you buy toll for "Tumkur Road" Exit which is 155/- and around 38 kms.

At the end of this toll road soon after the booth, you take the exit marked for Tumkur. You will notice signage for "Tumkur (LEFT)" and "Bangalore City (RIGHT)" and you stay left and get down the NICE Corridor.

As soon as you get down, you will be on the service lane of the Bangalore-Mumbai corridor and you will immediately notice another toll booth with jst 2 gates. Enter the tolled road paying 20/- and from here, it is ONE ROAD TO MUMBAI!!

For stay you have 2 choices and that is my strong advise:

Option 1: Stay at Hosur and start early morning for Mumbai
Option 2: Stay at Tumkur (Naveen Regency) after bypassing Bangalore fully via NICE Road

Option 2 will take you around approximately 90-110 minutes from Hosur to Tumkur.

ii. Which area would be most suitable for me to stay in Mumbai keeping in mind that I have a day to explore Mumbai and an onward journey to Anand. Any guidance on the route and road conditions would be very helpful.

Since you are planning to spend a day in Mumbai, you can always decide to stay closer to a lot of POIs in Central Mumbai. However, if you plan to skip Mumbai, the best option would be to stay either in Vashi reaching early evening and then start for GJ early next morning.

The other (Preferred) option would be to stay at Thane and quickly get onto NH8 (Highway leading to Mumbai) from here.

iii. Which would be the best way to spend time ( 2 nights and 1 day ) at Kutch and are roads in this region in good shape.

Roads remain good in this part of the country and that should not be a concern at all. Gandhidham, Bhuj are possible options to stay and then you roam around covering good places closer to these.

iv. I am also a little confused regarding the route from Kutch-Daman-Mahabaleshwar-Gokarna. It would be really useful if someone could throw light on the route and road conditions.

Kutch - Daman: Stick to NH8 via Ahmedabad and reach Daman through NH8 itself. That's going to be the fastest and assured clean roads.

Daman to Mahabaleshwar, stick to NH8 - Mumbai Pune Expresseway- NH4 - Wai combination.

Mahabaleshwar - Gokarna will be via Satara - Kolhapur - Hubli Bypass - Kalhatgi - Ankola - Gokarna.