[Rohit Tripathi]

Originally Posted by gpagedar

Am planning to travel from Lucknow to Indore on 16th April. Plan to start at 6am. What would be the best route to take? By what time can I expect to reach Indore if I travel at 100 kmph max?

Any suggestions would be appreciated since I am unfamiliar with the area as well as the roads.

Regards

Hi
I left Lucknow at 9.30 am and reached indore at 9.30 pm that is Sayaji hotel which is on the other side of Indore as I had to travel to Pune the next day.
Lucknow Kanpur traffic was dense after that it was a breeze.
Roads are all good but after Guna they become very good right upto Indore.
I took one break 30 km before Jhansi for Lunch and one tea break in Guna.
Have a safe trip.
Rohit

[gpagedar]

Originally Posted by Rohit Tripathi

Hi
I left Lucknow at 9.30 am and reached indore at 9.30 pm ……
.
.
Roads are all good but after Guna they become very good right upto Indore.
I took one break 30 km before Jhansi for Lunch and one tea break in Guna.
Have a safe trip.
Rohit

Thanks for the feedback, Rohit.

Had heard that truck traffic on the Guna-Indore stretch is quite bad so your feedback helps.

Regards,

[ts75]

Vehicle: S-cross Diesel 1.3
Driving Style: Conservative. Not a fan of triple digit speeds unless clear line of sight.
Thought imprinted in mind: If feeling sleepy / not fully fit at any point of time, to pull aside, take rest and then only proceed without bothering about arrival time at destination. No compromise on this.

Mumbai to Kanpur
05 November 2021, Friday (a day after Diwali)
Solo drive from Mumbai to Kanpur; no passengers.
Started from South Mumbai at 4:45 AM. The plan was to proceed further to Kanpur if I could reach Indore by 2 pm; else, I would look for a place of stay and continue the next day. Reason: I did not want to drive late night alone.
The stretch from Mumbai to Indore was a breeze. I crossed Nashik at around 9 am and reached Indore by around 1:30 pm. The condition of roads was good all through with atleast 2+2 laning. At some place after Nashik, the 3+3 road gives way to 2+2 road. There are multiple speedbreakers between Nashik and Dhule. The distance between Mumbai and Indore is around 600 kms which was covered in about 9 hours. Crossing Indore takes quite sometime, may be half an hour.
The Indore-Kanpur stretch is a well laid 2+2 road except for a small patch in the outskirts of Guna. The traffic is overall sparse. It is possible to safely maintain consistent triple digit speeds. MP however has cattle menace for which one needs to be watchful. Shortly after I crossed Guna at about 5:30 pm, it became dark early, being winter time. I took the help of sweeper cars wherever possible and if not, maintained a reduced speed. The route from outskirts to Jhansi was largely desolate and there were occasions when I had not seen any vehicle for minutes. I crossed Jhansi around 8:15 pm. Thereafter, again the road was by and large empty and reached Kalyanpur, Kanpur at 11:15 PM. The distance of 700 kms was covered in about 9:30 hours.
Overall, I had covered 1303 kms in 18 hours 30 minutes at an average speed of 70 kmph, as per google maps. At start of journey, google maps had estimated the journey time as 23 hours 57 minutes over 1299 kms. I did not stop except for fuel breaks, snack break (pre-packed) and bio break.
The fastag experience was smooth and no traffic jam was encountered anywhere. Maybe, the day being holiday helped.

Kanpur to Mumbai
07 November 2021, Sunday
Self drive with 2 children
Started from Kanpur at 5 AM. Didn’t want to start earlier as one would enter the highway very soon (unlike Mumbai) and it’s quite possible that we have drowsy drivers on the road in the morning. But as luck would have it, got stuck in a railway crossing within Kanpur city for about 11 trains to pass and so lost 50 minutes there itself. The journey thereafter to Indore was quite smooth given the excellent condition of the roads. The traffic builds up as one reaches Indore and there is no letup thereafter except for some marginal variations. We took one hour break in this segment. Crossed Indore at around 4 pm.
Indore-Mumbai: Traffic was quite busy in this segment. There are couple of ghat sections where police have divided into further dedicated lanes by placing drums / ropes in between. The journey between Dhule and Nashik was tough because (i) it was night time, (ii) the wavelike pattern of serial speedbreakers at short distances was a big dampener for picking up speed and also causes inconvenience to passengers on account of repeated jerks, (iii) there is a lingering fear that there could be an unmarked speedbreaker, and (iv) higher traffic density. The journey was a real pain in the neck and I wish I had a way to cover this segment during day time. Crossing the Karjat ghat section after midnight with heavy trucks moving around and applying brakes is something which I might have to think twice in the future. From thereon to Mumbai, the lack of lane markers, blinding lights from opposite direction meant that I drove slowly and cautiously. We finally reached home at 2:30 am, with the journey of 1305 kms taking 21 hours 30 minutes as per google maps.

Other observations
In Indore – Kanpur stretch, I had not seen too many options for good restaurants. Also, I had tanked up on fuel before the sunset (in the onward journey) and did not stop unduly.
Between Dhule and Nashik (return journey), the toll plazas were inefficient in terms of fastag reading. I spent about 40-45 minutes in the toll gates due to poor management.
In the onward journey, at the 2 lane road on the outskirts of Guna, 3 boys on a bike were repeatedly weaving into my path and having fun. I had no intention of crossing sword with them. So I slowed down and tagged on with another vehicle. Once the 4 laned road came, I sped past. Also, in the return journey, in the same area, 1 truck ahead of me started moving in criss cross pattern. I could make out that the driver was drunk and had no control of the vehicle. At one speedbreaker and on an incline, he appeared to pass out, and his truck came to a complete stop on the road. Without waiting for the truck to roll back, I made a quick overtake and moved ahead. Otherwise, both the trips were uneventful.

Now comes the final question. Will I dare to venture out again like this?
I may still do Mumbai – Kanpur in 1 day (please see the thought imprinted in mind at the start) but the dampener is that I have to travel in UP at night and the stretches are quite desolate. Also, if I decide to break in between, am not sure of viable options although I guess one could go inside any city and find a place of stay.
Given a choice, I would like to avoid Kanpur – Mumbai in one go, for reasons mentioned above and the increasing traffic towards the end of a long journey.

[gpagedar]

@ts75 - Thanks for the detailed post of your Mumbai-Kanpur journey. However, due to the high temperatures in north India we cancelled our visit to Lucknow. However, your post will be useful for our next trip to Lucknow. Thanks again.

[bj96]

Originally Posted by ts75

...if I decide to break in between, am not sure of viable options although I guess one could go inside any city and find a place of stay...

Agree. If one starts early morning from Pune/Mumbai, Indore arrives too early for a night halt and Guna is still quite far to reach without having to drive after the sunset (in winters particularly). I have stayed at MPT Motel in Biaora on my Motorcycle ride a couple of years ago. The place is decent, clean (by govt standards) and comfortable for a night stay, bang on the highway. Caretaker chap was also good. It is in between Indore and Guna and IIRC, we reached there around 8pm or so after 5am start from Pune via Nashik. Next day was comfortable ride to Ayodhya (Faizabad) and reached by 10pm or so. Hence, Kanpur will come around 8pm. By car, one would manage to reach a bit earlier maybe. I recommend this place for stay on this route .

Hth,
-BJ

[RJ2285]

Hi, I plan to drive to Lucknow from Mumbai in the last week of October.

The route I plan to take is Mumbai - Indore - Guna - Jhansi - Orai - Kanpur - Lucknow.

I plan to break this journey and need your inputs for the same. The plan is to start at 4:30am from Mumbai on day 1. From what I have read, Mumbai-Indore is a breeze and I might reach Indore by 2:30pm. I plan to drive further and halt just before it gets dark around 6:30pm. Seek suggestions from the forum if Jhansi is a safe option to halt for the night and if there are any good stay recommendations.

Day 2 - I plan to leave Jhansi at 8am and reach Lucknow by 3pm. I am open to looking at an alternate destination if Jhansi is not recommended.

Your inputs will be helpful. Thanks.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by RJ2285

Hi, I plan to drive to Lucknow from Mumbai in the last week of October.

The route I plan to take is Mumbai - Indore - Guna - Jhansi - Orai - Kanpur - Lucknow.

I plan to break this journey and need your inputs for the same. The plan is to start at 4:30am from Mumbai on day 1. From what I have read, Mumbai-Indore is a breeze and I might reach Indore by 2:30pm. I plan to drive further and halt just before it gets dark around 6:30pm. Seek suggestions from the forum if Jhansi is a safe option to halt for the night and if there are any good stay recommendations.

Day 2 - I plan to leave Jhansi at 8am and reach Lucknow by 3pm. I am open to looking at an alternate destination if Jhansi is not recommended.

No place will be better than Indore. On the AB Road bypass in Indore, towards Dewas, you have many good hotels, including Regenta Central. Otherwise, the next best place is Jhansi. But you will have to enter Jhansi, go towards Elite Junction and you will have Sarovar Portico, if it suits you. It is one of the best here and absolutely safe. I am not aware of Guna, but Shivapuri, 110 kms before Jhansi, should be having an MPTDC place (just check for it). You may have to go to the town.

Reaching Jhansi by 6.30 pm will be ambitious, I think.

When I drove from Indore to Lucknow in June 2021, I had taken the Bhopal - Khimlasa - Jhansi route. Before that, when I drove from Mumbai to Lucknow, my route was Indore - Ujjain - Agar - Jhalawar - Baran - Shivapuri - Jhansi.

If you leave Jhansi at 8 am, you can easily reach Lucknow by 1.30 pm itself. No traffic block, five hours is actually enough. There are dhabas like Dedar Resort (soon after Jhansi), some good tea/snacks points on the Orai bypass (Prabhu dhaba is good but on the right side), then at Kalpi and after Kanpur Ganges bridge.

Happy driving.

[RJ2285]

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

Reaching Jhansi by 6.30 pm will be ambitious, I think.
Happy driving.

Thank you so much for your response, Vipin Kumar! This is really helpful. If I leave at 4:30am from Mumbai, what time will I be able to reach Jhansi as per your experience of driving through this route?

Sarovar Portico works for me and safety is of utmost priority, so ticks that box as well.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by RJ2285

If I leave at 4:30am from Mumbai, what time will I be able to reach Jhansi as per your experience of driving through this route?

Sarovar Portico works for me and safety is of utmost priority, so ticks that box as well.

Even if you leave Indore at 1.30 or 2 pm, it will be at least beyond 9 pm or 9.30 pm when you reach Jhansi. I must tell you that the Shivapuri bypass etc and the section, Shivapuri - Jhansi, are extremely desolate even during day time. It will be better you avoid this section after dark if you are driving with family, etc. A better idea will be to stay at Indore, start early from Indore, say around 5.30 am. You can easily make it to Lucknow by 7 pm. Why do you want to take strain and risk?

[RJ2285]

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

Even if you leave Indore at 1.30 or 2 pm, it will be at least beyond 9 pm or 9.30 pm when you reach Jhansi. I must tell you that the Shivapuri bypass etc and the section, Shivapuri - Jhansi, are extremely desolate even during day time. It will be better you avoid this section after dark if you are driving with family, etc. A better idea will be to stay at Indore, start early from Indore, say around 5.30 am. You can easily make it to Lucknow by 7 pm. Why do you want to take strain and risk?

That’s a very good suggestion, Vipin! I will be driving Solo. So will halt at Indore and cover the remaining Stretch on Day 2. Reaching Lucknow by 7pm works for me. Thanks once again!

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by RJ2285

That’s a very good suggestion, Vipin! I will be driving Solo. So will halt at Indore and cover the remaining Stretch on Day 2. Reaching Lucknow by 7pm works for me. Thanks once again!

Indore to Lucknow will be a little below 800 kms. An early morning start from Indore will help. The advantage will be that you do not have to enter Jhansi.
Roads were good throughout when I drove from Jhansi to Lucknow in early April. But there were rains after that. Shouldn't be bad anyway.

[RJ2285]

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

Roads were good throughout when I drove from Jhansi to Lucknow in early April. But there were rains after that. Shouldn't be bad anyway.

Hi, I am currently torn between taking the X1 or taking the Superb to Lucknow. The stretch from Mumbai to Indore is a beauty. However, will the route from Indore to Lucknow be ok to cover in a low-slung sedan like the Superb? My heart says Superb and head says X1 as it has been a reliable companion on all my long drives.

Your suggestion will be valuable.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by RJ2285

Hi, I am currently torn between taking the X1 or taking the Superb to Lucknow. The stretch from Mumbai to Indore is a beauty. However, will the route from Indore to Lucknow be ok to cover in a low-slung sedan like the Superb? My heart says Superb and head says X1 as it has been a reliable companion on all my long drives.

I drive a low slung sedan only. Absolutely no problems in Indore - Jhansi - Lucknow section also. Nothing to worry. There should not even be any speed breakers in the Jhansi - Lucknow section.

[DxcTripper]

Any suggestions on what route to take from indore to lucknow? I am seeing two routes

1. Indore -> gwalior -> Agra -> agra lucknow expressway to lucknow

2. Indore -> bhopal -> jhansi -> lucknow

Is the route from indore to gwalior safe ?? And how are road conditions any idea ?

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by DxcTripper

Any suggestions on what route to take from indore to lucknow? I am seeing two routes

1. Indore -> gwalior -> Agra -> agra lucknow expressway to lucknow

2. Indore -> bhopal -> jhansi -> lucknow

Is the route from indore to gwalior safe ?? And how are road conditions any idea ?

There is actually no need to go to Gwalior. You can take the AB Road NH via Guna to Shivapuri, and from there, the East-West corridor to Lucknow, via Jhansi and Kanpur. You have very good roads. Travelling via Gwalior and Agra will be too round-about.

Still AB Road (Agra - Bombay) is fine throughout is what I know. You have to check though, there is some road widening work etc going on between Gwalior and Agra (?)

In the other route, Indore to Bhopal is very good. Bhopal to Rahatgarh (on the Bhopal - Sagar Road) is good and smooth but single undivided carriageway. Will take time. From Rahatgarh to Malthone via Khimlasa runs through very interior villages etc. From Malthone to Jhansi (150 kms approx) is super fine. Then you have to cross the city and join the East-West corridor to Lucknow. Overall, this route is enjoyable but takes much longer in terms of time consumed.