[BolBolero]

I am planning a trip to Delhi via Agra from Bombay. Wish to stay in Agra for a couple of days and then onto to Delhi, where I will be spending a couple of more days and then back to Bombay.

What route would you suggest?
1) Bombay - Nasik - Indore - Gwalior - Agra and then on to Delhi
or
2) Bombay - Ahmedabad - Jaipur - Agra and then onto Delhi

Coming back I will be taking the second route without of course going to Agra.

Also need to know of decent hotels in Indore preferably on the bypass road and in Agra, not too expensive.

Thanks in advance
Gautam.

[Akadian]

Hi Gautam,

I would suggest you go via A'bad, Jaipur while going. The AB Road was not that great in several stretches when I used it in October recently. From Dhulia to some 30 kms before Indore was all a 2-lane stretch. Whereas on the GQ route, everybody knows that it is a beauty till Jaipur and even from there to Agra is a fantastic highway that I have used very often recently.

[COUGAR]

Originally Posted by BolBolero

What route would you suggest?
1) Bombay - Nasik - Indore - Gwalior - Agra and then on to Delhi
or
2) Bombay - Ahmedabad - Jaipur - Agra and then onto Delhi

I did a circuit route 2 weeks back in the Gypsy. I would recommend going and returning by the NH8 highway via Vadodara-Jaipur and avoiding the NH3 route via Nasik-Indore.

Road is 2 laned between Nasik and Gwalior and totally not worth it. Also there are dacoits in the area around Guna which could make night driving unsafe. I had a scary experience here.

[BolBolero]

Guys thanks a lot. So Ahmedabad it is.

Anyone having any info on decent hotels in Agra, not too expensive though?

[Rahulk76]

Originally Posted by BolBolero

Guys thanks a lot. So Ahmedabad it is.

Anyone having any info on decent hotels in Agra, not too expensive though?

@BolBolero

Check the trip blog of our HVKumar sir @ LADAKH Sep 2009 - hvkumar | Google Groups

This is what I am refering to right now for my trip to Jammu via delhi

Read more details here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ammu-pune.html

I will be leaving on 19th early morning from pune

[COUGAR]

since you are headed to Agra, turn off the NH8 at Jaipur and ask for directions to Dausa. There is a 2 lane highway from here which ends in Agra. Road is in very decent condition.

Very dusty with frequent dust storms but that shouldnt be a problem for you cagers! :P

[LongDrive lover]

@cougar.@ BolBolero
Jaipur Agra is now an excellent 4 lane highway now (NH 11). While coming from Kishangarh/ Ajmer/ Udaipur side, just at the start of Jaipur By pass on NH 8, there is a big flyover, and there is clear signage saying left for Delhi (by pass) and right for Agra. Just follow that sign and it'll take you to the NH 11 from NH 8 by-passing the main Jaipur city.
I will attach a pic of the location I have referred here shortly.

[Akadian]

Originally Posted by COUGAR

since you are headed to Agra, turn off the NH8 at Jaipur and ask for directions to Dausa. There is a 2 lane highway from here which ends in Agra. Road is in very decent condition.

Very dusty with frequent dust storms but that shouldnt be a problem for you cagers! :P

I think the last time you used the NH11 from Jaipur to Dausa must have been ages ago

In 2007 the work on the 4-laning had already progressed quite a bit and in the last one year every time I've been on this highway, I've found it 4-lane

[Shutterbugger]

Originally Posted by COUGAR

I did a circuit route 2 weeks back in the Gypsy. I would recommend going and returning by the NH8 highway via Vadodara-Jaipur and avoiding the NH3 route via Nasik-Indore.

Road is 2 laned between Nasik and Gwalior and totally not worth it. Also there are dacoits in the area around Guna which could make night driving unsafe. I had a scary experience here.

I did the Del-Agra-Gwalior-Indore-Nasik-Bom route in late October this year. It was a 5-day trip and we drove until about 9pm on these roads, without any bad experiences. Of course, I would recommend that if possible try not to be on the road beyond 7pm in MP. However, we did not find the conditions very bad security-wise and from the point of view of road conditions. Since you are sure about taking NH8 for your way back, would strongly recommend driving through MP for your first leg. Its a very different geography and makes for an interesting drive.

The entire stretch between Nasik and Gwalior is NOT 2-laned. Roads before and after Indore are 4-laned. Over all, I would say around 30% of the roads in MP were pot-holed, the rest were good-to-excellent. If you plan such that you start early and avoid night driving, it should not be unsafe at all. As someone else noted above, the stretch of NH3 30kms after Indore all the way upto MAH border is being widened to 4-lane currently, so there is construction work going on.

Here's the break-up of road conditions:

Del-Agra: 4-laned very good roads, congested until about Faridabad
Agra-Gwalior: 4-laned, very good roads, recommend crossing Morena / Chambal area before dark (don't get spooked by "Chambal"...its safe if crossed in daylight...we crossed it around sunset)
Gwalior-Shivpuri: 2-laned, a stretch of ~100kms, first 50kms excellent road, next 50kms pot-holed
Shivpuri-Guna: 2-laned, good road
Guna-Dewas: partly 2-laned, partly 4-laned, good road, we reached Guna at ~9pm and didn't face any scary situations
Dewas-Indore: 4-laned, excellent road
Indore-Khalghat: 4-laned, very good road
Khalghat-Dhule: 2-laned, large parts of the road are under expansion so pot-holed, Sendhwa-Dhule stretch is supposed to be unsafe after sundown (police convoys for trucks in the night)
Dhule-Mumbai: 4-laned, excellent roads

[Shutterbugger]

Originally Posted by BolBolero

Anyone having any info on decent hotels in Agra, not too expensive though?

We stayed at the Taj Plaza which is about 15 mins walk from the East Gate of the Taj Mahal which was very convenient. Could also see the Taj from the roof-top restaurant at the hotel. It is located right next to the luxurious Amar Vilas Hotel. Rent was ~Rs.900 for a non-a/c room (clearly, we were on a budget! Not sure what "not pricey" means to you, but for us it was <Rs. 1,000.
Tel: 0562- 2232515, 6941550, 3294100
Email: hoteltajplaza@yahoo.co.in

[Akadian]

Originally Posted by Shutterbugger

Del-Agra: 4-laned very good roads, congested until about Faridabad
Agra-Gwalior: 4-laned, very good roads, recommend crossing Morena / Chambal area before dark (don't get spooked by "Chambal"...its safe if crossed in daylight...we crossed it around sunset)
Gwalior-Shivpuri: 2-laned, a stretch of ~100kms, first 50kms excellent road, next 50kms pot-holed
Shivpuri-Guna: 2-laned, good road
Guna-Dewas: partly 2-laned, partly 4-laned, good road, we reached Guna at ~9pm and didn't face any scary situations
Dewas-Indore: 4-laned, excellent road
Indore-Khalghat: 4-laned, very good road
Khalghat-Dhule: 2-laned, large parts of the road are under expansion so pot-holed, Sendhwa-Dhule stretch is supposed to be unsafe after sundown (police convoys for trucks in the night)
Dhule-Mumbai: 4-laned, excellent roads

Good work, man. You have just broken the entire stretch into bits and pieces quite well. Makes for good bit of information to plan something. Just one small doubt. When I passed that way around the third week of October, it was not 4-lane all the way from Indore to Khalghat. The 4-lanes ended a bit before the Ghat section

[BolBolero]

@ Shutterbug,
Thanks a ton for the detailed info. Till yesterday was pretty sure of going via Ahmedabad. After reading your post, not so sure. Agra via Indore is the shorter of the two distances, so I am very mush tempted to take that route. Still deciding!!!
Budget for me also is <Rs 1,000.00, so Taj Plaza sounds good enough. Thanks once again for the detailed info.

@ Akadian, Cougar, LongDriveLover & Rahulk76 thanks for your inputs.

Gautam.

[Akadian]

Hi Gautam,

Direct attack via AB Road would translate to ~1200 kms and via Ahmedabad - Udaipur - Chittor - Jaipur would translate to ~1500 kms. That is a difference of 300 kms but in terms of time, I bet you would be having two full days of 11 hours' driving for both routes. So, no difference there and in terms of facilities, the GQ route is a winner hands down without debate

[BolBolero]

@Akadian,
so GQ it is.
Plan to stopover at Udaipur for the night and then onto Agra the next day. Doable I hope? Any decent hotels to put up for the night, without having to go into the city?

[Akadian]

Hi Gautam,

Very much doable. Regarding stay at Udaipur, I usually stop inside the city but I saw HVK suggesting several places on the outside in a different thread. I'll try to source that info for you