Chennai to Tiruchendur

kshivaa · 11th December 2009, 22:55

Hi,

I am planning to go from Chennai to Tiruchendur next weekend (18-December-2009) and from there to Trivandrum. Planning to stay at Tiruchendur. Request for help on the following information:
1. How long would this journey take? can it be covered comfortably in 10 hours ?
2. From Madurai, is it advisable to go via Tirunelveli or via Tuticorin ? The route via Tuticorin looks to be 30 Km shorter?

Thanks!
Siva

navan49 · 12th December 2009, 00:10

Hi Shiva,
I can guarantee that if you drive at 80 plus speed you can reach Madurai 8 to 9 Hours. Beyond that keep at least another 5 hours. The road beyond Madurai is not as good as Chennai Trichy. Trichy Madurai is also the work is going on. On Tuticorin road up to Aruppukkottai I went, it is good as well as less traffic. Via Virudhunagar also good. It does not make much difference a matter of 30 minutes. Virudhunagar road beyoind virudhunagar the work is going on and dusty,

hvkumar · 12th December 2009, 08:44

I would prefer the route via Tirunelveli to get to Tiruchendur. From there to Trivandrum, you have the choice of going via Kanyakumari or rejoining the NH7 at Valliyoor - both routes are good.

ramkya1 · 12th December 2009, 09:14

Hai Shiva,

Did the route some time back, I went from Trichy, Tanjore, Rameswaram, Tuticorin, Terichendur, Trivandrum. Attaching the logs herewith, you'd find the route I took from Terichendur to Trivandrum was great, pure and ethnic countryside. The logs of 18th and 19th would be useful to you.

Have fun.....

--Ramky
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Surprise · 12th December 2009, 11:54

My choice would be Chennai-Thirunelveli-Tiruchendur. Roads are in superb condition. Distance coverage would depend on your average speed & stops. Yes it can be done in 10 hrs if you are reasonably speed with minimized stops in between. Watch out for heavy vehicles in wrong sides

kshivaa · 25th December 2009, 19:52

Thanks to all BHP'ians for the inputs. I made the trip over the last week. Took the Chennai - Madurai - Tirunelveli - Tiruchendur route. The road condition is good throughout. There are 4-5 points in the Madurai - Tirunelveli section where the joints in the road have a height difference of 2-3 inches and you will face a big bump if driving at speeds of 80+.

I shall write the full details of the travel in the travel section in another post and paste a link to the same in this thread.

Dhanasekaran · 26th December 2009, 12:18

Reaching Madurai in current road condition after this heavy monsoon within 10 hours will be not be easy.

You need to break your journey. I am suggesting below the route and plan exactly I did recently.

Day # 1: Leave Chennai around 5:30 PM and reached Trichy 10:45 PM. Night halt at Trichy.

Day # 2: Leave Trichy around 6:30 AM and reached Trichendur 12:50 Noon.

Route: Trichy-Viralimalai-Melur-Madurai-Bye-Pass-Tuticorin-Trichendur. Road from Madurai bye-pass to Trichendur is 4 lane in most of areas and some areas yet to be converted. Pls note the road expansion is still under progress, so lane change is frequent.

Day # 3: Leave Trichendur 8:30 AM and reached Trivandrum 11:40 AM.

Route: Trichendur-Karuvi-Nagercoil-Padmanabapuram-Trivandrum

Let me know your plan.

Be prepared to pay heavy toll tax between Chennai to Trichy. No calculation and they will take you for royal ride.

Have a good trip...

navan49 · 27th December 2009, 01:01

My Experience on this route till Madurai recently was like this. 4 am from Chennai. 5.57 am coffee at Viullupuram 8.10 Am brakfast at Tiruchy. Tiruchy Tirumangalam via By pass Madurai airport reached Tirumangalam at 12.Noon. Lunch at village near Tirumangalam. Total Toll Calculated was 285 tilll Tirumangalam. Beyond that you can calculate. In that case day journey will be much safer.

ElantraGT · 27th December 2009, 05:32

Navan Sir, did i read it right. Is the toll charge till tirumangalamis 285? I made a trip to Chennai, Thirunelveli-kutralam, kanyakumari, Nagercoil and back to chennai in 2008 Jan. The over all toll I paid for the entire trip was less than Rs.250. Do you have any splitup of the toll charges? I will be planning for anoher rip this feb/march 2010.

Gansan · 27th December 2009, 07:16

Tuticorin - Tiruchendur route is shorter and road condition will be OK, not great. I would advise Tiruchendur - Kanyakumari coastal road only if you are going by SUV. Route will be very scenic, but road condition can be pathetic at places.

hvkumar · 27th December 2009, 08:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gansan

Tuticorin - Tiruchendur route is shorter and road condition will be OK, not great. I would advise Tiruchendur - Kanyakumari coastal road only if you are going by SUV. Route will be very scenic, but road condition can be pathetic at places.

I believe the entire coastal road has now been upgraded and is in much better condition. Anyone been on it recently?

Gansan · 27th December 2009, 10:03

I last travelled this road during April 2008 by bus and regretted it. Now it is still monsoon time, the area has received heavy rains, so I guess it won't be any better.

kshivaa · 30th December 2009, 00:01

I was able to travel from Chennai to Madurai in 9 hours, with a 2.5 hours break at Tiruchy. I have updated the complete travel details with photos at: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...rivandrum.html

ssriram75 · 24th January 2010, 18:32

Did Rameswaram to Tuticorin on the new coastal road (also called ECR). Superb all the way just like Chennai-Pondi ECR

11th December 2009, 22:55	#1
kshivaa BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 97 Thanked: 34 Times	Chennai to Tiruchendur Hi, I am planning to go from Chennai to Tiruchendur next weekend (18-December-2009) and from there to Trivandrum. Planning to stay at Tiruchendur. Request for help on the following information: 1. How long would this journey take? can it be covered comfortably in 10 hours ? 2. From Madurai, is it advisable to go via Tirunelveli or via Tuticorin ? The route via Tuticorin looks to be 30 Km shorter? Thanks! Siva
	() Thanks

12th December 2009, 00:10	#2
navan49 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: CHENNAI Posts: 1,000 Thanked: 73 Times View My Garage	Hi Shiva, I can guarantee that if you drive at 80 plus speed you can reach Madurai 8 to 9 Hours. Beyond that keep at least another 5 hours. The road beyond Madurai is not as good as Chennai Trichy. Trichy Madurai is also the work is going on. On Tuticorin road up to Aruppukkottai I went, it is good as well as less traffic. Via Virudhunagar also good. It does not make much difference a matter of 30 minutes. Virudhunagar road beyoind virudhunagar the work is going on and dusty,
	() Thanks

12th December 2009, 08:44	#3
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	I would prefer the route via Tirunelveli to get to Tiruchendur. From there to Trivandrum, you have the choice of going via Kanyakumari or rejoining the NH7 at Valliyoor - both routes are good.
	() Thanks

12th December 2009, 11:54	#5
Surprise Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 2,523 Thanked: 454 Times	My choice would be Chennai-Thirunelveli-Tiruchendur. Roads are in superb condition. Distance coverage would depend on your average speed & stops. Yes it can be done in 10 hrs if you are reasonably speed with minimized stops in between. Watch out for heavy vehicles in wrong sides
	() Thanks

25th December 2009, 19:52	#6
kshivaa BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 97 Thanked: 34 Times	Thanks to all BHP'ians for the inputs. I made the trip over the last week. Took the Chennai - Madurai - Tirunelveli - Tiruchendur route. The road condition is good throughout. There are 4-5 points in the Madurai - Tirunelveli section where the joints in the road have a height difference of 2-3 inches and you will face a big bump if driving at speeds of 80+. I shall write the full details of the travel in the travel section in another post and paste a link to the same in this thread.
	() Thanks

26th December 2009, 12:18	#7
Dhanasekaran BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 80 Thanked: 0 Times	Reaching Madurai in current road condition after this heavy monsoon within 10 hours will be not be easy. You need to break your journey. I am suggesting below the route and plan exactly I did recently. Day # 1: Leave Chennai around 5:30 PM and reached Trichy 10:45 PM. Night halt at Trichy. Day # 2: Leave Trichy around 6:30 AM and reached Trichendur 12:50 Noon. Route: Trichy-Viralimalai-Melur-Madurai-Bye-Pass-Tuticorin-Trichendur. Road from Madurai bye-pass to Trichendur is 4 lane in most of areas and some areas yet to be converted. Pls note the road expansion is still under progress, so lane change is frequent. Day # 3: Leave Trichendur 8:30 AM and reached Trivandrum 11:40 AM. Route: Trichendur-Karuvi-Nagercoil-Padmanabapuram-Trivandrum Let me know your plan. Be prepared to pay heavy toll tax between Chennai to Trichy. No calculation and they will take you for royal ride. Have a good trip...
	() Thanks

27th December 2009, 01:01	#8
navan49 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: CHENNAI Posts: 1,000 Thanked: 73 Times View My Garage	My Experience on this route till Madurai recently was like this. 4 am from Chennai. 5.57 am coffee at Viullupuram 8.10 Am brakfast at Tiruchy. Tiruchy Tirumangalam via By pass Madurai airport reached Tirumangalam at 12.Noon. Lunch at village near Tirumangalam. Total Toll Calculated was 285 tilll Tirumangalam. Beyond that you can calculate. In that case day journey will be much safer. Last edited by navan49 : 27th December 2009 at 01:02.
	() Thanks

27th December 2009, 05:32	#9
ElantraGT BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 441 Thanked: 12 Times	Navan Sir, did i read it right. Is the toll charge till tirumangalamis 285? I made a trip to Chennai, Thirunelveli-kutralam, kanyakumari, Nagercoil and back to chennai in 2008 Jan. The over all toll I paid for the entire trip was less than Rs.250. Do you have any splitup of the toll charges? I will be planning for anoher rip this feb/march 2010.
	() Thanks

27th December 2009, 07:16	#10
Gansan Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 4,535 Thanked: 5,558 Times	Tuticorin - Tiruchendur route is shorter and road condition will be OK, not great. I would advise Tiruchendur - Kanyakumari coastal road only if you are going by SUV. Route will be very scenic, but road condition can be pathetic at places.
	() Thanks

27th December 2009, 10:03	#12
Gansan Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 4,535 Thanked: 5,558 Times	I last travelled this road during April 2008 by bus and regretted it. Now it is still monsoon time, the area has received heavy rains, so I guess it won't be any better. Last edited by Gansan : 27th December 2009 at 10:14.
	() Thanks

30th December 2009, 00:01	#13
kshivaa BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 97 Thanked: 34 Times	I was able to travel from Chennai to Madurai in 9 hours, with a 2.5 hours break at Tiruchy. I have updated the complete travel details with photos at: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...rivandrum.html
	() Thanks

24th January 2010, 18:32	#14
ssriram75 BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 51 Thanked: 7 Times	Did Rameswaram to Tuticorin on the new coastal road (also called ECR). Superb all the way just like Chennai-Pondi ECR
	() Thanks