[Rider360]

Originally Posted by earthian

For whom? I am not worried about you. You would probably do it and enjoy it too. But for the wife and kids? They may want to stop at places which catch their fancy and you may be wanting to push to reach the destination.....

Thanks for the suggestions. I have discussed the plan with the family and they seem more or less ok with the same. I will check if I can extend my leave for 1 day so that we are able to extend our stay at Diu. Thanks again for your help.

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[Ry_der]

Originally Posted by Rider360

Dear All,


2. Is the route I plan on taking is Ok or is there an alternative/ better route?(

I will suggest you to take Ajmer-Pali-Sirohi-AbuRoad-Mahesana-Ahmedabad route with a night halt at Abu Road if you are not planning any sight seeing in & around Udaipur. Approx. same distance with less truckers and safer for night driving. Udaipur route has some ghat sections and a heavy truck & bus traffic i.e. not advisable in night.

3. Are road conditions in Gujarat good like rajasthan or not?(

Till Somnath, its a wonderful 4 lane highway. Somnath -Diu was in a bad condition last August as some construction was going on and also, be aware about drunk drivers while covering this stretch.

4. Is it safe to travel with the family on these places?

Yes its safe but try to cover Diu-Somnath stretch during day time as its a 1.5 laned road with huge potholes.

[Rider360]

Originally Posted by Ry_der

I will suggest you to take Ajmer-Pali-Sirohi-AbuRoad-Mahesana-Ahmedabad route with a night halt at Abu Road if you are not planning any sight seeing in & around Udaipur..

Thanks. I have already visited udaipur a couple of times and do not plan to do any sightseeing there. Also, I myself am not very keen on driving at night and hence would try to maximise the driving during day time only.

1 question though - Whether the route I intend to follow for return journey also need any changes as I was planning to night halt at Udaipur. Any alternatives?

[Ry_der]

Originally Posted by Rider360

Thanks.

You are welcome.

1 question though - Whether the route I intend to follow for return journey also need any changes as I was planning to night halt at Udaipur. Any alternatives?

I will suggest the same route for return journey as well with a night halt at Abu Road. I always use this route whenever I visit Jaipur in personal vehicle.

[Rider360]

Hi Everyone,
I have now finalised the following itinerary based on the various suggestions received. Instead of starting from Delhi on the Morning of 2nd, I will start a day before in the evening.

Day 0: Leave Delhi in evening around 5 Pm. Reach Jaipur/ Nearby around 11.00PM. Stay at Jaipur.
Total distance- around 280Km, time 6 Hrs

Day 1: Leave Jaipur around 8.30Am-9Am. .
Route to be taken: Jaipur  Ajmer - Pali  Sirohi  Abu Road  Palanpur  Mehsana.
Reach Mehsana around 9.30 Pm. Stay at Mehsana.
Total distance- around 600 Km, time 12-13 Hrs

Day 2: Leave Mehsana around 8.30- 9 Am.
Route to be taken: Mehsana Rajkot Gondal  Amreli  Una  Diu.
Reach Diu around 8 Pm. Stay at Diu.
Total distance- around 480 Km, time 11-12 Hrs

Day 3: Diu Sightseeing.

Day 4: Leave Diu post lunch around 2.00 Pm. Reach Somnath around 5 Pm. Evening aarti at Somnath. Stay at Somnath.
Total distance- around 85 Km, time 3 Hrs

Day 5: Leave Somnath around 9.00 AM. Take a detour to Madhavpur.
Route to be taken: Somnath  Madhavpur  Keshod  Junagadh  Rajkot  Mehsana  Palanpur  Abu Road
Reach Abu road around 10Pm. Stay at Abu Road.
Total distance- around 630 Km, time 13-14 Hrs

Day 6: Leave Abu Road around 8.00Am.
Route to be taken: Abu Road  Pali  Beawar  Ajmer  Jaipur  Delhi
Reach Delhi around 11-12 midnight.
Total distance- 750 Km, time 15-16 hrs

Day 7: Buffer Day


Kindly go through the above and suggest if I have better alternatives w.r.t. route to be taken/ places to take night halt etc. I also hope the travel time is not under estimated.
Thanks in advance.

[Rider360]

Hi friends. I have reached Diu today and the road conditions in entire Gujarat are very very bad. Specially from Dwarka to Somnath and then Somnath to Diu. Road widening work is in progress and apparently the entire road is broken or non existent. It was a nightmare driving on such roads.

Quick help - what route should I now take for my return trip. I don't want to go to Rajkot via Somnath as I want to avoid the Diu Somnath stretch. Should I try any other route to Ahmedabad or all are the roads in similar condition these days. Thanks in advance

[Ry_der]

Originally Posted by Rider360

Quick help - what route should I now take for my return trip. I dont want to go to rajkot via somnath a i want to avoid the diu somnath stretch. Should i try any other route to ahmedabad or all are the roads in similar condition these days. Thanks in advance

It would be better to get in touch with local drivers or driver of any GJ01 vehicle you come across. Monsoon has wracked havoc in entire Gujarat.

Alang-Bhavnagar route is equally bad, not advisable at all.

One last bet would be the Amreli route but the present condition of this route is not known to me. Otherwise it is the shortest route to Ahmedabad. If this route is also bad then I would suggest Somnath-Rajkot route. After Somnath, road must be in decent condition as its a toll road .

[Rider360]

Ok, thanks a lot. Will ask some local drivers tomorrow and decide accordingly. Seriously it seems that the rains have brought in hell for the roads here. Some serious repair work is needed throughout.

[Rohit Tripathi]

Hi Rider 360

Suggesting an option
Drive to Bhavnagar take the ferry and land in Dahej and join the main highway in Bharuch.

I took this option as it saved me a lot of kms while driving back to Bangalore last Dec.

If the roads are bad then this may be better option.

Hope you have a safe drive back.

[manchandap]

I am also planning a trip to Diu from Delhi next month. Apart from driving, the primary objective is to visit the beaches and any historical religious place

The tentative plan is as follows:

• Day 1: Delhi to Udaipur 670 KMs
• Day 2: Udaipur to Diu: 616 KMs
• Day 3 & 4: Diu Local (Beaches, Diu Fort, Gangeshwar Mahadev Temple, Church, INS Khukhri)
• Day 5: Diu to Somnath ji: 86 KMs
• Day 6: Somnath ji to Mt Abu: 595 KMs
• Day 7: Mt Abu Local (Specifically Dilwara Temples)
• Day 8: Mt Abu to Delhi: 755 KMs
• Day 9: Buffer

Route:

I think there are two routes for Diu:

1. Udaipur-Ahmedabad-Bagodra-Bhavnagar-Mahuva-Diu
2. Udaipur-Pindwara-Abu Road-Palanpur-Radhanpur-Samkhiyari-Maliya-Morbi-Wankaner-Rajkot-Amreli-Diu

So, my queries:

• What are the current road conditions on these routes. This will eventually decide the feasibility of this plan
• Which route should I take from Udaipur to Diu
• Which route should I take from Somnath ji to Mt Abu
• Given that I have two days in Diu, which would be the best beach to lazy around

[earthian]

Originally Posted by manchandap

[*]What are the current road conditions on these routes. This will eventually decide the feasibility of this plan[*]Which route should I take from Udaipur to Diu[*]Which route should I take from Somnath ji to Mt Abu[*]Given that I have two days in Diu, which would be the best beach to lazy around[/list]

Lot of road works going on in NH 48. Best is to come via Abu Road-Palanpur route. The highways of Rajasthan are very good. Gujarat's roads, i am ashamed to state, have deteriorated.
Best way to go to Diu is via Rajkot highway. You may like to spend a day and night visiting Gir too and say howdy to the lions.

[manchandap]

Originally Posted by earthian

Lot of road works going on in NH 48. Best is to come via Abu Road-Palanpur route. The highways of Rajasthan are very good. Gujarat's roads, i am ashamed to state, have deteriorated.
Best way to go to Diu is via Rajkot highway. You may like to spend a day and night visiting Gir too and say howdy to the lions.

Thanks earthian. Looks like the road works is going on everywhere. Even new flyovers between Delhi and Panipat are being constructed on the NHI (now NH44).

One more query:

Is there any recommended place (city/hotel) for night stay between Udaipur and Diu, just in case I am running late to reach Diu.

[manchandap]

Update on my last post: The Delhi-Diu-Delhi trip turned into a solo Delhi-Udaipur-Palanpur-Udaipur-Jaisalmar-Delhi trip of 2458 KMs.

The reason was partly an exigency at home that dampened the spirit to large extent. That coupled with road conditions in Gujrat and lack local information resulted in nixing of the Diu travel.

I drove till Palanpur and the road conditions deteriorate immediately after entering Gujrat. I haven't seen such a contrast of road turning from smooth tarmac to a bumpy one just after crossing a state border.

The road is very much drive-able but my top speed reduced to 50-60 KM/hr as compared to 80-90 KM/hr. The result was my ETA increasing from late evening to mid night. Plus there is night curfew in Gujrat.

There is always a next time .