[vij4all]

Had an opportunity last week to go to Varanasi as my inlaws live there and mother in law had got seriously ill. Flights were ridiculously priced at upwards of 15k and the train journey didnt inspire me. cutting a long story short, i ended up taking the train in the end (as luck would have it)..the option before me was that if i got a 2nd ac train ticket, id take the train else i was ready to jump into my fusion and drive down.

My guess is that it will take around 30 hours non stop (with the occasional halt for fuel and food).

Im back in Bombay now and mom in law is still in hospital and my family's still there. Its quite possible that i may go again if the situation worsens - and this time im tempted to hit the road.

My knowledge and all the reading ive done tells me that i can do Mum - Jaipur in about 15 to 18 hours. I need help and the best times to cover the distance post that. I also believe Delhi - Varanasi can be done in 9 to 10 hours. Is it necessary that i have to go till Delhi?

Where in Varanasi do i get off the highway for the city?

THanks
Vijay

[AlokSriva]

Hey Vijay,

Guess it would make more sense if instead of MUM-JPR-DEL-AGRA-VARANASI you do MUM-JPR-AGRA-VARANASI and gain about 6 hours or so by avoiding the rush on JPR-DEL and DEL-AGRA routes.

Agra to Kanpur would be approx 270 kms which can be easily done in 3.5-4 hours and Kanpur to Varanasi would be another 300 kms which can be done in about 5 hours. These are times which I did when I started fresh from Delhi. Please bear in mind you would have already done MUM-JPR and the fatigue would kick in unless you take a good overnight sleep in JPR.

Some help on Agra-KNP-Varanasi stretch is mentioned here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post1730159

PS - wishing a speedy recovery for your mom-in-law.
PPS - I would suggest you have at least one person with you in car, not necessarily to assist you with driving, but to talk to otherwise the drive can tend to get monotonous.

[hvkumar]

Why go to Delhi to go from Bombay to Varanasi?

The shortest route is Bombay-Nagpur-Jabalpur-Varanasi. 1600 kms
The road till Nagpur is on NH3 and NH6, which is in good condition.

It is NH7 all the way from Nagpur to Varanasi.

DistanceL
Bombay-Nagpur, 850 kms
Nagpur-Varanasi, 750 kms

Going via Delhi means the distance is 2,300 kms
That route would be as follows:
Bombay-Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Chittorgarh-Jaipur-Delhi-Agra-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi.
This route is 4-lane all the way.

To cut the route shorter, you can take an alternative route. 2,000 kms
Bombay-Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Chittorgarh-Kota-Shivpuri-Jhansi-Bhognipur-Kanpur-Varanasi
The advantage of this route is that you can take 4-lane roads all the way, barring a few incomplete sections in Jhansi-Bhognipur-NH2 sector.

[Cyrus43]

Varanasi is the WORST city I have driven in. The WORST!! And dont expect to do many KMs in a day in north India if you dont know the roads. Trust me on this.

[AlokSriva]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Bombay-Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Chittorgarh-Kota-Shivpuri-Jhansi-Bhognipur-Kanpur-Varanasi

If you are sure that road condition is good, then probably this seems to be more sensible route to take to save on kms and time.
My cousin often does Mumbai-Allahabad by road but am not sure the exact route he takes. Let me check the route + road condition with him and come back with some more details.

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

Varanasi is the WORST city I have driven in. The WORST!!

Well, point taken but never was Varanasi known for its 4/6-laned roads/eways. For those who are not aware, Varanasi has always been famous for its narrow by-lanes (Banaras kee galiyaan). Guess that should explain the adjective used by our dear friend.

Originally Posted by Cyrus43

And dont expect to do many KMs in a day in north India if you dont know the roads. Trust me on this.

Where did this come from dude?
This would be true for any unknown place one visits - irrespective of its latitude within India!!
BTW, the context here was highways or city roads? If it was former, then I would gladly help you correct the ill-conceived notion you have. And in case it was latter, as I mentioned earlier, it would be valid for any city.
At least the saving grace is that people up there in 'north India' (pun intended) would not guide you to a 10 km away location by saying 'baaju mein hai'!

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by AlokSriva

If you are sure that road condition is good, then probably this seems to be more sensible route to take to save on kms and time.

Outstanding road since the NH76-NH25 highway is part of the East-West corridor. Road from Chittorgarh to Jhansi is fantastic. There is an incomplete section UP between Jhansi and NH2 Jn after Bhognipur, but nothing to really worry about.

[wanderernomad]

Just did Varanasi - Agra - Delhi stretch. Route is good infact excellent except a few odd patches in between. Driving time will be about 7 hrs to 10 hrs depending upon traffic conditions.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Just did Varanasi - Agra - Delhi stretch. Route is good infact excellent except a few odd patches in between. Driving time will be about 7 hrs to 10 hrs depending upon traffic conditions.

Is Kanpur-Allahabad fully 4-laned now? And how was the Allahabad bypass?

[AlokSriva]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Is Kanpur-Allahabad fully 4-laned now? And how was the Allahabad bypass?

Yep, KNP-ALLD is completely 4-laned.
And Alld bypass is way too good!! I did it in Dec last and on most of the stretch, I was cruising at 140+ There was absolutely no traffic on the bypass (except for occasional offenders driving the wrong way). But good thing on this bypass is - it is 6 laned and the great view you have of the road ahead which gives you ample time to see and avoid them.
Icing on the cake was - they had not started collecting toll tax though the booths were in place.

[black_panther]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Why go to Delhi to go from Bombay to Varanasi?

To cut the route shorter, you can take an alternative route. 2,000 kms
Bombay-Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Chittorgarh-Kota-Shivpuri-Jhansi-Bhognipur-Kanpur-Varanasi
The advantage of this route is that you can take 4-lane roads all the way, barring a few incomplete sections in Jhansi-Bhognipur-NH2 sector.

I drove the Udaipur-Kota-Jhansi-Kanpur route in October 2009. I would have regretted if I hadn't done so. Except for the Kota bypass and the Jhansi-Bhognipur section, roads were 4 laned and excellent. I guess, Jhansi-Bhognipur is complete by now. It is shown as complete on the NHAI website.

I was highly impressed with the road texture in the Chittorgarh-Kota section.

[satrab]

Hi,

I am planning to do a trip from Mumbai-Varanasi-Nainital-Delhi-Mumbai.

I plan to leave Mumbai on November 9, 2012. Tentative schedule is as follows:

November 9: Mumbai-Kota: I seem to have two options; one go via Indore on NH3 and NH79 or alternately go via NH8, that is via Ahmedabad. Google Maps says that both roads should take me around 14 hours, though the second route is nearly a 100 kilometers longer.

November 10: Kota-Varanasi: NH76 to Varanasi -- Google maps also shows something called AH1, but thats a lot longer.

Taking this overall route to avoid the Rewa-Allahabad stretch, which I understand from other posts is quite bad.

November 11: Varanasi -- Sarnath, the temple and the ghat.

November 12: Varanasi-Ramgarh (Nainital): Google maps has two suggestions, NH2 to Kanpur and then via Unnao-Bareilly. The other is SH26. Even the first route has lots of diversions into State Highways and Major District Roads. Any suggestions on this and can this be done in a day?

November 15: Nainital-Delhi: NH24: This I guess is standard.

November 17: Delhi-Udaipur: NH8

November 18: Udaipur-Mumbai: NH8

Would be wonderful, if I could get some suggestions on the route and also on how feasible this routing would be.

I would have my wife and two daughters (11 and 8) with me. Also should I take my Yeti (a year old) or a Petrol Vento?

Grateful for suggestions