[Secretariat]

Originally Posted by ampere

Seems a bit tight to me. I think you may need 2 nights minimum, one each at Veraval (Somnath) and Dwarka.

Second ampere's suggestion that it appears too tight. He is vastly more experienced than I am, but I will add my two penny bit, having been in that circuit in February. It will be virtually impossible to do, if you add Bet Dwarka in your schedule alongside Dwarkadhish.

Some of this may be of help

1. Somnath is open all day long (6.00 AM to 9.00 PM) but Dwarkadhish is closed between 1.00 PM and 5.00 PM. You might want to schedule your timings accordingly. Scheduling to go at Aarti times is strongly recommended - Aarti at both places is soulful.
2. I did not encounter any crowds at all in February - no waiting time. Not sure what the current position would be, but I suspect that as long as you don't go on a festival or auspicious day, there won't be big crowds.
3. Rajkot - Dwarka - the roads are very good as are the roads from Dwarka to Somnath. However Somnath to Rajkot isn't great (the stretch between Somnath and Jetpur), but is the preferred route. Somnath to Vadodara via Bhavnagar was not recommended by the gurus here as the stretch around Una is reported to be bad.

My travelogue might be useful with some more details.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by ampere

Vadodara-Nadiad-Rajkot-Junagad-Veraval-Porbandar-Dwarka-Jamnnagar-Rajkot-Nadiad-Vadodara is about 1200+ km. So we are easily talking of 14-15 hours of driving. On that basis alone I thought one-and-a-half days would be less.
I think you may need 2 nights minimum, one each at Veraval (Somnath) and Dwarka.

I have driven Vadodara-Ahm-Rajkot-Jamnagar ( 420 kms) in under 5 hours on multiple times. The roads are well laid and traffic is not too dense. Dwarka is another 120kms from Jamnagar and hence I was thinking that:
Day 1: Start early morning from Vadodara and by lunch reach Dwarka ( approx driving time 7 hours).
Finish visiting Dwarka and then drive to Somnath ( 200 kms from there) and stay the night in Somnath.
Day 2: Early morning darshan at Somnath and then drive back to Vadodara ( approx 500 kms on the same route as day 1) and reach Vadodara by evening maximum.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Day 1: Start early morning from Vadodara and by lunch reach Dwarka ( approx driving time 7 hours).
Finish visiting Dwarka and then drive to Somnath ( 200 kms from there) and stay the night in Somnath.
Day 2: Early morning darshan at Somnath and then drive back to Vadodara ( approx 500 kms on the same route as day 1) and reach Vadodara by evening maximum.

As you mention it seems doable. Would that be OK for your parents? 8A is good road. And so is Rajkot-Junagad-Verawal. Dwarka-Porbandar-Somnath is not all that great. 200km in the evening on that road would mean another 4 hours. Hence my comment, that it would be a bit tight and bit taxing. Also its already these days.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Secretariat

[*]Somnath is open all day long (6.00 AM to 9.00 PM) but Dwarkadhish is closed between 1.00 PM and 5.00 PM. You might want to schedule your timings accordingly. Scheduling to go at Aarti times is strongly recommended - Aarti at both places is soulful.

Originally Posted by ampere

As you mention it seems doable. Would that be OK for your parents? 8A is good road. And so is Rajkot-Junagad-Verawal. Dwarka-Porbandar-Somnath is not all that great. 200km in the evening on that road would mean another 4 hours. Hence my comment, that it would be a bit tight and bit taxing. Also its already these days.

Thanks a lot for telling those aarti timings. A slight remodified plan. Please share your views on this:
Day 1: Vadodara to Somnath via Rajkot( highway 8A)-junagadh. Since the temple is open in the afternoon, hence we can visit it and then depending upon the time of the day either stay at somnath itself for the night or drive on to Dwarka and stay there.

Day 2: Visit Dwarka in the morning and then from Dwarka go back to Vadodara.

Another important change in this plan is to move the return flight tickets for parents from Sunday night to Monday morning. This would take away the urgency of having to reach Vadodara on time on Sunday and literally offers us more time to probably spend exploring Dwarka and may be a quick stop over in Jamnagar.
Also now they can attend the aarti in both the temples.

What do you feel about this?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

What do you feel about this?

Definitely possible. Even I wanted to suggest the change in flight plan to the next day, such that you don't have to rush against time the day evening while returning. Just mark 4 hours for 200km drive from Veraval to Dwarka. Roads are not that great.

Originally Posted by drmohitg

How is the accomodation options in both places? Do I need to book in advance or can just go there and depending on the final plan decide to stay at either place. Not looking at a 3 or 4 star place but then also not something too dingy.

Only worry is with exams getting over, the places don't get crowded. At least get a survey on 2-3 places on trip advisor and keep their numbers with you. That should help.

As far as parents feeling like driving: Dad wanted to drive down to Vadodara in the 320d . Had to convince him to rather take the flight as it will become too tiring for him.

I get the cue!

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by ampere

Definitely possible. Even I wanted to suggest the change in flight plan to the next day, such that you don't have to rush against time that day evening while returning. Just mark 4 hours for 200km drive from Veraval to Dwarka. Roads are not that great.

How is the accomodation options in both places? Do I need to book in advance or can just go there and depending on the final plan decide to stay at either place. Not looking at a 3 or 4 star place but then also not something too dingy.

As far as parents feeling like driving: Dad wanted to drive down to Vadodara in the 320d . Had to convince him to rather take the flight as it will become too tiring for him.

[Sandy28]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

How is the accomodation options in both places? Do I need to book in advance or can just go there and depending on the final plan decide to stay at either place. Not looking at a 3 or 4 star place but then also not something too dingy.

I drove to Somnath on 16th March from Ahmedabad. Took the Bagodara-Dhandhuka-Vallabhipur-Amreli-Dhari-Visavdar-Talala-Somnath route. Excellent road all the way; from Bagodara, it is mostly a 2-lane road but great roads. Only issue is with the 15 km stretch that you pass thru the Gir forest between Visavdar and Talala. There exists no road and we took about 2 hrs to do this stretch. On the way back, took the Junagadh-Rajkot-Ahmedabad route. Roads are pretty bad between Somanth and Jetpur. At Jetpur, you connect with the Rajkot-Porbandar route, and then its a breeze.

As for accomodation, we were put up at Hotel Sagar Darshan. You can check it out at http://www.somnath.org/ and also book it online. Decent place and great location - bang next to the temple and the sea. All its rooms are sea facing. So you get a great view.

There are plenty of other accomodation options too in Somnath but would strongly suggest you to fix it before reaching to avoid any last moment hassels.

[paragsachania]

The major time consuming stretch here would be:
Junagarh-Veraval: Bad patches and not a fast one
Veraval-Porbandar: Is not bad and easily manageable with usual average speeds
Porbandar-Dwarka: Is again a 2 lane coastal highway with not too dense traffic

Like Sandy explains, avoid roads passing through Gir and Talala. I had driven in Jan 2014 and the roads were really bad after Junagarh.

A smarter option is to do Rajkot-Jamnagar (Excellent road) and then Jamnagar-Dwarka and finally head south towards Veraval/Somnath.

For excellent VFM accommodation at Dwarka, you can check "Kokila Dhiraj Dhaam" run by Reliance Trust. Stayed here couple of times but they serve only Milk and you may have to look elsewhere for food. Otherwise, very clean accommodation by standards!

http://www.tripadvisor.in/Hotel_Revi...a_Gujarat.html

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Sandy28

I drove to Somnath on 16th March from Ahmedabad. Took the Bagodara-Dhandhuka-Vallabhipur-Amreli-Dhari-Visavdar-Talala-Somnath route. Excellent road all the way; from Bagodara, it is mostly a 2-lane road but great roads. Only issue is with the 15 km stretch that you pass thru the Gir forest between Visavdar and Talala. There exists no road and we took about 2 hrs to do this stretch. On the way back, took the Junagadh-Rajkot-Ahmedabad route. Roads are pretty bad between Somanth and Jetpur. At Jetpur, you connect with the Rajkot-Porbandar route, and then its a breeze.

So which route do you suggest out of the two? I will be driving in Toyota Altis with 3 people on board.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

A smarter option is to do Rajkot-Jamnagar (Excellent road) and then Jamnagar-Dwarka and finally head south towards Veraval/Somnath.

The problem is that Dwarka temple closes in the afternoon. Also parents need to do some pooja at Dwarka which might take a couple of hours. So accordingly the better sense says that on day 1 I should rather go to somnath first and then keep the whole next day for Dwarka.

So which route is best for Somnath? I am thinking 8A till Rajkot and then via Junagadh-jetpur-Somnath. Looks like the least of the devil out of the lot.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

So which route do you suggest out of the two? I will be driving in Toyota Altis with 3 people on board.

Take the Junagarh route if better roads is preference. Navigating through Junagarh of course may be a little time consuming but then it is not all that bad.

I would still vote for doing Dwarka first via Jamnagar and then heading down south for the benefit of better roads!

EDIT:

Originally Posted by drmohitg

So which route is best for Somnath? I am thinking 8A till Rajkot and then via Junagadh-jetpur-Somnath. Looks like the least of the devil out of the lot.

Yes, 8A till Rajkot, then Gondal-Jetpur-Junagarh and then Veraval-Somnath. You are better off with this.

After this you can head to Dwarka via Porbandar and roads are all good though 2 lane.

Dwarka Jamnagar is another excellent 2 lane road passing through the sprawling Reliance and Essar's complex and Jamnagar-Rajkot is another excellent road.

[Sandy28]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

So which route do you suggest out of the two? I will be driving in Toyota Altis with 3 people on board.

I suggest Nadiad - Dholka - Vallabhipur- Gondal- Junagadh-Somnath. Till Jetpur it will not be a problem. And if you like rural countryside views, you will get plenty on this route (but very few decent hotels).

[Ageing Stud]

Originally Posted by aaggoswami

1) Its better to stay at Somnath. The accomodation is not that costly and many options are available for overnight stay to choose from. We have done Vadodara-Somnath-Vadodara in one day.
But ealier my parents used to halt there for one night in somnath. I will talk with my parents and let you know if they remember any name.
But there are many options, less congesation and sea is just a few hunderd mtrs. walk in Somnath.

2) The only attraction near by Somnath IMO is Junagarh. But its impossible to reach the top. Again will let you know is more information is available. The sea at Chorwad and Mangrol is good enough, but not that good to warrant a visit.

Hi,
I am also planning to visit somnath this weekend and plan to leave from surat on saturday. Like you I am also using a wagon r cng. Can u guide me which route to take from surat, the longer one via Ahmedabad or the shorter thru karjan, padra, Tara pur, botad. And also if I can find cng near karjan before Vadodara or any other place enroute before botad. Botad is a must while going ot coming back as I plan to go to sarangpur hanumanji also. Thanks

[drmohitg]

Will be starting my trip tomorrow morning to Dwarka and Somnath. Have finally decided to head to dwarka first via the national highway 8A. Will then stay at dwarka tomorrow night and drive to Somnath on sunday morning and then back to Vadodara by Sunday night.

[drmohitg]

Finished the journey and arrived back in Vadodara yesterday night. The trip was awesome and thanks to TBHP, it made life very easy as I knew most of the things from the forum itself. The route followed was:
Day 1: Vadodara- Ahmedabad- Rajkot- Jamnagar- Dwarka.
Day 2: Dwarka- Nageshwar Jyotiling- Porbandar- Somnath- Junagadh- Jetpur- Rajkot- Ahmedabad- Vadodara.

Roads are really good as expected except for the last 50 kms between Porbandar to Dwarka. The real bad patch is between Somnath and Jetpur till you merge with NH 8b. There is road widening going on in this whole stretch and the route is hence filled with diversions and potholes (not too deep ones though). From Jetpur onwards its again good roads all the way to Vadodara.

Special thanks to member Secretariat for that amazing and very informative blog.