I am planning a two-week long family trip Bangalore-Nagpur-Agra-Delhi-Jaipur-Udaipur-MountAbu-Bhavnagar-Palitana-Pune-Bangalore in my Fiat Linea during November 2010. Myself and my son will do the driving part.

Tentative schedule:

Day 1 - Bangalore to Nagpur and halt
Day 2 - Nagpur to Agra and halt
Day 3 - Taj Mahal/Agra Fort
Day 4 - Agra to Delhi and halt
Day 5 - Delhi
Day 6 - Delhi
Day 7 - Delhi to Jaipur and halt
Day 8 - Jaipur-Udaipur-Mount Abu & halt
Day 9 - Mount Abu/Dilwara temple & halt
Day 10 - Mount Abu to Bhavnagar/Palitana and halt
Day 11 - Palitana
Day 12 - Palitana to Pune & halt
Day 13 - Pune to Bangalore

The schedule is hectic. If necessary, I may extend by a day or two or cut short the places depending upon the circumstances.

Please help me with all the details that you have regarding the latest condition of the road, best route to be followed for a low GC sedan, hotels/eateries/lodgings, important spots that should not be missed in these places, etc. I shall reserve for our accommodation at Ginger Hotels, New Delhi [Vivek Vihar] and Wakad, Pune. For the remaining places, kindly suggest good places for stay/eating [vegetarian].

[hvkumar]

I think your schedules are too aggressive for day driving - unless you plan to drive day-night till you reach the destination.

Day 1: Bangalore-Nagpur will be tough because of the long distance, the hassles of crossing Hyderabad city and some bad roads in the AP-MH border. I would be a little less ambitious, may consider an earlier halt - depending on speed - at Nirmal (Hotel Sri Krishna) or Adilabad (Hotel Ravi Teja).

Day 2: Nagpur-Agra is incredibly difficult - has been done, but with departure from Nagpur at 3 am, and non-stop driving. Reasons - road to Bhopal is not in good condition, hassles of crossing Bhopal city, and some not-so-good roads between Biaora and Gwalior. Assuming you leave from Nagpur, I would consider halts at Guna, Shivpuri and Gwalior, all of which have decent hotels. Facilities are very poor on these routes and food is mostly in dhaabas only.

Day 4: In case you want to stay outside Delhi, you can stay at Hodal (Dabchick Resort of Haryana Tourism), 85 kms before Delhi.

Day 8: If you plan to see around Udaipur, then there is no time for that the same day you propose to go on to Mt Abu. In case you do not wish to go to Udaipur, why go to Udaipur, you can go on NH8 till Beawar, then go via Pali, Sirohi & Pindwara to Mt Abu - will be shorter and faster.

Day 10: Some very fast roads from Mt Abu via Palanpur, Radhanpur, Samakhiyari, Maliya, Morbi and Bambanbhore to Rajkot and then from there to Bhavnagar. Going to be a very fast day and long too. Palitana is further down from Bhavnagar.

Current road conditions are not indicative since many sections have been damaged due to rains, but will be repaired now that the rains are over.

I think you should draft teh detailed route - I can help you there - and carefully plan each day's drive if you wish to be precise and be back home on schedule.

Thank you, hvkumar, for prompt response. I know, the schedule is very hectic. After considering your inputs, I shall fine-tune the detailed itinerary by dropping a few places.

[hvkumar]

Let me expand your route plan a little more:

Day 1 - Bangalore to Nagpur and halt


Bangalore-(NH7)Ananthapur-Kurnool-Hyderabad-(NH7)-Nirmal-Adilabad-Pandharkawada-Nagpur

Day 2 - Nagpur to Agra and halt
Nagpur-(NH69)-Betul-Itrasi-Hoshangabad-Obaidullagunj-Bhopal-(NH12)-Biaora-(NH3)-Vijaipur-Guna-Shivpuri-Gwalior-Morena-Dholpur-Agra


Day 3 - Taj Mahal/Agra Fort

Day 4 - Agra to Delhi and halt
Agra-(NH2)-Mathura-Hodal-Faridabad-Delhi


Day 5 - Delhi

Day 6 - Delhi

Day 7 - Delhi to Jaipur and halt
Delhi-(NH8)-Gurgaon-Behror-Kotputli-Shahpura-Jaipur


Day 8 - Jaipur-Udaipur-Mount Abu & halt
Jaipur-Kishangarh-Nasirabad-Bhilwara-Chittorgarh-Udaipur-Pindwara-Anu Road-Mt Abu

If you go directly, without touching Udaipur,
Jaipur-(NH8)-Kishangarh-Ajmer-Beawar-(NH14)-Pali-Sirohi-Pindwara-Abu Road-Mt Abu


Day 9 - Mount Abu/Dilwara temple & halt

Day 10 - Mount Abu to Bhavnagar/Palitana and halt
Mt Abu-Abu Road-(NH14)-Palanpur-Radhanpur-(NH15)-Samakhiyari-(N8A)-Maliya-Morbi-Bambanbhore-(NH8B)-Rajkot-Bhavnagar-Palitana


Day 11 - Palitana


Day 12 - Palitana to Pune & halt
Palitana-Bhavnagar-Vataman-Tarapur-Borsad-Vasad-(NH8)-Baroda-Bharuch-Surat-Valsad-Vapi-Ghodbunder-Thane-(Bombay bypass)-Panvel-Lonavla-Pune

Day 13 - Pune to Bangalore

Pune-(NH8)-Satara-Karad-Kolhapur-Belgaum-Hubli-Harihar-Davangere-Chitradurga-Tumkur-Nelamangala-Bangalore

Thanks a lot once again, hvkumar. You have made my job easier!

[rkg]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Let me expand your route plan a little more:

Day 10 - Mount Abu to Bhavnagar/Palitana and halt
Mt Abu-Abu Road-(NH14)-Palanpur-Radhanpur-(NH15)-Samakhiyari-(N8A)-Maliya-Morbi-Bambanbhore-(NH8B)-Rajkot-Bhavnagar-Palitana


Day 11 - Palitana


Day 12 - Palitana to Pune & halt
Palitana-Bhavnagar-Vataman-Tarapur-Borsad-Vasad-(NH8)-Baroda-Bharuch-Surat-Valsad-Vapi-Ghodbunder-Thane-(Bombay bypass)-Panvel-Lonavla-Pune

From Mt abu to palitana via Himmatnagar, Ahmadabad ,vataman and Bhavnagar will be 440 km as against the route suggested by you ( more than 600 km). Any specific reasons for this ( like bad roads etc)

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by rkg

From Mt abu to palitana via Himmatnagar, Ahmadabad ,vataman and Bhavnagar will be 440 km as against the route suggested by you ( more than 600 km). Any specific reasons for this ( like bad roads etc)

You have a point! I suggested the Kutch route because you have the advantage of superfast 4-laned roads all the way to Rajkot - where you can make faster speeds - some lovely vistas of the Rann of Kutch and to avoid retracting on the same route for onward journey. The route via Ahmedabad means slower speeds, need to go around Ahmedabad on the SP Ring Road, but compensated by some high-speed roads towards Bhavnagar (part of it which you will have to repeat). Therefore, I would still stick to my original recommendation since the extra distance can be made up easily on these high-speed roads (where you can do 100 kms in 1 hour or so!).

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Therefore, I would still stick to my original recommendation since the extra distance can be made up easily on these high-speed roads (where you can do 100 kms in 1 hour or so!).

Even MMI/Google maps recommend route via Ahmedabad comprising SH. But, I have decided to go by hvkumar's suggestion.

[deky]

couple of points.

1. If you want to see Jaipur please start from Delhi as early as possible. Lately it has been taking 6-7 hrs to complete this 265kms. The places of interest start closing between 1630hrs and 1730 hrs, so wont give you much time to see.

I presume you are planning to see Jaipur or else you could have driven straight from Delhi to Udaipur. Right?

2. Have you seen Udaipur or you not interested? IMO it is the prettiest city (in terms of heritage) in Rajasthan. A must see since you travelling all the way from Bangalore

[issigonis]

>>> deky,

, I think Jodhpur might even edge out Udaipur in the 'must do city of Rajasthan' department!

Regards, drive safe
issigonis

Thanks, deky, for kind advice.

Yes. I propose to leave Delhi in the afternoon, reach Jaipur late night and halt. We will start visiting the venues early in the morning and complete by evening. I have visited Jaipur a couple of times earlier, but my children would love to see the Pink City.

I have not seen Udaipur. Now, we plan to extend our trip by three more days so that we can stay at Udaipur for a day.

Originally Posted by issigonis

I think Jodhpur might even edge out Udaipur in the 'must do city of Rajasthan' department!

issigonis, I am tempted to include Jodhpur in my itinerary!

[deky]

Originally Posted by issigonis

>>> deky,

, I think Jodhpur might even edge out Udaipur in the 'must do city of Rajasthan' department!

Regards, drive safe
issigonis

I agree!!! so whoever said "beauty lies in the eye of the beholder is right" Its just that I like lakes + palaces rather than desert + palaces

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Day 7 - Delhi to Jaipur and halt
Day 8 - Jaipur-Udaipur-Mount Abu & halt

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Thanks, deky, for kind advice.

Yes. I propose to leave Delhi in the afternoon, reach Jaipur late night and halt. We will start visiting the venues early in the morning and complete by evening. I have visited Jaipur a couple of times earlier, but my children would love to see the Pink City.

I have not seen Udaipur. Now, we plan to extend our trip by three more days so that we can stay at Udaipur for a day.


issigonis, I am tempted to include Jodhpur in my itinerary!

Oh good if you have one full day in Jaipur, its enough to cover the major places of interest. But I would still suggest that you start Delhi by 0700 hrs atleast ( if possible) or you will get stuck in traffic.

Regards

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

Thanks, deky, for kind advice.



issigonis, I am tempted to include Jodhpur in my itinerary!

>>>J.Ravi,

Just for your reference, I split Rajasthan into three groups as follows, for my travelling/logistical convenience :

A. The Mewar & Godwar Circuits comprising broadly Udaipur, Nathdwara, Chittaurgarh,Kumbhalgarh, Mount Abu, & Ranakpur
[ We did this, except Kumbhalgarh & Ranakpur (due to road resurfacing) in Feb 2010]

B. The Marwar Circuit comprising broadly Barmer, Jaisalmer,Bikaner & Jodhpur
[ Plan to do this in Feb 2011-can't wait]

C. The Brij-Mewat & Jaipur Circuits comprising broadly Jaipur,Samode,Sariska, Bharatpur, Deeg & Ranthambhor
[ No plans yet]

The groups below are the ones that I have not thought about at all.

4. The Hadoti Circuit comprising Bundi and Jhalawar
[ No plans yet]

5. Rest comprising in an assortment, the Shekhawati and the Merwara Circuits
[No plans yet]

----------------------------------------------------

I typically plan a ten day outing for each of the groups A,B & C; that way I can do justice to these places, especially as I travel with my family and they are least interested in my driving, but are completely interested in these historic and scenic places. My split is 50:50.

You see, you can do Rajasthan in a jiffy or in a lifetime- much like Delhi!

Regards, drive safe

Originally Posted by deky

Oh good if you have one full day in Jaipur, its enough to cover the major places of interest. But I would still suggest that you start Delhi by 0700 hrs atleast ( if possible) or you will get stuck in traffic.

Thanks, deky, for invaluable suggestion. My itinerary is still getting fine-tuned!

Originally Posted by issigonis

you can do Rajasthan in a jiffy or in a lifetime- much like Delhi!

But due to practical time constraints, we have to cover so many places at too little time!

[anainar]

Ravi,

Issignosis was right on dot. Rajasthan has so much history that you can spend a lot of time in each circuit. I did a 14 day trip, ex Bangalore to Rajasthan but I still feel I got only a taste of what is in the offing and not a gourmet meal. I would still plan another 2-3 trips to Rajasthan. Mewar circuit is quiet enthralling, and to know the history of people who kept their freedom priceless is worth knowing. Be it Rana Prathapsingh, Rani Padmini or Rani Karnavati, visiting those places, hearing the history gave me goosebumps. It is something generations to come should visit, learn and cherish. It serves as alternate to class room teaching which is always manipulated or what the curriculum writers wanted us to learn. The English historians always wrote Rana or Kattabomman as warlords but the fact is they patronized so much of art and culture will be visible only when you visit the places. Sorry for digressing, but I always felt our education gave the version of what the British wanted us to learn.

But your plans are very aggressive. Bangalore - Nagpur in one day is going to be very strenuous. My plan initially was to go to Rajasthan through NH8, visit Agra and then return via Nagpur. But looking at the conditions and strenuousness, chose to keep that aside for another trip.

Nainar