[sam_boy]

Originally Posted by rockyb4u

Any one have done Bangalore to Vizag recently. I am planning to do Bangalore to Kakinada next week.

Wanted to check if Bangalore> Tirupati> Vijayawada route is better or Via Hyderabad. Via Tirupati is less by some 150 Kms, but am hearing that Gutur Vijayawada road condition is not good and Hyd will be much faster.

I did Bangalore to Jeypore ( 220 Kms further from Vishakhapatnam) last October, below are my observations:

1. Roads from Bangalore till Mulbagal is great. After that you slow down considerably for next 1-2 hours as roads are not great. If you are driving on the night beware of the trucks coming from the other side. Everyone drives in high beam and it would be enough to make you blind for sometime.

2. Roads near Tirupati is good but once you cross again you would slow due to roads till you hit NH7. Again no 4 lane roads.

3. The NH from Nellore till Vijaywada is not great either, there were numerous diversions and I got too tired by the time I reached Vijayawada as every time I had to reduce from 120 to 30 Kmph for every diversion. These roads have too much traffic and every one drives in the middle of the road and hesitate to allow you peacefully

4. Guntur to Vijaywada was the worst stretch for me.

5. After Vijaywada you would hit thick traffic as you go close to major towns like Rajahmundry and VSKP but things settle down a lot in this road.

So, I would suggest you to go from Blr to H'bad then move to Vijaywada from there. Roads are great and very peaceful driving. You would cover around 15o Kms more but you will be compensated by great roads and an awesome drive.

[mashmash]

Originally Posted by sam_boy

So, I would suggest you to go from Blr to H'bad then move to Vijaywada from there. Roads are great and very peaceful driving. You would cover around 15o Kms more but you will be compensated by great roads and an awesome drive.

This is the route I am planning to take tonight. I am planning to start from Whitefield, Bangalore at around 4:00am.

[aby29]

Originally Posted by sam_boy

I did Bangalore to Jeypore ( 220 Kms further from Vishakhapatnam) last October, below are my observations:

1. Roads from Bangalore till Mulbagal is great. After that you slow down considerably for next 1-2 hours as roads are not great. If you are driving on the night beware of the trucks coming from the other side. Everyone drives in high beam and it would be enough to make you blind for sometime.

2. Roads near Tirupati is good but once you cross again you would slow due to roads till you hit NH7. Again no 4 lane roads.

3. The NH from Nellore till Vijaywada is not great either, there were numerous diversions and I got too tired by the time I reached Vijayawada as every time I had to reduce from 120 to 30 Kmph for every diversion. These roads have too much traffic and every one drives in the middle of the road and hesitate to allow you peacefully

4. Guntur to Vijaywada was the worst stretch for me.

5. After Vijaywada you would hit thick traffic as you go close to major towns like Rajahmundry and VSKP but things settle down a lot in this road.

So, I would suggest you to go from Blr to H'bad then move to Vijaywada from there. Roads are great and very peaceful driving. You would cover around 15o Kms more but you will be compensated by great roads and an awesome drive.

Hi!

I intend driving to Vishakhapatnam from Payyanur (a place in North Kerala).....

Following is my plan this Jan

26th - Payyanur(5am) to Mysore(2pm) via sultan bathery and Ooty.

28th - Mysore (5am) to Hyderabad (6pm) via bangalore (about 2 hrs stop)
30 th - Hyderabad (5am) to Vizag (6pm) via Vijayawada (meal/light snacks break)

Would be glad and grateful if -

(a) Any suggestions regarding route/its condition are provided.

(b) Any suggestion regarding stopover points/places to see are also provided!

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by mashmash

This is the route I am planning to take tonight. I am planning to start from Whitefield, Bangalore at around 4:00am.

@mashmash--please post your updates. I know you reached Vizag in the evening, and said roads were good almost all through.

[mashmash]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

@mashmash--please post your updates. I know you reached Vizag in the evening, and said roads were good almost all through.

Yes Venu Sir, It was a fantastic drive. Actually my first long drive. Have done number of under 500km drives, but never more.

I did the route, Whitefield-Bangalore, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Visakhapatnam. It took me about 15 hours to cover the distance of approx 1220 kms(Home to home). The roads are amazing throughout, except for a stretch near Rajahmundry where there are holes in the road surface, not too deep, but too many together were a little jarring. Otherwise an amazing route. There are lot of fuel pumps through out and on can stop to rest anywhere one wishes.

The Hyderabad - Vijayawada ORR, totally bypasses Hyderabad city. So if coming from Bangalore, its better to refuel before hitting Hyderabad. Else you will be able to refuel only after exiting the ORR and getting onto Vijayawada highway.

Vijayawada is a little confusing. While going to Vizag, I had to go through MG Road and that was time consuming and tiring. This is what the Sygic Navigator suggests. What is preferable is to take a right at the junction just after crossing the river. This will take you straight to the Highway bypassing MG Road. Sygic immediately reroutes when you take this turn.

Apart from these the drive is a bliss and boy Figo is a monster on the highway. Loved every bit of the car. A little quicker to attain speed can be wished for, but not that it will ruin the party.


MaSh

[sdp1975]

When I did Bangalore - Vizag in October 2013, the roads from Bangalore->Hyd->Vijayawada were excellent.

Vijayawada->Vizag had traffic, townships and crossings in between. Maintaining high speeds was almost impossible. It took me 8 hrs to do this stretch , including breaks. The traffic conditions in Vijayawada and Vizag were a mess - about an hour each if you're crossing during daytime.

Overall I was left unimpressed with the GQ stretch between Vijayawada and Vizag.

Covering Bangalore-Vizag in 15hrs is really fast driving I'd say , if that includes breaks.

[mashmash]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

When I did Bangalore - Vizag in October 2013, the roads from Bangalore->Hyd->Vijayawada were excellent.

Vijayawada->Vizag had traffic, townships and crossings in between. Maintaining high speeds was almost impossible. It took me 8 hrs to do this stretch , including breaks. The traffic conditions in Vijayawada and Vizag were a mess - about an hour each if you're crossing during daytime.

Overall I was left unimpressed with the GQ stretch between Vijayawada and Vizag.

Covering Bangalore-Vizag in 15hrs is really fast driving I'd say , if that includes breaks.

Yes Vijayawada was chaotic while going t Vizag. I was passing through MG Road, traffic junctions and what not. Return I managed to bypass it. Vizag was terrible. Too much traffic around 7pm. Since home was close, I kept calm and drove.

I actually did the drive with no breaks. Bangalore - Hyderabad non stop, flat 5 hours. Stopped for 30 mins to refuel and nature break, just after exiting Hyderabad ORR. Then on it was a non stop dash to Vizag. I would have stopped if I didnt have a wedding to attend in Vizag. Figo really helped here. I reached home near RK Beach at 7:30pm, took a nice shower and was at the wedding by 9:00pm.

MaSh

[vnabhi]

@mashmash--that is one heck of a long-distance, non-stop trip! It looks like the road between Vijaywada and Rajamundry has improved; it was full of potholes in November.

But I bet NAD Jn at Vizag must have played the spoilsport. It took me 20 minutes to cross it last November around 630 pm.

It would be of great help if you post the suggested route in Vijaywada to avoid MG Road.

[mashmash]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

@mashmash--that is one heck of a long-distance, non-stop trip! It looks like the road between Vijaywada and Rajamundry has improved; it was full of potholes in November.

But I bet NAD Jn at Vizag must have played the spoilsport. It took me 20 minutes to cross it last November around 630 pm.

It would be of great help if you post the suggested route in Vijaywada to avoid MG Road.

Yes its long to do non stop. Breaks are surely recommended.

Vizag was horrible. Right from NAD Jn to Eenadu Jn, it was a Jam. Also in Vizag. The entire highway stretch has these barricades vertical to the road. So have to be careful not to hit them. They create lot of confusion.

See the below picture. One must try to avoid the Canal road.
https://maps.google.co.in/maps?oe=ut...ed=0CCcQ8gEwAA

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Overall I was left unimpressed with the GQ stretch between Vijayawada and Vizag.

I did Raipur-Jagdalpur-Vizag-Nellore-Tirupati-Bangalore in Jan 2012. I completely agree with you. In fact, I was surprised that NH5 cuts right through the heart of Vizag and crossing the city is a nightmare, especially on a weekday. Why could they not have made a nice bypass there? What I also noticed is that the entire NH5 stretch from Vizag-Nellore is infested with localized traffic, esp 2 wheelers, and not very safe to drive on. One of the worst GQ stretches that I have seen, I must say!

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by mashmash

See the below picture. One must try to avoid the Canal road.
https://maps.google.co.in/maps?oe=ut...ed=0CCcQ8gEwAA

The link is not working-it has not been copied properly.Could you kindly paste the corrected link-thanks

[mashmash]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

The link is not working-it has not been copied properly.Could you kindly paste the corrected link-thanks

I inserted the link once again. Try out.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by mashmash

I inserted the link once again. Try out.

Thanks, so the route you suggest is to avoid that small stretch from Canal Rd and Governorpet till Benz Circle. But even the new route will need to pass through Benz Circle, which is known to be very densely populated.

I was told that after crossing Benz Circle, one needs to drive through traffic till Hanuman Junction, from where the road frees up.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Thanks, so the route you suggest is to avoid that small stretch from Canal Rd and Governorpet till Benz Circle. But even the new route will need to pass through Benz Circle, which is known to be very densely populated.

I was told that after crossing Benz Circle, one needs to drive through traffic till Hanuman Junction, from where the road frees up.

There is an another way towards Vizag through Vijayawada City if you are travelling from Hyderabad. Instead of going through M.G road and Benz Circle, take the Eluru road. This is a straight road which goes to Vizag.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

There is an another way towards Vizag through Vijayawada City if you are travelling from Hyderabad. Instead of going through M.G road and Benz Circle, take the Eluru road. This is a straight road which goes to Vizag.

Can you please post the route map, like Mashmash has done?