[ramsnavy]

That's good news. Hopefully it should improve further before I hit that road in May

[TaureanBull]

What is the best route to bypass Bhubaneshwar while driving from Kolkata to Vizag? I could not find and information on the Bhubaneshwar bypass.

How is Khurdha-Chandaka road? Although the distance from this route and through Bhubaneshwar is same but I expect this route to be comparatively with lesser traffic.

[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

What is the best route to bypass Bhubaneshwar while driving from Kolkata to Vizag? I could not find and information on the Bhubaneshwar bypass.

How is Khurdha-Chandaka road? Although the distance from this route and through Bhubaneshwar is same but I expect this route to be comparatively with lesser traffic.

There is no need to bypass. The road goes straight to Cuttack and it has usual traffic. Not very erratic as you think. I have taken this route in day time and not troubled at all.

Never divert from highway as all these roads are not in good condition. There is no issue crossing Bhubneshwar via NH5.

[sandyrajsingh]

I just completed my solo 2104 km drive from Bangalore to Jamshedpur. Started at 6am on 4th March from Bangalore and reached Jamshedpur at 830pm on 5th. Night halt feom 9pm to 7am in Visakhapatnam. Stress free pleasant drive.

[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by sandyrajsingh

I just completed my solo 2104 km drive from Bangalore to Jamshedpur. Started at 6am on 4th March from Bangalore and reached Jamshedpur at 830pm on 5th. Night halt feom 9pm to 7am in Visakhapatnam. Stress free pleasant drive.

First of all Congratulations for completing drive. But, you said it is stress free drive. I also did same route in 2012 but from the Jamsola check post to Jamshedpur was extremely bad. How is that section now? Could you please tell me. That 100 Kms stretch is treacherous IMHO. Also, I had bad experience at Jamsola checkpost as the Orrissa RTO guys took Rs. 1100 as Tax from me. I have receipt as well. How you crossed Jamsola checkpost?

I agree that rest of the road is good. I am also planning to drive to JH this summer but not Jamshedpur this time but through GQ completely.

[sandyrajsingh]

Originally Posted by anujmishra

First of all Congratulations for completing drive. But, you said it is stress free drive. I also did same route in 2012 but from the Jamsola check post to Jamshedpur was extremely bad. How is that section now? Could you please tell me. That 100 Kms stretch is treacherous IMHO. Also, I had bad experience at Jamsola checkpost as the Orrissa RTO guys took Rs. 1100 as Tax from me. I have receipt as well. How you crossed Jamsola checkpost?

I agree that rest of the road is good. I am also planning to drive to JH this summer but not Jamshedpur this time but through GQ completely.

Anuj
I did not take the Jamsola, Behragora, Ghatsila NH33 route. Instead, from Balasore I took the Jharpokharia-Baripada-Bisoi-Rairangpur-Hata-Jamshedpur route. The stretch from Baripada to Rairangpur is single lane and treacherous (because of incomplete culverts, broken roads and also because I was doing this stretch post sundown) but from Rairangpur to Jamshedpur is smooth. In fact I covered the Balasore-Jamshedpur stretch in 4 hours - betweenv4:30pm to 8:30 pm. No RTO issues on this SH route whatsoever.

Sandeep

[sabret00the]

Travelling when - 10.04.14
Passengers - Wife and I (light luggage)
Car - 2007 ALTO Lxi
Distance - 1100 Kms
Preparation - OEM Tyres replaced, 56k Kms Service done with Steering box assembly & front strut replacement done

Query - Which is the fastest and most comfortable route with good scenery? Planning to cover in a day therefore:-

1. When should I start?
2. Where should I stop for breakfast, lunch and perhaps dinner?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sabret00the

Query - Which is the fastest and most comfortable route with good
scenery?

- The best (and I think the only route) is :

Bangalore-Chitoor-Tirupathi-Kalahasti-Naidupeta-NH5 (GQ)

In other words :

- Take the Old Madras road till Chitoor. You get 4-lane till Mulbagal.
- Mulbagal-Palamaner-Chitoor-Tirupathi-Naidupeta is 2-lane.
- At Naidupeta you join the 4-lane GQ NH5 and drive all the way till Vishakhapatnam.

When should I start?
Where should I stop for breakfast, lunch and perhaps dinner?

The total distance is 1000km. I would suggest a 3:30 AM start to make it to Chitoor by 7. There is a CCD at Chandragiri. You can use that for BF. If you are looking for south Indian food, just before Chitoor bypass start, there is a Nandi Plaza. Basically cover the NH4 2-lane sector before the day wakes up. Once on NH5 you should be able to cruise.

[sabret00the]

Originally Posted by ampere

- The best (and I think the only route) is :

Bangalore-Chitoor-Tirupathi-Kalahasti-Naidupeta-NH5 (GQ)

In other words :

- Take the Old Madras road till Chitoor. You get 4-lane till Mulbagal.
- Mulbagal-Palamaner-Chitoor-Tirupathi-Naidupeta is 2-lane.
- At Naidupeta you join the 4-lane GQ NH5 and drive all the way till Vishakhapatnam.



The total distance is 1000km. I would suggest a 3:30 AM start to make it to Chitoor by 7. There is a CCD at Chandragiri. You can use that for BF. If you are looking for south Indian food, just before Chitoor bypass start, there is a Nandi Plaza. Basically cover the NH4 2-lane sector before the day wakes up. Once on NH5 you should be able to cruise.

Thanks a lot.

Any suggestions on Lunch? I'm open to any kind of Veg/Non Veg food as long as there is no acidity or gas from the food. That is my biggest worry since I'm the only driver.

Do you get to see the Bay of Bengal anytime?

[rnidumolu]

Originally Posted by sabret00the

Thanks a lot.

Any suggestions on Lunch? I'm open to any kind of Veg/Non Veg food as long as there is no acidity or gas from the food. That is my biggest worry since I'm the only driver.

Do you get to see the Bay of Bengal anytime?

If you are starting from Electronics City in Bangalore, I would suggest you to take up the Vellore route as the road is good and you will find good eateries in this route. Please check our Bangalore-Chennai-Bangalore thread for more specific inputs on these places.

If you start at 8AM from Chittor after BF, you would be able to reach Nellore by 12 noon and you can have early lunch.

Normally I used to plan my lunch at Nellore whenever I travel in this route. But you have to take detour from the GQ and enter into the Nellore City. You need to travel 10 KMs approximately to reach out to Muralikrishna Restaurants. They serve good food.

The other option is just after crossing Nellore there is one restaurant at Bharat Petroleum bunk (I did not remember the name). I have not taken food here.

I did not find much good restaurants in this route after Nellore till you reach Guntur on the highway. I am a pure vegetarian so I prefer not to take chance at the dhabas

And coming to seeing Bay of Bengal en route, no! IIRC, the GQ goes near to Bay of Bengal between some stretch between Naidupet - Tada which would be completely opposite direction for you.

Thanks,

[TaureanBull]

I completed the Hyderabad-Vijaywada-Vishakapatnam route today.

Distance : 700Km
Time taken : 11 Hrs (three small breaks including)

The Nehru ORR joins NH-9 after 50 odd kms which can be covered comfortably in 30-35 mins.

The NH from ORR is initially congested with traffic for few kms. Thereafter its a breeze. 7 (7kms from Suryapet) is a wonderful location for a break and meals. The next meal options would be in and around Vijaywada.

NH-5 from Vijaywada is good throughout. The apprehensions about some bad patches on NH are unfound. There were few very small chips on NH totalling not more than 10-15 and some patch work. However, that does not reduce the speed or effect the journey any way.

Sadly, there are absolutely no decent food options from Vijaywada to Vizag. Some food options do exist near Rajahmundry but definitely not suitable for a family.

[sabret00the]

Originally Posted by ampere

- The best (and I think the only route) is :
Bangalore-Chitoor-Tirupathi-Kalahasti-Naidupeta-NH5 (GQ)

Originally Posted by rnidumolu

If you start at 8AM from Chittor after BF, you would be able to reach Nellore by 12 noon and you can have early lunch.

After covering Visakhapatnam, Araku, Borra Caves, Tyda back to returned back to Bangalore last night around 7.30pm.

Will log the details in another thread and share the link here. Thanks a lot for your suggestion.

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by sabret00the

After covering Visakhapatnam, Araku, Borra Caves, Tyda back to returned back to Bangalore last night around 7.30pm.

Will log the details in another thread and share the link here. Thanks a lot for your suggestion.

Sorry if I posted a little late. But you can also take the route through Hyderabad. The roads all the way to Vizag are excellent throughout.

NH7 from Bangalore to Hyd is butter smooth. Airport to Airport can easily be covered in 6-7 hrs.

You would not need to get into Hyderabad as the ORR that connects Bangalore highway to Vijayawada highway is complete. Approx 30kms which will hardly take 20 mins thanks to awesome roads.

Rest like Taureanbull mentioned. IMO, the roads from Bang to Hyd and Hyd-VJA is much better than the GQ.

You would hardly encounter 2 lane except for some 5 odd kms before Vijayawada. Though distance is longer, the drive would be stressfree.

[rnidumolu]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Sorry if I posted a little late. But you can also take the route through Hyderabad. The roads all the way to Vizag are excellent throughout.

You are true! But one catch here is it is very long. Rather than this, if one is considering good roads, they can take BLR - VELLORE - CHENNAI - TADA - NELLORE road also. It is also equally a good road (except for some diversions due to 6 lane works at some places but very much doable)

Thanks,

[TaureanBull]

Adding photos of my travel from Hyderabad to Vizag.

Unexpected Fog on the NH





7 at Suryapet for a Halt





As brought out by someone earlier, while going from Hyderabad to Vijaywada, the left lane traffic passes through villages at least at two locations. One can see the lane through village and on the farther side the right lane skirting the village.