Team-BHP - Bangalore - Vijayawada - Vizag - Bhubaneswar : Route Queries

Update from first week of August 2019

Bangalore - Vijayawada
- Distance: 639 KMs
- Route: Bangalore > Palamner > Tirupati > Gudur > Nellore > Ongole > Vijaywada
- Total Time taken: 10 hours 22 minutes
- Running time: 9 hours 30 minutes
- Excellent roads once you clear Hoskote.
- Start time: 4:00 AM

Vijayawada - Srikakulam
- Distance: 440 KMs
- Total time taken: 10 hours, 30 minutes.
- Running time: 8 hours, 30 minutes.
- Roads are quite good, but traffic is difficult leaving Vijayawada and Vizag is a tough transit. The road widening gets really bad as you close in on Srikakulam and it stays that way from there.

Srikakulam - Bhubaneshwar
- Distance: 320 KMs
Don't have clear time for this as we tried going around Chilka by taking the ferry at Janhikuda to Satapada, but messed up the timings and had to go back to Poluru and take Nh16 again to Bhubaneshwar.
The road conditions improve closer to Barhampur and remain decent all the way into Bhubaneshwar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigitalDragon (Post 4635580)

Planning to do this stretch in Oct. Any pointers would help, in terms fuel, eatery, safety etc. It would be a solo drive. What was your average speed?

Average speed: I'm not a fast driver, so the first stretch, Bangalore - Vijayawada was the best: 67 KMPH moving. Second best was 54 KMPH on Vijayawada to Srikakulam. Slowest was the run into Bhubaneshwar, but that was due to our many stops and loopy route. The roads are good enough to drive at a MUCH faster pace, but we're not into that. And AP everyone sticks to the limit, guess they enforce their speed limits.

Eateries are a problem on this route. We stopped at Tirupati for breakfast, Ongole has a very good food court above the toll booth. Since you have to go through Rajahmundry & Vizag, eating options are available. There is a CCD before Srikakulam to take a break.

Fuel: Full tank at BLR, Vijayawada, Reliance pump right after crossing into the Odisha at Ichchapuram. There are plenty of them along the way.

Safety: The route does not have a lot of traffic outside the main cities. But we did not feel unsafe at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by codelust (Post 4635122)

Am driving from Bangalore to Bhubaneshwar 21st morning, starting from near Sarjapur.

Which route did you take to reach Tirupati: Palamaner Chittoor Pakala route or Palamaner Punganur Pileru route? The road conditions for the stretch you took would help me in deciding the route. I have been advised to take the Krishnagiri-Vellore-Sriperumbadur-NH-16 route to avoid the Tirupati route.

Thank you for your inputs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paraag (Post 4714870)

Apologies, missed responding to this on time.

We took the Palamaner - Chittoor - Pakala route. Once we cleared Hoskote, the route was more or less fine. Hope you had a good, safe drive.

Hi. We are driving down to Vizag on Friday, Jan 24.

Spouse, 2-yr child & myself.

Route planned is via Hosakote - Kolar - Mulbagal - Palamner - Chittoor - Tirupati - Sri Kalahasti - Naidupeta - Nellore - Guntur - Vijayawada - Rajamundry - Vizag

Initial plan was NOT to break in between, however, considering our child has traveled only 650 kms. in one go, we decided to break at Vijayawada (24th evening).

The other reason is the time consuming & unknown (for us) stretch between Chittoor bypass and Naidupeta.

25th morning, planning to start around 07:00 hrs. (realistic) from Vijayawada to reach Vizag around 15:00 hrs.

I had driven Bangalore - Chittoor - Vellore - Ambur - Krishnagiri - Hosur - Bangalore 2 weeks ago, and I don't have pretty much any question up to Chittoor unless there has been a recent development and/or someone traveled during year-end.

Here is the break up I did to simplify driving times -

Home to Chittoor - 175 kms - driving time 3 hrs.
Chittoor to Naidupeta - 148 kms - driving time 3.5 hrs.
Naidupeta to Vijayawada - 346 kms - driving time 6 hrs.
Vijayawada to Rajamundry - 158 kms - driving time 3.5 hrs.
Rajamundry to Vizag - 191 kms - driving time 4 hrs.

My primary concern is the route from Chittoor to Naidupeta -

1) How is the overall route condition for a sedan?

2) 05:00 hrs. start from Bangalore is ok or should I advance it to 04:00 hrs.?

3) Not looking to break between Chittoor and Naidupeta, however, in case a bio break is needed, are there decent options?

4) How is the route in general from Naidupeta? Can we compare it to Krishnagiri - Arcot section?

5) Chennai to Naidupeta is around 110 kms., is it advisable to take that route instead? (Bangalore - Krishnagiri - Vellore - Chennai - Naidupeta). I am not in a hurry; can reach Chennai the previous evening and start at 7 am from there to Naidupeta.

6) A good hotel in Vijayawada (INR 3k per night) that has an easy exit on to Rajamundry/Vizag road.

Max. speed will be 90/95 kmph on sections that permit it.

Planning 7 days in & around Vizag (Jan 25 - 31), then on the way back thinking about taking Vizag - Vijayawada - Hyderabad route to visit some other places.

This will be my first trip on this route, so any other inputs are welcome.

Wanted to cover lake Chilka, Konark temple and Jagannath temple in Orissa, but I think I will do it some other time.

Thank you.

P.S. On the weekend of Jan 11-12, I am contemplating a sample run of Bangalore - Naidupeta - Bangalore section to get a feel of what to expect on the 24th stupid:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Safety is Param (Post 4724318)

Hi. We are driving down to Vizag on Friday, Jan 24.
[*]Vijayawada to Rajamundry - 158 kms - driving time 3.5 hrs.
[*]Rajamundry to Vizag - 191 kms - driving time 4 hrs.[/list]

Quote:

Originally Posted by revvenant (Post 4728090)

Hi everyone, I am going from Hyderabad to Bhubaneswar tomorrow. The plan is to start in the afternoon and break at night in Vijayawada.

Hi,

I am driving from Hyderabad to Bhubaneswar later this week. Can you please share any update regarding the road conditions for the following stretches:

1. Vijaywada - Rajahmundry

2. Rajahmundry - Vizag

3. Vizag - Srikakulam/Berhampur

I did the Bhubaneswar to Hyderabad trip in Nov 2019 and the above stretches were not in their best form. Road repair and flyover construction was going on through these stretches. Is it still the same? Any other pointers that would be helpful?

Thanks in advance!

Quote:

Originally Posted by codelust (Post 4718144)

Apologies, missed responding to this on time.

We took the Palamaner - Chittoor - Pakala route. Once we cleared Hoskote, the route was more or less fine. Hope you had a good, safe drive.

Thanks Shyam, I had a good drive. Did BLR to Cuttack in about 28.5 hours.

Started from JSN Fuel Station (BPCL) on Sarjapur Rd, Kaikondrahalli, approx 1:30 p.m. after taking on a full tank of diesel. I believe I took the same route as you, and halted at Southern Spice, Tirupati Bypass (Avilala) around 7 p.m. From there, reached Vijayawada around 1 a.m.

For some reason, Google Maps takes me via Doleswaram barrage route in Rajahmundry, warning of road closures on NH-16 The diversion road from NH-16 via Tanaku Road is in bad condition with a lot of potholes. Would suggest avoid taking this Maps suggested route and sticking to NH-16. Again near Vizag, it took me via Chennai - Srikakulam Highway (SH 155). Not knowing better, I took that route, After a few good kms, the road condition was horrible all the way until I got on to NH16 again - potholed roads and lots of diversions every kilometer or so. :Frustrati Will never take that route again for the next couple of years at least.

While returning, after Vijaywada, I took the Hyderabad route. Came through Vizag along NH16 around midnight and it was a quick entry and exit. There was some heavy commercial vehicle traffic after exiting Port Road to join NH16.

Going towards Vijaywada, Google Maps was diverting many times warning of road closures on NH16 because of road work. Just keep ignoring those messages and stick to NH16 all the way to Vijaywada and even crossing Rajahmundry.

Am going again this weekend with the following plan:
1. Start from near Dommasandra around noon.
2. First halt at Essar Fuel station (Shree Lalitha) inside Karnataka border on road towards Tirupati, to re-fuel.
3. Customary halt at Southern Spice for bio-break for us as well as our four-legged child.
4. Rest at N5 plaza near Ongole or near Guntur and enter Vijaywada around 11 p.m. to avoid traffic.
5. Re-fuel at Ravi Rays Fuel station on NH-16 when entering Vizag
6. Set route for Fairfield by Marriott in Vizag to stick to NH16
7. Next halt will be Sri Sai Durga IOCL Fuel Bunk before Odisha border.
8. After that, set waypoint as Rasulgarh Chowk to stick to NH16 and not take the Nandankanan route after Khurda
9. Drive towards Cuttack CDA

Hoping to cover about 1500 km in less than 28 hours. Will post on road and driving conditions with pictures next week about this trip.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ashis89 (Post 4743750)

1. Vijaywada - Rajahmundry

2. Rajahmundry - Vizag

Hi Ashish,

Would like to know your experience of driving from Vijaywada to Rajahmundry and Rajahmundry to Vizag. What route did you take (suggested by maps versus actual taken because of experience or information), at what time of the day, how much time did it take, and road conditions.

From Vizag to Berhampur, is it better to refuel in AP or in Odisha? Prices in Odisha are a bit lower (diesel) I think, but I might be wrong.

Thank you for the inputs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paraag (Post 4766006)

Vijaywada to Rajahmundry
There's road widening work going on leading to frequent diversions (and of course, a lot of dust). Do note in some sections, they have dug up the shoulder of the road and placed sand bags or concrete pillars to prevent travelers to drive into the ditch accidentally. All this has narrowed down the road further and there would be several instances where you have to follow slow moving trucks for KMs together before you get a chance to overtake. Except for these diversions and the excavations, road condition is good.

I crossed Vijaywada at 11PM in the night and proceeded towards Rajahmundry. Near Prathipadu, Google Maps suggests taking a diversion and leaving the NH-16. I have always avoided this diversion and stuck to the NH and this time was no different (stuck to NH16). The reason, I have crossed this stretch during night hours and prefer safe smooth roads to commute even if it is longer.

I crossed Rajahmundry at 6 AM. But wait! I also took a 3.5 hrs. nap in this stretch. Net time taken was 3.5 hrs. which is similar to what Google suggests (even though I took a longer route).

Rajahmundry to Vizag
Roads were better in this stretch and I could drive comfortably. Started at 6:30PM and was crossing Vizag by 9:30AM(took Anakapelle bypass road). Took me an hour to cross Vizag. The road condition of Anakapelle bypass road has improved since 2017 when I took the road last time. That said, there are still many broken stretches. No regrets taking the bypass.

Crossed Vizag by 10:30AM and continued on NH-16. The frequency of road diversions increase significantly after Vizag, till Berhampur. The frequency reduces once you enter Odisha but you will continue to encounter till Bhubaneswar.

Crossed Icchapuram at 2:15PM and Chilika at 3:30PM. Reached Bhubaneswar by 5:20PM. I was the lone driver and took small breaks every 100-200 kms throughout the trip.

Diesel prices are marginally lower in Odisha, compared to AP. I drove a petrol WagonR and the price difference was significant for me.

Hope it helps!
Ashis