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-   -   Bangalore - Vijayawada - Vizag - Bhubaneswar : Route Queries (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/89966-bangalore-vijayawada-vizag-bhubaneswar-route-queries-64.html)

Gentlemen,

Planning a trip from Bangalore to Kolkata by the end of September. Divided over 3 days (solo driver), it'll be Bangalore-Rajahmundry-Bhubaneshwar-Kolkata.

Heard a lot about the latest floods along the Mahanadi and it's tributaries. Any folks from Odisha have any idea if it'll be doable by then? Or anyone done the stretch lately who can maybe give some inputs? Just concerned about the floods. TIA!

I'm leaving for Kol on the 24th of Sep, via the same route (Blr-chittor bypass- naidupeta- vizag-bbsr -ccu. Halt at vizag), but will be doing it in 2 days instead of 3, though, I dont think the route will be affected, will let you know once I reach!

A brief update on the route till Vijaywada:

- While going towards Kolar, the highway before the Hostoke toll is dug up, probably to build a flyover. Service road is being used.

- Roads till Tirupati and Tirupati bypass are in perfect shape. There's a bypass linking this bypass to beyond Renigunta, coming up soon.

- Renigunta - Naidupet 4 laning is going on and as expected, traffic is bad. This route is longer and given the road work going on, this 60 km stretch will take time to cover.

- Google suggests taking a left at Yerpadu and go via Gudur and join NH16 before Nellore. This is shorter by about 15-20 mins for the same distance. IIT Tirupati can be seen on this route.

- Road after Chintalapalem toll plaza is broken throughout and one can do an avg of 30-40 kmph only. This is for 25 kms stretch. Rest of the road is good until NH16.

Hope that your trip is going on as planned.

Floods usually do not affect national highways or major roads in Odisha, the thing to be scared of is the cyclones. They are able to stop major flooding incidents across the Mahanadi Delta through better management of the Hirakud dam. A few low-lying villages and flood plains in the delta region still get flooded but rarely affect the NH & SH.

Did a BLR - Balasore round trip recently . As suggested by google took left at Yerpadu and joined NH16 near Gudur . Baring 20 km stretch ( 40-50 kmph speed can be maintained) rest of the road surface is good . We could cover Tirupati to Gudur distance of ~100 km in 2 hrs . Traffic on the road is significantly low .

Once we hit NH16 it was a smooth sail. The Visakhapatanam bypass saved atleaset one hour

Hi All,

I am buying a new Honda Elevate in december end and am planning to drive that all the way from Bhubaneswar - Vijaywada - Bangalore
I will be the solo driver with my wife and am planning to cover it in 2 days.

These are the following options I have in mind:
Day 1: Bhubaneswar - Vijaywada
Day 2: Vijaywada to bangalore

OR

Day 1: Bhubaneswar to Rajahmundry
Day 2: Rajahmundry to Tirupati/Vellore
Day 3: Vellore/Tirupati to Bangalore


I have a few queries regarding the same:


1. Is it okay to drive a new car all the way?
2. Which is the best route to opt for?
3. How is the road condition on this route?
4. If I am starting at 5am in day 1, till which location can I drive Rajahmundry or Vijayawada? Will try to avoid night drives as much as possible.
5. Which option to opt for? If none of these are okay please suggest another one.

Congratulation for your new stead.

IMHO you should get used to the dynamics of the vehicle. I mean a week's drive cover couple of hundred's KMs and then hit the tarmac for the 1400 km drive. But then, that's me.

In Feb'23 I did BBSR to VZA in 11 hrs with breaks, now with the Vizag by pass fully done you should be able to do a better time. With a 5 am start you can still make it before the sunset, breaking it into 3 days doesn't make a lot of sense. BBS-VZA is ~800 Kms, so you need to take this into cognizance for planning your journey.

Congratulations on your new acquisition! Great choice !

Bhubaneswar to Vijayawada is around 800 km . If you are new to driving, I suggest you to rest @ Rajahmundry, which is about 650 km and thus doable if you start at about 5 A.M.

If you are an experienced driver, Vijayawada is doable as the road conditions only get better after Rajahmundry !

If you start your next day at Rajahmundry, halt at Tirupati at the night ( via Vijayawada-Nellore-Naidupeta-Tirupati )

You shall reach Tirupati by dusk and road conditions are good.

Proceed to Bengaluru the next day.

If you reach Vijayawada the first day itself, you can directly drive to Bengaluru on the second day if you hit the road at 5 A.M.

1. Just note that never cross 80 kmph on the new vehicle. It is not at all advisable to stress the new engine.

Get acquainted with the dynamics of the vehicle and do not bother about overtaking vehicles

Use Cruise control.
2. AFAIK , Vskp-Vja-Nellore-Tpt
3. from Visakhapatnam to Rajahmundry, surface is good, but substantial traffic; Rajahmundry to Vijayawada- Excellent
Vja - Naidupeta- Good Roads with decent traffic after Chilakaluripet
Naidupeta-Tpt - Good roads *( but undivided at some parts )

4 & 5. Answered above

Feel free to DM for any information !

Have you done long 600-800 km drives earlier with family and used to it? If yes then you can do it in two days. If you haven't in the recent past, I would suggest breaking it into 3 days. Breaking at Rajahmundry and then at Tirupati should be ideal, if it is a 3 day trip.

Yes. I bought my car from Bhubaneswar and the next day, drove it to Hyderabad with a night halt at Rajahmundry.

Bhubaneswar - Vizag bypass - Rajahmundry bypass (or enter city if you are staying overnight) - Vijayawada - Gudur - Yerpadu - Tirupati - Bangalore

Google would suggest this route too.

Nothing to complain except few broken stretches between Gudur and Yerpadu. And some between Rajahmundry and Vijayawada. All smooth throughout.

Bhubaneswar to Vijaywada is a 770 km drive which takes 11-12 hours of driving time and total travel time of 13+ hours depending on number of breaks. Given that you will be driving a new car and adhere to certain speed limits during to running in, it can take you an hour longer.

Starting at 5am, you can make it to Vijayawada by dusk if the road traffic is the usual on the route. Question is can you and have you driven non-stop for 12 hours? Are you and your spouse comfortable to spend 13-14 hours non-stop on the road? These questions determine stops for me and my friends who regularly take this route.

Hope that helps.

Thank you All.
I am planning ot ride the car for 300 kms in and around Bhubaneswar and getting used to the dynamics before the Bengaluru drive.

I have gone on bike rides around > 500kms a day earlier. I haven't got the opportunity to drive cars more than 400kms at a stretch.
Considering Adaptive Cruise Control on the elevate I believe 12-14 hours should be okay, but the only hindrance I see is the new engine which I shouldn't stress beyond 80-90s kph.

Seems like I should decide in the drive itself based on how much I can drive on the first day either till Rajahmundry or Vijaywada and proceed for the next day accordingly.
Two days is my ideal plan but will extend if it goes overboard.

It is not recommended to "cruise" on a new car engine i.e. don't maintain a single speed for long. Vary it between 80-100 kmph throughout.

As you rightly said, keep your option open to retire at Rajahmundry or continue till Vijayawada depending on how your drive progresses.


PS: Best wishes for your new ride :)

Hi, I need to leave from Vijayawada to Bangalore tomorrow.

Due to the cyclone and extreme heavy rainfall alert forecast on the Ongole-Nellore-Naidupet coastal route for the next few days (I got extremely heavy rainfall in this route 3 days ago too, when reaching Vijayawada, so I can expect it to be worse), what's the best alternate route from Vijayawada to Bangalore?

I guess the best bet is to hit the Hyderabad-Bangalore highway? If so, I guess I need to hit it at Kurnool? Any idea how's the road conditions from Vijayawada to Kurnool? Thanks!

Vijayawada - Nellore stretch has a couple of “weak” points which can be damaged during cyclone. Been in your situation during Nivar and bhpian Narayan80’a timely advice helped a lot. I would suggest the same to you. Please drive till Hyderabad, take the Outer Ring Road and then take the Bangalore exit. Proceed towards Bangalore. 200 kms longer but smooth hassle free drive assured (I did this route in mid October).

Thanks @ashis89, will most probably do that!

Google Maps also suggests Vijayawada-Reningavaram-Kanigiri-Kadapa-Kadiri route that hits the hyderabad to bangalore Highway. Away from the coast too. Any thoughts on that? Thanks!

Under the circumstances, you want to be off the coast as quickly as you can. So please stick to the Hyderabad route and keep the experimentation through Nallamalla some other time.

While the Audi Shankara college bridge that Ashis is mentioning is fully reconstructed. This bridge was the casualty from Nivar in 2020, which caused a 50 km jam on either side. There was another incident of NH5 being flooded that year from upstream rains.

Nellore has already clocked 112 mm even without the cyclone anywhere near (it is ~ 200 km SE of Madras now), and it will be tomorrow afternoon as a more strengthened system than it is now.

Please try to leave Vijayawada before noon tomorrow.