[abhinabp]

Hi all,

I am planning a Bangalore - Bhubaneswar road trip this December and have usually done Bangalore - Hyderabad - Vijayawada - Vizag - Bhubaneswar route. I usually stop at Vijayawada for a night stay as the route I took was longer than the Tirupati route.

During my return in Sep '21, i took the Vijaywada - Naidupeta - Tirupati route and it was in decent condition and is my preferred route from now on. This will mean an early start can have me hitting Rajahmundry before fatigue kicks in.

I'll be travelling with my pet (6year old Golden retriever) and was looking for any suggestions for Pet Friendly Hotels either in Rajahmundry/Vizag (if i can push that far - solo driver).

Appreciate any help

[Redeemer8]

Originally Posted by abhinabp

Hi all,

I'll be travelling with my pet (6year old Golden retriever) and was looking for any suggestions for Pet Friendly Hotels either in Rajahmundry/Vizag (if i can push that far - solo driver).

Appreciate any help

You can consider Hotel Winsar Park,Vizag. They allow pets but you may be charged extra ( Rs 500/day). I've stayed in this hotel couple of times.

[dagger8]

Hi,
I am planning a Bangalore - Kolkata trip in December last week and will be doing Bangalore to Vizag on day 1. Looking at this thread, seems like it will be good to stay right before Vizag and leave next day early morning to beat the Vizag traffic.
Any suggestions for a hotel right before Vizag?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[champ2108]

Vizag traffic won't be bad if you reach after 9. So if you start early at 4-5 am from Bangalore then most probably you would reach somewhere around 9pm depending on breaks and speed and the traffic won't be a concern.
Before Vizag and after Rajahmundry although there are a lot of small towns but not decent enough if you are travelling with family. You can get decent hotels right from the outskirts of Vizag after crossing the Aganampudi toll plaza.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Per the recent experiences, the Kovvur route continue to be the preferred one like I had shared earlier. Wait time at toll booth can be a bit of a luck but road conditions are good.

I hope the Anakapelle bypass would be patch up soon (it was in decent shape for me in until June this year). Crossing Vizag city traffic and it's 'n' no.of traffic signals is frustrating.

I came via Kovvur and Anakapelle bypass yesterday (from Vijayawada to Bhubaneswar).

There was zilch traffic at Kovvur toll. I crossed around 10am and I was the 2nd car in the queue in the toll plaza. The road beyond the toll was in decent shape (uneven expansion joints only). Part of it is getting relaid.

I was to pass Vizag around 1pm (less traffic expected). Reading the recent experiences about Anakapelle bypass, I was planning to go via the city. But a quick GMap check showed me the route via city was 15 km (immaterial) and 17 mins (matters!) longer. So again, I risked taking the Anakapelle bypass but did NOT regret it.

Per my calculations, about 12 kms (of the 55 km total stretch) is bad, about 3 kms is average, 40 km is good. Be patient, go slow and I could negotiate all the potholes without issue. BTW, I crossed two different BMW sedans also taking that route.

Barring a couple of flyovers on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, the remaining are ready to use. The drive is stress-free. Took me 13 hrs including breaks, from Vijayawada to Bhubaneswar. Do note the speed limits enforced when you are near Bhubaneswar city limits.

[JC_Redstreak]

Dear BHPians

I was planning for a road trip from Bangalore to Bhubaneswar by the end of Jan'23 with stops at Vijaywada and Vishakapatnam.
Owing to some family obligations, I would need to go to Jeypore (Odisha). A safe but longer option is to go all the way upto Vishakapatnam and then go to Jeypore. Google however suggests via Bhadrachalam -->Malkanigiri--> Boipariguda --> Jeypore.
This route used to have problems (naxalite, bad roads etc.) but I am not aware of how things are now.
I will be travelling with my wife and kid (7 yrs) in a Jeep Compass, so I would seek advice on the route in terms of safety, roads, food availability and availability of tech support (for car) in case of any eventualities.
Or is it wiser to go to Vizag and be safe and assured.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by ashis89

I did this stretch twice this year (from Vizag towards Vijayawada) in Feb and again, in June. The road was in good shape although the black top was uneven.

Originally Posted by mayukh42

The alternative to bypass is to take the city. If you can time the passage well (like in the afternoon between office rush) then the old highway through city might be ok.

Friends, I like to reach Vijaywada from Calcutta, my hometown. I plan to pass Vizag area around ten in the morning and not stop there. Do I take the bypass route or shall I take the road inside the city? Please give your comments. Thanks.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

Friends, I like to reach Vijaywada from Calcutta, my hometown. I plan to pass Vizag area around ten in the morning and not stop there. Do I take the bypass route or shall I take the road inside the city? Please give your comments. Thanks.

Passing through the city, you get good roads but lot of traffic and signals. A stretch of ~50 kms can take anywhere between 1.5 to 2.5 hrs.

If you take the bypass, it takes 1.5-2 hrs for 55 kms. Out of this, 12 kms is bad road (sedans can do it with some careful driving) and rest is very good roads.

I avoid traffic and hence, I opt for the bypass if I am crossing Vizag anytime between 8:30am to 6pm.

[samuelkoyya]

Hello All,
Any suggestions on road conditions between Renigunta and Naidupeta? Google is suggesting taking Renigunta - Yerpedu - Venkatagiri - Gudur route while travelling from Bangalore to Rajamundry, which is 25 minutes faster than the regular Naidupet road however I never travelled this route in the past few years so want to take the opinion from anyone who recently travelled this way?

Thanks in advance.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by samuelkoyya

Google is suggesting taking Renigunta - Yerpedu - Venkatagiri - Gudur route while travelling from Bangalore to Rajamundry, which is 25 minutes faster than the regular Naidupet road however I never travelled this route in the past few years so want to take the opinion from anyone who recently travelled this way?

Thanks in advance.

I took this route on Dec 8 while going to Vijayawada.

Tirupati - Naidupet stretch is being expanded and as such, there are small stretches where the existing road was impacted by the ongoing work. So when Google suggested I take the Venkatagiri route, I went along.

More than half the stretch is smooth double road. The later stretch is a mixed bag of average and broken roads (similar to the old Naidupet road). The road goes via villages and towns so one has to slow down in those areas.

PS: The approach road to the highway at Gudur is under works but that mud road beyond the steep climb actually meets the highway.

I covered all these stretch at dusk and night time. All in all, it was a good route.

[avinash_m]

Finally did this route for the very first time! HYD-BBSR-HYD

Thanks to all the fellow bhpians for posting very relevant info on the thread; it was very useful.

1. HYD-VIZAG-BBSR (16 & 17 Dec)

As the distance till Bhubaneswar was more than 1100 kms, decided to halt in Vizag, for this first leg (on 16th Dec). Started early around 5:30 AM from Hyd and reached Vizag hotel @ 3:30 PM dot. Followed google maps all the way; the only bottleneck I faced was when I touched Vijaywada around 9:30 am. The police was diverting all the traffic to the bypass. But it wasn't any good as morning traffic seemed at it peak and got worse before the tunnel, was standstill for about 20 mins just after crossing the tunnel! Thankfully it eased and traffic started flowing slowly. While the entire route is mostly great, some stretches/diversions are painfully slow. Also, I encountered lot of instances of right lane being blocked for maintenance activity. It was even worse if there was a slow moving truck(s) in front. As it was afternoon when I reached Vizag, had to negotiate the afternoon traffic and the multiple signals.
Started at a leisurely 7 AM the next day, from Vizag and reached home at Bhubaneswar at 1:15 PM. It was a beautiful foggy morning, just after touching NH 16. The fog wasn't too dense, with about 150-200 mtrs visibility.
Vizag to BBSR was very smooth, except only the last 100 kms, before entering Khorda. Some part of this stretch also has diversions due to ongoing work and the concrete sections of the highway are not as smooth (even if undamaged) as the tar ones.

2. BBSR-HYD (21st Dec)

Yes, covered the entire ~1140 kms in a single day ;my longest day drive stint till date! Started about 5:10 AM in the morning from BBSR and was at home in Hyd by 8:15 pm. Again followed google maps to the T. I wasn't sure of covering the entire distance when I'd started from BBSR in the morning, had kept it open depending on whatever time I would cross Vijaywada. Barely 30 kms out of BBSR, just after the Khorda bypaas, dense fog hit and I was barely able to see beyond 15-20 mtrs, was barely maintaining even 40 kmph; it was real scary! Really missed having dedicated fogs on the Storme, but then I'd never expected it either. Anyway, after about 60-70 kms of very slow progress, the fog eased and I was able to maintain decent progress. Since I was alone, consciously clubbed my breaks along with fuel stops. Encountered some pretty bad stretches near Anakapalle due to the ongoing works. However, when I crossed Vijaywada around 3:30 pm, and Hyd showed less than 300 kms, I decided to carry on all the way to Hyd. The idea was there was still daylight left for at least another 2-3 more hours, and I could cover much during this time. The plan worked until I was about 70 odd kms away from the HYD ORR entry, on NH65. The ongoing road widening and maintenance works, coupled with the heavy truck and 4W traffic slowed me down considerably.

Couple of close calls happened during this long return leg - the first one happened when I was approaching Rajmuhndry, when I noticed a flock of pigeons on the right lane. I was maintaining about 110-120, assuming they'd fly away by the time I got near but unfortunately, this one bird just couldn't climb fast enough! Before I could react, the poor thing banged the tip of the hood, ricocheted and banged the right part of the windshield as well! While I gingerly slowed down and moved to the left lane, I just couldn't muster enough courage to stop or even look in the RVM! Thankfully, no one was coming behind me. I'd noticed many such flocks fly away, before this instance, and just assumed they'd do this time too, only to be proven wrong!
The second one happened while crossing Vijaywada, was almost in the outskirts and traffic had picked up. Slow moving trucks, along with regular traffic were making it worse, and people were darting in and out of any available gaps, wherever they could find! On one such instance, being stuck behind a slow truck, I suddenly noticed an opening on the right lane and went for it, only to see a road barricade (single cone) in the middle of the lane, put up for people working on the median. I was probably at about 40-50 kmph, gaining momentum when I changed the lanes, so realized I couldn't stop in time, without either hitting the cone or getting hit from behind. Split second later, hit the cone at about 35-40 (had started breaking), it went underneath the car, dragged it for about 30 meters before gradually coming to a stop. Thankfully, no one hit me from behind, noticing that I was dragging something under the car! Put the hazards on, got out and pulled it from under the right lower arm. It was cracked at the base but wasn't in a great condition anyway. Exchanged quick glances with couple of workers on the median, who were obviously scared hearing the noise, checked for damage (thankfully there was none), and carried on.

Hope this is useful for people planning trips. Cheers!

[siddhant]

Originally Posted by JC_Redstreak

Dear BHPians

I was planning for a road trip from Bangalore to Bhubaneswar by the end of Jan'23 with stops at Vijaywada and Vishakapatnam.
Owing to some family obligations, I would need to go to Jeypore (Odisha). A safe but longer option is to go all the way upto Vishakapatnam and then go to Jeypore. Google however suggests via Bhadrachalam -->Malkanigiri--> Boipariguda --> Jeypore.
This route used to have problems (naxalite, bad roads etc.) but I am not aware of how things are now.
I will be travelling with my wife and kid (7 yrs) in a Jeep Compass, so I would seek advice on the route in terms of safety, roads, food availability and availability of tech support (for car) in case of any eventualities.
Or is it wiser to go to Vizag and be safe and assured.

This is a no brainer. Go via Vizag even if it is 200 kms longer since you are travelling with family. Avoid the Malkangiri route. I have ridden across several areas in Odisha and roads (state highways are generally good) in some districts can feel a bit desolate with barely any decent places to stop over for snacks or bio-breaks.

[6957663004]

Nexon XZM+S. Just completed the Hyd-Vizag-Bubaneswar-Puri-Annavaaram-Hyd run over a period of 6 days. The road route is very good and the highways are well maintained. There are quite a few diversion all along the way due to construction of over passes at various locations.

The road from Bubaneswar to Puri is interior road and about 30+ Kms are a rough stretch with concrete surface. The road is alright with no potholes etc. but the surface is pretty rough and one cannot pick up good speed.

As for the vehicle, I maintained a tyre pressure of 33 PSI (suggested is 32 PSI all around) all along and Tyre pressure indicator pretty much always indicated 2-4 psi over, which was a bit of a concern but did not face any issues with that. Mileage achieved was about 13-14 kmpl as per my calculations. Did a total of about 2500 kms round trip.

Headlamp as usual was pathetically dim and i overcame that issue by swtiching on the fog lamps which improved the situation marginally. The low light headlamps on low beam is a big concern and i did see a couple of replies to my previous query on that with suggestions.

[6957663004]

Originally Posted by 6957663004

Can some one in Puri advise on how good are the hotel of OTDC in Puri. I intend to stay in Puri for about 3 to 4 days and go around. Thanks in advance.

To all those who had replied to my queries, thanks a lot.

Stayed at some hotels that i found on line. One thing that stands out is the location of all such medium priced hotels are all shabby, but the rooms are good to alright. So if you are looking for a room for comfortable stay, you can find one alright but the location might be pretty interior.

Bubaneshwar Venus Inn was good with fairly good facilities and room was good.

Puri again location was way out of city but room was good.

Annavaram i booked with Ganesh Inn, but the place was pathetic with dirty rooms and run down interiors. Please avoid this place like plague. The said Ganesh Inn is right opposite to the gate that is the entrace point to the temple ghat road. I had to forego that place and move into another hotel right next to it and got a very good room for about 2 to 3 K.

[PetrolRider]

Originally Posted by 6957663004

The road from Bubaneswar to Puri is interior road and about 30+ Kms are a rough stretch with concrete surface. The road is alright with no potholes etc. but the surface is pretty rough and one cannot pick up good speed.

Which road you used ? NH316 is pretty decent with proper 4 lane. Easier to pick up speed except those irritating speed limit with cameras.