Travelogue: Bangalore to Kolkata

sdp1975 · 9th November 2015, 09:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepv

How is the condition of SH42 in general, I suppose its two lane highway, does it really save time w.r.t. continuing on NH5?

It's 2 laned, decent condition from what I've heard. Time savings will be around 20 mins or so.

anupams · 9th November 2015, 14:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oreen

13. I might sound incredulous, but for driving pleasure, if you are in South Bangalore stick to the GQ, and go via Hosur-Krishnagiri-Vellore-Chennai. It will save you time and also lower the risks, despite being about a 100 kms more.

In WB, any bit of political unrest can result in road blocks and other stupid things, so that's gonna be a calculated risk you will have to take.

All the best.

Thanks Oreen for the wonderful detailed inputs. This will serve us as a ready reckoner during journey. All points are duly noted and preparations are underway.

13. -> I was thinking on this part. I stay near Silk Board. Quite undecided between this and Tirupathi section. I am fine with 100-130 odd kms extra as long it does not adds considerable time to the whole journey. Looking to reach Vizag by 6:30pm - 7pm (max). What would you suggest with 3am start. Hosur or Tirupathi section ?

Yes, I am looking to take Bankura- Durgapur road only if I have enough daylight. If not, will consider either sticking to GQ or taking a halt in Kharagpur.

Oreen · 9th November 2015, 16:24

[quote=anupams;3844594]Thanks Oreen for the wonderful detailed inputs. This will serve us as a ready reckoner during journey. All points are duly noted and preparations are underway.

13. -> I was thinking on this part. I stay near Silk Board. Quite undecided between this and Tirupathi section. I am fine with 100-130 odd kms extra as long it does not adds considerable time to the whole journey. Looking to reach Vizag by 6:30pm - 7pm (max). What would you suggest with 3am start. Hosur or Tirupathi section ?

You will have to travel through the city and then come out on the Kolar highway through Whitefield. Till you reach the highway, it will easily be an hour because the roads are bad in Whitefield. In that one hour, you can reach beyond Krishnagiri and will be on your way to Vellore. There will be more peace of mind.

The road to Tirupati isn't very good for high speeds. It is a single carriageway and there's a lot of oncoming traffic. For South Bangalore, stick to Vellore road is my suggestion. Both my wife and I swore that we won't go on State highways or National highways other than GQ anymore, unless absolutely necessary.

Unavowed_X9 · 19th November 2015, 10:08

People, recent rains and flood situation have ruined most of the roads in Southern AP and Northern-TN. Bangalore-Tirupati/Renigunta-Nellore-Vijayawada seems tricky on the NH from available reports. Bangalore-Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Vizag seems better despite the additional distance, and will save time too. Im due to travel on this route in the next 48hrs. Shall update first-hand by 23rd Nov.

deepv · 19th November 2015, 11:58

There were severe damages to NH5 around Nellore, refer to this post.

Abhirup · 29th November 2015, 20:15

Friends,
I recently completed Bangalore-Kolkata-Bangalore on car.

There are already a lot of information available about the route in various teamBHP threads (and the wonderful travelogues help a lot in my trip planning), I don’t intend to repeat. My intention is to share a few things that we learned through experience, including a few things that didn’t work, with the hope that others would find them useful.

Route:
• My initial plans were to explore the Hyderabad-Nagpur-Raipur-Sambalpur route in the forward journey, and return by the GQ (Bhubaneswar-Vizag-Vijaywada), but after some research and some sound advice from friends, figured out it is safer and better to take GQ both ways, at least for the first such trip.
• From Bangalore, all the way to Kolkata, roads are excellent (well, I am talking about Oct 2015 - one month before incessant rains wiped out part of the stretch around Nellore - hopefully authorities will restore soon), almost 80% being 4-lane and 6-lane, very well maintained national highways. In particular, the roads within West Bengal and Orissa were a pleasure to drive. And about 100km around Vijaywada city – that was probably the best road I have come across in my lifetime.
• A few caveats: after Mulbagal, the road (NH4) becomes two-lane, and from this point, through Palmaner & Chittoor till about 10km before Tirupati, road condition as well as traffic makes it difficult to drive. Tirupati to Naidupeta stretch is a mix of good and not-so-good two lane roads. While returning, we had to cover some this part during the evening with heavy traffic (people returning to Bangalore after a long vacation), and driving was anything but pleasure. I have a good mind to go via Chennai (adds an additional 200km, but probably would take about the same time and fuel expenses, at much less of a hassle) next time I need to return along this route.
• Also the stretch between Vijaywada and Vizag – road extension and maintenance work was going on, way too many diversions meant average speed came down to 70-75 even though one could easily crank up to 100-110 on rest of the portions. Nothing can be done, but one has to account for the time lost.
• Finally, NH5 doesn’t bypass Vizag, and goes right through the city. While going, we went through the city, and while returning, we took the SH38 to bypass (from Anandapuram to Anekapalle). Either case, we spent a lot of time crossing the city – either due to city traffic, or poor road condition of SH38. Again, nothing can be done, but factor in about an hour or so for this portion.
• In many stretches, both Airtel and Vodafone 2G/3G data coverage was poor, and google maps didn’t help there. Thankfully, we had our makemytrip navigator to fall back to. Honestly, you don’t need maps, road signage and occasional advice from the passer-bys and fuel station attendants should suffice. The navigator’s real utility is as a score board – to show how you are tracking your target of the day.

Prep-work:
• Whether one should carry coolant, engine oil, etc, that depends a lot on your car and car conditions. Best is to talk to technicians before stocking up. My technicians (both authorized service center, and the street smart know-it-all garage owner of the locality) advised me against carrying all these, but suggested that I check the levels once every day. That worked out very well for me.
• One sound advice I received was to go for nitrogen filling – rationale being on long drive, this reduces overheating the tire. Having sun shades for the windows helped keeping the co-passengers comfortable, which in turn kept the driver keep cool.
• Planning stopovers: it is possible to do it in two days (one stopover, somewhere around Vizag), but I felt that would require a fairly aggressive planning and awesome execution. My suggestions would be – Rajahmundry & Bhubaneswar (or Puri) in forward direction, and Srikakulam (or Vizag) and Ongole (or Nellore) in the return leg. It is better to try and cover longer distances in day one, and successively reduce your targets, as you are likely to get tired over time.

That's all, folks!

-- Abhirup

KD007 · 5th October 2016, 12:05

Reviving an old thread, just an idea at the moment and thinking of executing it in couple of weeks time

Bangalore - Kolkata on the week prior to Diwali and return post Diwali. Have never ever done a drive on these highways

Solo driver in a WagonR, i don't have time/day restrictions. Current thought (totally open to suggestions)

Day 1 - Bangalore - Visakhapatnam

Day 2 - Visakhapatnam - Bhubaneshwar

Day 3 - Bhubaneshwar - North Kolkata

Need to know

Road conditions (plan to take the GQ)
Pit Stops suggestions for breakfast / lunch
Highway Hotels for night stay
Any worthy sight seeing stoppage since i don't have time restrictions
Approximate toll charges
Any other related points/suggestions

deepakdsz · 1st December 2016, 16:52

Hi KD.. Did you make this trip .. plz share feedback if any. Planning GQ in Dec. Any inputs appreciated

KD007 · 2nd December 2016, 13:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepakdsz

Hi KD.. Did you make this trip .. plz share feedback if any. Planning GQ in Dec. Any inputs appreciated

Updates on the following thread

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ueries-33.html

For further details, we can talk or you can ask specific queries.

tilt · 4th December 2016, 17:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepakdsz

Hi KD.. Did you make this trip .. plz share feedback if any. Planning GQ in Dec. Any inputs appreciated

My wife and I are planning to drive Bangalore-Bokaro-Bangalore starting Dec 21st. If your trip is around the same time, maybe we could drive together, at least on your onward leg?

This is the first time I am doing this drive too, and it would be nice to have some company.

Cheers

deepakdsz · 5th December 2016, 13:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by tilt

My wife and I are planning to drive Bangalore-Bokaro-Bangalore starting Dec 21st. If your trip is around the same time, maybe we could drive together, at least on your onward leg?

This is the first time I am doing this drive too, and it would be nice to have some company.

Cheers

Hi Tilt, Thanks.. slight mismatch on dates. We plan start on 24th, cannot advance the start. Good luck

adhiraj · 15th December 2016, 17:05

Hi Guys,

Is anyone driving down from kolkata to bangalore in a week or so? Need a small help, a bit urgent. Thanks

sumukha · 19th October 2017, 12:47

Hi BHPians,

I am planning to drive from Bangalore to Kolkatta, and than to Indore and Back to Bangalore.Tentatively during 3 rd and 4th week of Dece 17. My wife will be accompanying me and she wont drive. Both of us are spirited senior citizens but that doesn't matter. I have the option of taking my BMW 530D M sport or VOLVO XC 60. Both are in excellent condition done only 21k in odometer. I appreciate suggestions, route guidance and whatever might help me in travelling safe by the forum members. Please help me.

pramodpk · 5th January 2018, 15:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumukha

Hi BHPians,

I am planning to drive from Bangalore to Kolkatta, and than to Indore and Back to Bangalore.Tentatively during 3 rd and 4th week of Dece 17. My wife will be accompanying me and she wont drive. Both of us are spirited senior citizens but that doesn't matter. I have the option of taking my BMW 530D M sport or VOLVO XC 60. Both are in excellent condition done only 21k in odometer. I appreciate suggestions, route guidance and whatever might help me in travelling safe by the forum members. Please help me.

Did you do this drive? if yes, please update. Thanks.

sumukha · 16th January 2018, 11:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by pramodpk

Did you do this drive? if yes, please update. Thanks.

Sorry for replying late. I only did bangalore Indore and back and skipped Kolkatta Part. But planning to do this in March. Did the Indore leg in my BMW 530 D.

9th November 2015, 16:24	#213
Oreen BHPian Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 218 Thanked: 278 Times	Re: Travelogue: Bangalore to Kolkata [quote=anupams;3844594]Thanks Oreen for the wonderful detailed inputs. This will serve us as a ready reckoner during journey. All points are duly noted and preparations are underway. 13. -> I was thinking on this part. I stay near Silk Board. Quite undecided between this and Tirupathi section. I am fine with 100-130 odd kms extra as long it does not adds considerable time to the whole journey. Looking to reach Vizag by 6:30pm - 7pm (max). What would you suggest with 3am start. Hosur or Tirupathi section ? You will have to travel through the city and then come out on the Kolar highway through Whitefield. Till you reach the highway, it will easily be an hour because the roads are bad in Whitefield. In that one hour, you can reach beyond Krishnagiri and will be on your way to Vellore. There will be more peace of mind. The road to Tirupati isn't very good for high speeds. It is a single carriageway and there's a lot of oncoming traffic. For South Bangalore, stick to Vellore road is my suggestion. Both my wife and I swore that we won't go on State highways or National highways other than GQ anymore, unless absolutely necessary.
	() Thanks

19th November 2015, 10:08	#214
Unavowed_X9 BHPian Join Date: May 2015 Location: Indeterminate Posts: 222 Thanked: 309 Times View My Garage	Re: Travelogue: Bangalore to Kolkata People, recent rains and flood situation have ruined most of the roads in Southern AP and Northern-TN. Bangalore-Tirupati/Renigunta-Nellore-Vijayawada seems tricky on the NH from available reports. Bangalore-Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Vizag seems better despite the additional distance, and will save time too. Im due to travel on this route in the next 48hrs. Shall update first-hand by 23rd Nov.
	() Thanks

19th November 2015, 11:58	#215
deepv BHPian Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 386 Thanked: 143 Times	Re: Travelogue: Bangalore to Kolkata There were severe damages to NH5 around Nellore, refer to this post.
	() Thanks

29th November 2015, 20:15	#216
Abhirup Newbie Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Bangalore Posts: 5 Thanked: 5 Times	Re: Travelogue: Bangalore to Kolkata Friends, I recently completed Bangalore-Kolkata-Bangalore on car. There are already a lot of information available about the route in various teamBHP threads (and the wonderful travelogues help a lot in my trip planning), I don’t intend to repeat. My intention is to share a few things that we learned through experience, including a few things that didn’t work, with the hope that others would find them useful. Route: • My initial plans were to explore the Hyderabad-Nagpur-Raipur-Sambalpur route in the forward journey, and return by the GQ (Bhubaneswar-Vizag-Vijaywada), but after some research and some sound advice from friends, figured out it is safer and better to take GQ both ways, at least for the first such trip. • From Bangalore, all the way to Kolkata, roads are excellent (well, I am talking about Oct 2015 - one month before incessant rains wiped out part of the stretch around Nellore - hopefully authorities will restore soon), almost 80% being 4-lane and 6-lane, very well maintained national highways. In particular, the roads within West Bengal and Orissa were a pleasure to drive. And about 100km around Vijaywada city – that was probably the best road I have come across in my lifetime. • A few caveats: after Mulbagal, the road (NH4) becomes two-lane, and from this point, through Palmaner & Chittoor till about 10km before Tirupati, road condition as well as traffic makes it difficult to drive. Tirupati to Naidupeta stretch is a mix of good and not-so-good two lane roads. While returning, we had to cover some this part during the evening with heavy traffic (people returning to Bangalore after a long vacation), and driving was anything but pleasure. I have a good mind to go via Chennai (adds an additional 200km, but probably would take about the same time and fuel expenses, at much less of a hassle) next time I need to return along this route. • Also the stretch between Vijaywada and Vizag – road extension and maintenance work was going on, way too many diversions meant average speed came down to 70-75 even though one could easily crank up to 100-110 on rest of the portions. Nothing can be done, but one has to account for the time lost. • Finally, NH5 doesn’t bypass Vizag, and goes right through the city. While going, we went through the city, and while returning, we took the SH38 to bypass (from Anandapuram to Anekapalle). Either case, we spent a lot of time crossing the city – either due to city traffic, or poor road condition of SH38. Again, nothing can be done, but factor in about an hour or so for this portion. • In many stretches, both Airtel and Vodafone 2G/3G data coverage was poor, and google maps didn’t help there. Thankfully, we had our makemytrip navigator to fall back to. Honestly, you don’t need maps, road signage and occasional advice from the passer-bys and fuel station attendants should suffice. The navigator’s real utility is as a score board – to show how you are tracking your target of the day. Prep-work: • Whether one should carry coolant, engine oil, etc, that depends a lot on your car and car conditions. Best is to talk to technicians before stocking up. My technicians (both authorized service center, and the street smart know-it-all garage owner of the locality) advised me against carrying all these, but suggested that I check the levels once every day. That worked out very well for me. • One sound advice I received was to go for nitrogen filling – rationale being on long drive, this reduces overheating the tire. Having sun shades for the windows helped keeping the co-passengers comfortable, which in turn kept the driver keep cool. • Planning stopovers: it is possible to do it in two days (one stopover, somewhere around Vizag), but I felt that would require a fairly aggressive planning and awesome execution. My suggestions would be – Rajahmundry & Bhubaneswar (or Puri) in forward direction, and Srikakulam (or Vizag) and Ongole (or Nellore) in the return leg. It is better to try and cover longer distances in day one, and successively reduce your targets, as you are likely to get tired over time. That's all, folks! -- Abhirup
	(5) Thanks

5th October 2016, 12:05	#217
KD007 BHPian Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 118 Thanked: 157 Times	Re: Travelogue: Bangalore to Kolkata Reviving an old thread, just an idea at the moment and thinking of executing it in couple of weeks time Bangalore - Kolkata on the week prior to Diwali and return post Diwali. Have never ever done a drive on these highways Solo driver in a WagonR, i don't have time/day restrictions. Current thought (totally open to suggestions) Day 1 - Bangalore - Visakhapatnam Day 2 - Visakhapatnam - Bhubaneshwar Day 3 - Bhubaneshwar - North Kolkata Need to know Road conditions (plan to take the GQ) Pit Stops suggestions for breakfast / lunch Highway Hotels for night stay Any worthy sight seeing stoppage since i don't have time restrictions Approximate toll charges Any other related points/suggestions
	() Thanks

1st December 2016, 16:52	#218
deepakdsz BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 31 Thanked: 130 Times	Re: Travelogue: Bangalore to Kolkata Hi KD.. Did you make this trip .. plz share feedback if any. Planning GQ in Dec. Any inputs appreciated
	() Thanks

15th December 2016, 17:05	#222
adhiraj BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Toronto Posts: 62 Thanked: 5 Times	Re: Travelogue: Bangalore to Kolkata Hi Guys, Is anyone driving down from kolkata to bangalore in a week or so? Need a small help, a bit urgent. Thanks
	() Thanks

19th October 2017, 12:47	#223
sumukha BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Coorg/wayanad, Posts: 65 Thanked: 294 Times Infractions: 0/1 (5)	Driving Bangalore- kolkatta- Indore - Bangalore Hi BHPians, I am planning to drive from Bangalore to Kolkatta, and than to Indore and Back to Bangalore.Tentatively during 3 rd and 4th week of Dece 17. My wife will be accompanying me and she wont drive. Both of us are spirited senior citizens but that doesn't matter. I have the option of taking my BMW 530D M sport or VOLVO XC 60. Both are in excellent condition done only 21k in odometer. I appreciate suggestions, route guidance and whatever might help me in travelling safe by the forum members. Please help me.
	(1) Thanks