Road Trip vs Public Transport vs Transporting Vehicle

If you are planning a trip, what would you do? Road Trip Vs Public Transport Vs Transporting Vehicle

BHPian Roark recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

So, we are at that time of the year, when trip planning is at its zenith. Locations within the country, time at hand for travel, mode of transport et all.

And as clockwork precision, the mode of transport is a massive point of contention between missus and me. Not to even mention the length of the travel and locations - that brings up the 2nd and 3rd tier of heart-burn. The 1st is always reserved for the mode of transport - own vehicle or public transport

We have gone on trips via public transport to far flung places such as Ladakh as well but somehow I feel the convenience of having your own car and leisure of timing the departure/arrival at a location is just too much of positive in favour of own transport where as the clear negative is the time taken to reach a destination. 

Just take Lahaul/Spiti we were planning this summer. A flight and a rented car will take us to Manali in a day’s time, where as driving down from Mumbai would take anywhere between 2-3 days time. I am not even getting another joker in the mix - the cost (though I feel it might turn out a bit cheaper driving down, but then it is up for debate).

Just a day before we had a mini showdown - drive or take public transport.

So I thought about another option of transporting the car to the nearest rail head. So if Lahaul/Spiti trip is concerned, transport the car to New Delhi by train or we take North East, transport it to New Jalpaiguri or Siliguri by train. 

Accordingly, book your flights, save time of reaching the desired location and also have own car for the trip. Agreed, this option would turn out to be an expensive affair but then anything to have the leisure and convenience of driving your vehicle at far flung destinations. 

Let me add a note here - I have tried self-drive cars. If one is lucky you would get a well maintained car or else, boy, is it a hazard!! I had done a self-drive from Chennai to Pondi. Gosh the car was total wreck. The headlights were non-existent, gear-shift was like shifting in an old ‘khekda’ truck and not to mention the ride. Add to it we were driving late evening on the ECR - unknown road, unknown location and unknown rickety car. Whew!, too many unknowns. From that day onwards, I swore not to ever go for a self-drive. 

As I mentioned earlier, I had gone to locations using a rented car but then I find the experience quite restrictive. There are certain locations to which the driver won’t take the car or look to charge more or there is a certain time we are allowed to stay etc. I remember for the Ladakh trip (way back in 2008-2009 I guess) we were at Pangong Tso, and I saw a road which went ahead (presumably towards Chushul). Though I had not researched much about the location, I was interested to go on that road, to which the driver flatly refused - ‘Can’t go there - that road leads up towards Chinese territory’ or something to that effect he said. 

On an earlier visit to Sikkim (sometime in 2005-2006) we were at the mercy of the North Sikkim driver (North Sikkim drivers are pretty notorious of being a cartel) when we were on a trip to Lachung/Yumthang. Again his writ ran absolutely large on us - where all locations to go, how much time to spend there etc.

So, to encapsulate, how does this transportation to a nearest rail head work? Is it feasible - money wise, time wise and of course safety wise. It shouldn’t be that one receives the car with dents and nicks all over the body. Has anybody tried it before?

The reason I also ask is that the ‘to’ journey is always fun - anticipation, excitement and looking forward to see new locations et al. But the ‘fro’ journey tends to be monotonous. It tends to be bit of drag and feels like endless, objective driven driving - need to get home at the earliest at an appointed date/time type. 

Also, much easier for me to inspire the ladies (daughter added to the ‘others’ club) at home for a road trip.

Here's what BHPian mygodbole had to say about the matter:

Short answer: Transportation to nearest railhead in insanely expensive since you NEED to hire an entire carriage (you can stick in upto three SUVs on one) for the duration. 

I checked the Patna > Pune charges a few months back and was shocked when told that it would cost me Rs.2.5 lakh + insurance + handling. Time frame given was between 14 days and six weeks. (I took a flight to Patna and drove back over three days).

Another option can be to use a car transport by truck. This is still not cheap and road transport is exposed to the variables of weather/politics/road conditions and again the time frame is remains flexible. 

On the 'fro' part, one of my personal rules is never to set a deadline for any journey. Too stressful. I have devised a distraction: I chalk out 5-6 'attractions' on the way home. If I sense boredom/restlessness, I 'cancel' one attraction at a time. If no boredom, we actually visit the attraction, even if it for a hour or so.

Drive safe.

Here's what BHPian am1m had to say about the matter:

If it was a bike, it makes perfect sense to transport to nearest railhead and then continue on your journey. But for a car, I'd much rather provision the extra days and drive there. Make a journey of it, find some interesting places on the way and explore those as well.

Maybe give car/bike rentals at the destination another go? Find a better service provider with better cars, avoid peak tourist seasons when you will have a better choice of vehicles. I think that is the most convenient, take a train or flight and rent a vehicle there.

Here's what BHPian robby0707 had to say about the matter:

Honestly, from your post, i think you already know the answer. That is yo take your car and drive. The problem is that missus is not convinced. I do not think that missus will be convinced by our replies here too. One way of convincing her is to make her understand the perils of hiring an unknown car and driving through unknown roads one by one. 

One option if possible is for the missus and daughter to catch a flight and you can start early and reach delhi by the time they arrive. You get to drive your own car and they get to save time.

Here's what BHPian IAmGroot had to say about the matter:

I was contemplating something similar. Has anyone tried hiring a driver who can take your car to a long distance? Someone who can start a day or two early and reach just in time you reach by flight or train. Is there any such professional service? The catch here is letting someone drive your car for few days. 

Konkan railway has this RO-RO service for trucks. Would have been great to have similar service for Car's, where you can load your car on flat-bed wagon and just relax on attached 3-Tier AC coach. Best of both worlds!

 Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.