[reply2ab]

Brief :
Family Road Trip to visit Kerala, attend a wedding near Chennai and return to Delhi. (2 adults + 1 4yr old)

Route Query :
Tentative Plan - Delhi - Kochi - Munnar - Thekkady - Alleppey - Chennai

Please suggest "Best" possible (read good roads / budget & clean stays) along with must go to places.

Travel Dates :
24th - 31st March
Need to be in Chennai : 2nd April

Our Ride : 2017 S-Cross

[ampere]

Originally Posted by reply2ab

Route Query :
Tentative Plan - Delhi - Kochi - Munnar - Thekkady - Alleppey - Chennai
Please suggest "Best" possible (read good roads / budget & clean stays) along with must go to places.
Travel Dates :
24th - 31st March
Need to be in Chennai : 2nd April
Our Ride : 2017 S-Cross

There are many long distance *runners* on this forum! You know what I mean!

Here is my take on your requirements:

- 24th to 31 : Inclusive of drive dates seems on the lower side. ( I assume its time only till you reach Chennai?)
- Delhi-Kochi : Will take 3 days (Delhi-AMD-Mumbai Bypass- Pune-Hubli-Bangalore-Coimbattore-Trichur-Kochi) : Nights at Ahmedabad/Pune/Bangalore (seasoned folks may know better)
- Munnar and Thekkady (3 + 2 nights?) ?
- Munnar - Chennai : 1 days time driving : Munnar-Theni-Dindigul-Trichy-Chennai (8-10 hours)
- I just hope you dont get caught gasping for breadth! You may have to add more travel days to include drive times. Not to mention the needs of a 4 year old adding to more time.
- Chennai-Delhi: Chennai-Bangalore-Pune-Delhi

But having said all that S-Cross is just perfect for all such endeavors !

[benu9714]

If you intend to spend a night at Munnar I would suggest High Range Club http://www.highrangeclubmunnar.com/

It is located just outside the crowded town of Munaar in quite picturesque surroundings with plenty of room for a 4 year old to run around. I have stayed there twice and enjoyed the place.

You don't have to be a member of any club to stay there. You just need to email the Secretary.

Thekkady was a let-down. For one, it will be hot in end-March. It is also immensely crowded, with queues of buses a mile long. It is one of those animal sanctuaries where there are no animals to be seen ("there was a .... (animal) here last week"). I would suggest you spend time at Munnar instead and drive around the tea garden areas - beautiful, There are also a couple of dams to visit.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by reply2ab

Brief :
Family Road Trip to visit Kerala, attend a wedding near Chennai and return to Delhi. (2 adults + 1 4yr old)

Route Query :
Tentative Plan - Delhi - Kochi - Munnar - Thekkady - Alleppey - Chennai

Please suggest "Best" possible (read good roads / budget & clean stays) along with must go to places.

As it is still in the tentative stage, I will pitch in with the first leg here. Delhi to Cochin is about 2700 km. Unless the adults and the 4 year old are seasoned long distance travelers on the road, it is not comfortable traveling more than 500 km in a day for one driver. So that part of the journey should take about 4, 5 days. Plan for a relaxed drive.

[narayans80]

I don't quite get your travel dates, is 24-31 March only for Delhi-Kochi-Munnar-Madras?

- Delhi-Kochi is easy 2.5-3 days of super aggressive driving (>15 hrs, ~ 1000 kms/day).
- Same applies to Madras-Delhi as well, minimum 2 days of super-aggressive driving.
- Munnar needs 2-3 days minimum.

Note that, the estimates were based on N-S corridor (Agra-Narsingpur-Nagpur-Hyd). If you are taking the GQ (Udaipur-Bombay-Bangalore), add another day each way.

[kozhissery]

Originally Posted by reply2ab

Brief :
Family Road Trip to visit Kerala, attend a wedding near Chennai and return to Delhi. (2 adults + 1 4yr old)

Route Query :
Tentative Plan - Delhi - Kochi - Munnar - Thekkady - Alleppey - Chennai

Please suggest "Best" possible (read good roads / budget & clean stays) along with must go to places.

Travel Dates :
24th - 31st March
Need to be in Chennai : 2nd April

Our Ride : 2017 S-Cross

With just 8 days, you will end-up just driving.

Day 1. Delhi-Jaipur->Udaipur
Day 2. Udaipur-Mum-Hubbali
Day 3. Hubbali-Munnar
Day 4. Munnar-Thekkady
Day 5. Thekkady-Dindigul-Chennai
Day 6/7/8. Chennai-Delhi

Virtually you won't get time for anything other than driving. You can enjoy but for Kid, it would be too tough. With scorching heat can't even venture out except at Munnar/Thekkady.

Better
Day 1: Fly to Kochi, hire a cab to Alleppy (If you can reach Kochi early morning then hire a car and go directly to Alleppy and take a lake/boat cruise. Stay in boat overnight)
Day 2: Alleppy (in and around and head to for Munnar by evening)
Day 3: Munnar
Day 4: Munnar
Day 5: Thekkady
Day 6: Thekkady
Day 7: Fly to Chennai
Day 8 (Late night?): Fly back

[reply2ab]

Thanks for all your suggestions and comments, apologies for not having replied earlier, based on the feedback i will now not be driving to Kerala but will be driving to Chennai.

Driving & staying at leisure.
Onward (22 - 31): Delhi - Udaipur (2Nts) - Mumbai (3Nts) - Hubbali (1Nt) Bangalore (1Nt) - Vellore

Return : Chennai to Delhi (Any Suggestions / Comments)

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by reply2ab

Return : Chennai to Delhi (Any Suggestions / Comments)

You can take the N-S corridor: Hyderabad-Nagpur-Narsinghpur-Sagar-Jhansi-Agra.

You can explore Hyderabad on the way. Bhedaghat is a short detour off this route.

[Roan J]

I'm finalising plans for a Kerala-Delhi drive for the second week of December with a brief stopover of 3-4 days in Bengaluru. I'm now planning the Kerala -Blr stage through a roundabout route covering Tenkasi, Madurai, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram, Puducherry and Kancheepuram. I would love to hear from regulars on these routes, on the road conditions, interesting places enroute and of alternative routes available between any two of these points listed above (I want to cover all these places for sentimental reasons, would not mind the extra distance and time it takes). I dont intend on driving beyond 6.00 pm and would halt and interesting places enroute.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by Roan J

I'm finalising plans for a Kerala-Delhi drive for the second week of December with a brief stopover of 3-4 days in Bengaluru. I'm now planning the Kerala -Blr stage through a roundabout route covering Tenkasi, Madurai, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram, Puducherry and Kancheepuram. I would love to hear from regulars on these routes, on the road conditions, interesting places enroute and of alternative routes available between any two of these points listed above (I want to cover all these places for sentimental reasons, would not mind the extra distance and time it takes). I dont intend on driving beyond 6.00 pm and would halt and interesting places enroute.

All roads in TN are excellent or very good or good, except for a very small %. However, Kumbakonam to Mayiladuthurai is okayish, then Mayladuthurai to Sirkazhi to Chidambaram to Puducherry stretch is under construction for very long time, so not good. It will be a painful drive for sure.
As you are planning in 2nd week of December, and given that heavy rains in Delta districts due to North East Monsoon, road conditions are getting bad/worse and it will be terrible in those "Under construction" sections.

I would suggest you to keep Plan-B route & places, in case of any low pressure/cyclone or heavy rain forecast. Thus you can avoid Kumbakonam to Chidambaram route for sure. This doesn't mean other places are good to go, you really have to see the weather forecast before your travel, and also we don't know whom you are traveling with (elders/small kids/family etc) to plan a safe trip.

Its not clear,what is your interest to see the places in the route. These are predominantly temple towns/spiritual circuit belt. Very few sight seeing places to cover apart from temples. Its also not clear, how many days you have in hand and since you mentioned you don't plan to drive post 6 pm, definitely time/days will increase than normal.

Provide more information about your interest/no. of days trip etc and then we can suggest few.

PS: This is a wrong thread as this discussion is for Bangalore to Trichy which is not in your route. We suggest you search and post your queries only in applicable threads.

-Ravi

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Roan J

I'm finalising plans for a Kerala-Delhi drive for the second week of December with a brief stopover of 3-4 days in Bengaluru. I'm now planning the Kerala -Blr stage through a roundabout route covering Tenkasi, Madurai, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram, Puducherry and Kancheepuram. I would love to hear from regulars on these routes, on the road conditions, interesting places enroute and of alternative routes available between any two of these points listed above (I want to cover all these places for sentimental reasons, would not mind the extra distance and time it takes). I dont intend on driving beyond 6.00 pm and would halt and interesting places enroute.

Based on what you want to cover in south India here is what I can suggest:

Tentative places to stay:

• Madurai, Karaikudi (Stay in mansions and visit Pudukottai)
• Tanjore or KMU.
• Visit Chidambaram and then stay in Pondicherry
• Last stop before you move on : Kanchi

Now from Kanchi, do you really want to come to Bangalore to head to Delhi? Is it a must? You can do Kanchi-Chitoor-Hyd-Nagpur-Delhi. Places for break: Hyderabad, Nagpur, Gwalior, Agra etc.

[Roan J]

Originally Posted by ravib

All roads in TN are excellent or very good or good, except for a very small %....

Thank you for your feedback and redirecting my query to the right forum. This is a planned solo car drive. I'm starting from Kottayam on 4 November have to reach Bengaluru by 8 November, so I have five days. This is like a joyride to explore new places, routes, various countrysides, small towns and the architechural beauty of the big temples in Madurai, Thanjavur... I will be keeping an eye on weather forecasts and avoid potential weather hazards.

Originally Posted by ampere

Based on what you want to cover in south India here is what I can suggest

Thank you for your feedback which I'll be factoring in my plans. I need to go to Bengaluru for a few days. I'm going to finanlise my Bengaluru-Delhi route, once I've finalised the Kerala-Benguluru phase.

[Roan J]

Originally Posted by Roan J

I'm finalising plans for a Kerala-Delhi drive for the second week of December with a brief stopover of 3-4 days in Bengaluru.

Just completed this trip between 4-15 December with a two day stopover at Bengaluru.

Day 1 - Punalur, Tenkasi, Madurai (overnight)
Day 2 - Thanjavur, Velankanii (overnight)
Day 3 - Karaikal, Chidambaram, Vriddhachalam, Attur, Ayothiapattinam, Yercaud (overnight)
Day 4 - Exited through Kolakoor Thazhoor Road which (I learnt later) was not the best route to head for Bengaluru, then NH 44 to Bengaluru
Day 5 &6 - Bengaluru
Day 7 - Gandikota (overnight)
Day 8- Belum Caves, Orvakalu Rock Park (overnight)
Day 9 - Kurnool, Hyderabad ORR, Nanded (overnight)
Day 10 - Washim, Nagpur-Mumbai Expressway till the Ellora exit, Ellora, Ajanta (overnight)
Day 11 - Neri-Chopda-Shirpur, Indore (overnight)
Day 12 - Ujjain, Jhalawar, Kota, Kothun, Lalsot interchange, Sohna and then onto to Delhi.

NH 52 was fantastic for most parts, other NHs too were good but the Neri-Chopda-Shirpur stretch (in Maharashtra) was the worst with huge craters.

I've commented on my experience at the Lalsot-Sohna section of the Mumbai-Delhi Expressway in another thread. In the Thanjavur-Velankanni stretch, Google Maps directed me to a narrow single lane road along a stream via Altamaddi, not sure if there's a better alternative.

[bimal_67]

Finished a Delhi - Kerala (Kanjirapally) trip yesterday. This was a planned “bucket list” drive to coincide with few family functions. The drive was spread over 4 days with night halts at Indore, Solapur and Bangalore. The route and halt points were selected such that night stays can be at comfortable hotels after manageable distances / duration each day. Brief details are as indicated below: -

Day 1: Delhi - Indore

Route : Delhi - Gurugram - DME NE4 ( with exit at Kustala toll) - Kota bypass - Jalrapatan - Ujjain - Dewas bypass - Indore

Distance : 806 Kms

Drive time : 10h 10m. Average speed 73 kmph. Drive started at 0500 hrs.

Road conditions : NE4 drive was good. The rest area options are increasing and the housekeeping at the rest areas need to match up to the growing traffic. There is still no toll from Lalsot to Kustala exit. The food (lunch) options on this route are not many. To get into Indore, I would recommend proceeding on the Indore Bypass to the extent possible rather than taking the AB road entry at the first instance. The first fuel fill during the trip was at Indore at the end of the day.

Day 2 : Indore - Solapur

Route : Indore - Dhule - Chalisgaon (bypass)- Aurangabad - Beed - Tuljapur - Solapur

Distance : 725 Kms

Drive time : 11h. Average speed ~66 kmph. Drive started at 0520 hrs.

Road conditions : Overall good. There were only three short patches of road repair in the Dhule-Chalisgaon section. This also should be done with in a short while. We took the Chalisgaon bypass, the condition of which is also fine other than for few brief patches. Kannad ghat drive was beautiful and relatively traffic free (crossed around 1200hrs). Thereafter the drive till Solapur was smooth. There are sufficient food and bio break options on this route.

Day 3 : Solapur - Bangalore

Route : Solapur - Vijayapura - Illkal - Hospete - Chitradurga - Bangalore

Distance : 636 Kms to Elec City

Drive time : 10h 10min. Average speed ~63 kmph. Drive started at 0530 hrs.

Road Conditions: Very good. We kept our next fuel filling in abeyance till our entry into Karnataka considering the price difference. As we had some shopping to do from Ilkal (famous for Ilkal sarees), we entered the town. After that the drive continued till Electronic City smoothly. Good food break options exist in this route.

Day 4: Bangalore - Kanjirapally

Route : Bangalore - Hosur - Krishnagiri - Salem - Dindigul - Kumili - Kanjirapally

Distance : 545 Kms to Halt (Edakunnam)

Drive time : 9h 30min. Average speed ~57 kmph. Drive started at 0540 hrs.

Road Conditions :Very good. We started early after the next fuel fill with an aim to enter Kerala and clear the ghat sections as early as possible. The only interlock was the pre-planned lunch break at the famous Thalappakatti Biryani Restaurant at Dindigul. Had an early breakfast at Chinnar and reached Dindigul before 1200hrs. The roads are fine but work is in progress in some patches. The road from Dindigul to Kumily is two lane single carriage way and in good condition. We were pleasantly surprised to note the bypasses for all major villages/towns on this route like Periyakulam, Theni, Cumbum etc as compared to our previous drive through this route in 2016. We could manage to get through the Kumily Kuttikkanam area without much hassles of mist or rain and reach our destination before 1700hrs.

Some statistics: -
(a) Total distance travelled - 2712 Kms
(b) Driving Time - 41 hrs 45 min
(c) Average Speed ~ 65 kmph


Footnote:
1. Take frequent breaks.
2. Plan the route making full use of Satellite view of Google Maps and using expected start day and time for each section (break to break). This will avoid surprises on the break points during the drive but also will aid with an overall view of the days progress.
3. Keep a flask of boiling hot water and readymade tea or coffee sachets. Snacks are always welcome. This will come handy.
4. Remember to draw in fresh air in the vehicle air conditioner once in a while

[ampere]

Originally Posted by bimal_67

Finished a Delhi - Kerala (Kanjirapally) trip yesterday. This was a planned “bucket list” drive to coincide with few family functions. The drive was spread over 4 days with night halts at Indore, Solapur and Bangalore. The route and halt points were selected such that night stays can be at comfortable hotels after manageable distances / duration each day.

Brilliant and consistent! This is also clearly tells how we can do Delhi-Kerala without Mumbai/Pune or Nagpur/Hyderabad.


Future options will be : DME-Navsari on to Surat-Chennai Expressway - Solapur (Chennai E-Way exit) - Chitradurga - Bangalore - Kerala.

I also hope soon, between Solapur-Bangalore we can latch on to the new Pune-Bangalore expressway (well .. a Dream!)

Also one can exit Mumbai-Pune Expressway and there on to the future Pune-Bangalore E-Way.