[priyankarb]

Background: I am based out of Mumbai, MH and employed with a consulting and technology major for over a decade now. We are a nuclear family of 3 here in Mumbai with our roots in Shillong. My current role allows me to work out of home all year and this will not change in the next 5-7 years, so here’s where we decide that there is no point in us putting up in Mumbai any further and we decided to go back to Shillong to be with our parents.

Coming to the point: I recently purchased a used 2016 WagonR AMT with less than 10K Kms on the ODO in November 2021. This car is in prime condition with around 11200 Kms on the ODO as I write this and I do not want to sell it as of now, so here’s the dilemma – how do I take her along! I approached a few packers and movers and while we are still negotiating on the cost, my better half and son are onboard with the plan that we can drive all the way! I tried searching the available threads on our forum, but I am not able connect the dots, so opened this thread.

I need some guidance on the shortest and safest route that I should take. Considering that I will be driving with my family, we would avoid night runs altogether, so if you could also suggest some good hotels on the way and advise on how I break this trip into easy doable parts.

We intend to leave by 25th of March, so any guidance is precious!

Cheers!

[Sushil Pingua]

Considering that your car is a 2016 model and the approx distance from Mumbai to Shillong via Nagpur - Raipur - Kolkata - Siliguri is over 3000 kms, I would suggest to first of all replace all the tyres if not done yet because it's been 6 years since 2016 and the stock tyres must have lost their softness and grip.
The AMT gearbox would have to replace it's fluid.
The battery needs proper checkup and replacement if required before beginning the cross-country drive.
The coolant needs replacement.
The suspension, electricals and the A/C system needs thorough checkup.

Now coming to the journey itself. If you have done drives of around/over 1000 kms prior to this plan then it should not be a issue in replacing/mending punctures by yourself if required or in handling minor breakdowns related to cooling system of car's engine.

I don't know why but I've a gut feeling going by your queries that this trip is not meant to be given a go-ahead for you. I regret if I'm being negative but i never mean to discourage you.

Regarding hotels I would suggest you to drive around 400 kms each day between breakfast and sunset and then plan using google-maps where you wish to take the halt and rest - all of such planning would have to be done and bookings for hotels made before beginning the drive. Google-maps provides good reviews of hotels which can help you in deciding places of stay. I plan my places of stay after going through the reviews available on google-maps.

Further, I would request you to plan your drive of approx 400kms each day, decide your place of stay at the end of each 400 odd kms, review the hotels at such places of stay and post up queries here which comes to your mind and I'll try to give solutions wherever possible.

Regards.

[VT-RNS]

Hello,

I'll suggest you read this travelogue by BHPian RedTerrano (To escape in-laws, I became an outlaw and fled to the waiting arms of the 7 sisters…and their cousin).

His trip starts from Pune and covers Northeast, and I believe you will find very useful information for your journey as this TL details it out till Shillong (and beyond). While the journey & travelogue itself is old (3 years back I believe), the TL itself is epic & worth a read

Also, to the best of my knowledge, the route chosen is quite good and I would prefer it over the route that takes you via North/Central India via MP/UP/Bihar. Furthermore, you can always look for specific sections of this route in the forum. For example, the Kolkata-Siliguri section has latest info available here (Kolkata - Siliguri route via Dumka, Bhagalpur or NH-12 (old NH-34)))

From my own experience, you can easily do Mumbai-Hyderabad (700 kms) in one day given some great roads between Mumbai-Pune then Pune-Hyd & an early start to avoid Pune city traffic. Especially as its your first day of the long trip. Happy to share tips with you in the attached PDF that I had prepared for a friend, and are based on my own experiences.

Thereafter, I agree with Sushil that its best you do 400 kms per day at max; if you aren't well versed with that area or new to long-distance drives. Also, why go through the hassle if you can enjoy yourself on this one-of-a-kind experience. I would definitely make a stop-go trip out of it (time permitting). I have driven a bit on WB NH in 2019 Dec, and I think this route should work out well.

Do go through the checks on the car as Sushil has mentioned, and also read up on the various good threads on long-distance/night/highway driving in the "Road Safety" forum and how to prepare for it.
I just wrapped up a 7000 kms road trip over 50 days (not all days were travelling!) with staycation mixed in, and my MS Baleno CVT was a charm. If your car service is due anyways, then get it done atleast 1 week before the trip and drive 15-20 kms to make sure all is well. I can go on with various tips, but one that I highly recommend is "prepare yourself & your family mentally" for the 3000 kms drive. That really helps (I had to work on it myself, as well as for my wife.... in the end, it was brilliant!)

Enjoy and have fun! Let me know if you have any Qs

Cheers!

[Sushil Pingua]

Originally Posted by priyankarb

any guidance is precious!

Cheers!

Dear Brother, you and your car will have to endure temperatures in excess of 44'C during this drive.
Kindly have a look at this thread by GTO, a marvellous and life saving thread -

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...eats-road.html (What to do if your Engine Overheats on the road)

Regards

[BhaskarG]

You can check out these 2 very recent threads:

Bangalore to Arunachal Pradesh - thread 1 (Bangalore to Arunachal Pradesh in a BMW 330i GT)

OR

Bangalore to Arunachal Pradesh - thread 2 (A Road Trip to Assam, Arunachal and Meghalaya in a BMW 330i GT)

You might find some information and ideas. Read, do some thorough planning, and then go ahead. All the best. Maybe we can catch up at GAU.

[silverado]

Plan looks exciting and surely is doable in Wagon R. However since you are with family, its advisable to have a driver with you so that you have a male person in case things go wrong.

Imagine you running around in case of a breakdown, and your family alone in car!

If thats not possible, try and stick to major highways at all times. Mentally breakdown each day and the distance you are doing, and the journey seems doable. Take a vacation in between for 2-3 days at place of your liking if its possible. Make it a vacation come journey. Good luck.

[priyankarb]

Apologies for coming back late to this thread and I sincerely appreciate the guidance from each one of you.

Well, this trip remains a distant dream for me now – at least for the next three years till I move my car back to Mumbai.

I had a major fall from the stairs on the 23rd of March which left me with a fractured right wrist, so driving was out of question. In fact, I have been struggling all this while to use the keyboard and depended much on the MS dictate feature for work related emails. My organization was kind enough to allow me leaves for a month to recover, but it took a good 3 months for the plaster to be taken off, so had to resume work with a plastered right hand.

Meanwhile, I used the services of Anil car transport to ferry the car till Guwahati (another long story which I will subsequently write) and from there I got my cousin to drive till Shillong. My Activa and Bullet were sent through Usha Packers and movers who in turn shipped them through Delhivery and were delivered to my home in Shillong with negligible damages.

I have resumed driving since last week and will start exploring Meghalaya and will surely pen some travelogues in the days to come.

Cheers!