[Red Knot]

Hello

Planning for a ~7K road trip to cover the peninsular India in early October

The route map we have planned:

Day 1: Kolkata - Barkul
Day 2: Barkul - Vizag
Day 3: Vizag - Ramapuram
Day 4: Ramapuram - Chennai
Day 5: Chennai - Puducherry
Day 6: Puducherry - Dhanuskodi
Day 7: Dhanuskodi - Kanyakumari
Day 8: Kanyakumari - Allepy
Day 9: Allepy - Kochi
Day 10: Kochi - Kozikode
Day 11: Kozicode - Udipi
Day 12: Udipi - Goa
Day 13: Goa
Day 14: Goa - Dudhsagar falls - Goa
Day 15: Goa - Ganpatipule
Day 16: Ganpatipule - Raidag - Murud
Day 17: Murud - Mumbai Sea Link - Nasik
Day 18: Nasik - Nagpur
Day 19: Nagpur - Sambalpur
Day 20: Sambalpur - Kolkata

This is our first >5K drive. 3, 3-member families in 2 diesel WRVs.

Any suggested road information on the Kanyakumari - Mumbai sector and Mumbai - Kolkata sector would be very helpful. Have been a silent member in the group until now, but plan to write a travelogue after this trip.

Suggestions on hotels, good food joints and must try experiences would be nice.

Thanks in advance.

[libranof1987]

We just did a southern / west coastal drive a week back and a part of it was Rameshwaram - Kanyakumari - Alleppey - Udupi - Gokarna - Pune. Having done Goa and the the Konkan coast quite a few times, we’d chosen the fastest route home from Gokarna, and hence did not drive through Konkan.

I sense that you absolutely want to do the entire drive along the coast. When I was planning, I was advised, very rightly so, that driving through Kerala will be a tremendous misery. The single lane undivided highways of Kerala with perennial traffic of all shapes, sizes and speeds slow you down considerably.

Kanyakumari - Alleppey took us about eight hours.
Alleppey - Bekal took us 15 hours.

My advice is: do not leave NH66, no matter what Google Maps says.

Our original plan was:
Day 1: Kanyakumari - Alleppey
Day 2: Alleppey - Kannur
Day 3: Kannur - Udupi
Day 4: Udupi - Gokarna

We did
Day 1: Kanyakumari - Alleppey
Day 2: Alleppey - Bekal
Day 3: Bekal - Gokarna

Unless you have a reason to break your journey in Kerala that way, I’d suggest you explore Kannur as a stop and possibly do Kannur - Udupi - Goa.

A little over an hour from Bekal will bring you into Karnataka. And that is where you’ll earn your reward with beautiful four lane highways.

You can do Udupi - Goa via Karwar.

When you enter Maharashtra from Goa, you will be on the new four lane concrete coastal road, still under construction. But the happiness doesn’t last too long as it is only for a short distance. About an hour or so into it, you’ll hit true Maharashtra coastal roads. And this is a bigger misery than driving through Kerala, because the roads are in fairly bad shape.

But then, looks like you really want to do this. Good luck!

[Red Knot]

Thanks libranof1987 for your timely advices.

Will refine the stop overs after doing some googling on Kannur and Bekal. Those places are new to the list. But for sure will stick to NH66.

Can you please share some decent hotel options and food stops in that region.
Haven't been to that part of India before.

[libranof1987]

Rameshwaram: Hotel Ashoka: really good location, clean hotel, good rooms and secured parking

Kanyakumari: Sparsa Resort: terrific location, right on the beach. Rooms are decent. Quite a big property with a lawn and swimming pool.

Alleppey: Ramada Wyndham. Had chosen this because this was the only hotel with their own viewing gallery for the boat race. Terrific location, as it is right on the backwaters.

Bekal: Oaks Residency: nice clean hotel right on the highway.

Manipal Inn can be a good choice for Udupi; it is right on the highway.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by Red Knot

....
Day 5: Chennai - Puducherry
Day 6: Puducherry - Dhanuskodi
Day 7: Dhanuskodi - Kanyakumari
Day 8: Kanyakumari - Allepy
Day 9: Allepy - Kochi
Day 10: Kochi - Kozikode
Day 11: Kozicode - Udipi
Day 12: Udipi - Goa
Day 13: Goa
Day 14: Goa - Dudhsagar falls - Goa
Day 15: Goa - Ganpatipule
Day 16: Ganpatipule - Raidag - Murud
Day 17: Murud - Mumbai Sea Link - Nasik
Day 18: Nasik - Nagpur
.....

Agree with this -

Originally Posted by libranof1987

..... driving through Kerala will be a tremendous misery. The single lane undivided highways of Kerala with perennial traffic of all shapes, sizes and speeds slow you down considerably.....

... can do Udupi - Goa via Karwar.

When you enter Maharashtra from Goa, you will be on the new four lane concrete coastal road, still under construction. But the happiness doesn’t last too long as it is only for a short distance. About an hour or so into it, you’ll hit true Maharashtra coastal roads. And this is a bigger misery than driving through Kerala, because the roads are in fairly bad shape.

This could be likely outcome -

Chennai to Pondicherry is a three hour drive via East Coast Road. No hassles.

Pondicherry (tip - tank up at Pondy) to Dhanushkodi (via Villupuram - Trichy - Madurai?) will take a day's travel.

Next leg i.e. to Kanyakumari (via Tirunelveli? if you opt for Tuticorin -Tiruchendur, where there is a Lord Murugan Temple on the sea, it means sticking to the coastal side); onwards to Alleppey (via Quilon, you are going on the West Coast from East Coast now), the traffic + narrow roads combination will start after Nagercoil. In some places, it will be OK; but, take care.

Then, Alleppey to Kochi is a short trip. 1+ hour. On to Calicut (via Trichur); if you stick to NH66 (there is another four lane highway from Kochi to Palghat onwards to Salem/Bangalore), you actually need not go to Trichur. (The other route to Calicut from Trichur is via Edappal, which is more frequented by regulars).

Calicut to Mangalore, will be tough (Tip - tank up at Mahe, which is a part of Pondy, but situated in Kerala). Work is underway on the highway. (Tip - once you cross the bridge at Pappinasserry, take the left turn towards Pilathara; lesser traffic and some time saved; can avoid some of the road works. If my memory is right, there will be a sign board for a Naval Academy on this road but there will be no indication that it goes towards Mangalore).

The above two legs will test your patience - especially if you drive during day time.

Mangalore - Udupi - Karwar - Goa will be breeze (only a few patches of work going on; there will be some confusion at Madgaon, as you will have to travel through the town).

Why opt for Mumbai as the point of return? From Murud you can reach Pune and travel via Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Akola to Nagpur which seems to be a better option, to me - unless you are bent on touching Mumbai to complete your coastal trip?!

[ike]

There is a TNSTDC property in Rameshwaram that is old but clean and has ample parking. Dining option is good too. The temple is very near and it is by the seaside. The rates are very reasonable since it is a govt owned property.