[Adrian Stephens]

Hello People,

Hope all safe and doing good.

Thinking about doing a road trip from Chennai to see the in-laws in Shillong and back.

We used to fly there but the tkts to Guwahati that were (+/-)6k earlier have now gone upto 9K and close to double for a round trip for two. For that money i though it would be better to drive to Shillong, it would be a good road trip besides i would also save the taxi cost of Rs8000 (Rs4000-per way) from Guwahati airport to Shillong and back.

For perspective - i love driving and a seasoned highway driver. Have done chennai all over south and even to Goa Mumbai. Chennai - Goa being my favourite 13 hours straight drive. I'm used to 6-8hrs sleep and a 16 to 18 hr drive. Normally I do not stop for heavy meals on the highway, pack dry fruits and nuts and light meals (sandwiches) with juices.

However what concerns me this time is the route from chennai to shillong, the road conditions after cuttack crossing WB - Siliguri and to Guwahati

AND

last but not the least - personal safety on the highways in terms of robberies and being waylaid.

I plan to only drive during daylight as this is my first trip on this route.

The car is my trusty 2013 VW Vento Tdi - Already done 1.6L kms. Will go in for a full service before i leave.

Any help and valuable suggestions on
1. the best routes (priority is good 4/6 lane roads over sceanic roads).
2. Any suggestion on the ideal stops/overnight halts.
3. Safe, clean and comfy budget hotels on the way.

etc etc would be much appreciated.


Thank you in advance.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Adrian Stephens

Thinking about doing a road trip from Chennai to see the in-laws in Shillong and back.

The problem with driving to NorthEast is you'll spend 3-4 days one way to get to Silguri alone. This is regardless of the route you take.

You can look at airbus' Bangalore-Assam thread (Suggestions for Bengaluru - Assam - Bengaluru road trip) and graaja's Arunachal thread (A Road Trip to Assam, Arunachal and Meghalaya in a BMW 330i GT). Both have take the MP-UP-Bihar route to reach Silguri.

There is one other variant of going via Jhansi-Orai-Kanpur-Lucknow-Muzaffarpur which adds more kms with even better roads.

Not so excited to suggest north AP, Orissa route given the way roads are being maintained.

The time vs money is something that you have to think about. Am not sure it'll save money either, since you'll end up staying 2-3 nights extra enroute.

[thirugata]

The route you are planning to take, I have done most of it in parts as I had other destinations to cover in between. Roads are excellent and you should be able to do it with issues. Yes it will be a time consuming drive.
There are good hotel options in Bongaigaon from where you should be able to reach Shillong in about 6 - 7 hours of drive.

I had driven Shillong - Ranchi with pitstops at Bongaigaon & Purnia which has good stay options.

You can refer to this travelogue or get in touch with me if you need any inputs.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...l-connect.html (28 State Capitals, 6 Union Territories | All-India Road Trip | Capital Connect)

[Adrian Stephens]

Originally Posted by narayans80

The problem with driving to NorthEast is you'll spend 3-4 days one way to get to Silguri alone. This is regardless of the route you take.

You can look at airbus' Bangalore-Assam thread (Suggestions for Bengaluru - Assam - Bengaluru road trip) and graaja's Arunachal thread (A Road Trip to Assam, Arunachal and Meghalaya in a BMW 330i GT). Both have take the MP-UP-Bihar route to reach Silguri.

There is one other variant of going via Jhansi-Orai-Kanpur-Lucknow-Muzaffarpur which adds more kms with even better roads.

Not so excited to suggest north AP, Orissa route given the way roads are being maintained.

The time vs money is something that you have to think about. Am not sure it'll save money either, since you'll end up staying 2-3 nights extra enroute.

Thank you for your reply Narayans - Time wont be an issue its a road trip so 3 days one way is ok.

Noted your precaution on the North AP, Orrisa route. Will find out more details about the condition of this route before attempting it.

The alternate route is via Ranchi / Dhanbad / Purnia, but I prefer avoiding routes through Jharkhand and Bihar. Lucknow will be too much of a round about.

Regarding costs they should work out the same between road and air travel ... at least this way i get a nice long pending road trip.

However plans are still just a thought at the moment and only after i'm very clear on the details will i even be sure about moving fwrd with it.

Thank you again.

Originally Posted by thirugata

The route you are planning to take, I have done most of it in parts as I had other destinations to cover in between. Roads are excellent and you should be able to do it with issues. Yes it will be a time consuming drive.
There are good hotel options in Bongaigaon from where you should be able to reach Shillong in about 6 - 7 hours of drive.

I had driven Shillong - Ranchi with pitstops at Bongaigaon & Purnia which has good stay options.

You can refer to this travelogue or get in touch with me if you need any inputs.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...l-connect.html (28 State Capitals, 6 Union Territories | All-India Road Trip | Capital Connect)

Thirugata Boss - that's one amazing trip in very capable vehicles. I'll definitely go through your travelogue at leisure a later today coz I need to dive into the details of it as it sounds very interesting, after which i will definitely get in touch with you for details.

I must say thank you for your time in compiling your travelogue, its because of such stuff you guys do that people like us even attempt to think about similar journeys.

Thank you much for your reply.

[arjab]

Originally Posted by Adrian Stephens

Hello People,

Hope all safe and doing good.
Thinking about doing a road trip from Chennai to see the in-laws in Shillong and back.

Hi,
I do Chennai - Kolkata solo drives regularly so thought of sharing my views.
In my opinion you may seriously want to consider:
Chennai - Vishakhapatnam - Bhubaneswar - Balasore - Kharagpur - Mogra - Krishnanagar - Farakka - Malda - Siliguri route. From Siliguri its a straight drive through the lovely Dooars forest belt to Guwahati. From Guwahati you know the route in any case.

Roads from Chennai to Kolkata are absolutely fine. It is GQ all the way.
This is from my last drive from Chennai to Kol (as on last week Sept 2022).

A typical breakup of the journey would be:
Chennai - Vishakhapatnam you can easily cover in 13-14 hours. It's around 800 odd kms but roads are good to very good. Night halt at Vizag.

Vizag to Kharagpur will be somewhere around 760-765 kms. In 15-16 hours you should be able to do it. Night halt at KGP.

Kharagpur to Siliguri [via Mogra and NH-12 (nee NH-34)] isa round 700 kms. That means another 15-16 hour driving stint. Night halt at SLG.

Siliguri to Shillong is another 550 odd kms. All things good you can do it in 12.5 - 13 hours

This route sticks to GQ and passes by major cities and towns. If you need any help w.r.t. your car etc multiple VW service stations are also available.

Notes:
-Be careful of stray cattle on the Behrampore - Bhubaneswar stretch.
-Between Bhubaneswar and Balasore there are road diversions due to ongoing road widening works and you will have to switch flanks at times. Manageable.
- Karandighi Bypass, one flank and Dalkhola bypass, one flank - both in W.B. has opened for traffic.
- If you opt for this route, you'll be doing around 2500-2600 kms one way to Shillong. Via MP and whatever other route, it'll be more than 3000 kms. Whichever way you look at it 400 extra kms in India is a solid 9-10 hrs of extra drive time.

Anyways, the final choice is up to you. Whichever way you proceed, take care & drive safe.

Best,

[airbus]

I did major part of the route during our return trip from Assam to Karnataka in May 2022. Our route was Sivasagar - Khetri - Shillong - Guwahati - Dhubri - Malda - Kolkata - Puri - Visakhapatnam - Nellore - Bengaluru. I had 17 days so kept the drive relaxed, plus I did not have to worry about accommodation within North East.

Please be cautious about speed traps on Odisha highways, in major part limit is 75 kmph only. In WB, frequent barricades for local crossing will slow you down and then some sections are not four lane. So, you may need to account some extra time due to these. Please PM me if you need any specific information. All the very best.

[Adrian Stephens]

Originally Posted by airbus

I did major part of the route during our return trip from Assam to Karnataka in May 2022. Our route was Sivasagar - Khetri - Shillong - Guwahati - Dhubri - Malda - Kolkata - Puri - Visakhapatnam - Nellore - Bengaluru. I had 17 days so kept the drive relaxed, plus I did not have to worry about accommodation within North East.

Please be cautious about speed traps on Odisha highways, in major part limit is 75 kmph only. In WB, frequent barricades for local crossing will slow you down and then some sections are not four lane. So, you may need to account some extra time due to these. Please PM me if you need any specific information. All the very best.

Hi Airbus, Sorry about the delayed reply.
Thank you tons for the note. A bit more relaxed after reading your reply. Will plan accordingly and ping you with details of my plan for any more information. thank you lots. cheers and God Bless.