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Hello Everyone.

I am scheduled to travel from Wayanad to Alapuzha in a couple of days time -Driving a BMW 3 series Sedan with wife and 2 Kids ( Just FYI - Staying in a resort in Wayanad for a day en-route Alapuzha from Bangalore)

How are Road conditions , Good Restaurants along the way , anything else that we need to be aware of ? please:

I would be leaving immediately post lunch from Wayanad . Google claims its a 9 hour drive . Can i rely on that ?

thanks in advance
:thumbs up

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Assume the google route is Wayanad- Calicut- Kottakal- Valancery-Kuttipuram-Thrissur-Aluva-Alappuzha. Roads should be generally in good condition for most part.

Points to keep in mind

• Google estimate of 9+ hrs seems accurate. If anything you will take more time than google estimates.
• Pretty much 80% of the route will be undivided 2 lane highway
• It is a high traffic route with absolutely no respite from traffic. So will be a tiring drive.
• Leaving after lunch may not be a great idea as you will driving more than half the distance after sunset which will make it even more tiring considering the 2 lane roads and traffic at its peak in the Calicut-Thrissur stretch (especially).
• Since it is Christmas holiday season, expect traffic to be even worse
• Restaurants should not be an issue as there will be several along the highway.

Guess your plan is finalized, but stopping over in Wayanad for one night and then driving to Alappuzha is not worth the effort. You will not be able to enjoy Wayanad enough and on top of that will need to make this long tiring drive. Assuming this is a tourist trip and if so, just heading to Alappuzha from Kerala would have been much better.

Hi Guys,
I'm planning to drive from Bangalore to Kochi end of this month. I have not driven this route before, but I hear that the roads are pretty bad in some stretches. Ease advice on route and best time to start to avoid traffic.

People: 3-4
Car: Polo GT TSI
Plan is to go non-stop, with just meal and nature breaks.
Date: 27 Dec departure and 30 back.

Guess you have been misinformed. Roads are great and a mix of 4 lane and 6 lane all the way from Bangalore to Kochi with only 2 exceptions. The Coimbatore Bypass which is a 2 lane road and another 2 lane stretch between Palakkad and Thrissur commonly known as the 'Kuthiran Stretch'. Kuthiran is known for being a bad stretch, but as per recent posts here, it has been resurfaced. Once you enter Kerala, expect to see a lot of signals on the highway and there are also speed cams at regular intervals.

As 27th is not expected to be a high rush day, starting time will not make a significant difference.

Since leaving Blore won't be that bad being holiday season, I would still suggest you to leave by 5am. As soon as you enter Kerala, traffic will be heavy with numerous signals. It can really slow you down.

And once you enter Cochin, traffic from Edapally to Vytilla will be bad (in case you plan to take that route).

Bangalore till Walayar (KL-TN border) smooth sailing, brilliant roads. You might face some traffic at Salem. Coimbatore L&T bypass, be prepared to stop a zillion times to show the toll receipt.
Walayar-Kanjikode-Chandranagar-Alathur-Vadakencherry- Good roads, Infested with Speed Cameras and signals, keep a tab on your speed.
Vadakkencherry to Thrissur- Bad section @Kuthiran, check Google maps
Thrissur to Kochi- Good roads with a bit of heavy traffic.

Thank you guys for the prompt update on the route.

Never been so glad to have been misinformed lol:

Further to what @Rajeevraj said, watch out for the speed cameras and drive within the limit. Kerala cops are pretty strict at enforcing it. The limit is 100 kmph on 4-laned highways and 70 kmph elsewhere.

An afternoon start like after 3 PM would ensure that you cross the Coimbatore bypass (THE worst tolled road in the entire stretch) and onto the Kerala portion of the National Highway with relatively less traffic, assuming you're not hard pressed to reach Kochi by night fall. Due to the high population density, there's hardly any stretch that is devoid of light to moderate traffic.

Thanks so much Rajeev for the detailed reply :) Yes .i thought as much that a stopover in Wayanad for a day would be hectic however am heading there with some friends and families from Bangalore ( who return back) so thought would do this on the way to my parents place in Alapuzha for the Christmas break .

Appreciate your answer again

Few points more:

You didn't say what date, and where from in Wayanad. So with reasonable assumptions (weekday, 2 PM start, Kalpetta).

1. Kalpetta to Calicut is about 65 km and a 2-hour drive minimum. Add another 30 minutes+ to cover Calicut bypass. You should be entering the southbound NH66 at Ramanatukara between 4.30 and 5 PM.

2. From Ramanattukara till Kuttipuram along NH 66 will be crowded but reasonably fast (1.5-2 hours unless there are jams at the numerous towns along the route).

3. I remember reading that the Kuttipuram bridge over the Nila being closed for repairs sometime back, but should be open now. Beyond, there is flyover construction and detours at Edapal also. Good thing is, you have 4-lane divided carriageway from somewhere near Kunnamkulam till Thrissur. But I still think this will take another 1.5 hours. Add 30 minutes to pass through Thrissur town and you probably are at Paliyekkara toll booth not before 8 PM.

4. From here you can move slightly faster; you should be at the Edapalli interchange in 1.5 hours at that time.

5. The Edapalli-Aroor bypass is a bit of an unknown. The closure of Palarivattam bridge and other civil works creates bottlenecks all the time. My experience is during daytime when it takes an hour to cover this, you might be able to clear it in 30 minutes late night.

6. Aroor-Alapuzha shouldn't take more than an hour. So by 11 PM you are at Alapuzha - tired, exhausted, seething with road rage but satisfied that if you can drive in Kerala, you can drive anywhere. :-)

Resist the temptation to turn right after Kuttipuram bridge and continue along NH66 to Ernakulam via Ponnani-Kodungallur. While beach-hugging and scenic this is narrow and crowded and will add about 2 hours to your overall time.

I thought the speed limit in Kerala for divided highways was 90 Kmph and 70 Kmph on 2-lane regular highways. I am glad if the limit is indeed 100 kmph but hope you've tried those cameras at 100 kmph. Thanks for giving me an additional 10 Kmph :)

Speed limit is 90 KMPH on 4 lane highways, 85 on 2 lane national highways and
80 on State Highways. However, Police usually set lower limits in ghat sections.

There is an exception for municipality/corporation limits, where it is 50 kmph. Which makes the above limits practically unattainable. For example from Walayar till Kochi you have non-Municipality sections of only about 30 km or so (the road passes through Palakkad, Chalakudi, Angamali, Aluva & Kalamasseri municipalities and Thrissur & Ernakulam corporations for the most part).

The "where in Wynad" remark above reminds me of a story narrated by a North Indian friend. During his REC Calicut days, he and his friends went to the bus stand, and got into a bus that goes to Wynad. They apparently confirmed with the crew. After the bus started, when the conductor came, they asked for tickets to Wynad.

Of course most wont get it. :-)

There is no town, village or place named Wynad.

It is Christmas season, and the Kerala govt is facing a severe fund crunch. Reports suggest that fine targets have been hiked to 2 or 3 lakh INR per AMVI in squads. The number of cases to be booked has increased from 75 to 500 per month. So, you know what to look out for and pray to avoid.

Regarding the Palarivattom bridge, the highway around it (NOT the Civil lines road) is good, so it will be a breeze after 9 PM, and 5-10 minutes during day time. At Vytilla, and Kundannoor, (Le Meredien / Crowne Plaza) roads are improving, there are no signals, but traffic is slow. Expect to lose 10 to 25 minutes anytime of day at each point. And 5 to 10 minutes during night or holidays.

The Paliyekara toll seems to be congested for past 2 weeks.

Palarivattom junction when coming from Edapally shouldn't be that bad (it's usually bad when driving from the opposite direction). But Vytilla can be bad especially from 4pm to 9pm (I pass both these junctions daily during the peak hours). Kundanoor will be slightly better than Vytilla but again it depends on the time.

Aroor to Alleppey is all patched but not a smooth ride (can be a bit bumpy). Do watch out for moron KSRTC drivers from Cherthala to Alleppey where the roads are 2 lane. A teaser below (This was just before entering Alleppey town) :D:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcCBlCk2tZc