[gajadonga]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

I am planning to drive to Hyderabad this week from Bangalore.

I think this is a safe speed and appropriate plan for the drive. Please provide feedback.

Are there any Shell petrol bunks

That is a safe speed and enjoy the drive.
I usually refuel at a place called Goothy which is half way between Hyderabad and
Banglore plenty of fuel options here in this place.
There is a Kamat after crossing Chika ballapur for information.
Another good eating place is after Kurnool is Ghar dhaba average food.
Shell bunks not sure.
Hope this helps.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

Stop at Kurnool (Holiday Inn) around 10am
Are there any good BP/Shell petrol bunks near Kurnool?

Holiday Inn Kurnool is adjoining a nice IOC bunk.

Do post your actual run times after the drive is done.

[LonelyPlanet]

Originally Posted by gajadonga

That is a safe speed and enjoy the drive.
I usually refuel at a place called Goothy which is half way between Hyderabad and
Banglore plenty of fuel options here in this place.
There is a Kamat after crossing Chika ballapur for information.
Another good eating place is after Kurnool is Ghar dhaba average food.
Shell bunks not sure.
Hope this helps.

I have posted a list of all the COCO bunks in this road. Please browse a couple of pages for the entire list.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

I am planning to drive to Hyderabad this week from Bangalore. Planned itinerary is as follows.

Leave Electronic City at 5am,
Pass by Devanahalli at 6am (will pack Breakfast)
Stop at Kurnool (Holiday Inn) around 10am
Leave Kurnool at 10:45am
Reach Gachibowli (ORR) at 2pm

I think this is a safe speed and appropriate plan for the drive. Please provide feedback.

Are there any Shell petrol bunks (either in Bangalore or on the way to Hyderabad)?

Also, since I am driving a Santro, will need to refuel on the way. Are there any good BP/Shell petrol bunks near Kurnool?

Just got back from Bangalore.As usual an 8.5hr drive.As for your queries,pack breakfast from somehwere inside Bangalore,the Kamat at Chikballapur would open only by 7 and closes at 12 midnight.

The Holiday Inn(please bear in mind no relation to the original Holiday Inn hotels)I doubt would be open so early.I usually see it open only around lunch time from 12.The BP GHAR approximately 15kms after Kurnool toll gate(towards Hyd) as Gajadonga rightly mentioned serves average food(again open only from Lunch,on two occasions they did not have anything during breakfast times).

For refuelling,you could refuel at BP COCO at Kurnool.You would not be able to refuel at BP Gooty as there is no break in the median to cross over to the other side.Devanahalli to BP Kurnool would be around 350-400km which I think your Santro should be able to do easily.IMHO,carry all the food that you want with you,saves up on time and plus you dont have to deal with unclean eating places then.There is a CCD that has opened now approximately 80kms before Hyderabad to your right side.Approximately 8kms after Jadcherla toll gate.

As for Shell pumps,if you are taking the route via the city in Blore,then you have one after Mekhri Circle,opens at 6am,or else you could top up at Chikballapur BP COCO(with the Kamat attached)Its a good pump.No shells on the highway.In Hyderabad,the open Shell Pumps are on Rajbhavan Road,Raidurgam(near to Gachibowli) and at Ameerpet.

All pumps enroute on the highway accept card,however please be ready with cash as the machines all work on GSM and at times there is no signal for them to work on

[9tMax]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

There is a CCD that has opened now approximately 80kms before Hyderabad to your right side.Approximately 8kms after Jadcherla toll gate.

Is this the CCD attached to the Hill Park restaurant ? In that case it will be 8 km before the Jadcherla toll gate, when you are coming from Bangy side, isn't it ? Or is there another new one that has opened ?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by 9tMax

Is this the CCD attached to the Hill Park restaurant ? In that case it will be 8 km before the Jadcherla toll gate, when you are coming from Bangy side, isn't it ? Or is there another new one that has opened ?

Ok maybe you are right.Thanks. I stand corrected.I think I have messed up my log notings.Maybe you are right,yes it is indeed the one attached to Hill Park.

[sriturl]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

Are there any Shell petrol bunks (either in Bangalore or on the way to Hyderabad)?

Also, since I am driving a Santro, will need to refuel on the way. Are there any good BP/Shell petrol bunks near Kurnool?

There is a shell petrol bunk on Hosur road (on right when coming from E-City) some where near Bommanahalli. If you are taking elevated road, you will miss it.
Next option is (assuming you are taking ORR) is Old Madras Road, but you need to take a small(< 1 km) detour, near the Tin Factory turning on ORR, after KR puram.

You can alternatively, bypass Bangalore like this.. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2868049
You will get a Shell petrol bunk after you cross Whitefield.
btw, the by-pass is not just for Shell. It is a good way to avoid the construction mess on Hebbal-Airport stretch.

[anoop.mathew]

Here is the map for my drive from EC, Bangalore to Gachibowli, Hyderabad. I've marked two stops (with good toilet facilities, petrol and food) based on the feedback from this thread. I've made this public and editable by anyone.

I plan to update this with other eateries/petrol bunks as I get more information. I invite all team-bhpians to do the same.

I only request everyone not to vandalise the map, but contribute to it and make it a valuable resource for all.

[anoop.mathew]

Drove down from Bangalore to Hyderabad today.

Left Electronic City at 5:17am and reached Gachibowli,Hyderabad at 12:22pm, having stopped thrice.

One unplanned stop because my little one threw-up and had to be cleaned and changed. The other two stops were for petrol just before Kurnool and then at Holiday Inn (around 9:45am). Unfortunately, Holiday Inn was not really open. We had a few ice-creams but for anything else, we would have had to wait till 1pm

As I was constantly between 120-140kph, the FE really suffered - only 12.5kmpl on my Santro. Tried to drive slower but the road was just too good. When approaching Kurnool, I was down to 5 litres and I slowed down to 100kph and it felt like we were crawling!

However, there were a number of instances of vehicles driving the wrong way and animals and people crossing the road. I had to keep an eye out for about a kilometre ahead to make sure I was ready for what was coming up. Also, if I couldn't see around a corner, I slowed right down. You don't want to barrel down a blind corner and then see a truck coming head-on!

On a side note, I was completely blown away by the Hyderabad ORR! It had 6 lanes on either side and a speed limit of 120kph! The best road infrastructure I've seen in the country so far. Better than world class - the best I've seen across Europe, Australia and Singapore.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

On a side note, I was completely blown away by the Hyderabad ORR! It had 6 lanes on either side and a speed limit of 120kph! The best road infrastructure I've seen in the country so far. Better than world class - the best I've seen across Europe, Australia and Singapore.

OT--Welcome to Hyderabad! Now you know why some of us drive 70 kms to work instead of the normal 15 to 17 kms. The ORR is so alluring that we cannot stay off it for more than a few weeks.

I normally take 35 to 40 minutes to go to work over a distance of 15 kms. But it takes me only 55 to 60 minutes when I go via ORR over a distance of 60 kms, with the first 7 kms being through thick traffic. A monthly drive keeps my Fiesta's engine butter smooth!

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

Left Electronic City at 5:17am and reached Gachibowli,Hyderabad at 12:22pm, having stopped thrice.

Sadly on the return is when most of us suffer where one ends up crawling from Devanahalli to any destination post Hebbal and thats why I always take more time to reach final destination in Bangalore as opposed to the time taken for the BLR-HYD drive.Have a good stay in Hyd and dont hesitate to ask if you need any assist in Hyd.Plenty of Hyd Tbhpians more than willing to help around here.

[anoop.mathew]

Thanks, Ranjit. Am planning to visit the Charminar area today. Where can I park my car? Would prefer paid parking rather than on a street, as the car has a Karnataka license plate.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by anoop.mathew

Thanks, Ranjit. Am planning to visit the Charminar area today. Where can I park my car? Would prefer paid parking rather than on a street, as the car has a Karnataka license plate.

I usually never take or reccomend others to take their car while going towards Charminar.The best and tension free way to see Charminar and surrounding areas is to either hire a Meru or take a rickshaw and get dropped off near the Charminar.On every occasion I have taken my car to C'minar,I have ended up with scratches.There is limited parking right at Charminar,or else you could park your car at Chowmohalla palace and walk to charminar and see the Laad Bazaar(Lacquer bangle bazaar) enroute on your walk to the Charminar.If you are intending on going in the evening,parking is going to be chaotic,even driving and the rush in front of Pista House for the Haleem is going to be humongous.All in all if you have an option of taking a rick or a taxi opt for that-its complete peace of mind.In the below map,A is Chowmohalla Palace and B is Charminar.

https://maps.google.co.in/maps?f=d&s...09503,0.021136

[anoop.mathew]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

There is limited parking right at Charminar,or else you could park your car at Chowmohalla palace and walk to charminar and see the Laad Bazaar(Lacquer bangle bazaar) enroute on your walk to the Charminar.

I parked at Salar Jung Museum (Rs.30) and then took an auto to Shadab and walked to Charminar from there and then took an auto back.

[Fauji]

Just returned from Hyderabad trip. Went there to meet some of my army buddies after 27 years!! It was a reunion of sort. Covered Hyd-Blr in 5Hrs 15 Mins Airport to Airport.....Non Stop.

Road condition as usual is excellent.

Caution - There are many undulations/bulging - not road humps as such - between Kurnool - Anantpur section. This is specially at culverts or flyovers and also at curves. Since the road is so good and we tend to drive very fast - there were small cars which over took me at 135 - there is a strong chance of jumping off the road or rolling over. Take care when you drive in this section.