[DragonHawk]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I am not sure if the one after BC Road is enabled though.
Best would be to recharge at least 500-600 for a round trip to be on the safer side.

BC Road[Bramharakotlu toll plaza] and Surathkal[NITK toll plaza] are one of badly managed toll plaza in the whole of Dakshina Kannada. Talking about toll booth after BC road, there are only two toll booths here and out of which one is marked FASTag lane. However it is not FASTag enabled one and they have a manual scanner. If you are lucky they just let you pass if toll is crowded.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

The one after BC road I am not sure its highway toll because looks more local to me, even the slip given is non-computerised.

It is definitely NHAI toll that is also facing a lot of flak time and again. I have preferred Charmadi over Shiradi for Mangalore most of the times and I didn't recollect if there was FASTag the last time I took Shiradi for Mangalore.

However, we have an answer that FASTag is functional here.

[ramki067]

Hey guys,
Will be traveling to Mangalore by train with family mainly for my 4 year old kid. I have 3 days time for a tour from Mangalore mainly concentrating on beaches(for kid playing) and may be some main attractions near by. Please suggest me the iternary, staying(budget) and travel (taxi) options.
Thanks,
Ramki

@mods, If this isn't the right place, please move it accordingly.

[BigWheels]

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

I took Aithoor-Subramanya road last January and I agree with his suggestion. Aithoor - Ichlampady- periyashanti is single carriage narrow road and in some places road is not wide enough for two cars to pass at the same time. Add to that road edges are too deep and you need to watch out if you driving a low slung car. There were news about strengthening of road edges by laying fresh layer of mud with boulders but I haven`t heard about progress made on that. So I would recommend you to stick with defacto route ie via Gundya-Periyashanti-Kokkada.

Did BLR-GUNDYA-KUKKE-GUNDYA-DHARMASTHALA-MANGALORE. as per your advice avoided aithoor route and since the gundya kukke road was so fantastic I was able to floor it up and down.

[vharihar]

Planning a trip from Bangalore to Baindur this weekend. We plan to leave on Sat 5 am. Which route would you recommend?

Google Maps shows via Hiriyur, Tarikere, Shomoga, Kollur.

Is that the best?

[lohithrao]

This route will take more time, narrow winding roads. if am in hurry I will go via Mangalore.

Originally Posted by vharihar

Planning a trip from Bangalore to Baindur this weekend. We plan to leave on Sat 5 am. Which route would you recommend?

Google Maps shows via Hiriyur, Tarikere, Shomoga, Kollur.

Is that the best?

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by vharihar

Planning a trip from Bangalore to Baindur this weekend. We plan to leave on Sat 5 am. Which route would you recommend?

Google Maps shows via Hiriyur, Tarikere, Shomoga, Kollur.

Is that the best?

You can do it two ways on the above mentioned route

Bangalore-Hiriyur-Chitradurga-Channagiri-Ayanur-Ripponpete-Hosanagara-Nagara-Kollur-Yedthare-Byndoor

4 lane highway till Chitadurga and 2 lane roads for the rest of the journey. Low traffic and scenic route. I have done this on my bike in 8 hours and 45 minutes a couple of times. You will enjoy the drive after Ayanur with long sweeping corners and sparse traffic. But you will have no good hotels after you turn off the highway.

Bangalore-Hiriyur-Hosadurga-Ajjamapura-Tarikere-Lakkavalli-Bhadra bypass-Maduba-Thirthahalli-Nagara-Kollur-Yedthare-Byndoor

4 lane till Hiriyur and 2 lane roads thereafter. Very sparse traffic from Hiriyur to Tarikere cross with Ajjampura and Hosadurga being big towns. Hell let loose for around 7 kms on the Tarikere town stretch and again peaceful drive when you turn towards Lakkavalli. Only portion where you might have problem is the Muttinakoppa Maduba stretch which is very narrow and you have to drive off the road if any vehicle approaches. This is for 5 kms approximately. Again no good hotels from SIra till Thirthahalli. Hosadurga has a couple of old style hotels.

[vharihar]

Thanks. I'll take the first route I think, the one you did on bike (4-lane till Chitradurga).

I'm not in a hurry. Want a stress-free drive with good quality roads and sparse traffic, never mind if 2 laned. Scenic is better!

Btw, both options you mentioned are via Shimoga, right?

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by vharihar

Thanks. I'll take the first route I think, the one you did on bike (4-lane till Chitradurga).

I'm not in a hurry. Want a stress-free drive with good quality roads and sparse traffic, never mind if 2 laned. Scenic is better!

Btw, both options you mentioned are via Shimoga, right?

The first route runs through Sivamogga town. You can also go through Honalli if you don;'t wish to get into Shivamogga. The second route doesn't get into Shivamogga town, but you can go through Vani Vilasa Sagar dam and Bhadra dam if you have time to spare.

[roshanjathanna]

Originally Posted by vharihar

Planning a trip from Bangalore to Baindur this weekend. We plan to leave on Sat 5 am. Which route would you recommend?

Google Maps shows via Hiriyur, Tarikere, Shomoga, Kollur.

Is that the best?

One more option is Nelamangala -> Chennarayapatna -> Arasikere -> Tarike -> Shimoga Or Lakkavalli-> Thirthahalli -> Kollur

[ampere]

Originally Posted by vharihar

Google Maps shows via Hiriyur, Tarikere, Shomoga, Kollur.

I think the fastest would be : Bhadra-Mandagadde-Thirthahally-Agumbe-Someshwar-Ampar-Vandse-Baindoor.

Ayyanur-Hosanagar-Nittur-Kollur may slow you down thanks to ghats.

[vharihar]

FYI: I'll be on a 4-wheeler. Trust the roads will be wide enough? (or does it get ultra narrow at places?)

Anyway, thanks folks. I'll figure it out now. Thanks so much!

Some uncertainty is always fun. A trip should not be so perfectly planned that there is no uncertainty left!

[Kiyon]

Originally Posted by Kiyon

I am planning to travel from Bangalore - Kukke Subramanya 1st Nov and reading from the previous post it seems Shiradi is the best bet . I would also like to continue to Madikeri post temple visit and return back from Mysore side. Anybody knows post rains and havoc last month how is this route from Subramanya to Madikeri ? I am unable to get any details whether its motorable? Any body done this route in the last month ?

In the interest of sharing information to people who are doing this full circle trip I would like to mention the following..

I did visit Bangalore - Kukke on 3rd Nov : The road condition is good most part except a few rough patch work (5-6 kms)between Sakleshpur - before the start of Shiradi Ghat.
The ghat section till Gundya checkpost is pristine with less traffic as it was not open for heavy trucks yet.


Then I continued to Madikeri from Subramanya .
The road condition is good motorable but narrow two laner.. At a point near Elimale you get two options to continue on the same road and reach the Highway 275 way after Sullia or take diversion to Aranthodu road which is a short cut and reach highway 275 closer to madikeri.

Aranthodu road is extremely narrow and i would call it 1 - 1.5 lane at places and any oncoming vehicle can pose some challenges to cross over. I took this road and was lucky to get away with less than 5 vehicles from the opposite side. The road condition is ok though.

Highway 275 the roads are good but at most sections near to madikeri you can see the land slide that happened few months back and the work is in full swing to put the road condition to normal. Its still very much motorable..

While heading back to Bangalore from Madikeri I dint take the usual Mysore road as Google maps pointed towards Holenarasipura 30min faster and came back in the same route as i left..:

[am1m]

Been some time since I did BLR-MLR-UDP, but got the chance during the week. Must say the Shiradi route is in the best condition I've ever seen it in (and I've seen these stretches intermittently since '97). Was very skeptical about the ghat road closure for such a long time and the quality of work, but the concreting looks very impressive.

Some stretches still to be finished and looks like 4-laning and widening still going on in some places. And that absolute mess at Pumpwell reminded me of Bangalore road and traffic conditions. But overall, it's a comfortable and quick drive now.

One question, was charged toll at two places on the way from Mangalore to Udupi - once at Surathkal and once at Hejamadi. Doesn't it seem like a very short distance to have 2 tolls?

[unk9ja]

Originally Posted by roshanjathanna

One more option is Nelamangala -> Chennarayapatna -> Arasikere -> Tarike -> Shimoga Or Lakkavalli-> Thirthahalli -> Kollur

I would not recommend this route for the sheer traffic on the Arasikere to Shimoga stretch and the maniac drivers. The road conditions are also not so good with lot of undulating surfaces.