[aargee]

Originally Posted by pushpender_s

I was planning to do the sightseeings...In case its not doable, then please suggest some alternate.

Assuming you've 4 days in hand from 2 to 5, both days inclusive...

D1 - Chennai to Madikeri
D2 - Madikeri
D3 - Madikeri to S.Bathery (leave Madikeri early & you can reach S.Bathery before lunch & spend half a day for site seeing)
D4 - S.Bathery to Chennai

Another option is to spend mostly on the road...
D1 - Chennai - Bangalore - Kanakapura - Mysore - Nagarhole - Mananthavady - S.Bathery (long route)
D2 - S.Bathery - Gudalur - Nilambur (ghat) - Perinthalmanna - Mannarkad - Mukkali - Silent Valley
D3 - Silent Valley safari - Kottathara - Mulli - Kundah - Manjoor - Connoor - Kotagiri
D4 - Kotagiri - Mettupalayam - Sirumugai - Sathyamangalam - Gobi - Bhavani - Sangagiri - Salem - Attur - Ulundurpet - Villupuram -Tindivanam - Madras

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by pushpender_s

In case its not doable

Both Wayanad and Munnar is not doable in a single trip in 4 days. You can do one of the 2 places and leave the other for some other trip. Like I mentioned just onward and return alone will take 10-12 hrs which will just leave you with effectively a day at Wayanad and a day at Munnar respectively. Driving almost 1800 km and spending so little time at each place makes no sense.

Take either ampere or aargee's suggestion and build a plan around it.

It'll also give an excuse to plan another trip for the other location

Originally Posted by ampere

- You reach Munnar by late afternoon say 2/4 PM
- 3rf You go around Munnar
- 4th You drive to Thekkady and stay for night
- 5th you drive back.

For Thekkady he can leave on 5th morning too. That'll give maximum time at Munnar.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by narayans80

For Thekkady he can leave on 5th morning too. That'll give maximum time at Munnar.

I was suggesting he stay at Thekaddy for the night and drive back to Chennai from there. That also gives an impression of having been to two places!

[ank.nsit]

Hey Guys,

I will be travelling to Chennai this year end. So thought of going in for a 10 day Kerala tour (December 21st - Jan 2nd).

Day1: Leave Chennai early morning, reach Wayanad.
Day2: In Wayanad, local sight seeing
Day3: In Wayanad, local sight seeing
Day4: Leave Wayanad & reach Munnar.
Day5: In Munnar, local sight seeing.
Day6: In Munnar, local sight seeing.
Day7: Leave Munnar for Alleyppey, stay in house boat in alleypey.
Day8: In Alleyppey, local sight seeing.
Day9: Leave Alleyppey, reach Varkala.
Day10: In Varkala, beach enjoyment.
Day 11: Back to Chennai.

Is this itinerary a good one? Should I drop/include new places? Suggestions for modifications are most welcome.

We have following travel options:

1. Cab Hiring: As we 6 people will be travelling, so an Innova/Ertiga will be good for us.
+ve: No worries about route, parking, state taxes, car breakdown etc.
-ve: Innova @ 12Rs/KM, along with driver cost & tips would come out to be 40K. Not able to find Ertiga anywhere.

2. Self Drive: Live to Drive
+ve: Around 5k cheaper. And I enjoy driving than sitting/sleeping in the car.
-ve: Route trouble, car break down worries (poorly maintained car), inter state taxes/checking issues, car accidental worries etc..

3. Train To Kochi & Local cab:
+ve: Less tiring, no road/jam worries.
-ve: Would involve time wastage due to train timings/local cab hiring issues etc.

Please help me guys in deciding the best option among 3.
I personally am inclined for self drive option, and Ertiga would be our ideal preference owing to its better mileage & lesser rental. But surfing on net, I did not find any Ertiga available in self drive in Chennai. Also, going through the Self Drive options thread on t-bhp, I found only carzonrent, avis, annaicars to be the only ones worth considering.

Please suggest which option should I choose? Is self drive a good option for such kind of long term inter state travel? If yes, please suggest which service providers should I go for?

[saadat1992]

Self drive is going to cost you 35k? You mean renting a self drive car?
I think it'll be a safer option to opt for a cab than the self drive vehicles.
I wouldn't suggest the train option because of time constraints & the unclean AC coaches (i myself spotted on rodent).

The best bet would be A Xylo/ Innova Cab.

[ank.nsit]

Originally Posted by saadat1992

Self drive is going to cost you 35k? You mean renting a self drive car?
I think it'll be a safer option to opt for a cab than the self drive vehicles.
I wouldn't suggest the train option because of time constraints & the unclean AC coaches (i myself spotted on rodent).

The best bet would be A Xylo/ Innova Cab.

Yea, I meant renting a self drive car + the fuel charges would cost around 35K.

[CliffHanger]

I think you should go with option 2.

Reasons
- Being a 10 day trip I wouldn't trust my family on to any cab driver unless it is totally unavoidable.
- You like to drive, so it is just going to add to the happiness quotient
- The driver might turn up to be a nagging one. Also, your family would be more happier in the car without a third person
- Regarding reliability concerns and inter state stuffs, check with the car renting agency, they should be able to help you.
- Inform beforehand that you are very particular about the reliability of the vehicle.
- Go for the Innova, not often you are going to travel such long distances with your family, so don't be too concerned about the extra 5k or 10k, you can easily cut that on other expenses once you return home. The lesser rental and mileage is just nothing to the reliability and comfort of the Innova.

Since you have 10 days at your disposal, your places of interest should include the following too

- Athirapalli Falls
- Valparai( It is too good a place to miss out, especially at the time of the year you planned to visit). You can prioritize Vaalparai over Wayanad.
- The Valparai- Athirapally road is arguably one of the best drives in south India
- Kovalam beach, if possible
- In Allepey, there isn't anything else other than the houseboat, so you can cut a day off for Allepey. Don't miss to check out the Allepey beach while you leave Allepey.

[Rajeevraj]

Firstly a correction on Option 3, the train plan should be to Calicut. Kochi-Wayanad is quite far. Calicut-Wayanad is 2-2.5 hours.

If you can get a reliable driver and a good quality cab, based on your needs, Option 1 would be the recommendation. You can also look out for the 12 seater tempo, will be more expensive but you get more space which will be important since you will be spending a lot of time on the road. With a driver 6 people in the Innova over long distances will be a tight fit. Main reasons for suggesting option 1 are:

• There is going to be a lot of driving involved. The Wayanad- Munnar drive will drain you completely since it is a high traffic, almost completely 2 lane stretch. I think it will easily be a 10-12 hour drive.
• Kerala is going to be packed with tourists, Saves you the hassle of parking issues.

My other recommendation is that you skip Wayanad, Wayanad and Munnar and both Hilly areas with similar kind of site seeing opportunities. So I suggest you head straight to Munnar, stopping at Athirapally falls on the way( as recommended in the previous post). In this case the self drive option can also be considered.

[pushpender_s]

Thank you all for your valuable suggestions.

I have zeroed down for munnar & thekkady.

2nd Oct : Munnar.
3rd Oct : Munnar
4th Oct : Leave from munnar for thekkady. Night stay @ thekkady
5th Oct : Leave from thekkady around 12 PM.

Please share some accommodation options in the range of 2-3K.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by pushpender_s

Please share some accommodation options in the range of 2-3K.

At Thekkady you can try Periyar House or Aranyanivas. Periyar House is a budget place, Aranyanivas is slightly expensive.

For Munnar refer this thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...-homestay.html

Also checkout reviews on tripadvisor. There are humongous number of choices for Munnar stay from 1000ish in SN Sujatha Inn to 6000 odd in Camp Noel. Also the resorts are spread over a wide area. So you'll have to consider the distance to the resort!

[ank.nsit]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

I think you should go with option 2.

Reasons
- Being a 10 day trip I wouldn't trust my family on to any cab driver unless it is totally unavoidable.
- You like to drive, so it is just going to add to the happiness quotient
- The driver might turn up to be a nagging one. Also, your family would be more happier in the car without a third person
- Regarding reliability concerns and inter state stuffs, check with the car renting agency, they should be able to help you.
- Inform beforehand that you are very particular about the reliability of the vehicle.
- Go for the Innova, not often you are going to travel such long distances with your family, so don't be too concerned about the extra 5k or 10k, you can easily cut that on other expenses once you return home. The lesser rental and mileage is just nothing to the reliability and comfort of the Innova.

Since you have 10 days at your disposal, your places of interest should include the following too

- Athirapalli Falls
- Valparai( It is too good a place to miss out, especially at the time of the year you planned to visit). You can prioritize Vaalparai over Wayanad.
- The Valparai- Athirapally road is arguably one of the best drives in south India
- Kovalam beach, if possible
- In Allepey, there isn't anything else other than the houseboat, so you can cut a day off for Allepey. Don't miss to check out the Allepey beach while you leave Allepey.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Firstly a correction on Option 3, the train plan should be to Calicut. Kochi-Wayanad is quite far. Calicut-Wayanad is 2-2.5 hours.

If you can get a reliable driver and a good quality cab, based on your needs, Option 1 would be the recommendation. You can also look out for the 12 seater tempo, will be more expensive but you get more space which will be important since you will be spending a lot of time on the road. With a driver 6 people in the Innova over long distances will be a tight fit. Main reasons for suggesting option 1 are:

• There is going to be a lot of driving involved. The Wayanad- Munnar drive will drain you completely since it is a high traffic, almost completely 2 lane stretch. I think it will easily be a 10-12 hour drive.
• Kerala is going to be packed with tourists, Saves you the hassle of parking issues.

My other recommendation is that you skip Wayanad, Wayanad and Munnar and both Hilly areas with similar kind of site seeing opportunities. So I suggest you head straight to Munnar, stopping at Athirapally falls on the way( as recommended in the previous post). In this case the self drive option can also be considered.

Thanks for your suggestion guys, so I am planning to skip Wayanad, and include Athirapally, Valparai, Kovalam beach as suggested. I guess I can include Kodaikanal as well, as that would decrease our single stretch travel from Chennai on first day.

So the new itinerary seems to be like:

Day1: Leave Chennai early morning, reach Kodaikanal.
Day2: In Kodaikanal, local sight seeing.
Day3: Leave Kodaikanal & reach Munnar.
Day4: In Munnar, local sight seeing.
Day5: Leave Munnar for Valparai.
Day6: In Valparai, local sight seeing.
Day7: Leave Valparai for Alleypey, via Athirapalli falls en-route.
Day8: Leave Alleyppey, reach Varkala.
Day9: In Varkala, beach enjoyment.
Day10: Leave Varkala, for Kovalam beach.
Day11: Leave Kovalam beach for Chennai

Is it worth going extra for Kovalam beach? And does Valparai warrant a 2 day stay? I generally don't prefer daily checkouts & checkins. But can consider the option if its worth it.

Does this new itinerary seem feasible & worth it? I guess other than first & last day, our travel for any day would not be more than 3-4 hours now?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ank.nsit

Does this new itinerary seem feasible & worth it? I guess other than first & last day, our travel for any day would not be more than 3-4 hours now?

- You have 11 days (including drive).
- Again you dont need to do Munnar and Valparai.
- They are again same. And Waynad as Rajeev mentioned is also similar

So what all you can do then ?

- 3 Nights at Munnar
- 1 at Thekkady
- 2 Nights at Allepey or Kumarakom
- 1/2 Nights at Varakala or Poovar.


Other suggestion to the plan if you want to:
- Any temples to circuit? Trichy/Madurai ?
- Kanyakumari to add as a last hop before return?

[CliffHanger]

Originally Posted by ampere

-

So what all you can do then ?

- 3 Nights at Munnar
- 1 at Thekkady
- 2 Nights at Allepey or Kumarakom
- 1/2 Nights at Varakala or Poovar.

Hi Ampere,

With due respects, I think 3 nights in Munnar and 2 nights in Allepey will be an overkill and can bring in an uneasy boredom especially when on trips where we expect to relax decently but also expect to see the maximum of the places we visit.

@ank.nsit

Your revised schedule clubs Kodai, Munnar and Valparai for the first 6 days, which in my opinion will be an overkill of the same green.

Do check all the posts on the below thread and get back.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...rry-route.html

I think other than the hills and the beaches, I think you can include a bit of local cultural and history places too, that will give an wholesomeness to the trip and will help you appreciate the place better.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

With due respects, I think 3 nights in Munnar and 2 nights in Allepey will be an overkill and can bring in an uneasy boredom especially when on trips where we expect to relax decently but also expect to see the maximum of the places we visit.

I agree thats why in the end, I had suggested if he wants to add Poovar/KK etc or some temple architecture on the way? 3 days is an overkill I agree, but many would like to laze around in these places, if they are not there to visit the place alone.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by CliffHanger

3 nights in Munnar and 2 nights in Allepey will be an overkill

2 or 3 days in Munnar is good actually, you'll have enough time to roam around. Especially if Munnar is the first, they can explore the Udumalpettai route sightseeing places driving in. Munnar-Top Station-Munnar will take a day. That's 2 days already, haven't explored on the Adimali side or Rajakkad side so don't know.

Aleppey/Kumarakom (assuming houseboat) for 2 days would be boring. We went as a couple and we found 1 day to be ideal, 2nd day in houseboat would've made it monotonous.