Will be driving our Jeep Compass diesel throughout the journey.
BHPian Tipsy rovers recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Hi all, we are planning a trip from Jammu to Kerala and maybe a bit of Tamil Nadu and back.
Proposed route plan:
- Jammu – Chandigarh (some personal work there)
- Chandigarh – Jhansi
- Jhansi – Nagpur
- Nagpur – Hyderabad
- Hyderabad – Bangalore
- Bangalore – Munnar
- Return via Goa – Mumbai – Udaipur – Jaipur.
Any suggestions or tips are welcome.
We will be travelling in our Jeep Compass Limited diesel manual; our four-and-a-half-year-old daughter will be travelling alone. We have about 30 days in hand and plan to travel from 18th March onwards.
Thanks!
Here’s what BHPian raptor_diwan had to say on the matter:
Congrats on your big trip, buddy! Instead of taking the Hyderabad to Bangalore route, you can take a detour through Tamil Nadu by going from Hyderabad to Chennai via Pondicherry, which will give you the chance to touch another state. From there, you can head to Munnar and visit some hill stations in Chennai along the way, such as Kodaikanal. If you’re interested in temple buildings and structures, the temple city can also be touched.
On your return journey, you can take the Bangalore-Goa route and cover three states in one go!
4-and-a-half-year-old daughter on a 30-day road trip may be safe and enjoyable if you plan well and take the necessary precautions. Additionally, you may want to plan frequent stops and breaks during the trip to allow your child to stretch, play, and attend to their needs. If required consult with your paediatrician before embarking on such a journey to ensure that your child is healthy and safe to travel.
Here’s what BHPian chandrda had to say on the matter:
Congrats and All the Best on your journey.
Few Points:
- It will be extremely hot in places. Prepare well.
- List of Pediatrician in the cities you will be visiting
- Plan for Break/rest days in between
- On the South Leg – I would do Hyderabad – Chennai – Mahabalipuram – Pondy – Tirchy or Madurai – Thekkady/Munnar. This way you get to cover some parts of TN and Pondy as well.
South Return Leg – Depending on your interest and time you can do several routes:
- Thekkady/Munnar – Cochin – Kozhikode – Mangalore – Udupi – Gokarna – Goa. This will be mostly a coastal road with some stunning scenery. But you will miss Bangalore
- Thekkady/Munnar – Coimbatore – Coonoor – Ooty – Mysore – Bangalore – Gokarna – Karwar – Goa. You can cover Ooty and Mysore and excellent drive for your Compass
- Thekkady/Munnar – Coimbatore – Bhavani – Salem – Hosur – Bangalore. Boring highway, with nothing much to do
Depending on where you will stay in Munnar and if you plan to visit Thekkady, then the route will change accordingly.
Here’s what BHPian matchvan had to say on the matter:
Greetings,
Kudos on deciding on a pan-India trip. My 2 cents:
I will address the way to do Hyderabad – Bengaluru section, in a true BHPian style.
Hyderabad to Chennai/Pondicherry – Beach stop for 1 night.
From Pondicherry via Villupuram, Trichy reaches Madurai – Temple stops for 1 night.
You have option of Kodaikanal/ Munnar.
From Madurai, you can go to Munnar – 1 night stop.
From Munnar, you can go to Ooty via Udumalpet, Coimbatore – 1 night at Ooty.
From Ooty, you can add Masinagudi or the Bandipur ghat ride to reach Mysore – 1 night at Mysuru.
From Mysuru reach Bengaluru –
Plan your return from here.
Roads in these parts are excellent with numerous food stops and this can be done in 6 to 8 days.
I have done this in 2 parts with my daughter and wife.
You will have a nice time exploring.
Drive Safe.
Here’s what BHPian kovilkalai had to say on the matter:
I would agree with the suggestion that you drive through TN on the way down and up the Malabar coast on the way back. Here are a few suggestions:
- When I was planning my cross-country drive, I heard from several people that Chandigarh to Jhansi may be tough for one day. Too many cities to drive around and some stretches of undivided, busy roads. This is a really long 700+ km
- Instead of stopping at Nagpur, stop at Tadoba. You may be able to squeeze in a morning safari before you head on. Who says you can’t see a few things during a marathon drive
- Here is an itinerary for TN. Stay in Chennai or Mahabalipuram after you drive in from Hyderabad. Chennai/Mahabs -> Pondicherry (via ECR) -> Pichavaram Mangrove forest (do the boat ride) -> Tranquebar. You can stay here. The next day, drive to Rameswaram/Dhanushkodi via Velankanni. The beaches on the mainland near Rameswaram are great and there are places to do snorkelling or take a glass-bottom boat to see some corals. From Rameswaram, you can go to Kanyakumari along the TN coast.
- From Kanyakumari, you can drive to Munnar. On the way back north, drive up the Malabar coast. The drive will be slow until you get to Mangalore, but there are a lot of wonderful stops along the way. Consider a houseboat ride in Kumarakom (or near Bekal). Also check out Fort Kochi, Bekal, Malpe and Gokarna on the way to Goa.
- I chose to stop in Dungarpur in Rajasthan instead of Udaipur. The palace of the erstwhile prince there was great and definitely more affordable than any of the fancy hotels in Udaipur (not to mention less crowded)
- If you are spending this much time in the south, I hope you are okay eating south Indian food for lunch. You can find dhabas along major highways, but if you are driving down the East Coast Road in TN, you will have to deal with south Indian meals. Stopping at Pondicherry for lunch is a good idea (great restaurants), but it gets a little dicey after that. Don’t get me wrong… the food is good as long as you are fine with rice, sambar and rasam. I am not a big fan of highway food in Kerala, but it gets better in Karnataka. Stop in Kundapur and Karwar for lunch.
- You will notice that I am not recommending Bangalore. Don’t drive through Bangalore. It is horrible. I live here.
One more recommendation… If you plan on doing 11-13 hour marathon stretches, make sure you have expressways or divided highways for most of that time. Doing 11-13 hours on undivided highways is asking for trouble. Take more stops. So what if you take a few more days? This is a once-in-a-lifetime journey. Do it with less stress
Keyword: Route suggestions:Need help planning a 30-day Kashmir-Kerala road trip