Pune To Kerala Road Trip [9 - 10 Days]


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Hi All,

I am planning for total 9-10 days road trip from Pune to Kerala.
Below are the destinations which i am planning to cover but bit confused how to plan on route as they are at different locations.

Locations planned:
--------------------
1) Alleppey
2) Athirapally Waterfalls, Thrissur
3) Vagamom, Kottyam [Not on priority]
4) Kumarakom Backwaters
5) Mattupetty, Munnar
6) Mararikulam, Alleppey
7) Ranipuram, kasaragod [Not on priority]
8) Marine Drive, Kochi
9) Varkal, Thirunananthapuram
10) Paithalmala, kannur

I will be travel with my family [Wife and a 4 year old]. I need some inputs from our fellow members

1) Route planning from Pune to Pune
2) Good hotels on the route just for a nights stay and good food ?
3) From the places mentioned above if any of them is redundant and can be skipped ?
4) Local contacts if any ?
5) Travel date will be Aug between 16-25 Aug[can't be changed] so is this the good time to go kerala considering the monsoon season ?

Car:- Wagon R VXI AGS

Thanks,
Satyajeet
 
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Re: Pune to Kerala Road trip [9-10 days]

How much are you ready to drive in a day?

From Pune you can drive to Tumakuru,
Tumakuru to Mysore,
Mysuru to Allepey,
Allepey to Thiruvananthapuram,Kochi,Thrissur.

After covering this place you can visit Murudeshwar with a night stay and return to Pune the next day. This will help you break your return journey and also visit a beautiful destination.

There are few days of long driving hours, consider that and plan as you are travelling with a kid.
With the AGS and reliable WagonR, i dont think driving long hours will be a problem to you.
Wishing you a SAFE journey.
ALL THE BEST
 
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Re: Pune to Kerala Road trip [9-10 days]

Its too much of travelling with family in 10 days. You will spend almost 2 days for reaching Kerala from Pune and again 2 days for returning back. Also remember that 16th Aug to 19th Aug is a peak tourist time as its a long weekend.
 

Nairrk

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Re: Pune to Kerala Road trip [9-10 days]

Its too much of travelling with family in 10 days. You will spend almost 2 days for reaching Kerala from Pune and again 2 days for returning back. Also remember that 16th Aug to 19th Aug is a peak tourist time as its a long weekend.
In addition to the long weekend, Onam (Kerala festival) holidays start (from 22nd Aug onwards till 27/28th August) and you will find everywhere heavy rush and traffic congestions. Please take care about this.!
 
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Re: Pune to Kerala Road trip [9-10 days]

Hi, The locations you have mentioned are from North Kerala (Kannur) to South (Varkala).

Considering the no. of days available with you, would suggest you remove Varkala from your plan.

Completely agree with GrandRK - It would be too much to cover within the time especially with Family.

My recommendation would be to take it a bit easy, choose lesser locations and spend more time in these places.

Suggested plan

Pune - Bangalore (Day 1) - Halt at B'lore
Bangalore - Munnar (Day 2) - Halt at Munnar
Munnar - Day 3
Munnar to Kumarakom (Day 4) - Leave Munnar in the morning and reach Kumarakom by afternoon - around 5 hours drive .Halt at Kumarakom
Kumarakom to Alleppey (Day 5) Leave Kumarakom in the afternoon and you can reach Alleppey in 2-3 hours.
Alleppey - Day6
Alleppey- Kannur (Day 7) - Remember that this is going to be a tiring drive since it is not a 4 laned highway so progress will be slow.
Kannur - Day 8 -
Kannur - Kumta/Honnavar (Day 9)
Kumta/Honnavar - Pune - (Day 10)

Depending on the way it goes and how comfortable you feel, you can make changes to the plan.
 

Nairrk

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Re: Pune to Kerala Road trip [9-10 days]

IMO, Alleppey to Kannur seems a long stretch (around 330 kms) and it may take more time than what one actually anticipates. Even though it looks one can reach Kannur in about 10 hours, but practically it may not be possible with present rainy season and congested /bad roads en route.

May be, Alleppey to Thiruvananthapuram seems easy (only 155kms and mostly good roads) but not sure how he will connect to Pune from Thiruvananthapuram..(Thiruvananthapuram - Bangalore - Pune seems only the way but again very long drive and he may need to take a break in-between? )
 
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Thread Starter #7
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Re: Pune to Kerala Road trip [9-10 days]

Hi, The locations you have mentioned are from North Kerala (Kannur) to South (Varkala).

Considering the no. of days available with you, would suggest you remove Varkala from your plan.

Completely agree with GrandRK - It would be too much to cover within the time especially with Family.

My recommendation would be to take it a bit easy, choose lesser locations and spend more time in these places.

Suggested plan

Pune - Bangalore (Day 1) - Halt at B'lore
Bangalore - Munnar (Day 2) - Halt at Munnar
Munnar - Day 3
Munnar to Kumarakom (Day 4) - Leave Munnar in the morning and reach Kumarakom by afternoon - around 5 hours drive .Halt at Kumarakom
Kumarakom to Alleppey (Day 5) Leave Kumarakom in the afternoon and you can reach Alleppey in 2-3 hours.
Alleppey - Day6
Alleppey- Kannur (Day 7) - Remember that this is going to be a tiring drive since it is not a 4 laned highway so progress will be slow.
Kannur - Day 8 -
Kannur - Kumta/Honnavar (Day 9)
Kumta/Honnavar - Pune - (Day 10)

Depending on the way it goes and how comfortable you feel, you can make changes to the plan.
Thanks Guys for the quick responses.

SilverEyez - i can drive around 500-600 Km's per day comfortably.

i was not aware of the Onam festival will surely keep that in mind.

Agreed, these locations are ranging from North to South Kerala, that's the reason i need information like if i can skip some of them or follow any specific route so that i dont need to divert much ?

Thanks to SilverEyez -- For now i have same route in mind Pune - Tumakuru - Mysore - Allepey.

RPM1975 -- Thanks for the suggested route that sounds like good plan.

Also i would like to know how is monsoon during August in this area ? Is it advisable to take a road trip during this time or shall i stick to Public transport ?.

I was planning to go directly from Pune to Thiruvananthapuram and while returning to Pune will cover these places does that sounds good ?
 
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Re: Pune to Kerala Road trip [9-10 days]

Thanks Guys for the quick responses.

SilverEyez - i can drive around 500-600 Km's per day comfortably.

Thanks to SilverEyez -- For now i have same route in mind Pune - Tumakuru - Mysore - Allepey.

RPM1975 -- Thanks for the suggested route that sounds like good plan.

Also i would like to know how is monsoon during August in this area ? Is it advisable to take a road trip during this time or shall i stick to Public transport ?.
Monsoons wont hamper your drives and plan.
And Public Transport cant beat the fun and enjoyment of a roadtrip with family. Your plan is an exciting one,Go ahead with it.
Be well prepared, make a fix itinerary and try to book the hotels if possible to have a relaxed and fun trip.

I was planning to go directly from Pune to Thiruvananthapuram and while returning to Pune will cover these places does that sounds good ?
Satyajeet,
Pune to Thiruvanathapuram must be 1500kms,
after breaking the journey at Tumakuru, from Tumukaru you can visit and stop at one of the places(Allepey,Thrissur)while going towards T'puram as again its going to be a long driving day from Tumakuru to T'puram in a day.
If Possible you can strike out a few places(Munnar or even T'puram,coz thats the farthest point in your trip)
 
Thread Starter #9
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Re: Pune to Kerala Road trip [9-10 days]

And Public Transport cant beat the fun and enjoyment of a roadtrip with family. Your plan is an exciting one,Go ahead with it.
Thanks for the warm words, Agreed Public transport is no replacement for Road trip.

For now the plan suggested by RPM1975 looks to be great as it covers most of the places and return journey is a drive via costline which also seems to be amazing.

I am bit worried about the holiday period as crowd will be building up during that time which would be bit chaotic.
 
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Guys, After all the discussion and route planning i come up with the below route as suggest by RPM1975

My first day would be 900 kms from Pune to Mysuru and after that i am going to take it easy and rest would be as per the plan

Day1: Pune to Mysuru
Day2: Mysuru to Munnar
Day3: Munnar
Day4: Munnar to Kumarakom - Leave Munnar in the morning and reach Kumarakom by afternoon
Day5: Kumarakom to Alleppey
Day6: Alleppey
Day7: Alleppey - Kannur
Day8: Kannur
Day9: Kumta/Honnavar
Day10: Kumta/Honnavar - Pune

Please suggest if this sounds good.
 

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Guys, After all the discussion and route planning i come up with the below route as suggest by RPM1975

My first day would be 900 kms from Pune to Mysuru and after that i am going to take it easy and rest would be as per the plan

Day1: Pune to Mysuru
Day2: Mysuru to Munnar
Day3: Munnar
Day4: Munnar to Kumarakom - Leave Munnar in the morning and reach Kumarakom by afternoon
Day5: Kumarakom to Alleppey
Day6: Alleppey
Day7: Alleppey - Kannur
Day8: Kannur
Day9: Kumta/Honnavar
Day10: Kumta/Honnavar - Pune

Please suggest if this sounds good.
Just a suggestion from my end. If you have nothing to do in Mysore then opt for Pune - Bangalore - Salem - Avinashi - Munnar route, this is national highway with ample amount of facilities enroute.
 
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Guys, After all the discussion and route planning i come up with the below route as suggest by RPM1975

My first day would be 900 kms from Pune to Mysuru and after that i am going to take it easy and rest would be as per the plan

Day1: Pune to Mysuru
Day2: Mysuru to Munnar
Day3: Munnar
Day4: Munnar to Kumarakom - Leave Munnar in the morning and reach Kumarakom by afternoon
Day5: Kumarakom to Alleppey
Day6: Alleppey
Day7: Alleppey - Kannur
Day8: Kannur
Day9: Kumta/Honnavar
Day10: Kumta/Honnavar - Pune

Please suggest if this sounds good.
Its a perfect plan, please go ahead with it.
A small suggestion for Day 9,
from Kannur to Murudeshwar(Beautiful and Tallest statue of Lord SHIVA right next to the sea) Murudeshwar Temple visit can be done in less than 90mins.
from Murudeshwar you can go ahead to Gokarna,beautiful beach and lots of good resorts.
here is my link http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/voyage-junction/33320-mumbai-murudeshwar-gokarna-mumbai.html

Wishing you a safe and happy journey in Advance
 
Thread Starter #13
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Just a suggestion from my end. If you have nothing to do in Mysore then opt for Pune - Bangalore - Salem - Avinashi - Munnar route, this is national highway with ample amount of facilities enroute.
Thanks for the suggestion sir.
I have been to Mysuru before so nothing is on the plan this is just to break the journey as Pune to Munnar in a day would be exhaustive
The route which is finalized above was just to avoid B'lore traffic, so will be better option or you want me to stick with NH ?

Yes Murudeshwar is definitely on the list, i have seen the statu in pics and surely dont want to miss it.
 
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Thanks for the suggestion sir.
I have been to Mysuru before so nothing is on the plan this is just to break the journey as Pune to Munnar in a day would be exhaustive
The route which is finalized above was just to avoid B'lore traffic, so will be better option or you want me to stick with NH ?
If that is the case then fine otherwise break at Tumkuru and start next day early morning for bypassing Bangalore via NICE road.
 
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Day1: Pune to Mysuru
Day2: Mysuru to Munnar
Day3: Munnar
Day4: Munnar to Kumarakom - Leave Munnar in the morning and reach Kumarakom by afternoon
Day5: Kumarakom to Alleppey
Day6: Alleppey
Day7: Alleppey - Kannur
Day8: Kannur
Day9: Kumta/Honnavar
Day10: Kumta/Honnavar - Pune
Since you had mentioned that Mysore is just a way point, no point going through a lot of hassle from Hiriyur - Huliyar - Belur Cross - Nagamangala - Pandavpura - Srirangapatna - Mysore (or even Tumkur - Kunigal - Maddur - Mandya - Srirangapatna - Mysore). I heard that the section between Nagamangala - Pandavpura is being widened in many places. And this is a 2 lane carriageway, although most of it is pretty wide. Evening traffic (especially 2-wheelers & Tata Aces) is much higher than expected. And you may be going through this route in the evening / late evening. If you are starting at 4am, you are going to be in this stretch between 5pm - 730pm. I would recommend against. Alternatively, please consider bypassing Bangalore via NICE road & staying post Bangalore outskirts, such as Electronic City (or preferably Hosur). And next day drive could be pretty relaxed. Time your start around 6/7am in Pune, so that you could be in Bangalore post 8pm, then NICE Road will not be as difficult. And you can reach Hosur by 930/10pm. If night driving doesn't suit you, start a bit earlier such as 230/3am, then you can enter NICE Road before 5pm.

Breakfast at Satara, Lunch at Hubli/Dharwad & Tea/Coffee at Tumkur could be your ideal breaks. A bit late dinner at your hotel. You can adjust based on your timings.

Day 2: Mysore - Munnar: Again you are on 2 lane carriageways for the most part + Dhimbham ghat (Sathyamangalam Reserve Forest). Hence I recommended the alternate route.

Day 4: Munnar to Kumarakom is easily 4-5 hrs depending on the route.

Day 7: Alleppey - Kannur is easily 10+hrs, bear the notorious traffic of the NH due to racing private buses, mad overtakers. So the entire day is just the drive.

Day 9: Kannur - Kumta is easily 9-10hrs again. Way too many things to see (Bekal fort, Mangalore food, Malpe beach, Maravanthe beach, Udupi Krishna temple, Murudeshwar, etc). Again, the entire day is just driving. But beautiful coast to accompany you all through out. Lets hope it is not heavily raining & has pleasant weather for you/family to enjoy.

Day 10: Once you have hit the NH, it is pretty easy going. Nothing much to worry. I am not sure about the latest route conditions between Yellapur - Haliyal - Kittur, but this should be your shortest to reach NH.

And definitely Wagon R is good enough to go, the car itself would be fine. It is the humans that need more breaks! There is a whole thread dedicated to making long trips easier on the family/kids. You have already cut short a lot of destinations, so I don't want to restrict anything more. Just so you know, set the expectations right with all in the family (especially for Day 7 - 10), you will have a lovely time. And we will wait for the travelogue with lots of pictures!

Just a suggestion from my end. If you have nothing to do in Mysore then opt for Pune - Bangalore - Salem - Avinashi - Munnar route, this is national highway with ample amount of facilities enroute.
I second this route. Much easier. Good facilities. And most distance in 4-lane. And you need such roads in longish travels. You are anyway struck in Kerala traffic & NH66 until Kumta/Gokarna, so you do get a lot of those roads (similar!) as well on your return trip!
 

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