Pune - Mysore - Pune


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Planning to do Pune - Mysore - Pune along with family from 2nd April to 8th April.
Will be driving my Grand i10 sedately all through the journey. I need some suggestion / advice from fellow TAIgers on following:

1) Where to take night halt on 1st day? I will be starting from Pune around 5:30am and will not perform night drive.
2) Route to Mysore post Davangere?
3) Any specific precautions to be taken on this trip?
4) Good hotels to stay in Mysore along with family (Should have parking facility)?
5) Must see places / things to do in Mysore.?
6) Where to break for night while coming back from Mysore towards Pune.?


Thanks in advance !!
 
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Planning to do Pune - Mysore - Pune along with family from 2nd April to 8th April. Will be driving my Grand i10 sedately all through the journey.
1) Where to take night halt on 1st day? I will be starting from Pune around 5:30am and will not perform night drive.
If you break at Hubli, it is too early. And a long drive (10+ hrs) ahead next day. I would prefer to stretch till Tumkur, if possible. Not too many good places to stay in Tumkur (You can try the Basil though, some like it though I have never stayed there)! Chitradurga, Hiriyur, Sira - No decent places that come to my memory. If it is Davanagere, you can try Apoorva Resorts (may be expensive for a night stay).

2) Route to Mysore post Davangere?
Davanagere - Chitradurga - Hiriyur - Sira - Tumkur - Kunigal - Maddur - Mandya - Srirangapatna - Mysore.

Alternatively, (1) Davanagere - Chitradurga - Hiriyur - Huliyar - Tiptur - Nuggehalli - Holenarasipur - Krishnarajapuram - Mysore (2) Davanagere - Chitradurga - Hiriyur - Huliyar - Tiptur - Nuggehalli - CR Patna - Melukote - Pandavapura - Srirangapatna - Mysore

These 2 routes are experimental. I know a friend who took it about an year back & said the conditions are average - good. Recent conditions, don't know.

3) Any specific precautions to be taken on this trip?
Not much apart from the usual long trip necessities, I guess.
4) Good hotels to stay in Mysore along with family (Should have parking facility)?
We stayed in early February in Royal Orchid Metropole. A bit expensive, but excellent location with large car park (open though). Cordial staff.
5) Must see places / things to do in Mysore.?
Mathew summarised it here. http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...ip-need-help-plan-itinerary-2.html#post527198
6) Where to break for night while coming back from Mysore towards Pune.?
May be Kohlapur
 
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Thread Starter #3
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Thanks a lot CasualSurfer for your detailed inputs, this will definitely help in shaping up my itenarary.

If you break at Hubli, it is too early. And a long drive (10+ hrs) ahead next day. I would prefer to stretch till Tumkur, if possible. Not too many good places to stay in Tumkur (You can try the Basil though, some like it though I have never stayed there)! Chitradurga, Hiriyur, Sira - No decent places that come to my memory. If it is Davanagere, you can try Apoorva Resorts (may be expensive for a night stay).
Will try to extend and break either at Chitradurga or else Tumkur

Davanagere - Chitradurga - Hiriyur - Sira - Tumkur - Kunigal - Maddur - Mandya - Srirangapatna - Mysore.

Alternatively, (1) Davanagere - Chitradurga - Hiriyur - Huliyar - Tiptur - Nuggehalli - Holenarasipur - Krishnarajapuram - Mysore (2) Davanagere - Chitradurga - Hiriyur - Huliyar - Tiptur - Nuggehalli - CR Patna - Melukote - Pandavapura - Srirangapatna - Mysore
After going through few travelogues on net i have made my mind to take Tumkur-Nelamnagala-Kunigal-Bellur Cross-Nagamangala-Pandavpura-Srirangapatna-Mysore route as Hiriyur - Huliyar route has lots of broken tarmac, potholes and speed humps.

Even i am also inclined at Kolhapur. If it appears too far then will halt somewhere near Hubli.
Once again thanks for all your inputs !!
 
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5) Must see places / things to do in Mysore.?
If you have kids along with you , please do visit Railway Museum. I really liked it.
There is one more nice place Ranganathithu Bird Sanctuary. Its just 2-3 KM detour from the main highway near Srirangapatna. Not sure if the migratory birds would be there at this time of the year, but again a very nice place and its on the way.
 
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After going through few travelogues on net i have made my mind to take Tumkur-Nelamnagala-Kunigal-Bellur Cross-Nagamangala-Pandavpura-Srirangapatna-Mysore route as Hiriyur - Huliyar route has lots of broken tarmac, potholes and speed humps.
Hiriyur - Huliyar, is unknown territory to me. Let me check with my friend if he has been on this route lately. The route you have in mind is definitely much better option, except that it is longer. Lot of people from North Bangalore come through Belur Cross - Nagamangala - Pandavpura to Mysore.
 
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If you have kids along with you , please do visit Railway Museum. I really liked it.
There is one more nice place Ranganathithu Bird Sanctuary. Its just 2-3 KM detour from the main highway near Srirangapatna. Not sure if the migratory birds would be there at this time of the year, but again a very nice place and its on the way.
I have kid along with me and Rail Museum is already on my list. [:)]
Will also try to accommodate Ranganathithu Bird Sanctuary in the list. Thanks for your suggestion

Hiriyur - Huliyar, is unknown territory to me. Let me check with my friend if he has been on this route lately. The route you have in mind is definitely much better option, except that it is longer. Lot of people from North Bangalore come through Belur Cross - Nagamangala - Pandavpura to Mysore.
Longer dose not matter to me, but is should be better. All in all journey should be better than destination [:)]
 
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I have kid along with me and Rail Museum is already on my list. [:)]
Will also try to accommodate Ranganathithu Bird Sanctuary in the list.
Ranganathittu will be very hot / dry. The best time is Nov-Dec, winter months. You can definitely try the Zoo though, no more bird flu scare. Silk / Soap factories will be boring for the kids. If the kids are a bit older, you can try the audio guide in the Mysore Palace. I didn't try it, it was expensive in my opinion.

Longer dose not matter to me, but is should be better. All in all journey should be better than destination
It must be. I too have learnt to plan well for the routes. Will update on other route shortcuts (but good conditions) soon enough.
 
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I have made my mind to take Tumkur-Nelamnagala-Kunigal-Bellur Cross-Nagamangala-Pandavpura-Srirangapatna-Mysore route.
Just (today, 25/3) did a Bangalore - Tumkur - Kunigal - Madduru - Bangalore round trip. Thought it will be useful for you to consider this suggestion.

Tumkur - Kunigal: 99% of the route is excellent. Its a broad dual-carriageway with broad shoulders. However there are 2-3 places where there are diversions. Definitely manageable in Grand i10. Just before Kunigal town & afterwards the road has moon craters (300m or so). You have to move to the other side to cross it though.

Kunigal - Madduru: 95% of the route is excellent. The roads in Huliyurdurga are bad. About 1-2 kms. And in about 3-4 other places (culverts, small villages) there are patched / broken (but definitely motorable roads) sections.

In both sections, I saw a few bunks. But none will be open at odd hours. No break / food options.

Tumkur bypass to Madduru is about 85-90 kms. Depending on the time, you will complete this in 1.5 - 2 hrs. An additional 1 hr to reach Mysore Palace.

You can definitely do Tumkur - Kunigal at-least, makes a lot of sense. No need to go all the way upto Nelamangala. If you do the entire strip (Tumkur - Kunigal - Madduru) early morning, you will thank me for the suggestion. It will be super-refreshing country-side view & good roads most of the way.

No speedbreakers throughout the section is the most noteworthy point.

A few images of these roads.
 

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I @GRK,
Rather than spending on fuel, night stays (2 during to & fro travel) and 2 bf, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and wasting 2 days in just travelling, I advice you to book return plane tickets to Bangalore . Believe me it saves lot of money and time.
And book a self drive car like zoom car, myles etc.like Ford aspire at Bangalore,. Zoomcar provides airport pickup and drop facility if you book the car well in advance.

Time thus saved can be used for sight seeing in Bangalore or if you want to skip bangalore slight seeing you can include Ooty in your plan.

Last year, I have done Bangalore Mysore, Ooty in same way, it was amazing trip. There is a thread started by me on TAI. http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...26229-trip-ooty-bandhavgarh-coonoor-ooty.html

Bangalore to Mysore is 150 km distance suitable for sedate driving, don't miss B2B restaurant chain situated on highways in KA & TN for fantastic veg bf & meals. If you reach Bangalore early in the morning, you can visit Brindawan Garden 20 km before Mysore in the afternoon. In the night visit Mysore Palace, it's a great view due to the artificial light system. (these lights are on only on specific days of week) Book a hotel near palace, next day morning go and watch the palace from inside, you can purchase soaps, silk sarees etc inside the palace itself. Reserving special time to visit silk /soap factories not needed. Later on you can visit zoo, Chamunda Temple etc.

On the way to Ooty, (125km from Mysore ) there is forest full of dears, wild and boars, elephants. The extra 2 days saved due to air journey can be well spent in Ooty. You can enjoy the famous world heritage narrow gauze steam engine train journey (remember chal chhayya chhayya song from SRK movie Dil se) only if you manage to book the tickets well in advance online .

If you want to skip Ooty, you can visit Shravanbelgol,Tipu sultan property etc..
 
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Thread Starter #10
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Just (today, 25/3) did a Bangalore - Tumkur - Kunigal - Madduru - Bangalore round trip. Thought it will be useful for you to consider this suggestion.

Tumkur - Kunigal: 99% of the route is excellent. Its a broad dual-carriageway with broad shoulders. However there are 2-3 places where there are diversions. Definitely manageable in Grand i10. Just before Kunigal town & afterwards the road has moon craters (300m or so). You have to move to the other side to cross it though.

Kunigal - Madduru: 95% of the route is excellent. The roads in Huliyurdurga are bad. About 1-2 kms. And in about 3-4 other places (culverts, small villages) there are patched / broken (but definitely motorable roads) sections.

In both sections, I saw a few bunks. But none will be open at odd hours. No break / food options.

Tumkur bypass to Madduru is about 85-90 kms. Depending on the time, you will complete this in 1.5 - 2 hrs. An additional 1 hr to reach Mysore Palace.

You can definitely do Tumkur - Kunigal at-least, makes a lot of sense. No need to go all the way upto Nelamangala. If you do the entire strip (Tumkur - Kunigal - Madduru) early morning, you will thank me for the suggestion. It will be super-refreshing country-side view & good roads most of the way.

No speedbreakers throughout the section is the most noteworthy point.

A few images of these roads.

CasualSurfer, Many thanks !! Nice to see this post before travelling.
 
Thread Starter #11
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I @GRK,
Rather than spending on fuel, night stays (2 during to & fro travel) and 2 bf, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and wasting 2 days in just travelling, I advice you to book return plane tickets to Bangalore . Believe me it saves lot of money and time.
And book a self drive car like zoom car, myles etc.like Ford aspire at Bangalore,. Zoomcar provides airport pickup and drop facility if you book the car well in advance.

Time thus saved can be used for sight seeing in Bangalore or if you want to skip bangalore slight seeing you can include Ooty in your plan.

Last year, I have done Bangalore Mysore, Ooty in same way, it was amazing trip. There is a thread started by me on TAI. http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...26229-trip-ooty-bandhavgarh-coonoor-ooty.html

Bangalore to Mysore is 150 km distance suitable for sedate driving, don't miss B2B restaurant chain situated on highways in KA & TN for fantastic veg bf & meals. If you reach Bangalore early in the morning, you can visit Brindawan Garden 20 km before Mysore in the afternoon. In the night visit Mysore Palace, it's a great view due to the artificial light system. (these lights are on only on specific days of week) Book a hotel near palace, next day morning go and watch the palace from inside, you can purchase soaps, silk sarees etc inside the palace itself. Reserving special time to visit silk /soap factories not needed. Later on you can visit zoo, Chamunda Temple etc.

On the way to Ooty, (125km from Mysore ) there is forest full of dears, wild and boars, elephants. The extra 2 days saved due to air journey can be well spent in Ooty. You can enjoy the famous world heritage narrow gauze steam engine train journey (remember chal chhayya chhayya song from SRK movie Dil se) only if you manage to book the tickets well in advance online .

If you want to skip Ooty, you can visit Shravanbelgol,Tipu sultan property etc..
Tornado, thanks for this suggestion. Will definitely think over this, need to check return fare [:)]
 
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Tornado, thanks for this suggestion. Will definitely think over this, need to check return fare [:)]
It looks like a 24-26K affair return fare. I have assumed 3 passengers (1 kid, < 12 years old)! Never used rental cars. So don't know they charge. If it is per day rental + petrol/diesel, it might not be worth it overall. As you did mention, journey should be as good as the destination itself.

I @GRK,
Rather than spending on fuel, night stays (2 during to & fro travel) and 2 bf, 2 lunches, 2 dinners and wasting 2 days in just travelling, I advice you to book return plane tickets to Bangalore . Believe me it saves lot of money and time. And book a self drive car like zoom car, myles etc.like Ford aspire at Bangalore,. Zoomcar provides airport pickup and drop facility if you book the car well in advance.

Last year, I have done Bangalore Mysore, Ooty in same way, it was amazing trip.

On the way to Ooty, (125km from Mysore ) there is forest full of dears, wild and boars, elephants. The extra 2 days saved due to air journey can be well spent in Ooty.
Makes sense, if long drives are not liked by the family members. Particularly small kids. Small spaces gets boring for them quickly. Youtube offline is a God given gift. Even then it will be boring for them, but with ample breaks / good food / small deviations, it could be good though.

The forest being mentioned in this post is Mudumalai. In fact, the season is now (summer). Grass is low, dry. Waterholes look teasing to all kinds of animals. You have to take the early morning drive (gate opens at 6am). You can see a lot of animals (mostly deer, elephants) just on the road-side itself.

Just to cover the whole 9 yards, there 2 primary routes to Mysore from Bangalore. (1) The default NH 275. Bangalore - Bidadi - Ramanagaram - Channapatna - Madduru -Mandya - Srirangapatna - Mysore. (2) Via NH 209. Bangalore - Kanakpura - Halaguru - Malavalli - Bannur - Harohalli - Mysore.

Pros / Cons:
Route 1: Good 4 lane divided (2 lane each side) highway. Lot of options to break. Good food / toilet options. Heavy traffic. Many many unruly drivers. Lots of 2-wheeler traffic. Gets very busy on Sat/Sun (both sides).

Route 2: Good 2 lane undivided carriageway through out. No worthwhile options to break for food / toilets. Good scenery even in this summer. Road diversion/construction for 10-15kms between NICE Road Junction - Kanakpura. Light in traffic post Kanakpura. Some unmarked speedbreakers.

For sedate drivers / families, I would recommend Route 1. However with my family, I would rarely venture out to Mysore in Route 1.
 
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It looks like a 24-26K affair return fare!
Saves 2 night stays (7 to 8 k INR ), 2 dinners, 2 lunches (2 k approx) fuel & toll expenditure for Pune Bangalore return distance 1700 km ( 7. 5 k INR approx) if Ooty is not included in the trip as it was the case earlier.
Never used rental cars. So don't know they charge. If it is per day rental + petrol/diesel, it might not be worth it overall.
Zoomcar doesn't charge you for fuel, they give you the car tankful, if you happen to refuel it (I did so while coming back in Mysore) they refund you the amount if you present the bill with car number mentioned on it. Overall small car rental is approx 2k INR per 24 hrs , here you have to discount the money to be spent on your own car while travelling to Mysore & other places.
 
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At last, even after many suggestions decided to drive (petrol head by nature). Driven Pune - Mysore -Pune, below are road updates,

* Pune - Satara
As usual traffic flow on this section. Still some diversions present.

* Satara – Kolhapur
Satara onwards the road condition becomes smooth. The section between Karad to Kolhapur sees heavy two wheeler traffic accommodating in left lane. You need to be cautious here as sometimes two wheelers occupy right lane as well and they don’t move even if you honk in their ears.

* Kolhapur – Belgaum
Good and smooth roads once you cross Maharashtra border. The traffic is less on road. You can do triple digits here.

* Belgaum – Dharwad
Again a patch of good and silky roads which are helpful to cover your travel time.

* Dharwad – Hubli
This is a single lane road. There is some traffic caused by slow moving trucks. People who were doing triple digits lose patience in this patch and start doing risky overtakes. Need to be little cautious here.

* Hubli – Davangere – Chitradurga – Tumkur
This is again a best laid silky patch in NH48 where you can again speed up and cover your lost time
Be watchful for Speed Interceptor Vans located in the range between Davangere – Chitradurga and Hiriyur – Sira sections.

* Tumkur – Neelamangala
This road have traffic of vehicles entering into Bangalore city. There are many trucks and two wheeler's on the road which makes your job bit tiresome.

* Neelamangala – Kunigal – Bellur Cross
This is awesome two lane toll road which doesn’t have any traffic. You can again zoom in triple digits (there were no interceptors). Watch out for some speed breakers and rumblers enroute.

* Bellur Cross – Nagamangla – Pandavpura – Srirangapatna – Mysore
This section is state highway and has many villages, twist and truns. Do keep a watchful eye on heavy duty speed breakers and villagers.
Nagamangala is congested town where you need to pass through market.
The road passes near Pandavpura station. You need to be careful here as when train arrives, lot of janta comes out on road seeking auto’s without bothering about your vehicles. Rest of the section is good with moderate traffic of Mysore.

Tolls (Single way) :-
1. Anewadi – Rs.60
2. Tasawade – Rs.70
3. Kini – Rs.70
4. Kognoli – Rs.60
5. Hattargi – Rs.25
6. Hirebagewadi – Rs.85
7. Narendra (MoRTH) – Rs.45
8. Gabbur (MoRTH) – Rs.45
9. Bankapur – Rs.70
10. Chalageri - Rs.100
11. Hebbalu – Rs.75
12. Guilalui – Rs.60
13. Karjeevanhalli – Rs.75
14. Tumkur/Chokkanahalli – Rs.34
15. Neelamangala – Rs.34 (Don’t know but I was in extreme left lane and they took Rs.17 [glasses])
16. Doddakarenahalli – Rs.40
17. Karbylu (Bellur Cross) – Rs.40
 
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At last, even after many suggestions decided to drive (petrol head by nature). Driven Pune - Mysore -Pune, below are road updates,
Great stuff. Did you break at Tumkur? Where did you stay & experience? What were the journey times like? Family endured the whole 800+ kms on a single day?
 

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