Can you help us plan our trip to India?

India Road Trip?

• Please help me plan a good road trip(car) for a duration of 7 days. Starting from Pune, can go into any part of India My current plan is for <1> Pune to Kochi <2> Pune to Ranthambore (but Rajasthan has been through floods recently) <3> ????

• Answer:

  Route map from Pune to Kochi. From Pune, take the road to Kolhapur. The highway number is NH4. You will pass Satara on the way. Do not take a right turn to Kolhapur. Keep on going straight. You will enter Karnataka state and reach Belgaum. Belgaum is about 320 Km from Pune. Your travel time should be around 5 hours. The road is simply wonderful. You will be able to constantly maintain a speed of above 100 km/hr. Belgaum will be on your right side. It will be a good idea for you to stay for the night in Belgaum, as you will enter the villages of Karnataka after Belgaum. You will not find many hotels after Belgaum. Hotel keerthi in Belgaum will be a good option, if you are going with your family. The next day, start from Belgaum and go to Hubli. You can get directions on the way from the toll booths. The highway is the same. So you will not get lost. Hubli is around 130 Km away from Belgaum. There will be sign boards and you have to follow it. There will be a Hubli exit. Take the exit and drive towards KARWAR. Ask for directions. People get lost easily here. The road is good up to Yellapur, which is a small town on the way to Karwar. From Yellapur, you have to drive down a ghat, the road is very very bad, and you will reach a small junction after about 60 kms. From there you have to take a LEFT turn towards Mangalore. Ask for directions, if you have any doubt. If you get lost, you will have to drive all the way back, and that is very irritating. If you take a right turn, you will end up in Karwar. You need to go to Karwar, only if you plan to visit Goa. Get directions from Lorry drivers. They will guide you. You cannot completely rely on road signs. Take the road to Mangalore. This highway is NH 17. DO NOT LEAVE THIS HIGHWAY at any time. You will pass Udipi on the way to Mangalore. Keep going straight. Managalore is a port town and has one of the worst roads, I have ever seen. You can either stay in Mangalore or drive on to Kerala, to the border town of Kasargod. If you are tired after the drive to Mangalore, which is possible, because of the very bad roads, you can stay in Mangalore town. You have to take a right turn to the city and leave NH17. There are good hotels in Mangalore. Should be better than Kasargod. Leave for Kerala early the next morning. Take NH 17 and drive down to Kasargod. You will pass Kannur, Kozhikode, Ponnani, Guruvayoor, Kodungallur, after Kasargod, on the way to Kochi. Make sure you take direction from locals at every intersection. You will easily lose your way in Kozhikode. Also make sure that you do not leave NH17. When asking for directions, always ask for Kochi and NH17. Locals will guide you correctly. When you reach Kodungalloor, ask for directions to Kochi. NH 17 ends at Edappally junction in Kochi. The road is good, but full of twists and turns and the private bus drivers are the craziest drivers you will ever come across. So take care and give them way. If you leave Mangalore early in the morning by 5am, you should be able to reach Kochi by late evening/night. Traffic is very slow moving in this area. Keep your vehicle below 80km/hr, as the locals have a crazy habit of walking in the middle of the road. Have a nice journey. If you feel that you will not be able to drive to Kochi in one stretch, you can stay for one night in Guruvayoor or Ponnani. Continue the journey to Kochi the next day. The total distance from Pune to Kochi will be around 1300km.