Hyderabad to Bangalore by car (updated - Aug 2012)

Day 1 of Hyderabad to Kanyakumari  Drive: Trip to Bangalore

Quick Facts on Hyderabad to Bangalore Route

• Total toll charges (one way) = Rs 472  (as on August 2012)
• Distance between Outer Ring Road to Bangalore city limit: 545 km
• Except for the few km after Shamshabad airport, all the stretch between Hyderabad to Bangalore are 4 lane, awesome, exotic roads. Very addictive to drive
• Watch out for speed breakers at Anantapur and Penukonda  (as on August 2012)  
• Mileage: 15.5 kmpl (Conditions: Honda city, 2 occupants, 20kg luggage, Continuous A/C with 40% setting, Total distance: 600 km of which 545km is on highway)
• Duration of travel: 9 hours with 2 pit stops (30 + 20) mins 
• BPCL Ghar Dhabas were better pitstops
• Traveled on a weekday, there was very feeble traffic on NH7.
• But Occasionally, vehicles & trucks going in opposite direction, come on the wrong side of the lane. So need to proceed with caution at blind spots ahead of us

We started at 6:15 am. Fed the destination info in the PND (with satguide maps). It suggested me the following route.

• Kondapur Road > Outer Ring Road > NH7 > Hebbal > ORR Bangalore > KR puram
• Distance remaining: 620 km
• Estimated time of departure: 6:30 PM ( I was quite anxious to know what would be the actual journey time to Bangalore by car)

In few minutes, we reached the Nehru Outer Ring Road (ORR). The ORR has 8 lanes. Same as highways, U-Turns are sparingly available. So missing a diversion could prove very costly. Anyways, signboards are very well put at required places. The diversion to Bangalore from ORR, connects us to NH7 near Shamshabad airport.

Nehru Outer Ring Road, Hyderabad - 8 lanes

The stretch of NH7 next to Shamshabad airport is narrow & in a pathetic state, with lot of potholes. Anyways, after few km of patient navigation, the 4 lane NH7 welcomes us with a huge cheer. From there till Bangalore, the NH7 stretch is exceptionally great. Silky, Asphalt Carpet! Its a good thing that road conditions are improving in our country.

Initially, i was wondering how i could drive all alone to Bangalore! But the moment, started cruising in NH7, never felt that i had crossed so many km. This stretch is quite inviting, appetizing to drive. Thanks to NHAI, [except for TOLL fee :) ] the roads are so well designed that one would never feel the travel fatigue even in such long journeys. And, for the people with passion to drive, NH7 will never let 'em down

NH7, Hyderabad to Bangalore Road condition

Crossed the 1st toll gate by 7:25am. Paid Rs 45. At the 2nd toll, paid Rs 43. Had the 1st fueling point after 235 kms @ Swagath Retail, IOC outlet near Kurnool by 9:30AM. They accepts credit cards. 
Filled 16 ltr Petol. This outlet is quite spacious. Parked car in shade and had breakfast, brought from home.

Swagath Retail Outlet, Kurnool. IOC Petrol Bunk in Hyderabad to Bangalore Route

After 30 mins break, resumed our journey towards Bangalore. Other than Kurnool, NH7 traverses well away from the cities. Except for the sign boards of cities on Highway, one would never feel they are crossing those cities.
After crossing the next 3 toll gates, we had the second refuel after 165 km from previous fuel point @ Vivek Roadways, IOC outlet @ Anantapur by 12.20pm. Actually wanted to stop for R&R and found this petrol bunk. Filled in 10ltr petrol. They accept credit cards, but based on network availability.

Vivek Roadways, Anantapur. IOC Petrol Bunk in Hyderabad to Bangalore Route

Initial plan was to have lunch during the journey. But being ahead of planned journey time, and only 200 km left to destination, we were tempted to proceed ahead with the journey. Thought we will have the lunch @ the destination itself.

Watch out for speed breakers at Anantapur. They are quite huge and not very noticeable at nights!!

After Anantapur, the sides of the roads turns scenic. We could see the western ghats cast in blue shades.

NH7 Hyderabad to Bangalore Road Condition

There are two tollgates between Anantapur and Bangalore.

Watch out for speed breakers at Penukonda. They are quite huge and not very noticeable at nights!!

 After crossing 172km from the previous fuel station, we could spot the B-TRAC sign board by 2.21 pm. Oh, We reached the Bangalore city. Cheers to us :)

Yeah the magical cruise has come to end for that day. Mitigating the city traffic and speed breakers, our speed had drastically come down. The PND with satguide maps came very handy in navigating within the city. Just following the turn by turn instructions, we passed through Hebbal - ORR - KRpuram without any hassles. Finally we reached the destination by 3:28 PM. The mind blowing magical Journey of 600+ km comes to smooth ending for that day. But the memories gonna stay forever!

I just made a note of Petrol Bunks in Hyderabad to Bangalore Route and Toll gates and summary is given below (updated on August 2012) 

Hyderabad to Bangalore - Trip summary as on August 2012

You may want to take a look at the return trip "Bangalore to Hyderabad". Click this link <http://hiwaysoul.blogspot.in/2011/10/bangalore-to-hyderabad-by-car.html> to read travel story. 

A trip from Hyderabad to Kanyakumari by car

It was a dream come true. I have been fantasizing about such a long drive, but without much stakeholders to share the fuel cost :), it remained a dream. During July, the wonder worked n my family; v all felt n common that its been time since v visited our family temple (Karungulam), which is 985 km from Hyderabad. Having selected mid of August as the ideal time to do this trip, next thoughts were on the mode of travel. Train would be the best mode but no tickets were available, only WL status.. [fortunately, as it opened doors for car drive plan :) :) ]

Flights will be expensive, hence next mode was going by car. I worked out commercial feasibility & the outcome is that 4 people travelling in Honda City assuming 12kmpl mileage with current petrol price + toll gate fees equals the 3rd A/C fare in train. Plus loads of comforts when travelling in own vehicle was quite obvious. The PND (personal navigation device) that i own (GPS + satguide maps) also added a brownie point to the car drive option. Assuming the extreme case, when we could find no ppl on the roads?? to guide us (in India), at least some satellites can help us on the same & ensure we wont get lost :)

Considering all these facts, the car plan was finalized ..yipee :) the dream was coming true..

And how was the plan stretched till Kanyakumari?

Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of India, is just 80 kms from Karungulam. So myslf & my bro felt, having gone so far, including Kanyakumari would make our trip very fulfilling. So the travel plan was adjusted to include the same.

Few prime criteria we followed while planning were:

• Driving only at day light
• Night stay at prominent cities
• To visit famous temples & taste the native food at best restaurants in that city :P
• To fuel up the vehicle, by the time indicator goes near half tank

While planning, Sites like Tripadvisor, Holiday IQ helped a lot in choosing the hotels. Wikitravel gave crucial tips for selecting restaurants @ Madurai. Reviews @ Google maps aided me in selecting native restaurants at Trichy.

Having collected details of road condition, good petrol bunks on the way & weather conditions, the final plan looked like this:

Day 1: Hyderabad to Bangalore

Day2: Bangalore to Trichy (To visit temples, lunch @ banana leaf restaurant, dinner @ kannappa chettinad restaurant)

Day3: Trichy to Madurai (Have Lunch @ Vaigai Mess which is famous for native non veg food) and halt @ Tiruchendur for night

Day4: To reach Karungulam, perform offerings @ temple. Have lunch at Hotel Semeen, Tirunelveli. Then halt @ Kanyakumari for night

Day5: Kanyakumari to Madurai (Visit Meenakshi Amman temple, taste @ speciality restaurants like Murugan Idly Kadai, Amma Mess, Jayaram Bakery)

Day6: Madurai to Bangalore (To have lunch @ Venus Hotel , Dindigul on the way)

Day7: Back to Hyderabad

The plan itself was quite exotic.. Almost 2800 kms of travelling & that too in NH7.. Ok, have to admit i never been on such a long drive.. this wud b the first.. my maximum was 900km drive that i did in 2 days. So added some dedicated calf +leg workout to my existing training routing @ gym. Coz continuous pressing of the gas pedal & frequent clutches would be demanding more from the legs & calf muscles. Better to get 'em trained.

Days passed by.. i was getting very excited about the travel & eagerly waiting for it. The very thought of driving.. oops.. cruising on Hyd-Bglr hiway, which is a 600km silky velvet asphalt, made me go out of my mind.. And for that reason, i m sure anyone passionate about driving would feel the same.

Before the trip, i had this travel checklist completed:

• Performed service @ workshop & ensure vehicle condition is fine
• Store Places of interest in PND (Best of the Hotels, petrol bunk, restaurants, temples etc)
• For the few locations not supported by satguide maps, Google maps came to help. Took a printout of the same
• As Petrol s for the car, Music s for me :) Hence loaded the two 4GB USB drive with peppy songs & mind blowing trance albums.. Hoped that would be sufficient for 2800km drive
• Contacted the restaurants @ various cities we were planning to visit. Gathered info about lunch timings / dinner timings so we shall be right there on time.. we can't afford to miss it. hehe :) :)
• Stored required Hand sanitizer / Face wash towels / Goggles / Universal charger / Car Pillows / First aid medicines / Torch light / umbrellas in car
• Tissue papers / Pieces of newspaper / foam cleaner to clean the mirror when necessary
• Fill up air in tires including the spare tire / Located the jack & Necessary tools
• Filled up fuel tank
• Get a good sleep the previous night of the travel. But Feeling so ecstatic about the drive, i couldn't sleep :)