Help needed to finalize trip to Mysore-Ooty-Kodaikanal

This is my first post and want all of yours help to finalize my trip. Me and my husband wants to visit the places mentioned above.
I have already booked the return flight tickets. So that part is freezed, I am looking for your valuable inputs for making it perfect itinerary. The place which we are looking should be safe and less crowded if possible. Here is the rough itinerary on which I need your inputs:
Day 1 : Morning flight from Mumbai to Bangalore and then catching bus and reach Mysore. Check in hotel and roam.
Day 2 : Start early, catch bus and reach Ooty. Roam in ooty.
Day 3 : Roam in and around Ooty and Coonoor.
Day 4 : Start early and reach Coimbatore by bus. Catch private cab and reach kodaikanal.
Day 5 : Roam in Kodaikanal.
Day 6 : Roam in Kodaikanal.
Day 7: Check out and reach Coimbatore and catch flight to Mumbai.

Now does the above looks OK?
I have the following doubts
1. Should I take cab from Mysore to Ooty or Bus is fine?
2. Should I stay in Coonoor instead of Ooty for more peaceful stay?
3. Is there any overnight journey facility from Ooty to Kodaikanal?
4. On Day 6, should I covey any other place?

Please help me to decide on above. Thanks in advance

Someone please help.....

You have not specified WHEN you are visiting...
1) Cab is a better option if you intend a lot of flexibility during travel, like stopping en route for food or photos. Have you checked the bus options for Mysore to Ooty & found something that suits you?
2) For more seclusion, yes. But there might be more 'tourist' spots in Ooty though.
3) no idea
4) You can take one of the coffee plantation visits if interested.

BTW, you mentioned going from BLR by bus to Mysore. I'm not sure if there is a bus directly from Airport - you might have to take a bus or cab to the bus stand that serves Mysore buses.

When is your flight from Coimbatore? You would need to be in the airport at least an hour before the depature. Travel time from Kodaikanal to Coimbatore by bus will be around 6 hours and some more time to reach the airport from the bus stand. So you may have to leave at least 8 hours prior to your reporting time at the airport depending upon the availability of the bus to Coimbatore. The other option will be to travel by taxi.

I think it would be better if you skip Kodaikanal and check out some places in Pollachi like Topslip, Valparai, Thirumoorthy Hills etc.

We are going in 3rd week of June this year. When we visited Kerala, we took cab for the whole itinerary, Munnar, thekari, etc to cochin and the per day charges were very reasonable, (around 1300 per day, A/c indica), that does not seem to be case for this itinerary, I contacted one travel agent and they are charging around 3k for single day! Thats out of our budget! Can someone tell me why there is so much difference?
My landing time is 9.20 on sunday morning, so can I book KSRTC bus from Bangalore Bus Stand for 12 PM? Is there any services available from Bangalore Airport to Bangalore Bus Stand?

Ya, I am also feeling that Kodaikanal will be tough and I am thinking of dropping it from the Itinerary. So if I drop it, it will look as doubts in red color)

Day 1 : Morning flight from Mumbai to Bangalore and then catching bus and reach Mysore. Check in hotel and roam.
Day 2 : Start early, catch bus and reach Ooty. Roam in ooty.(I can extend the stay to Mysore, if there are interesting things to explore)
Day 3 : Roam in and around Ooty and Coonoor.
Day 4 : Ooty
Day 5 : Please Suggest
Day 6 : Please suggest
Day 7: Check out and reach Coimbatore and catch flight to Mumbai.

Thanks for your reply
Really happy to be part of this great community!

Please note that a lot of charges (hotel, food, rides, travel) are driven by off-season v/s peak-season - even by a factor of 2-3 - people in tourist places are often very honest & upfront about it. Nevertheless, 3K per day seems too high, unless it is due to too much of hilly terrain or the fact that they are charging for empty return - I would suggest getting 2-3 more quotes to get a better idea.
I might be wrong, but someone mentioned that Mysore Buses now leave from a different bus stand (not Majestic) & that BIAL bus (from airport) covers that location - just search some of the recent threads. 2.5 hrs margin seems OK, provided you don't have too much luggage. Else there is the more expensive radio-cab option...

I did not realise you are leaving back from Coimbatore. In that case you can cover Kodaikanal first then come to Ooty & take the toy train back to Mettupalayam & then a train/bus to Coimbatore.

I have got another quote from Mysore to Ooty to Coimbatore Airport for 5 nights/6 days for Rs 11500 all inclusive, which I feel is reasonable and will give lot of flexibility to the whole itinerary. Please suggest.

I had gone through the KSRTC site and they are showing boarding point as Mysore Bus Stop! We will not be having much luggage.

So you are suggesting that I should go to Kodaikanal from Mysore then to ooty and then to Coimbatore? Correct me if I misunderstood you.

Shruti

Two points:

I think Paramiyer was suggesting exactly what you wrote in the last post: Bangalore-Mysore-Kodaikanal-Ooty-Coimbatore-flight back.

Secondly, the car that you have quoted (Rs 11500) for 5N/6D - is it AC car (you will need for part of the drive)? Also, is it for return to Mysore or drop at final destination of Coimbatore? One thing you might want to do is get referrals on the driver - some of them can be pushy (let's keep moving without giving enough time for seeing a particular place e.g., Dodapetta in Ooty), not punctual (say departure from point A at 8am, he merrily strolls in at 9am). Small things like this can either make or break an enjoyable trip.

Cheers

Nattusbs

Mysore to Kodaikanal would be around 350km, so will that be fine in taxi?
The quote are for Non A/c as I was not aware whether A/c is required. Will ask for A/c cab quote also.
The quote of 11500 includes mysore - ooty-coimbatore drop off.
If anyone know good taxi driver, please let me know.

Guys, please put your suggestions, I am really confused where to start from

mysore-kodai-ooty-coimbatore-mysore is around 900-1000km, so price seems ok. assuming the quote is for indica, your per day charge comes to around 2000, which is assuming at least 200-250 km travel per day. see if you can negotiate it downwards to 150-200 km per day, because that is closer to what you would actually cover.

check this link for reaching satellite bus stand for mysore bus. btw, why not take a car from bangalore itself? that would allow you to cover srirangapatna at leisure.

you can do mysore-ooty-kodai-coimbatore, bus most likely for ooty-kodai you will pass thru coimbatore...

btw, is there any advantage of covering both ooty & kodai - why not pick one or the other? only attraction for ooty could be the toy train, but you seem to be skipping that anyway...

in mysore, if you are a history buff, you can check royal mysore walks - the guy does heritage walks in the early morning & is very good, though a bit expensive (we paid 500 each). also, there is a wax museum dedicated to musical instruments. nice to cover if you are already in mysore.

We both are not into that much in history We love nature....
Actually we dont want to skip either ooty or kodai because this would probably our last visit to this region so dont want to have a feeling of missing something............
Anyways I got another quote from travel agent, they told Mysore-ooty/coonoor/kodai/coimbatore in A/C indica for 12500.
I have sent request for covering bangalore also. Awiating their reply.

Any suggestion for budget place in Mysore?

There appears to be some confusion as to visiting Ooty first then Kodai or the other way around (maybe just me!). Here's a link to the map of TN:

http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/tami...lnaduroads.htm

Ooty is now called Udagamandalam and is near to Coimbatore (and Mysore) while Kaodai is actually closer to Madurai.

My suggestion is to drop Kodai, spend an extra day in Mysore & surroundings, and focus around the Niligiris about Ooty, Coonoor, Wellington and so on.

There is a thread that is currently running:

unheard/unseen places in Ooty

Cheers

Nattusbs

i second that idea of dropping kodai. this also allows you to avoid having to book car for the entire trip at a premium, part of which you wont even use. if the two of you are ok with public transport, you can avail that and always book a car for full-day from the hotel at a reasonable price.
blr to satellite bus stand (or stn) by BIAL bus, then to mysore by bus or train, car from hotel for pickup/drop & to cover all items at mysore, bus to ooty, car from hotel for pickup/drop & to cover all items at ooty, toy train (at least to coonor), bus/taxi to coimbatore, etc.

if timing suits you, you can avail shatabdi from SBC to MYS leaving at 1100, else tippu express at 1500 would work...

@shruti1107, have you checked the places that I mentioned above. There are a few trip reports about them in this forum.

Right, we have almost finalized to drop Kodai. So now we would be staying 1 night Mysore, 3 nights OOty and 2 night Coonoor.

Looks good?


Ya, I am going through them.
Is Hotel Jade Garden good in Mysore? Any reviews?
Where to stay in ooty and coonoor. Our budget is around 1.5k to 2k per night.