Help needed to finalize trip to Mysore-Ooty-Kodaikanal

i heard coonor is a good place to visit tea plantations.

Shruti,

The usual suspects in Ooty : The lake, the Botanical Gardens, the Dodabetta peak, Pykara, Avalanche lake, the SIMS park in Coonoor etc.

The must visits in Kodai : The Kodai lake, Coakers Walk (Heavenly in early mornings!), the Silver Cascades waterfall, Bryant park, Silent valley, Dolphins Nose. The less crowded Berijam lake is not only an exotic place but a real gem. Don't forget to carry some warm woolen clothes as well as umbrellas since it'd be 9 - 10 C in the early mornings / late evenings during End-June. And you've got to buy some home made chocolates from Kodai, they truly are awesome.

Guys, we are in little dilemma, please throw your opinion:
On day 1, we can cover Brindavan gardens and Palace and next day morning, we can visit the waterfalls. On second day, we can proceed to Ooty. I am thinking about this because we have 1.5 days to explore ooty and coonoor which I think is enough.

Also the train from Ooty to MTP reaches MTP in the evening, so is it advisable to stay in Coimbatore or should we proceed to kodai after reaching MTP.
Please suggest.

Hi Shruti,

My 2 cents :

1.5 days should suffice for Ooty & Coonoor although an extra half day might enable you make a leisurely trip at your own pace. I guess the Blue Mountain train reaches MTP at around 5.40 P.M.

MTP to CBE is 1 hour by bus & CBE to Kodai should take approx 5 hours by taxi.

By avoiding an overnight halt at CBE, you might perhaps reach Kodai at arouund Midnight, which is not too bad considering the extra time you'd get in the morning to admire the beauty of Kodai.

Certainly not worth staying at CBE for the night, making a 5.00 a.m start & reaching Kodai by 10.00 a.m.

Hope this helps !

Taking a taxi in late evenings will not be risky?

You'd be surprised to know that taking a taxi late in the evenings in this region isn't risky at all.

However, in case you really are not very keen on taking the Ooty-MTP train ride, you might perhaps consider another option.

You could perhaps hire a a Taxi directly from Ooty to Kodaikanal at night so as to reach Kodaikanal next morning ? By doing this, you could get to spend the entire day at Ooty and reach your hotel at Kodai next morning. The taxi should cost you around Rs. 3,000 /- but would save you the hassle of transits at MTP, CBE & Kodai.

Mysore is enough for a day if you can skip Zoo, Museum etc. If you are not interested in History, Sri Rangapattana won't charm you too. Palace, Chamundi Temple, Brindavan Gardens could be visited in a day's time.
Ooty depends on your likings. Unless you can arrange trips to private estates, Ooty & Connoor can be done in 2 days maximum. So I think you may think of Masinagudi too.
Some feel Kodaikanal better than Ooty. So am I. But the problem with Kodaikanal is that Ooty - Palani - Kodaikanal journey itself will steal a lot of time. And Kodai requires only 1 &1/2 days max for an ordinary traveller.
A start from Coimbatore to Kodaikanal- back to Ooty then to Mysore and exit from Bangalore to Mumbai would have been better to cover the whole 3.
Or if you are a quickie, you can alter your current itinerary to include Kodai. But be sure to leave Kodaikanal at least 8 hrs in advance before departure time from Kovai (Coimbatore).

Thanks Guys for your inputs

Guys,
A very disappointing news....due to some personal reasons, we will not be able to go
Lets see when we can get next opportunity.
Thanks all who have given so valuable inputs!!!

well better luck next time. one only hopes you did not make a lot of advance payments that might be tough to recover...

Around 50% is gone

these are the times you miss IR with its liberal cancellation fees...

Hey Guys,
Now since my original plan has to be postponed, I am now making new plans with slight modifications. This time I would be making the plan according to your suggestions, so please contribute as much as possible to the itinerary.
Here are the basic details:
Now we are planning to go in last week of July or 1st week of August.
Could be 5-6 nights plan.
Inclined towards Coorg also, so can drop kodai/ooty.
Hotel budget is around 2k per night.
Travelling from Mumbai via flight.

Looking forward for your active participation.

Hi shruti
Read your complete thread on ooty/kodai/mysore trip...in fact, i saw the link while planning my itinerary to the same belt (though i m not visiting kodai due to paucity of time). I am also visiting Mysore/Ooty/Coonoor in August. I just have 3 nights so just covering these...and as it is..i m a lazy traveller and donot like to explore all the tourist spots of any destination- i am very selective and do some homework before i go. I am starting from Blr on 17th morning and while covering Mysore (just plan to see the palace, one temple there on a hill top and have now added Shivanasamudra falls basis the suggestions floated to you). I plan to take a cab right from blr and keep it throughout the trip and come back and return to delhi from banaglore...the cab guy would as it is charge me for return till blr, then, might as well make use of it.

Since i would start in the morning, i would cover mysore during the day and reach OOty by night...have heard, it is easily doable. In Ooty, after exploring Tripadvisor reviews and my budget, i have picked Sherlock Hotel...it looks interesting and so far voted no.1 hotel in Ooty at tripadvisor (cost Rs.2500/-for normal room)- it is a heritage property. I think u can also explore it as i had read mixed reviews of the hotel u had shortlisted at OOty.

In 2 days, i plan to leisurely cover Ooty and coonoor and leave on last day in the morning (post breakfast) for Blr. Just cover few places and not rush for everything around.

I am keen on taking a short-distance ride in the toy train...but wonder, what's the way of getting booking...maybe from Ooty to Coonoor. I have read that on an average, it covers 10km in 1 hr. So, this small distance should be good enough for the feel...but, if one covers the whole distance, i have read- it is too good.

Your complete post was quite helpful for me 2...but looking at so many changes and hiring of cab here & there, i think, you should strongly look at taking cab from 1 point and leaving at same point...you would almost land up spending similar cost and would actually have more flexibility

from what others have posted, ooty-coonor is covered by diesel. so if steam is what you are after, coonor to MTP might be a better choice.