Hyderabad and around for 10 days in June

irishkansan07

I've just moved to Hyderabad and my dad is coming to visit for 10 days at the end of June.

We will spend a couple days here in the city before heading elsewhere in the south, but I'm having trouble deciding where! It is his first time in India and he's a mellow traveler - looking more for the general sensory experience. We are on medium/high budget and will probably prefer train travel (haven't done this yet!) in order to see more countryside. That, or renting a car (though I'm not sure I want to hassle with that stress).

I would LOVE some itinerary advice! Here's what I'm tossing around:

- first 2 days: Hyderabad/jet lag recovery

- weekend trip (Fri PM-Mon PM): probably need to stick in AP because friends from Hyd will be joining (any advice for AP travel? Visakhapatnam? Caves? Coast? Other?)

- Mon PM-Thurs PM: SOMEWHERE ELSE...and then back to Hyd for flight out. It's a quick trip, but I'd love to get him into another state. Can't decide if that means up to Chattisgarh/Orissa, down to TN, over to Maharashtra/Karnataka/Kerala (monsoon to factor in). If need be, we can fly to another area and then train back to Hyd.

Any thoughts sincerely appreciated!

capt_mahajan

Hampi.

edwardseco

Yes can be done. I have also done Konarak in that same fashion..

irishkansan07

thanks capt_mahajan for this suggestion! would you recommend one/two days? and what's your experience in getting to/from?

irishkansan07

thanks, edwardseco. anything else you would recommend around konarak? (in the case we do northern AP-orissa for a few days)

how much time would you recommend for konarak?

capt_mahajan

I have usually gone by road, but there is a train too- takes a longish time, overnight journey- about 10 hours.

I would say 2/4 days at Hampi.

Hyderabadi

I would say that too. We did that trip two years ago beginning of June and the weather was great. We also did Badami, Pattadakal & Aihole in a total of 5 days. A little hectic.

Our route was:

Hyderabad - Raichur - Manvi - Sindhnur - Gangawati - Hospet.

Based at Hospet we covered the above.

We hired a A/C Toyota Qualis and with some diversions (one major) I think it came to about Rs.12 - 14,000 HYD to HYD.

The road condition was pretty good (for Indian standards of course).

And do check out member Beach's excellent thread on Hampi: Hampi: Everything you want to know.

irishkansan07

thanks for the great information, hyderabadi! i'm reviewing your route now. looks busy, but you surely saw a great deal!

question for you: from who/where did you hire the vehicle? would you recommend the company?

Hyderabadi

I would.

But then remember that all the info above is a bit outdated.

The guys I rented the vehicle from used to operate from home with big plans for the future. I have their phone numbers and will try and contact them tonight.

There is a terrific (and pricey) resort near Gangawati (Narayanpet), just across Thungabhadra river from Hampi, you may want to look at for a more relaxed trip, you will have to skip the Badami-Pattdakal-Aihole triangle.
http://www.nivalink.com/bouldersresort/index.html

irishkansan07

thanks for this, hyderabadi! have you learned what these guys are up to now?

question for you: it looks like the itinerary is looking more like 3 days outside of AP (mon AM-wed PM). probably too tight to do hampi? or what do you think? could probably try an overnight train...

capt_mahajan

2 days is too little for Hampi, when you will be spending almost one day travelling to and fro.

(Monday am to Wednesday am is 2 days, but you say 3 )


Keep two days in Hampi, at least

irishkansan07

yeah, i was afraid 3 days (mon AM-wed PM/thurs AM) might not be enough

bummer. i need to do hampi when i have a nice chunk of time...

any other suggestions for the area?

Hyderabadi

Oops, sorry about that!

I did call them and looks like they are full time with a large company and are not doing the car rental thing any more.

edwardseco

Further north up the coast from Konarak are said to be good beach towns. I want to check those out next trip..