Southern India - 4 weeks Mar/Apr

callie

Hi

I leave for my 2nd trip to India on Sat 8 Mar and intend to spend around 4 weeks travelling through Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. I arrive into Chennai and apart from knowing some places and things that I would like to do, am pretty open to changes on the fly.

The one thing I am struggling with is whether to head west from Chennai or go south. My preferred method of travel is by train, taxi or private car. I am not a keen bus traveller. I like the idea of leaving Pondi for the end of my trip and heading out through Vellore to Bangalore and up to Hampi. Then I am guessing I would have to backtrack to get back to Mysore and then continue my way down through Kerala and back along the coast to Pondi.

Are there any disadvantages to heading east rather than what appears to be the more travelled route of south out of Chennai.

Many thanks for any advice.

York_Katni

Whats your route likely to be?
Have you identified the trains?

callie

Your questions actually make me realise that I don't have much of a plan. I guess what I really want to know is, am I being realistic in thinking I can arrive in Chennai, then book a train to Vellore when I am ready to go and so on. Do I have to have everything booked before I arrive or does that really depend on the routes that I intend to take? It is frustrating for me as everytime I open my guidebook or wander through this forum, I find more and more places that I want to go to and I am finding it really hard to focus on one itinerary. India has my head spinning and I am not even there yet!!!!

Ta

Indizen

It is a good idea to book the long distance and overnight trains that you wish to travel on, and then plan the rest of your trip around that schedule.

callie

Thanks for that. It was the advice / push that I needed. Now know that my next step is to book the train from Vellore to Hospet via Bangalore and just worked out that it can be done. Just that little bit more confident now.

Big ta.

York_Katni

Hi Callie,
Plan the trains you want to take. I do not know your route. The vacations are fast approaching and lot of weary school children would be wanting to go for their breaks. Here are a few ideas? Avoid the conjested and popular trains like the Vaigai. Prefer the AC option or FC. For instance the weekly once train from Madras Central to Nagarcoil may be far better than the "popular" Egmore-Kanyakumari or the series of trains that set off from Egmore in the evening to the south. Avoid moving from and to Madras on a Friday and Sunday evening especially by popular trains like the Nellai and Rockfort. Incidentally Bangalore is equally well connected to the south so you need not make Madras as your base for journeys.

If heading for Madurai you may consider a mid afternoon departure [meaning the office crowd and short term commuters are away] and take you to trivandrum also as it is not a train implanted in public imagination[do you see my point? People may see the website and it is only natural to immediately zero in on the trivandrum mail well and good if tickets are available, as they appear fast or the crowded Ananthapuri] and end up with waiting list worries or an unusually crowded train[it depends whether one is going to Trivandrum for work or for holiday upon which the arrival time is contingent]. The Kanchipuram Passenger will do the job wonderfully. The Coimbatore-Kumbakonam Jana Shatabdi may be another good option.
All it requires is scrounging www.indianrail.gov.in[analysing accomodation and seeing which train usually is quiet, yes Indian journeys can be as uneventful hygenic and boring as the ride from Wick to Inverness! ], seeing Mr.Steven's posts,tracking a train in www.trainenquiry.com. Be very particular of the trains you intend to take.

If you are booked the core trains trains you reckon you will have to take] you need not hang around in ticket offices, endure the summer heat etc. I suggest you go ahead with this excerise with precision required to write a research paper and you will not be wring mostly.
It is best to have the trains all sorted out and planned.

Hope this helps
York_Katni

York_Katni

Please come to Katpadi and take the Chennai-Bangalore Express which will connect
to the Hampi. Other arrivals to Hospet are by the weekly Bangalore-Ajmer express via Dharmavaram, Guntakal which the 7210 Kakinada town bangalore express will connect to, but reach in an odd hour. If you want to avoid Bangalore and proceed directly to Hospet head to Tirupati [there are day trains such as the Bangalore-Bhubaneshwar weekly or the Hatia or Tata expresses[input YPR and destination TPTY] and you will get the Haripriya Express[19.15] which gets to Hospet early next morning.


Incidentally Bangalore has a very good Volvo bus service with overnightly departures to and from Hospet and if you log on www.ksrtc.org you can even ebook your tickets.

snonymous

You can check tamilnadutourism.org they have train tours, there is one which takes you to all the famous ancient temples of TN, they are architecturally magnificent and well worth a visit - easier in an organised package. Do all your bookings for your entire itinerary soon, because vacations commence from end March continuing till early June. Also, the heat is on !!

Scandojazzbuff

I'm not sure of your budget for traveling, but, hiring a car and driver is hard to beat. For less than 2000Rs per day, you have security, relative luxury, ease of movement, and, are able to customize and alter your plans almost spontaneously. But, in any case, no need to backtrack. From Chennai, go south, Kanchipuram, Mammalapuram, Pondi, Chidambaram, Thanjavur, Trichy, Madurai, then onto Kerala. Periyar, Trivandarum, Varkala, Kumarakom, Cochin, Munnar, Wayanad, Mysore, Bangalore, Hampi and on to Goa. Fly out of Goa on your way back home.

callie

The private car with a driver certainly is tempting and something that I had considered before. I will probably do a combination of train and private car. I would prefer to avoid buses where possible and definately avoid overnight bus trips. Just not my thing.

As to my itinerary, I am wary of locking too much in at the moment as I would rather take a relaxed approach to the trip. I know this may come back to bit me at some point and will look at booking my longer train journeys.

You have all given me some great information and I am impressed with the depth of your knowledge. My guidebook has recommended grabbing a copy of the trains at a glance book on arrival in India. Is this a useful guide or is it better to check online?

Ta

machadinha

I'd say it's indispensable for anything more than marginal train travel yes. Available for a handful of Rupees at most railway kiosks.

It's not a guide as such, it's just the railway timetables, like you might find in most countries. And like those, it takes some getting to grips with.

The online version (currently): http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/Tag0708/

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atala

Unfortunately the timetable gets bulkier and bulkier every year. It used to be a small booklet 10-15 years ago. To tear out all the not-so-useful tourist info is an undesirable option.

If you travel on trains a lot, it is more helpful than the online version, because you can compare different train timings and routes in "one" glance.