planning to visit coorg end of january - suggestion required

coco_harry

hi

I am reaching bangalore on 24th January morning and have my booking at Club Mahindra - Coorg from 26th January checking out on 31st january. Plan to travel back from Chennai. Returning via coromandel express morning 8:45am departure from chennai.

travelling with wife and 4 yr kid.

Queries are:-

1. is the right time to visit coorg [ end of january ]
2. how should I spend 24 and 25th January. Not interested to stay at Bangalore.
3. Things to see and do in and around coorg - [ i am already searching the threads ] any specific information to advise on thread would be great.
4. My return is open I can extend my program by 2 - 3 days if required or if required may reduce the number of days at club mahindra.
5. I would prefer variety of environment in my itenary. [ like hills, beaches and forest. ]

Please suggest so that I can make the necessary arrangements.

Thanks for all the support you would be extending.

harry.

n kumar

1,It will be cold but no monsoon and crowd
2,As you reach blore take vehicle, proceed towards coorg, visit buddist temples at bylakuppe, stay at kushalnagar and 25th visit dubare elephant training camp and their is a resort here which is realy good.
3,Places around //www.karnatakatourism.org/sites/coorg.html
4, You should cut short you stay at club mahindra.
5, Visit calicut, cannanore for beaches, beekal fort, ooty for hill stations, bandipur madumalai and nagarahole for wildlife.

brishti

1. is the right time to visit coorg [ end of january ]
yes: great weather at that time.

2. how should I spend 24 and 25th January. Not interested to stay at Bangalore.
mysore. srirangapatnam.

3. Things to see and do in and around coorg - [ i am already searching the threads ] any specific information to advise on thread would be great.
i think club mahindra would have a list of activities in the resort... or was that orange county
anyways - here is coorg.

5. I would prefer variety of environment in my itenary. [ like hills, beaches and forest. ]
coorg = hills and forests. the konkan coast = beach, is tad far away, and i really dont know if its feasible for you to visit due to time constraints.




have given you the links harry - yup, i know, nothing specific... but now to work around the details... transport etc.
hopefully some info will be relevant


:brishti

coco_harry

Thanks n_kumar.

how cold will it be there at coorg. any idea how much does the vehicle cost on a daily basis. if i want to keep for a few days. Should I hire from bangalore or mysore. what is the name of the resort at dubare.

subabu2002

hi coco harry,

1.good time.

2.go to mysore zoo.your son will definitely like.brindavan gardens,and srirangapatna.

3.bylekuppe budhist monastry,dubare(before 9.30am),
nishargadama,abby falls,talacauvery.then to nagerhole wildlife sanctuary and then to wayanad area.in wayanad,you can see jungles,tea and coffee estates.and then to calicut and kannur area for beach.

4.cut down 2 or 3 days in club mahindra for adding wayanad visit.

5.in this itinerary you can cover all of your tastes.

my advise before your schedule,think wheather this long tour and travel will suit for your 4 yrs son? if it will not be a problem,enjoy and my wishes.

-suresh babu.

coco_harry

Thanks brishti and suresh babu.

I am happy that the time i selected is good according to you all.
suresh babu, I have a daughter and she is a good traveller. We have just completed a 11day tour to Binsar on July, 15th this year. She is preety comfortable there.

There has been a change of plan now. I am travelling with my entire family now. So now we are a group of 7 adults and 5 children [ ages between 1.5 to 5 years old ]. If any good homestay are available at these places we would prefer them rather then hotels.

I have roughly made an itenary. I am mentioning below.

22nd - kolkata to chennai - coromandal express
23rd - reaching chennai - mysore - MYSORE EXPRESS
24th - reaching mysore at 8:am in the mornging
- rest and sightseeing mysore.
25th - Mysore sightseeing
26th - to coorg via bylakuppe [ golden temple ], kushalnagar.
27th, 28th - at coorg and around.
on 29th I am checking out from coorg from here I have 2 options please suggest -

1. Go to mangalore and return via hasan, halebid to mysore and
return via chennai to kolkata.

2. Go to Kutta [ south coorg ], nagerhole, wayanad and come back
via mysore, ooty and return via chennai to kolkata.

1. after coorg how many days would i require for the two options ?
2. please somebody inform me about the waiting room status [ condition, availablity and cleanliness ] at chennai railway station ?
3. Places to stay a both the options.
4. Can somebody suggest the cost of a a/c tempo traveller [ on a daily basis ] and from where it would be available.

coco_harry

brishti

harry:
there is a waiting room at the chennai station - separate for men and women.
cannot vouch for the cleanliness - but yes - there is space to wind down before the next journey.
[ have often spent nights sitting on the balcony looking at the traffic - before catching my next connection! ]
chennai station is also equipped with the facility to provide 'meals'.
[ this info is 5 years old ]

mangalore to coorg is about 120-140km & travel time would be about 3 hrs.

thread on IM which you may find useful.
your travel plans after mangalore seems to be a lil packed - may be tiresome... i think you just have 2/3 days from mangalore - before returning to chennai.
IMO - enjoy the beach/s around mangalore - and travel to sites in and around the place.



:brishti

capt_mahajan

chennai station has almost a half dozen fast food outlets clustered together, not including the railway 'canteen', which is best avoided.

You can get everything from dosas to hamburgers and pastries out there.

__________________
.
Outside the machine

coco_harry

Thanks brishti. Do they have rooms available at the station ? if yes, do they online or prior booking for them ? The train is reachin around 5pm and my onward journey is at 9pm from chennai. I have three days to reach mysore for my return journey. Suggest,

Hello Captain I did not expect you here. I thought you to be expert only at North India [ himalaya lovers ].

coco_harry

Thanks for the informayion captain.

brishti

dunno harry - about them specific waiting rooms which can be rented.
but going by railway stations - if there are private waiting rooms - i'd guess it'd be first-come-first-serve instead of the 'booking' routine.

for the 3-day what-to-do, yes - the seaside is a must coming from calcutta
the kids will have a blast - the arabian sea is very different to the bay of bengal - promise!
forests/jungle you'd have had that in coorg itself.
temple visiting is the only option left.

i'm sticking with my suggestion.
just wish you could've made it to hampi but i dont see that being a probability.



:brishti

[ the cap'n's an expert, period - we're still trying to figure out in what, exactly - so is he!! ]

pmvelu

Harry,

In Addition to what Our IMers told, Few More points which I thought of sharing !!

Reg. Railway station retiring rooms

"Railway Station - Waiting Rooms" will be ok for 3 -4 hours break [With decent restrooms ] [ You could try out "A/C Class/ Upper Class Waiting room" for which you need to show a Railway ticket and that's it] !

If you mean "Railway Retiring Rooms" , No possibilty of "online booking or phone booking even". Once you reach chennai, you need to approach the " Clerk" who will be near the "Retiring room" itself to find out the vacant status and Many a times I heard a negative response only across quite a few stations. But whatever Retiring rooms Till now I stayed , it's just basic and kind of Very old-- But I haven't stayed in any Metros !

Reg. after coorg:-

My Opinion is , If you are inclined towards "beaches" , You could travel all the way to Mangalore and Mangalore beaches are Sort of Ok Only and If you could travel another hour North over the NH-17 [ Near Udupi - Malpe beach is excellent]

If Beach is just optional, you could board "Hassan " bus from Madikeri itself [ Till now I never took this bus and I just heard about this service. It's better to check in Madikeri bus stand] And From Hassan , you have buses to both Belur Or Halebeedu .. No Problems...

2. Go to Kutta [ south coorg ], nagerhole, wayanad and come back
via mysore, ooty and return via chennai to kolkata

This will be too too Hectic [ Considering your Group composition] and you need to Hire a Cab to do this trip [ And very difficult with public transportation].. Kutta has nothing specific to see except that it's a ideal base for Visitng Iruppu falls Or Nagarahole and Wayanad OR Ooty needs few days to explore !

Hope this helps & If you need more info on any of the above, Please post !!

Cheers
Velu

coco_harry

Thanks Bristi and velu you are very helpful. you made me comfortable about the chennai railway station.

See, i would be not be using public transport at any point of time as I am travelling with my mother. I would be taking pvt. car only maybe either for the entire tour or on a daily basis from point to point.

A thought just passed [ while i was reading somewhere else in this forum ] that the best time to see jungles would be during the summers. So considering late january will my travel to nagerhole or wayanad be fruitful ?

can i do hasan, halebed, belur on 29th after checking out from coorg and then reaching mangalore later in the night. I know a little about south indian roads [ they should be good average distance covered should be around 70kms per hour. ] What would be the distance if I take this route. Next day I could go to Malpe beach as suggested by velu. I have checked there is a train from managlore leaving in the afternoon and reaching chennai at 5:15 in the morning. My train leaves chennai at 8:15am in the morning to kolkata.

How will that be ?

harry

pmvelu

Harry ,

Reg. Wildlife Sighting is Best in summers is a general norm but No Worries as such for Nagarahole NP .. You could atleast sight Deers / Elephants ! [ This is just based on my experience and It's purely based on our luck as we know !!] In My opinion you could see for sure Deers & Elephant [ On the way to Nagarahole Forest office itself[ You Could search my postings on Nagarahole in this forum to get the complete Details and on these terms / kms / Description etc ] and in Forest Safari, chances are Maximum I Would say] ... I would Say Trying out their Morning Safari [ 6 - 9 am] is better when compared to the evening Safari [ 3 -6pm] for Animal sightings !...

If you hire a Car, and If you could Complete the Sightseeing a bit Faster in Halebeedu & Belur [ Belur temple will take mucher time as it's relatively bigger compared to Halebeedu ], For sure You could reach Mangalore on the same day [FYI,Approximately Madikeri - Hassan : 131 kms , Hassan - Halebeedu :17 kms , Halebeedu-Belur : 13 kms , Belur- Mangalore is around 200 kms ] ... If at all If you are not able to make it ,a Better place to break is "Hassan" as "Halebeedu" has only basic shops / Basic Hotels and "Belur" is a bigger town with somewhat decent hotels But "Hassan" is best for a Stay !!

And Hassan - Mangalore Road which was previously in Shambles for months together was set rigth very recently and hence this should be fine When you try out in Jan.. !

You could also Visit "talacauvery" which is 62 kms from Madikeri which is considered to be very sacred [ Birth place of Cauvery river] apart from the scenic places of Coorg .... [ You could search our "Photos" section under my "user_id" for this photo and info] !

And Regarding the Train You are mentioning about Mangalore -Chennai & Catching Coromandel Express, I think it is ok as Delay of more than 3 hours is bit rare and you should be fine !!

Cheers
Velu

coco_harry

Thanks once again velu.

I think the hasan, belur to mangalore would be a bit tough. I will have to either leave mangalore [ malpe beach ] or have to leave hasan belur ...

I will leave the nagerhole also as we would be spending a day with the elephants at dubare.

Help me decide on that hasan or malpe.

harry