3 bases for a 8-9 day itinerary???

2guyswalking

In January we have 3 weeks in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
We plan to spend the first 8 or 9 days in Tamil Nadu, beginning in Chennai. The problem is that this is such a short time and there is so much to see.
We have decided to choose 3 locations, spending 2 or 3 days in each, and use these as bases for travelling to surrounding areas. Does this sound feasible?
Base 1: Chennai or Mamallapuram? Which is better? From Mamallapuram we thought we could do day trips to Chennai and maybe Kanchi.
Base 2: Tanjore (Thanjavur) or Trichy?
Base 3: Madurai. (from here we will travel to Trivandrum and on to Kerala)
We hope to use some train and buses and maybe hire a car for some day trips.
This plan has left out places we would have liked to visit e.g. Chidambaram and Pondicherry. Is this a mistake?
Also Mudumalai N.P. sounds very interesting.
Our worry is that we are missing out on so many places and maybe chosen the wrong places. Also Kanyakumare is another place we would like to see.
Any advice would be most appreciated.
Thanks

pmvelu

Note :For Better readability , I am marking places name in RED and "Things to see in Blue" .

Leg 1:- (Around 5-6 days Duration)

IF your planning to hire a taxi and starts from chennai, I would say, Visiting "Muttukadu Backwaters" followed by a visit to "Dakshina chithra (Arts &Crafts Village)" and Stay at Mamallapuram for night

From Mamallapuram, you could drive to Kanchipuram (60 kms+ oneway) and you could drive back to POndicherry (Around 100 km) in exceptionally good / Scenic "East Coast road" .

From Pondy , Chidambaram is 70 kms (Road is good) and you could visit Natarajar Temple and also Pitchavaram Mangrove forests (Rare and unique of its Kind)
From Chidambaram, you could drive to "Vaitheeswaran Koil" (25 kms from chidambaram and a nice temple) followed by Sirkazhi (Again Architecturally good temple")

Drive Straight to "Thanjavur" via Kumbakonam (Temple Town and "N" number of famous temples are there around & in this city and if you are inclinded towards Temples / architectural Marvel of temples , Stay at Kumbakonam OR continue to Tanjore (Which is Just 39 kms from Kumbakonam) and Stay @ tanjavur

You could visit the "BIG temple" at thanjavur and plan for a stay for 1 night or so. Here you could cut down the cab !
Leg 2:- (1 to 2 days)

From Tanjavur, you could Catch a Bus to Madurai (3 1/2 Hours ,frequency is Moreeee and road is good).

Locally hire a Taxi or Auto and visit the Meenakshi Amman temple, Thirumalainayakkar Mahal etc and you could visit Vaigai Dam too (Around 70 km + and Nice , calm , Ok kind of )Cut short the Cab here.

After staying at Madurai till the time you would like to, you could "Reserve in Advance" for your Train journey to Nagercoil ( 2 Daily Trains from Madurai) ( Around 230 kms )OR there is one Direct train from Madurai to Kanyakumari BUT you need to catch that train at very odd hours (Around 2 am or so which you could avoid)


Leg 3:- ( 2 to 3 days)

From Nagercoil, Get a bus to Kanyakumari (Bus frequency is more and it's just around 20 kms and No need for PRivate transport

Stay at Kanyakumari after visting "Vivekanandar Rock" , "Thiruvalluvar Statue" and Early morning "Sunrise" from the shores is Very famous and you wil be surprised to see the crowd @ early morning for this sunrise.

Get a Cab for Trivandrum (Around 90 kms from Kanyakumari) and travel via Padmanabapuram Palace (Worth a Visit), Thirparapu Falls (Worth a Visit and the Route will be scenic" and Sucheendram temple (Nice Temple with good Architecture) and Reach Trivandrum . (Cut Short the Cab here)

Hope this helps and If you need more info OR some other places enroute you are looking for , Please post.

snonymous

Excellent details PMV.
Since you know, please suggest how feasible it would be to do [by taxi] Chennai - Dakshinachitra - Mammalapuram - Chidambaram in one day? After that we want to see Gangaikondacholapuram, Dharasuram and the Thanjavur Brihadeeswara temple. Planning a trip in July when I have to be in Chennai for a family function. Thanks a lot.

sharan_travelcrazy

Hi synonymous,

As pmv suggested in the earlier post, its wiser to have a halt at mamallapuram for the night and proceed
to chidambaram the next morning..
Even if you start from chennai quite early in the morning, covering all the places and proceeding to chidambaram would be a lot strenuous !

snonymous

Thanks Sharan. Will do some searching next week and post my proposed itinerary for review.

Paris

We will have a car + driver.
Pichavaram: I can see the distance from Chidambaram, but it seems the road is quiet bad.
Is it possible to leave pondicherry after lunch, visit Pichavaram ans spend the night in Chidambaram? Is an afternoon enough?
Thank's for your help.

pmvelu

Thanks Synonymous.

It would be too much for a Day to Cover all the places you have mentioned (chennai-DC-Mamallpuram-Chidambaram) ! Hmm I Saw your other thread Where I will share the info which I know ! ..


@Paris,

From Pondicherry , You could start after the lunch and drive directly towards Pitchavaram ..As you have car, it would take around 1 1/2 hours and pitchavaram is best only between 2 - 5.45 pm and that's enough if you are interested in the boat ride across the Mangrove forests ! Not sure on ur travel dates but in summers it's advisable between 3.30 - 5.45 pm (it will be too hot in summers)!. And during our visit,we stayed in Hotel Saratharam (Just opposite to chidambaram bus stand) and it's ok and decent but bit costly compared to the amenities and room size but it's 5 years back !

Hope this helps

Paris

Thank's Pmvelu. It helps! We will go for it. We were planning to stay in the same hôtel. Glad to hear it is OK.

An other question.

What is there to see at Muttukadu Backwaters?

My plan was to visit Kollywood in Chennai in the morning + Dakshina chithra + Crocodile farm on the way to Mahabalipuram.

P.S. We'll be there end of July (Summer). I am travelling with 4 children.

Thank's again

pmvelu

@Paris,
From Chennai, If you start in ECR, you will pass via Muttukadu backwaters (My personal view is the water is Nasty & Smelling and its just a short boat ride across a bridge and that's it) and it's not worth a try. After VGP & MGM [ Amusement parks] you will reach this Place and instead of getting into the Boat jetty (you need to take right to reach this jetty just before the bridge and clear sign board will be there)you could drive straight on the Bridge and after the bridge you could park the car and walk back to the bridge and from here, you can see the backwaters on one side and the ocean on the other side with heavy wind blowing across and just standing there for 15 - 20 minutes will give a better feel rather than trying out the boating in that waters.

Hope this helps.

Paris

Thank's again Pmvelu. We'll try to find the bridge. What is ECR? Is this the highway?

pmvelu

ECR is East coast road (yes the highway which passes from chennai to pondy via Dakshinachithra , Mahabalipuram) and regarding the Muttukadu bridge it will be clearly visible and signboard wil be there !

Paris

Thank's for everything. Have a nice day.

snonymous

Love the description! Excellent directions as always.

pmvelu

Have a wonderful trip Snynomous & Paris !

Happy Travelling !!

snonymous

Thank you PMV. Also for your post in the other thread.