Advice needed for my Tamil Nadu Trip (Kanyakumari - Chennai)

Hi Friends,
I am planning to have a trip to South India in Sep/Oct 2012 with my wife (Tamil Nadu and Kerala).
I will start my TN trip from Kanyakumari and finish at Chennai.
So far I have made up a plan to cover our trip. I have decided to travel by train.
Kanyakumari > Madurai > Rameshwaram > Thruchi > Chennai

Kanyakumari - 1 Day.
Madurai - 1 Day.
Rameshwaram - 1 Day.
Thruchi - 2 Days.
Chennai - 3 Days.

I will stay 2 days in Thruchi so I can visit Big temple, Sri Ranganathaswamy temple and any other temples in that area.

I need some help from you guys to have a nice trip as this is my first ever visit to India. Please give me some advice mainly about traveling to these places.
I am happy to change my planes to make it more effective.

Thanks in advance.

If you are visiting Trivandrum, do Kanyakumari along with that. From Kanyakumari / Nagercoil take a train to Madurai. From Madurai hire a car to visit Trichy, Rameshwaram and Chennai.

I would suggest to remove a day from Chennai. While seeing the Big Temple also make a point to see the Darasuram Temple, Gangaikondacholapuram, Tanjore Palace. On the way to Chennai you can also check out Pitchavaram.

Welcome Aboard, AussiTamil!
September would be ideal month, it starts raining in October.
I agree with Aarosh - you can cut one day off Chennai. You may split it like - 1 day for Trichy, 2 days for Thanjavur, Kumbakonam/Darasuram and Chidambaram.
You have sufficient lead time, so you may book your train travel well in advance. Train connectivity is excellent to all these places - except perhaps, when you travel from Madurai to Rameshwaram. If you're an adventurists, o not miss out Dhanushkodi while visiting Rameshwaram, and Pichchavaram Forests while visiting Chidambaram.

These threads might help you find the places of interest in the cities you visit in TN.

http://www.indiamike.com/india/tamil...eport-t115168/

New Moon in Srirangam / Thanjavur ?

Have a great vacation

Thanks for your advice Aarosh and Prasannasankar...
We booked a 7 day tour package in Kerala they will drop us in Kanyakumari (Kanyakumari is not coverd in that package).
We will spend a night there and then visit Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Thiruvalluvar Statue in the morning then do some local sightseeing there then catch the 5.20PM Kanyakumari Exp (12634) to Madurai.
We will stay one night in Madurai visit Sri Meenakshi Temple next morning. Can hire a car to go to Rameshwaram or take the train (not decided yet).
Spend the night in Rameshwaram then visit Ramanathaswamy Temple in the morning. Then as you advised we can go to Dhanushkodi (I read somewhere that we can hire a jeep for that) catch a train to Thruchi in the evening or night
As a big fan of Chola king I like to spend more time in Big Temple area and want to take lots of photos. Hopefully we can spend a day there. Next day we can visit Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and any other temples near to Thruchi. Take a train to Chennai.
Unfortunately we need minimum three days in Channai as we have to visit few friends and to do some shopping. (Look forward to see some good movies at Sathyam Cinema).
I found in this site that we can book our train ticket well in advance (120 days) so it will be helpful for us.
Thank you very much for your time guys.

Since you are a big fan of Chola King, Darasuram Temple and Gangaikondacholapuram should be a must see for you. Check them out.

Also booking train tickets from abroad is/might be a pain. Read the thread created by Dave W, where he talks about it or check www.seat61.com.

Thanks Aarosh
I will check the discussions online bookings and I added Darasuram Temple and Gangaikondacholapuram to my must visit list...

Hi Guys,
What about hiring a car from Madurai > Rameshwaram > Thruchi. If we managed to hire a car from Madurai we can use that for our local needs as well. We planned travel by train (2ppl). I think if it is a car it will be more convenient for us in many ways. Did anyone know how much it’ll cost (Car + Driver)? In this case do we have to take care driver’s accommodation as well or it will be part of their package. We will be there in Oct 2012 so I have plenty of time to short everything…

@Aussitamil,

You may plan this way also .


Kanyakumari - Rameswaram (overnight train) (1 Day for exploring rameswaram/Dhanuskodi)
You may board train from rameswaram to Thanjavur
Hire cab from Thanjavur and explore:-

1) Big temple (Thanjavur)
2) Kallanai (Grand Anaicut)
3) Srirangam temple
4) GKC/Tharasuram/Tiruvidaimaruthur(Tiruvidaimar uthur is very big temple near kumbakonam and you need to walk almost a kilometre from entrace of the temple to main diety .. Stunningly big) (Do a search "temples near kumbakonam and select 5 to 6 as per your interest)

Totally 3 days in Thanvaur/Kumbakonam area.

Disengage cab and Board train from kumbakonam/Thanjavur to Chennai.

Hope this is of some help.
Velu

Thanks Velu, But your plan not covering Madurai. I also like to visit there.

You can visit Madurai from Thanjavur/Kumbakonam (Again trains are available) and get a train back from Madurai to Chennai.

Thanks a lot Velu. I haven't finalized my plan yet. Is there are any good tour company in Thruchi\Thanjavur where we can hire a vehicle with driver during our stay? (any recommendations)

On Cab rentals, My knowledge is "zero" aussitamil.

Velu

Thanks Velu, Ill try to find some information online...

Hi...

Try and book the overnight train from Kanyakumari to Rameswaram. Be informed, that this train is a tri weekly. Else you can do it by road, visiting the famous Thiruchendur enroute. A day in Rameswaram would do. It is advisable to take a cab to drop off at Madurai, as you have the option of seeing some great temples enroute. You might check on Devipattinam (Nava Bhaashanam), Thirupullani (Darbha Sayanar), Uttirakosamangai (Margatha Natarajar), Sethukarai etc., to reach Madurai in the evening. In Madurai, you may also consider the Alagar Koil, Thiruparamkundram etc. It would be ideal for you to reach Kumbakkonam from Madurai. You have the Kumbheswarar Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Darasuram, Swamimalai etc and you also have the option of doing a Navagraha Temples trip from here. This is very unique because the individual grahas or planets do not have a separate temple for them. But, there are nine temples for the planets around Kumbakonam, which can be done as a day tour. Then it is Thanjavur for the big temple and you can reach Trichy in the evening. You may ideally do Darasuram, Swamimalai and reach Thanjavur for lunch. Then visit the Brihadeeswara Temple and move on to Trichy for the night. Apart from Srirangam, options in Trichy would be Rockfort Temple, Samayapuram, Thirvanaikoil, Vekkaliamman Temple, Vayalur etc. If planned meticulously you can finish the trip of temples in Trichy in a day and leave overnight to Chennai.

Feel free to revert for clarifications,

Regards

Prasanna

Thanks a lot Prasanna this will be very very healpful.