Hyd to Vizag trip help needed

I am planning make a trip from Hyderabad to Vizag this month (Feb 2010) with my wife and a kid (6yr). I will be traveling by my Hyundai i10 kappa. I will be starting from Hyderabad at early morning 5.00AM. I have few questions about my trip..

1.Can I travel so much distance (602km) in one day by Hyundai i10 Kappa?

2.What are the precautions I should be taking of my car?

3.Which route I will be selecting Hyd-suryapeet-khammam-rajmudray-vizag or Hyd-vijayawada-rajmundray-vizag route. Considering a break & refreshment for my family after every 1 hrs and 30 minutes.

4. Any reasonable hotel to stay at vizag ?

5. And at last what is the maximum distance can be travelled by a small hatchback car.

Thank you

1. Yes. The car is capable of going on long drives.

2. Try taking break after every 150-250 KMs. Have couple of more psi pressure in the tyres, good for highways. Do not drive too fast, try keeping speed under max 100-110 kmph

3. Hyd-Suryapet-Khammam...route is state highway and single lane road.

Hyd-Suryapet-Vijaywada...route is mostly 4 lane after Suryapet and completely 4 lane from vijayawada to vizag(411 kms) The total drive would be around 750 kms. And you will get good refreshment points. I liked this route and would advise for the same.

4. No idea. Hope someone from Vizag or Hyd could advise. I know a few but they are hi-fis..

5. Well, with my experience I drove my sis Alto from Delhi to Bhilai(chattisgarh) which is almost 1500 kms....and that too non-stop 28 hrs...so should be fine.

Happy Driving. And have a nice trip.

In Vizag you can stay in hotel Green Park. It will be a very decent hotel with ample car park, restaurant etc. I have gone there for a lunch during my visit to vizag. Hope they will charge around 1500 per room per day.

if you can afford have a look at Taj Palace(my uncle said they have changed the name but i have no idea). The location will be facing the sea. As you all know the Taj brand i need not explain. opposite to taj there is welcom group hotel. as i have made a visit to vizag 4 yrs back, i cannot recollect the name. welcome group is also equal to taj grps.  

Hi KP,

I am panning to go to vizag next week(2 month old Maruti Estilo). I will be travelling with my wife and my kid. I hope u have travelled in feb. It would be great if you can provide few pointers of which route to take and when to leave from Hyd. I heard Khammam route is very bad and NH-9 there is a lot of 4 laning work happening.

Many Thanks,

Fazzy

Hey Fazzy KP's query is from Feb 2010, more than a year back unless he has travelled again this year. However to update you... current status of Hyd-Suryapet is pathetic at any given day or time.

If you have enough time start early in the morning to avoid heavy traffic rush. It would still be a tough job though so that you reach Suryapet in 2-4 hrs. Go ahead till Vijayawada and take ample rest and accordingly plan for vizag. As you said that you will be travelling with family i am sure you do not want to exert them too much. Unfortunately you will feel the maximum exert in this part of the journey. So plan it as 2 day drive. My 2 cents.

Another way is to start post lunch from Hyd so you reach by say 7-9 PM in Vijayawada and then you can take rest and start for vizag early morning. The drive from Vijayawada to Vizag would be very pleasant as its complete 4 lane for 400+ kms.

I would still not advise state highway from Khamam as its not a safe road for small cars even if the roads are in a better shape. I have recently been to this route in my car and I did not find it safe at all.

Hope this helps.

Hi Anshu,

Thanks for the response. I cannot start post lunch as I have a meeting till 6pm. I will start very early in the morning. I have some work to attend in Rajahmundry. I hope I will reach there within 10 hours. I can have a break there. Ofcourse I will have small breaks at Suryapet and Vijayawada. What would be the best time to leave LB nagar to avoid on coming bus and truck traffic?

Is the Khammam road completely avoidable?? Is there any other route which can be considered(even if its longer)?

Many Thanks,

Fazzy

Best time to leave LB nagar is early morning as you per your wish. I would advise to avoid Khammam as the roads are not that great and with very heavy traffic of trucks. And sometimes its so lonely to scare you too.

I am not aware of any other route. And personally I prefer suryapet, vijayawada route as the struggle is only till suryapet. After that life is easy

Have a nice trip

Thanks Anshu. Will publish the updates after the trip.

Regards,

Fazzy

We started at 4.30 in the morning near ameerpet, hyderabad and reached suryapet '7' highway restaurant by 7.30. We took a 40 min break here. The road is a 2 lane road as explained by everyone here but its not that bad. The road wasnt very smooth but there were no potholes. Heavy truck traffic on both ways but still the drive wasn't that risky. I had the Garware Ice Cool shield intsalled which drastically reduced the glare of the headlights of the trucks. At several places, the 4 laning work is done (in patches of 1-2kms). Though it is not officially opened many people were using these patches as and when they find them. Though the road is 4 lane after Nandigama, it is not very smooth (i had huge expectations after reading many comments here). After Eluru the road is very good. I reached max speed of 120kmph. Most of the times I was driving at 70-80kmph. Reached Rajahmundry by 2pm. I am little disappointed with the mileage of my estilo. It gave only 17kmpl. One of my friends also has this same mode but he gets 20kmpl on highways. Might be because I was driving at high speeds, the car was full with luggage and the car hasn't finished the second service yet. My car crossed its 1000km mark somewhere near Rajahmundry.

1) I have travelled by Chevy Spark many times between Vizag & Hyderabad, on NH9 & NH5, never had a difficulty, so I believe i10 should be better as it is a bigger & better car.

2) Try to start as early in the morning as possible, the Hyd Vijayawada highway is undergoing 4 laning, so there may be slow movement. Once you touch NH5 your journey will be smooth.

4) Reasonable depends on your budget. I would recommend Dwaraka Hotel, business class http://yp.dreamvizag.com/ads/dwaraka-lodge/

If you can stretch your budget a bit Orange Hotel is good http://yp.dreamvizag.com/ads/the-orange-hotel/

You get the best food in Talasila & Dolphin hotels, http://yp.dreamvizag.com/ads/talasila-continental-hotel/ http://yp.dreamvizag.com/ads/dolphin-hotel/

5) Depends on how confortable you are with driving & how many breaks you take. I have known friends who have driven from Kolkata to Chennai on a Santro. Take breaks, drink fluids, have a co-driver & passion to drive ;)

Regards,

Raghav