We normally have the summer break ritual of travelling to Kerala on car . However this was our first experiance going to Kerala in car with family during winter break .
Some ground rules before you start your trip . My place is close to Kalyan Nagar,all these options i mention might be there closer to your place in Blore.
- fill your petrol to the brink,normally i prefer indian oil pump at kammanahalli ( https://maps.app.goo.gl/JWq1j8NuTZTA9R9w8 ). Here you can do the air check along with refueling petrol
- Get your wheel alignment wheel balencing done ,if your in and around Kalyan Nagar ,Mobile tyre tech ( Yokohama Club Network - Mobiles Tyre Tech - Google Maps )is a good choice
- Get your snacks right , ensure you have something to eat over the 14 hours .i would say Kanti Sweets - Kammanahalli - Google Maps is a good choice for it .
Now coming to the travel , decide the routes to follow
there are 3 major choices
- Go with Kerala Heavy route ( Bangalore → Salem → Coimbatore → Palakkad → Ernakulam → Trivandrum
- Go with more forest coverage ( Bangalore → Salem->Madurai-> Rajapalayam → Thenmala → Punalur → Kottarakara → Trivandrum
- Go with NH44 route ( Bangalore → Salem->Madurai->Thirunelveli → Nagarcoil-> Trivandrum
we have gone through all and best route we feel is option 3 ( please note that there is other options and i am skipping the same as i feel this 3 is something i know personally )
Now coming to pit stops
- Food at Salem - Try Sree Akshaya Bhavanam( Sree Akshaya Bhavanam - Google Maps) - this is a new food place
- Fuel pitstop at Nayara pump [NAYARA FUELS(Asiya pumps) - NAYARA FUELS(Asiya pumps) - Google Maps
- Food stop at Vairamaligai Signature - Google Maps - Really liked ambiance , food ,parking and toilets in this restaurent
- Near Kavalkinar before you take the exit to Trivandrum , HP PETROL PUMP - SHANKAR AGENCIES - Google Maps
we took the Nedumangad highway to Trivandrum , 6 years back this highway was all in pathetic shape and we wowed not to take this route but this time the road was much better , however please note the road is narrow but with less traffic entry to Trivandrum is much better compared to how it was years back . However if your looking for a better road , i would suggest to continue on NH44 and take exit near to Nagarcoil , this will take you through entry to Kerala through Neyyattinkara . Road is much better however traffic is horrific especially during peak time.
If you have any doubts taking a road trip from Bangalore to Trivandrum , please reach out to yours truly and ill try my best to help.
Some additional tips ,
- Journey with all the mentioned pit stops take 13- 15 hours.
- Best start time with less risk is 3 am in the morning
- Key is exiting Bangalore at the earliest , with Metro work better exit from Marathahalli move to Attiballe , you can save some tolls
- Try not to deviate from National Highway as much as possible .
- Best Fuel rate is in Tamil Nadu , do all fuel pit stops in Tamil Nadu
- Nayara Pump is giving awesome cashbacks , saved Rs 60 on a load of 2500.