Road trips have always been just 20% about the destination and the remaining 80% about the journey. In this post of mine, I will share some of my exiting road trip experiences with you, which you can also try in future.
1.JAIPUR==>AJMER==>UDAIPUR(march, 2017)
Distance -140km, 280km Time-2.5hrs max, 5hrs.
We landed in Jaipur from Lucknow(my hometown) and was thankful to my uncle who lends us his car for the entire trip as I was travelling with my elder brother and father. The road condition is like a slice of bread with some extra butter on it, that means exceedingly smooth with lots of eateries options available on the go, although that route is a bit boring. We stayed in Ajmer for a day at OYO near DARGAH and also visited Pushkar which is hardly 25min drive from Ajmer where it was so calm & peaceful near Pushkar lake, famous for Lord BRAMHA temple.
The next morning we started our journey for Udaipur & stayed there for 2 days at Amantra comfort hotel enjoyed most of the things such as sunset at Pichola lake, taking a tour of the royal city palace and killing those cravings for Rajasthani dishes at the very famous Natraj restaurant. Started our journey back to Jaipur at 7 A.M and reached at 4:30 P.M.
Best time for this trip- between NOV&FEB.
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2.MUMBAI==>PUNE==>MUMBAI(multiple trips)
Dsitance-165km Time-3-5hrs.
I have done this road trip for at least 7-8 times because of my love for Mumbai and that sunrise at marine drive. This road trip will detox your soul & mind especially if you are doing this in monsoon, lush greenery, beautiful ghats covered in clouds, waterfalls, pure & clean air to take a deep breath and guess what all this with a buttery smooth highway.
One should certainly stop at Panvel or Lonavala for a cup of coffee/tea while enjoying the astonishing scenic beauty of both these places. An ample number of fuel stations, mouthwatering eateries & food joints are available throughout this route so keep all your worries aside & enjoy this short trip on your weekend. Most recommended for those living in Pune & Mumbai, as this trip will be short and will act as a stress buster after those long & tiring weekdays.
Best time for this trip- between JUNE&DEC.
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3.CHENNAI==>PONDICHERRY(JULY,2018)
Distance-155km Time-3hrs max.
One of my school friend Shreya was doing a job in Chennai and she visited pondy on her office trip, after hearing about the beauty of that road trip & pondy I decided to add this into my bucket list. Finally, the day came into my life when I landed at Chennai airport and decided to take a day halt.
She took me to the Marina beach which I still wish going back to not because of the beach, but for that mind-blowing crispy fried calamari that I ate the first time in my life.
The next morning we booked a self-driving car(old i20) from a local transport service provider at a very economical rate and started our journey at 7 A.M. Driving on ECR(east coast road) with a clean yellow beach & a hallucinatory blue sea was reminding me of some happy-ending Hollywood movie scene. Till Mahabalipuram, you will have a 4 lane road which further decreases to 2 lanes but overall no issues will be faced, we reached pondy by 10 A.M & checked-in to the Treebo hotel. The infrastructure here makes u feel like you are walking in some French town if you are someone who loves Italian food this place has many Italian cafés serving some of the finest dishes. Rock beach is a must-visit place if you don’t want to miss one remarkable sunrise.
Best time for this trip-between NOV&FEB.
4.PUNE==>NASHIK(SEP,2019)
Distance-230km Time-4hrs.
Nashik is known as the “Wine Capital of India” and who is not aware of the Sulafest!! country’s biggest vineyard music festival, held every year in 1st week of February. We decided to visit this place in monsoon and not in Feb so that we could explore better while the city is not crowded.
We started our journey at 5:30 A.M and reached Ramji's residency for check-in around 9:30, I must say this property is very well maintained & the staff is very helpful. Now let us come to the soul of this journey i.e roads, well after leaving from Pune you might experience some patchy roads of 40km after Shiroli that’s it after that roads are silky smooth like Dove’s chocolates.
It took us around 2hrs to explore the entire property of Sula vineyards including the tour(250rs p.p) which takes place every hour & end with a wine tasting at the cellar. If you want to try some adventure sports, visit the zonkers adventure park which is hardly 5min drive from Sula & offers activities like go-karting, rock-climbing, zipline etc at a very reasonable price.
Best time for this trip-between SEP&FEB.
