A road trip may be a lot of fun because it offers the possibility of seeing beautiful scenery, discovering new places, and experiencing the freedom of the open road. But sometimes the thought of spending a lot of time in the car can be intimidating, and the dread of getting bored could make you decide not to go on any road trips at all.
Besides our road trip from Goa to Hyderabad made us resolve never to go on another road trip. On this road trip, we are quite bored. Although many claim that it's picturesque and that you may stop frequently to see waterfalls, caves, lakes, or forts, this is the most uninteresting trip we have ever experienced.
Fear not- You don't have to have a dull road trip! Like us. Whether you are taking a road trip with your family or on your own, sometimes all you need is a few new ideas to keep you from going stir-crazy.
Shall tell you about our monotonous road trip and what made us forget the boring road after arriving in Hyderabad before discussing how to make tedious road trips interesting in the following post.
Hyderabad holds significant historical value. Since we had already visited the largest artificial lake in the world - Hussian Sagar Lake, the Nehru Zoological Park, the visually stunning Birla Temple, and the Charminar—the ideal fusion of the colorful past and present—last year, we decided to visit Hyderabad again solely for shopping.
Route Options:
Pick from the following four routes for your Goa to Hyderabad road trip.
Route 1:
Goa→Ponda→Anmod Ghat→Hubballi→Raichur→Mahabubnagar→Hyderabad
This 697-kilometer route, which crosses NH 48/NH67 and 167, will take about 14 hours to complete. If you're driving from Goa to Hyderabad, this is the most popular route. Here are some places to explore along the way that will add to the enjoyment and value of the trip.
Raichur Fort is a historic fort with beautiful scenery and photo ops.
See the historic Anjaneya Temple at Raichur, where a saint spent twelve years in meditation. A calm area.
Visit the enormous banyan tree at Pilla Marri, which is thought to be over 500 years old, before you go to Mahabubnagar.
Route 2:
Goa→Dharwad→Hubli→Hospet→Ballari→Kurnool→Mahabubnagar→Hyd
Using NH 44 and 67 to travel 730 kilometers will take about 15 hours. If the travel becomes too strenuous, spend the night in Hampi, particularly if you want to visit every location on the itinerary we've laid out below.
The UNESCO-designated remains of Hampi are worth visiting. With so much to see at Hampi, this visit might end up being longer than expected.
Bellary Fort: Designed by Tipu Sultan, this one-of-a-kind fort in Bellary features some unusual rock and water formations.
Bellum Caves: These naturally created caves with intriguing rock formations of various shapes and textures may be found a few kilometers after passing Kurnool.
Yaganti Temples: a stunningly designed temple in Kurnool featuring a well-known Nandi statue and caves.
Route 3:
Goa→Mollem→Belgaum→Bagalkot→Kalaburgi(Gulbarga)→Zaheerabad→Hyd
This is a picturesque route that crosses NH 163/NH 65 and NH 52 and passes via Zaheerabad and Belgaum. You will need about 14 hours to travel 650 kilometers. If you want to see all the wonderful old remains in Bagalkot, you can spend the night in Gulbarga.
Gokak Falls: Situated close to Belgaum, these falls are best seen in the monsoon season. Here, enjoy water sports.
Belagavi Fort: Visit this historic, well-kept fort in Belgaum, which has an ashram and temple inside.
Monuments in Pattadakal: Take a diversion from Bagalkot to visit Pattadakal, home of these magnificent Chalukya monuments.
Badami Caves: These beautifully preserved rock-cut caves from the Chalukya dynasty will take you to a magical place.
Another, less well-known route is
Route 4:
Goa→Ponda→Amboli→Chikkodi→Solapur→Humnabad→Zaheerabad→Hyd
This is a picturesque route that crosses NH 66/NH 65 and passes via Zaheerabad and Solapur. You will need about 14 hours to travel 726 kilometers.
Amboli waterfalls: Amboli, a hill station in south Maharashtra, India, is home to the magnificent Amboli Waterfalls. Located at a height of 690 meters above sea level in the western region of India's Sahyadri Hills, Amboli is recognized as one of the world's eco spots due to its extraordinary variety of flora and wildlife.
Our trip and the route we followed:
We took route 1, set out early in the morning at approximately five, stopped briefly for breakfast at Gadag, but didn't enter the city. Ate a somewhat unhygienic breakfast on the way (Hotel Shivani).
where this road trip's disappointment began. Breakfast is a crucial meal of the day in my opinion. You don't need to pause for lunch if you eat a satisfying breakfast.
We stopped for lunch in Manvi after 202km of trip. The South Indian thali provided at the Hotel Nisarga was quite excellent.
After lunch, just as we were ready to leave for the journey, a torrential downpour began. The rain was so strong that it caused trees to topple, sewage pipes to burst, and water to end up on the highway—a complete catastrophe.
For petrol, we made a stop at the Indian Oil bunk Basavapatna, Venaktgiri Karnataka. A petrol bunk employee asked us where we were from, and when we replied that we were from Goa, he stated he had no idea. For a Goan, this is painful.
Rain was falling nonstop till we arrived at Raichur, and the roads weren't very good. We finally arrived in Hyderabad at 7:30 p.m.
We were able to stay in my preferred Hyatt hotel group, which made our arrival in Hyderabad seem nice.
Hyatt Place Banjara Hills Hyderabad:
We had an amazing time staying at Hyatt Place. Perfectly situated in the center of the city, with quick access to all the major attractions, is the location. However, the outstanding hospitality is what really makes this hotel stand out.
Rooms: In other words, the rooms have distinct Hyatt feel about them. Despite being simple Hyatt hotel, it offers the nicest accommodation. The facilities are roomy, and I really liked the division between shower and vanity. There’s hot water accessible all the time. The sofa doubles as an extra bed that is just as comfortable as king-size bed. They have policy to conserve water, so they will change a linen everyday if you ask them to, but they everyday provide you a clean towel.
Safety: the location boasts best security. They have everything including scanner. To enter any floor or elevator itself, you must present your room card. Without card, no one is allowed to enter any floor. Moreover Hyatt place is a part of Hyatt group and takes all necessary precautions to ensure safety of its guests.
Food and drinks: the breakfast and supper spread provides a mouthwatering variety of selections to suit every taste, including pastries, fresh fruits, tasty South Indian cuisine, continental fare, made-to-order omelets, dosas, pancakes etc from live counter. Every dish is painstakingly made with premium ingredients to guarantee your delight.
₹9550 approx/ per night
Following our check-in, we went to Zythum Brewing Co., a brewery.
Zythum Brewing Co
The restaurant is large, but the volume of the music makes it impossible to have quiet evening or chat with friends. The food and drink both were ok but more expensive than several five-star hotels.
₹3000 approx/ 3 person
Stores we visited during our brief 48-hour visit to Hyderabad and our thoughts on shopping there
Day 1:
Yousta
We have learned that with the introduction of its brand "Yousta," Reliance Retail, a division of Reliance Industries, has made a major foray into the fashion retail industry. The Sarath City Mall in Hyderabad is home to the brand's first flagship location. However, after going to the store, I found that there wasn't really anything to buy. Simple, boring attire.
Coco House
The clothes here are expensive, not worth price and resemble that seen in street stores of Goa. Never trust instagram videos that claim these products as imported. Definitely not worth visit.
Before going to other stores in the afternoon, we grabbed bite at Cafe Chit Chat Chai.
Since we were aware that this location had received mostly positive reviews, we went there while was in Hyderabad. We requested iced tea and simple cold coffee, but what we received was a tasteless cold coffee frappe with lots of cream. The food costs excessively high for a tea establishment. Compared to this, not even the upscale hotel next door feels exorbitant. Following a somewhat disappointing small bite, we resumed our shopping expedition.
₹1000 approx/2 person
3guys Fashion store
The stock is limited. Not all size is available.
Xtreme Mart
Visited this place after watching instgram video. Not worth visit waste of time. not all size available.
On the first day, following a disastrous shopping experience, we went to another brewery, Prost, in the evening.
Thoughts on Prost:
I believe that loud music should be must for the breweries in Hyderabad, as this was second brewery we visited in Hyderabad. We Goans prefer to wear slippers and shorts for comfort, thus the staff at the entry was helpful in informing us of their dress rules. Despite this, they let us in and set up a table for us. The beer was nice (Reviews of drinks are based only on my friend's opinions, as I don't drink or enjoy beer) and the food was tasty. However, the food here is pricey (I’m not sure if this is the case in all breweries)
₹3500 approx/ 3 person
Day 2
Day 2 began with a huge letdown when we went to the Value Zone hypermarket.
First of all, it's far from the city. When upmarket retailers like Zudio or Azorte offer apparel at the same price, it is not worth spending money on clothing here. How wasteful it is of time.
We travelled back from this hypermarket and arrived in the city at 1:30 p.m., where we had lunch at Chutneys. I've had excellent south Indian thali at other restaurants for less money than at Chutneys.
₹325/ person
The Sarath City Capital Mall is the one thing that happened to me during my Hyderabd Tour that was truly amazing.
Sarath City capital Mall
I have visited lots of malls, and this one is the second best; the finest one is Phoenix City in Chennai. I was inspired to visit this location again during our two days in Hyderabad. This mall has wide variety of stores that sell anything from expensive goods to everyday reasonably priced goods. Particularly enjoyed stores like Ritu Kumar, Azorte, Zudio and Intune.
Azorte has incredible collection of apparel. Great place to shop love it.
That evening, we ate dinner at the Hyatt, which offers a fantastic buffet.
Day 3
We departed for Goa at around eight in the morning after gulping a complimentary breakfast.
We didn't stop anywhere other than the Amaravathi train restaurant in Royal Rich County for lunch because we had to report for work the next day.
Thoughts on Amaravathi Train Restaurant:
₹600 approx/ 2 person
The restaurant is pathetic. The food, service everything is bad. In the name of biryani they serve rice with chilli powder. We ordered lime soda, veg biryani and veg fried rice. They didn’t serve soda with food we asked them for soda again and again, when we finished food that time waiter informed he can serve sprite or some cold drinks as soda is not avaible. I cannot express how awful the restrooms are for patrons of the restaurant. Recalling their restroom made me feel like throwing up even as I was writing this.
We arrived at Tadas Hubli Highway at around four o'clock. Due to personal business, we had to drive through Sirsi, and the worst part of the journey was when our car's front tire burst and produced a terrible noise.
Not a single person who drove by that roadway offered assistance when we stopped our car at the turning of the road. A guy from Mundgod, or perhaps it would be more accurate to call him a youngster, named Zabbir offered to help us change the tires on our automobile. We gave him money, but he declined and told us that he had helped us out of compassion.
We finally arrived in Goa at around 12 a.m. after a terrible road trip to Hyderabad.
Tips And Safety Measures
*Reserve your hotel or home stay accommodations in advance. Because the area is popular for weekend getaways, the majority of the accommodations are completely booked. I personally prefer reviews before booking hotels or visiting restaurants.
* A best camera, an understanding photographer friend, and some enjoyable music in pen drive are always safe.
* Always carry plenty of fluids and snacks to munch on.
* Plan trip according to your budget.
*The condition of the road leading to Kurnool is really good. So there are no problems.
*You can experience some zigzagging and a rough stretch before Hampi when traveling from Goa.
*You may need to exercise caution after you enter the Ghats, regardless of the route you take.
*When driving, you'll need to keep an eye out for both locals and wildlife.
*When there are detours or bypasses to be extra sure ask the locals.
*Since all routes go through large towns, there will be no shortage of places to eat. However, there can be some areas where the quality of the restaurant or restroom falls short of expectations. Stock your car with water and food.
*All routes are lengthy drives, so schedule your overnight stays in early. It's best to depart early in the morning even if you have no intention of stopping.
' fill='%23359391'%3e %3cpath d='M46.1538462%2c43.5714286 L41.5%2c50 L36.8461538%2c43.5714286 L36.8670256%2c43.5714286 C36.3173077%2c42.7142857 36%2c41.6851429 36%2c40.5714286 C36%2c37.4854286 38.4535641%2c35 41.5%2c35 C44.5464359%2c35 47%2c37.4854286 47%2c40.5714286 C47%2c41.6851429 46.6826923%2c42.7142857 46.1329744%2c43.5714286 L46.1538462%2c43.5714286 Z M41.4294872%2c39 C40.6150641%2c39 39.9487179%2c39.675 39.9487179%2c40.5 C39.9487179%2c41.325 40.6150641%2c42 41.4294872%2c42 C42.2439103%2c42 42.9102564%2c41.325 42.9102564%2c40.5 C42.9102564%2c39.675 42.2439103%2c39 41.4294872%2c39 L41.4294872%2c39 Z' id='Location-white'%3e%3c/path%3e %3c/g%3e %3c/svg%3e)
