Weekend Trips near Bangalore

[Badriprasad Bumbabol]

Hi

I will be visiting Bangalore for 3-4 weeks and was wondering what are the good places to drive to on the weekends - Some place where me and a friend could drive to on Friday evening ,reach the destination in 4-6 hrs drive max and return back on Sunday evening.

Also,do you recommend me driving myself or taking a chauffer-driven car ? Are directions/maps/road signs in Karnataka good ?

Thanks in Advance
Tintin

[Nanhesru Ningyake]

Hi Tintin - welcome to Bangalore!

Check out the following links for some ideas. I suggest you rent a car with a local driver - the roads may generally not be in a good condition, and it's better if you relax in the back seat, rather than stress yourself out driving. Or you can always take a guided tour.

http://www.junglelodges.com/
http://www.nivalink.com/karnataka/main.html
http://www.karnatakatourism.org/html/package/quick.htm

Have a good time!

[Aj Mathia]

You could drive down to Mangalore. You will pass Sakaleshpur which has beautiful tea or coffee estates. You can stop there if you like but you will have to book some kind of accommodation there . you can also get some fancy coffee wood carvings that make good gifts or show pieces at home.
Once you leave Sakaleshpur you will find a 40 odd kms of Ghat section with steep drops on one side and the odd mini waterfall trickling on the other.
Once you reach Mangalore there is a Coffee Day (Balmatta area) which is a popular hangout for the mangalorian kids.
There are some nice temples around if you like visiting em and plenty of beaches around.
I used to ride down on my eliminator (couldn�t resist boasting) from Bangalore to mangalore nearly every 2 weeks as my ex used to work there.
If you have a longer vacation you could plan to head towards kudarai-muck(don�t know how this place spells)

Nanhesru Ningyake Sumanai

[Aj Mathia]

I forgot to mention it is 350km away so will take you 6ish hrs
the roads were excellent 4 years back so thats something for you to find out about its current state.

[Badriprasad Bumbabol]

Thanks for the info.

How feasible is it to drive to Ooty or Coorg from Bangalore? I know it wont be a weekend trip anymore - but I can take Monday and Tuesday off and go for 4-5 days.

Cheerio

[Pradeep bhatt]

If you have a longer vacation you could plan to head towards kudarai-muck(don�t know how this place spells)

It is Kudremukh.

[Shruti Vidwan]

A very exhaustive list of weekend trips around Bangalore.
Additionally, there is a more general list of tourism in Karnataka.

[Vishwanath Krishnamurthi]

Some place where me and a friend could drive to on Friday evening ,reach the destination in 4-6 hrs drive max and return back on Sunday evening.

mysore is about three hours drive... the palace and the zoo there are good...

Coorg?? Its an amazing place!! Its 3 more hours from mysore... Its a huge district and there are so many places you can see over there! Probly one of the lovliest places Ive ever been to... There's a tibetean temple, numerous falls, just zero pollution, huge tea plantations, amazing whether, and its just green all over! Perfect place for a break from city life!
and ofcourse, the river cauvery's origin!

2 or 3 dats at Coorg would be great!