thursdaysd

From the map, it looked like Bijapur would be a good stop between Hyderabad and Hospet, and Lonely Planet's description of the sights was enticing. But the public transport options turn out to be lousy. So, I could use a car and driver instead, although if the bus takes ten hours from Hyderabad that would be a really long day.

If I'm going to Hyderabad, would Bijapur be redundant? And would Bidar (even if a bit out of the way), be a worthwhile overnight on the way? There's a bearable (but not great) overnight train from Hyderabad to Hospet, so that's starting to look like the better option.

inquest

The road to Bijapur is a national highway(NH9 & NH281 via Gulbarga) and is pretty good.Since you're going by car its worth the journey thru Bijapur.Its about 375kms,would take 5-6hrs.All for the Gol Gumbuz,a magnificent structure,a mausoleum of Mohammed Adil Shah of the Adil Shah dynasty.the Sultanate of Bijapur.Overnight train would be tough,if you have'nt done it before.

thursdaysd

Thanks for the reply, inquest. Yes, Gol Gumbuz sounded good, as did the Ibrahim Rouza. Just not 15 hours in sleeper class good! What's the road like from Bijapur to Hospet? I doubt that a car and driver is quite the right vibe for Hampi, but it could be useful!

I have ridden night trains in India, but the Hyderabad-Hospet train has a lot of stops and gets in at 5:20 in the morning, assuming it's on time.

inquest

I've done the stretch 5 mths ago it was very good.Its the National Highway No 13-Bijapur to Hospet is approx 220kms(Hampi being 13kms from Hospet).Just make sure you get a good car(Toyota Innova is comfy)& a responsible driver.Closer to Hospet the traffic was a bit heavy,there use to be iron ore laden trucks,that is stopped of late,due to the recently introduced mining ban.Should be ok now.
If you've done trains before & willing to 'rough'it for a night its worth the try (i've had bad experiences).though normally its on time.

k44skov

I have not been to the places you want to go, so no comment on that, but I can recommend a very good and responsible driver in Hyderabad.
We used him a couple of years ago in and around the city. He is a very pleasant young guy, nice to be around

Susheel: +91 9989801903

Apple cab: +91 40 65992225