Driving distances in Kerala, India- how accurate is google maps?
 

I looked up driving distances on google maps and just wondering if these are accurate:

cochin to munnar- 3 hours 16 minutes, 130 km
munnar to periyar- 2 hours, 33 minutes, 87.4 km
periyar to allepey - 2 hours, 58 minutes, 128 km
allepey to kovalam- 3 hours, 12 minutes, 161 km
kovalam to thiruvananthaparum- 32 minutes, 17.8 km

If not, approximately how long does it take to drive these distances?

"approximately how long does it take to drive these distances? "

In India, almost always, it takes as long as it takes.

I would not rely on google in Europe (viamichelin is much better) and I certainly wouldn't rely on it in India. If you need to know more than that any of those except the last is likely to take a good chunk of a day, ask your hotels.

BTW, you are not thinking of driving yourself, are you?

My experience is that google is off by a factor or two or three in drive times in Sri Lanka, I expect it would be similar in India. Basically, Google doesn't have a clue about driving conditions in Asia.

If you are working with an agent to set up a car and driver, they can give you much better estimates.

Not driving myself, would like to hire a driver.
has anyone driven these before? and know approximately how long these are? We want to pack in as much as possible in short amount of time

"We want to pack in as much as possible in short amount of time"

Sorry, but that is a recipe for disaster in India. Everything will take longer than you expect, everything will be noisier, dirtier, more frenetic and overwhelming (although a bit less so in the south). You will need to pace yourself or you will burn out.

I have not arranged a car and driver ahead of time in India, but a number of posters here have done so. Castle and King has received good reviews here, but if you read TRs you will come across others. The agencies you ask for quotes will propose itineraries, but be aware that thy are almost universally too ambitious in their initial form.

anyone know a good company where i can hire a driver with car in kerala?

A major travel agency (Like Castle and King) can arrange it, or you can ask your hotel to arrange it. Hiring a driver in India is easy. Hiring a good one on your own, before you get there, is not quite so easy.

In my experience, driving times are usually way off in India. Toss in an accident, protest, or bad weather and you might average about 20 miles per hour.

Its about 45kmph on an average in India.
For self driven car rentals, check zoom car.

@thursdaysd:

I said 45 kilometers per hour. read carefully.
I drive extensively and this is an average.

Self driving is perfectly ok. Ignore the alarmists.

You live in India. Naturally you are used to driving there. Suggesting that a tourist should drive in India is irresponsible.

@thursdaysd: As long as the tourists in an adult capable of taking her/his own decisions, It's just a suggestion. There is nothing wrong in driving here, if one is a reasonable good and alert driver and enjoys driving.

But then, one would have to be reasonable good and alert to drive anywhere, isn't it?

There are certain stretched where your speed will drop to 10/20. There are others where it can be 140. When you finally reach your destination, your average would have been around 45kmph.

If interested, I can suggest some excellent road trip routes.

And abstain from calling people names. Thats rude.