For road enthusiasts, here is an option for a 2Nights/3Days short trip from Bangalore. The route is Bangalore – Salem – Namakkal – Trichy – Thanjavur. Based on my experience, curated the below itinerary –
Day 1 – Start around 5.45 am from Bangalore. You will reach Saravana Bhavan around 7.30 am for breakfast (The location link is https://maps.app.goo.gl/ynKfLTSj5upzMd4f7). From there zoom through Salem and Namakkal. It’s ‘Nightmare Namakkal’; once you cross this, you will get on a single road up to Trichy.
This stretch of the road is nice, both the sides you will find a lot of greenery, old tamarind trees on both sides of the road (I remembered the old Bangalore – Mysore or Belur Hassan Road)
You will find plenty of Banana shops. Spare a few minutes in one of the outlets and you must try different varieties of Bananas; I could find Chandra Bale, Bhoodhi Bale, Rasa Bale and Cavendish.
Have lunch at A2B, 10 km before Thanjavur and reach the destination around 1.45 noon, I suggest staying at GRT GReaT Trails Riverview. It’s a 40 rooms property, a decent place to stay; kids will enjoy it!
Visit Brihadeeshwara Temple: Start around 4.30 pm at this place. Find a guide. (Here are the contact details of Mr Selvam, an experienced guide Ph.97512 15179). You can spend around 2 hours in this place. It is marvellous. To make your experience even better, read the literature before you go (Here is the link to read https://thanjavur.info/thanjavur-tourism/brihadeeswarar-temple-thanjavur )
Dinner – you can try Krishna Inn, at a walkable distance from the temple. Post this, drive to the resort.
You will never forget the driving experience of Peacock Road; a 12 km stretch from Thanjavur to GRT resort. It’s awesome. A must-try for road geeks.
Day 2 – Relax at the resort; you can explore the pool, garden, breakfast, etc. Start from the resort around 11 am to Trichy. Stay in one of the good hotels like Blossoms. (We stayed in SRM Hotels, not so good; my rating is 3/5)
Leave your car in the hotel, and book a taxi (prefer Auto) to Sri Rangam Ranganatha Temple around 2.30 pm. The temple has various darshan timings, (not exactly what is mentioned on their website), when we went it was open till 3.45 pm and the next darshan started from 5.45 pm. This is too good a temple, a must-visit in one’s lifetime. Read the literature here before you go (https://www.srirangapankajam.in/ranganathaswamy-temple-history.php)
Usually, there will be a queue to enter the temple, you can take special darshan tickets and manage the temple tour in 2 hours.
After finishing the darshan, say around 5 pm, go to Rock Fort. You will have to climb a steep flight of 450 steps to reach the top. It is a breathtaking experience. Don’t miss this place to visit (read here for more info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thayumanaswami_Temple,_Rockfort)
Senior citizens and heart patients may kindly avoid this temple.
Day 3 – Have a leisurely breakfast and leave for Bangalore around 9.30 am. You will reach Saravana Bhavan (location map https://maps.app.goo.gl/AfMr2QHnpRQUXA259 ) for lunch.
Before the traffic piles up near Hosur and the infamous Bangalore city, you will reach home, say, around 4 pm.
Why am I not suggesting other tourist places in Thanjavur or Trichy or Kumbakonam? I don’t believe in ticking the boxes (to boost the “I have also seen” type). If you just visit the most important attraction and spend quality time there, you will enjoy and cherish the memory for a long time. A short trip of 2N/3D, visiting 3-4 places coupled with some relaxing time at the resorts and hotels is a better idea than hurriedly barging into multiple tourist attractions or temples.
Try this model, you will surely like it.
Awesome! Beautiful trip planned out for us. Thank you for the links & details
Wonderful information. We will try.