Please help me make the best roadtrip from Mumbai to Manali! (21d)

[SweetCupcakes]

Hi, we are planning a road-trip to Manali this January.

The goals are: Travel ≤ 8 hours daily, as we have a dog that easily gets motion sickness.

Travel on good roads, to have a comfortable ride.
Do some good stargazing by staying at places with dark skies.
And (of course) experience snowfall! We have around 21 Days in hand.

I'm curious to know if anyone would recommend me to go through Rajasthan - south Punjab, instead of the usual route suggested by google. I think driving through Rajasthan borders and Punjab will be more memorable: it will likely have darker, clearer skies & interesting stuff to see (provided the roads are good, otherwise it will be memorable in a bad way)

Here's the rough plan
Day 1: Mumbai-Ankleshwar (Fixed, as we have some work there)
Day 2* : Ankleshwar - Palanpur?
Day 3: Palanpur - Jaisalmer.
Day 4: Rest Day 5*: Jailsalmer- ??? (Maybe Bikaner? Or somewhere <8h and en-route to Bathinda, as the goal is to reach McLeodganj)
Day 6*: Stay ??? in south punjab (Please suggest)
Day 7: Reach Mcleodganj
Day 8: Rest

~~Most important part~~
Day 9: Reach Sethan (manali) Day 10: rest day 1
Day 11: rest day 2
Day 12: rest day 3 (hopefully, we get snowfall by here!)
Day 13*: Continue Sethan stay, or go & stay in Sissu, if open (Else buffer day)
Day 14*: Rest Day
~~~
15*: Leave and reach somewhere around chandigarh

Day 16: Rest
Day 17*: Reach Around jaipur?
Day 18*: Head towards ajmer or bhilwara? (Please suggest which route will be better)
Day 19*: Reach around ankleshwar? (Would be nice if the place didn't overlap)
Day 20: Reach Mumbai (one more buffer day left)

Doubts:
1. I marked days I am unsure of with a *(where to reach, if its reasonable, etc). It would be great you guys can offer me some clarity around them (especially the return from chandigarh. Some people told me mount abu road is better than udaipur)

2. Please correct me if I have chosen some bad roads in the trip (and suggest alternate places).

3. Please tell me if I should add additional rest days anywhere (for taking a break or exploring nearby areas). I tried to ensure everything is max 8 hours, using google maps—but I feel things are a bit hasty after day 15. Also, I'm really unsure of Day 5-Day 7

.4 Will the detour to Jaisalmer-south Punjab, from Palanpur be worth the few days used (that could be spent in Mcleodganj, Sethan or Sissu?) I thought since we'll have to take a break at the same places when returning, we could explore a new route instead. I am not that keen on seeing Udaipur, Ajmer, Jaipur, etc. anyways

 

[jeetcp]

I am assuming, but looks like you have not been such long trip before. Dont mind the words, I am trying to be devil advocate.

I would do this differently.

a) There are places which are OKish. So dont waste your time there. Like bikaner, palanpur, bhilwara and many.
b) there are places where you can spend huge time but still can spend more. Like Jaisalmer, manali and around etc.
c) On the day of drive, please drive 10-12-14 hour. And on the fun day, just do fun and zero drive.

Jaisalmer is special because you get sand there. You cannt get that sand anywhere else in India. Use that time to fullest. Also, you have boarder there. Visit the borarder. Jaisalmer also has Fort, nice one. Also night cafe are great. Give jaisalmer+DUNES 3 days.

Manali and around has snow, many points having snow. So explore that to fullest.
Very important: If they let you drive across Atal tunnel, dont stop at sissu. Keep driving all the way to keylong or Darcha, as long as army allow you to drive. You cannt get that terrin anywhere else in india.

If you have done Jaisalmer, you will not feel like visiting Jaipur. Jodhpur has better forts than Jaipur.

Use your time wisely. Stay away from very crowded cities like jaipur.


If I had 21 days, I would spend least time on road. Maximum to go as high in hills as possible.

 

[jeetcp]

Also, dont worry about road quality on Salasar, Churu, Sadalpur, Hisar side.
These are generally undivided roads but you can drive faster on these than most 6 lane busy highways

 

[SweetCupcakes]

I am assuming, but looks like you have not been such long trip before. Dont mind the words, I am trying to be devil advocate.

I would do this differently.

a) ..

Thank you so much for all the pointers! Yeah, I've definitely never done anything like this (my max was a 4D trip, haha).

Regarding driving non-stop: Driving beyond the 8-9 hour mark will be difficult as our dog refuses to eat anything while travelling. I'll be aiming to cover as much as distance till 5-6PM (so he'll have a couple of hours to calm down and have his dinner atleast)

Regarding recommended cities past Day 15: Jodhpur instead of Jaipur, understood.
However, the map says it's a 12 hour journey, so covering it in a day will be unlikely.
1.Do you know any good overnight halts? Maybe we can the rest at Chandigarh.

2. If we choose Jodhpur, Udaipur will become a detour. My family members are quite keen on visiting Udaipur. Would you consider it worth the detour?

 

[SweetCupcakes]

Also, I'm having a real trouble knowing where to get good quality snow chains for the trip. From what I know, it'll be necessary for driving beyond Atal tunnel and in Sethan. Any ideas where I could buy them? Most of the shops in Mumbai don't even know what they are. I found 1-2 shops in Chandigarh keeping them, but that's not ideal as we won't be passing Chandigarh when going from mcleodganj to Manali

 

[jeetcp]

Take my advice, dont bother.

anywhere in india there are No "GOOD" snowchains. Dont waste time or money.

Snow cables are better idea, but dont waste time there too.

Even if you ask a fried to bring from USA, you will have hard time putting them on tyre in middle of road at zero temprature, when whole thing is slushy and dirty and you have fancy cloths.

Rely on authority to keep cleaning the roads on time and help you. It works in Manali.

Best, part the car and hire taxy for a day.

Also, I'm having a real trouble knowing where to get good quality snow chains for the trip. From what I know, it'll be necessary for driving beyond Atal tunnel and in Sethan. Any ideas where I could buy them? Most of the shops in Mumbai don't even know what they are. I found 1-2 shops in Chandigarh keeping them, but that's not ideal as we won't be passing Chandigarh when going from mcleodganj to Manali

 

[jeetcp]

And depending on day of the month, it is possible that you can get ZERO snow on road even post atal tunnel. I had same scene on 25Dec. People carried snow boots, shovel etc, but there was no snow till Darcha.

Only thing we all got was 2 hr traffic jam due to new year.

Dont overplan.


Also snow chanin is only a good idea on big SUV tyre, where u have 3-4 inch of clearance.

 

[jeetcp]

For the highway, you can hire a motel on the go. Dont prebook. Cities like chandigarh, ambala, bhilwara, etc all have enough road side motels where u get good AC rooms in 1500.
For security, I generally drive towards centre of city and negotiate the hotel I like.

Only place where hotels run full are big destinations like manali, jaipur etc. Not the traditional cities.

 

[jeetcp]

For Rajasthan, check RTDC website for govt hotels.
Almost all hotels are great value. Old construction, but most are managed well. Avoid the one giving 1200Rs room because they will smell bad. But RTDC is known for quality.

Same for Himachal, try HPTDC hotels. Most are best location. Good food. If you can get booking in advance. Surely safe, enough parking. Govt ka hai na.

 

[jeetcp]

Did you try avomine medicne for dog?
generally break every 2 hour is good. Early drive like 6-7 will be the key because you beat most traffic and thats what causes nausea for kids and dogs.