BANGALORE TO COORG:
Presently, the only city which offers the best connectivity to Coorg is Bangalore. Bangalore is well connected to all other major cities and towns in India, be it through air, rail or bus. All major airlines have frequent flights to Bangalore and also the rail and bus network frequency to Bangalore is much better when compared to other cities like Mysore and Mangalore.
There is no Airport or Railway Station at Coorg. Coorg is only accessible by roads. A drive from Bangalore to Coorg, would take approximately 5 to 6 hours, depending on the stopovers and traffic. The road from Bangalore to Coorg is always in a very good condition. The NHAI is presently constructing the Bangalore-Mysore Expressway which is supposed to be completed by October 2022. Once the expressway is ready, the travel time to Coorg from Bangalore will be considerably reduced to 3 to 4 hours.
Coorg is also connected by roads from Mysore and Mangalore. Mysore Airport does not have frequent flights and all of them are via Bangalore. Mangalore International Airport does have frequent flights(lesser compared to Bangalore International Airport), but the Ghat roads from Mangalore to Coorg do get deteriorated more often, compared to road from Bangalore, more so during monsoon seasons.
DISTANCE FROM BANGALORE:
From Bangalore City Center, the distance to the center of Coorg or any other place in Coorg by road is not more than 280 kilometers approximately. If one is travelling from Bangalore Airport to Coorg, the distance would be approximately around 300 kilometers.
TRAVEL TIME FROM BANGALORE:
WEEKDAYS: On weekdays(Monday to Thursday) the traffic on toll-roads and other highways connecting Coorg to Bangalore is less, so one should be able to reach Coorg from Bangalore by road during weekdays within 5 hours, depending on the number of stopovers on the way.
WEEKENDS: On weekends(Friday to Saturday) the traffic on toll-roads and other highways connecting Coorg to Bangalore is more, so during weekends it would take around 6 hours, depending on the number on stop-overs on the way.
AIRPORT, RAILWAY STATION & BUS SERVICES TO COORG:
AIRPORT: There no airport at Coorg. Few Bangalore based charter companies do offer helicopter drops to Coorg.
RAILWAY STATION: Currently there is none. The Government of Karnataka & Ministry of Railways has a plan to build a railway station at Kushalnagar town at Coorg, but the locals and environmentalists are opposing the same as the the railway lines pass through forests and elephant corridors, which will harm the environment and will increase the already troublesome Man-Elephant Conflict in Coorg.
BUS STANDS: The four primary bus stands in Coorg are Madikeri, Virajpet, Gonikoppa & Kushalnagar. If you are taking a bus to Coorg, make sure to take an early morning bus from Bangalore to Coorg, the reason being that most of the homestays and hotels have a Check-In time of 12.00 Noon or later. If you take a late night bus from Bangalore to Coorg, then you will land in Coorg during the wee hours of Morning. At such an early hour, you may not find the local rickshaws or taxis present there and you may end up bidding your time at the bus stand. If you plan to arrive early morning to Coorg, make sure you speak to your accommodation provider about early morning Check-In and transportation options. Coorg is a homestay country. Most of the homestays have very few rooms and if all of them are booked, they need to wait for the guests to check-out at 12.00, before they can let others guests in. Also, early morning Check-In is not entertained because the homestays function on a tiny staff, and the owner and staff are taking rest or pre-occupied with other chores in the morning. In Hotels, early morning Check-In maybe allowed, depending on the availability of Rooms for that date and may cost extra.
Bus Tickets to Coorg can be booked through the Govt’s KSRTC Website.