Karachi to Lahore by Road - Need Suggestions

[afarooqi]

My journey started at 6AM from Karachi, I prefer to stick to N-5 all the way, no matter how much rush.

Took 17 hours to reach lahore, as I made quite long stays on Sukkur-Lahore Motorway for refreshment and relax.

[afarooqi]

My replies inline

I am planning a road trip from Karachi to Lahore by road with my wife therefore please guide me for following queries:
What is the best time to leave Karachi for Lahore?
- 4 AM.
What is best route from Hyderabad to Sukkhur?
- My personal preference is to stick to N-5, all the way.
Please suggest best restaurants and rest areas throughout the route where we can have a short stay and relax?
- Royal Taj Hotel on N-5.
- Some petrol pumps operated by Total have decent washrooms
- On Sukkur-Lahore Motorway, there are good service areas and rest areas, offering decent restaurants, washroom. Even some service areas have GO+ petrol pump where there are executive wash rooms (paid service) and super store with food shop.
Are there any rest areas operational on M5 motorway?
- Yes, almost all.
Are there any fuel pumps operational on M5 motorway?
- Yes, almost all.
Please suggest any good and reasonable family hotel for night stay at sukkhur?
- Havent experienced any. However, I saw restrooms on Sukkur-Multan Motorway, that they rent out for 12 hour. Rooms seemed decent with basic features like AC etc. Rent was like 3500-4000 for 12 hours.
I have heard that animals may appear in front of your car on M5 motorway, is it true?
- It can happen on any road, even on Lahore Islamabad Motorway, animals can come up. You need to be careful for that.
Any other suggestion/advice would also be welcomed.
- Keep Original car documents, license, NIC. Car should be in your name, or authority letter in your name.
- Car physical health should be dependable.
- Keep change cash (totay paisay) with you for tool plaza and etc. On N-5, every tool plaza will charge 30 Rs.
- Keep child lock on if you have kids travelling. Doors locked when you are parked somewhere.
- DO NOT OVERSPEED. Safe speed should be 100 on N-5 and 120 on motorway. N-5 is almost just like any other City road. All kind of traffic and people get on that.
- Take ample rest before you leave.
- Read all other post on Pakwheels for detailed guidance.

Thanks in advance.

[fahad5]

Thanks for the detailed reply. A few more queries..

You suggest to leave at 4AM. Will we find any decent place open near hyderabad at 6am?

How to find petrol pumps with executive wash rooms? Can't find it on Google.

Is it worth getting M Tag /Etag for Motorway?

[unware]

Royal Taj is good ambiance and great food. I did trip from KHI to ISB in April this year

[unware]

Brother, I had similar questions in April this year prior to my KHI-ISB trip.

Believe me you will find many options along the route.

I left KHI Clifton at 8am on Sat morning, less traffic on road and many hotels, restaurants on the way.

Our first stop was near sukkur at Royal Taj, next stop was at motorway rest rest area and another one at pindi bhattiyan

Family of 5 and Alhamdulillah no issues at all driving all the way from KHI to ISB in one stretch.

NH-5 be careful with bikes, rickshaws and trucks

Motorway is quite, smooth and a bit boring

[unware]

Correct .....

It took me 16 hrs from KHI to ISB in mid April this year,

[mehran]

I did the Khi Rwp route last year at end of May. Left Karachi at 9am and was in Panu Aqil at 3pm. Stayed overnight and got on M5 at 6am. Reached Rawalpindi at 6pm. But I stopped for around 2 hours in Multan for breakfast and fuel and about 30 minutes at Sial Chowk for fuel. Good travel experience.

[afarooqi]

I never tried Breakfast at Hyderabad.

Pumps with executive wash room & showers are found on Sukkur Motorway where there are petrol pumps by GO+.

MTag work between Khi-Hyd, not after till Multan and Khanewal and then again till Lahore. Lhr-Isl motorway uses mtag.

[chinyoti]

You suggest to leave at 4AM. Will we find any decent place open near hyderabad at 6am?

Leave when ever you get up fresh.

Because of the motorway you don't have to worry about crossing sindh within day time.

So don't stress on leaving early. Stress on leaving fresh.

[yasirkhanpk]

Leave when ever you get up fresh.

Because of the motorway you don't have to worry about crossing sindh within day time.

So don't stress on leaving early. Stress on leaving fresh.

Totally agreed. If you are not used to waking up early then its better to wake up on your usual time fresh and calm and then start your journey. Ideally its better to start the journey as early as possible.

[pwuser160415265763]

Thanks for comprehensive response.
Can you tell me which is the nearest restroom with separate rooms for rent on Sukkur-Multan Motorway for short stay of 4-6 hours? I mean how far it is from Sukkur?

[waqar747]

I finally decided to make the trip on the grande. Left Karachi Thursday morning at 7:30 and took the national highway after crossing Hyderabad. The motorway till Hyderabad was reasonable and I was able to maintain around 110-120 with frequent slow downs to 80-100 for traffic overtaking.
I took the national highway onwards and then came to realise why it takes so long to reach Sukkur. The average speed on this stretch is hardly 70/80 kph depending on traffic due to heavy traffic frequently driving in the fast lane. There are many towns in between, eg. Qazi Ahmed crossing took 20 mins. I reached Moro in around 5.5 hours and had to take a break for children there. The royal taj restaurant was a decent place as environment, food and washrooms were good.
We left around 2 from there and in about half an hours time, got a bad traffic jam due to a 200 meter road segment being carpeted. Was stuck around an hour there in slow moving traffic and finally got going. Reached Sukkur around 4:30 and refueled from there and got on the Sukkur Multan motorway. What a relief! The motorway was almost empty and driving with cruise control at 120 meant the stress was gone. The average i got till Sukkur was around 12.5, but with the constant 120 now, the average improved to 13. The whole journey felt a bit windy and I was surprised I couldn't improve the average further. The same car had given me around 15 towards Hyderabad a few weeks back. The only difference was that it was probably less windy and I had Michelin primacy 4's on at that time. Now have almost new BG luxos exchanged from my civic as my grande will be sold after this trip and I want to keep the Michelins.
There were many rest areas in between but I stopped on the one which had 'Go' pumps marked on the board. It was pretty decent with clean washrooms and a decent Mart for tea and snacks, but at the pump itself, not the rest area block. I eventually reached Multan around 9 pm and stayed there overnight.
Next day we left from Multan and got to Lahore in 4.5 hours with a stop over at the bigger rest area. This leg was uneventful and I wasn't too tired or fatigued.
Overall a reasonable experience but my family was tired. The car performed well, no issues with AC or any other hiccup alhamdulillah. I had gotten it's oil and filter changed right before the trip.
I'll leave for Karachi at the end of the month and this time I'll stop at Sukkur. Let's see how the return trip goes.

[pwuser160415265763]

That's Great.
Is there any rest area with separate rooms for day/night stay at Sukkur-Multan Motorway while going from Karachi?

[waqar747]

Although there were many rest areas, only one of them was big and had many facilities including a Go pump with clean washrooms and showers. I didn't notice any rooms for rent but I must say I wasn't really looking.

[hassangr8]

There are rooms for stay in rest area near multan

[farooq05]

yes there are rooms available at Multan service area and i have used them they were good.. here is their advertisement.

[shahzad372]

The cell# are either not responding or received by someone with a message of wrong number.

[sajidahmed]

Is this m5 service safe and good for families for night stay?

[mehran]

I would suggest to stay overnight in Multan. Rest areas should only be used as a short stay area.

[farooq05]

yes, i have used twice going up and down and i was also with family, since its newly built so all was new inside the room with chilling AC. i really find it great option for travelers otherwise you will need to travel more than half an hour inside Multan to get a good hotel..