Bangalore to Nainital With a Dog
Roughly 2650km by road, which is around 36 hours of driving. Almost nobody does this by car with a dog. Train or plane is the sensible route.
Covers the outbound and the run home. There is no separate Nainital to Bangalore page because it would say the same thing.
Do not drive this one
2650km each way puts this beyond a sensible road trip with an animal. The train is slower per hour and far quicker in usable holiday. Nainital is served by Kathgodam, about an hour and a half below, well connected to Delhi.
Leaving Bangalore
Nainital lies due north of Bangalore, roughly 2650km by road. Bangalore's exits clear faster than Delhi's or Mumbai's, but the ORR still costs you forty minutes at the wrong hour. Head out before 7am and the first hour is easy. Sunday evening returns are the reliably painful part.
Where to break this journey
Driving it is only sensible as a multi day trip, and these are the natural places to end each day.
- Nashik , vineyard in Maharashtra, around 48% of the way
- Igatpuri , hill in Maharashtra, around 47% of the way
- Mahabaleshwar , hill in Maharashtra, around 38% of the way
Of the 57 destinations we cover, Nainital is the 35th closest to Bangalore.
Closer from Bangalore, if this is further than you wanted
- Bangalore to Tarkarli , about 13 hours, beach in Maharashtra
- Bangalore to Goa , about 12 hours, beach in Goa
- Bangalore to Varkala , about 12 hours, beach in Kerala
Nainital in one paragraph
The lakeside promenade gets extremely crowded in season, which is hard on nervous dogs. Higher areas around the town are quieter and better for walks.
The full Nainital guide sets out the terrain, the restrictions and the hazards worth knowing before you arrive.
Veterinary access at the far end
Veterinary care available in Nainital and Haldwani, roughly an hour below.
Check it against your own vet in Bangalore too, because a call from someone who knows the dog's history helps a stranger treat it. Emergency vets by city.
Timing it from Bangalore
The kindest large city climate in India for a dog, which is why thick coated breeds cope here in a way they do not elsewhere. Monsoon brings the usual paw and skin problems.
Two monsoons rather than one, so damp related problems run longer than most cities.
Set that against Nainital, where the advice is to go march to june, september to november and avoid peak summer holidays. The overlap between those two windows is your actual travel season, and it is usually narrower than either one suggests on its own.
Doing this journey with your dog
At around 36 hours of driving this is two days each way, which is the argument for the train. Secure the dog properly. A crate strapped down or a harness clipped to a seat belt point, never loose on a lap or hanging out of a window. In a sudden brake an unrestrained dog becomes a projectile, and over 36 hours the odds of one sudden brake on an Indian highway are close to certain. On a run this long they will settle far better in a defined space.
Our breed climate checker scores how your breed copes with the conditions at Nainital, and the travel hub has the other 56 destinations if this one turns out to be the wrong fit.
Questions people ask
How far is Nainital from Bangalore?
Roughly 2650km by road, due north of Bangalore, which is around 36 hours of driving. At that distance almost nobody drives it with a dog, and the figure is an estimate rather than a looked-up number.
Should I fly or take the train from Bangalore to Nainital?
Depends entirely on size. Under about 7kg and the cabin is realistic, which makes flying to Nainital the sensible choice. Above that you are looking at the hold, and at that point the train from Bangalore is both cheaper and kinder.
Can I drive from Bangalore to Nainital with a dog if I want to?
You can, over two or three days. Nashik, Igatpuri, Mahabaleshwar sit broadly along the corridor and make sensible overnight stops.
What is the best time to visit Nainital with a dog?
March to June, September to November. Avoid peak summer holidays, because very heavy crowds.
Do I need to book pet friendly stays in Nainital ahead?
Yes, and confirm by phone rather than trusting a listing. Properties marked pet friendly frequently turn out to mean small dogs only, or specific rooms, or an undisclosed fee. Get the size limit in writing.
What should I pack for Bangalore to Nainital?
Water and a collapsible bowl, their own food rather than a new one, the physical vaccination card, any medication, a spare lead, poo bags and an old towel. The vaccination card is the item people leave behind and then need.
The drive time is a model output rather than a measurement, tuned against 56 routes we have real numbers for. Use it to plan the shape of the trip and a live map for the day itself.
Make this a real plan
The planner takes your dog's size, age and travel tolerance into account and builds the schedule around it.
Use the plannerMore on Nainital: the full destination guide.