Choosing your moving date
Two festivals matter on this route. Navratri, in the autumn, fills both cities with garba late into the night for nine nights, and Uttarayan in January brings kite flyers onto every terrace and crowds into the streets. Moving a few days either side of these makes parking, loading and finding a crew far easier.
Saurashtra and Ahmedabad are both very hot from about April to June, so a summer move needs a dawn start. November to February, outside the festivals, is usually the most comfortable window.
Leaving Rajkot
Give the mover your exact address. A home in Rajkot's older bazaar area may need a smaller vehicle and an early start, while a society or tower along Kalawad Road, Raiya Road or the 150 Feet Ring Road needs notice, a register entry and lift timings. Ask the society office a week ahead.
Older Rajkot homes often hold heavy wooden furniture, swings and steel cupboards. List them on the quote, and decide early whether each will fit the new Ahmedabad home.
On NH 47
The road east runs across the flat Saurashtra plains through towns such as Chotila and Limbdi before reaching Ahmedabad's ring road. It's a busy freight route, so the drive isn't empty, but at around 218 km it's short enough that goods usually reach Ahmedabad the morning after dispatch, and sometimes the same day.
Ask whether your goods travel alone or in a shared truck, and agree the arrival time in writing so it fits your Ahmedabad building's allowed hours.
Into Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad's newer towers in areas such as Bopal, South Bopal, Shela, Gota and along SG Highway usually ask for notice, permitted hours and a lift booking. The old walled city's pols have narrow lanes where a truck can't reach most doors, and the crew may need a smaller vehicle or a carry. Tell the mover which part of the city you're moving to.
Many western suburbs are still growing, so check the shops, schools and commute near the new home before the move.
Business and family moves
Many Rajkot families run engineering, trading or manufacturing firms, and a move to Ahmedabad sometimes means moving part of a business too. Keep business stock, samples and office equipment on a separate list with their own paperwork, rather than mixing them with household goods, and check whether the risk coverage includes business goods.
Machinery and production equipment need specialist handling and aren't part of a household move.
Life in a bigger city
Gujarati is the main language in both cities, so the change is mostly one of scale. Ahmedabad is much bigger and busier, with heavier traffic on SG Highway and the ring road at peak hours, and a metro that now connects parts of the city. Check the commute to work and school from the new home before signing a lease.
Gujarat is a dry state, as you'll know from Rajkot, so nothing changes there.
Settling in
Register with your society for parking and visitors on the first day, and find out how water, gas and power backup work. Plan cooling for at least one room if you arrive in summer, and book internet early. Update your bank, employer and delivery apps with the new address; our guide to society NOCs and lift bookings covers what many Ahmedabad societies ask for.