The India travel specialists · London
Glance of Kerala — 6 nights through Cochin, Alleppey, Kumarakom, Kovalam, Kanyakumari and Trivandrum.
Kerala occupies a thin strip down the bottom left of India, between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, and almost all of it is some shade of green. This week takes the short route through it: a morning in old Cochin, where the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Jewish traders and the British all left a building behind; a night on a houseboat in the Alleppey backwaters with your dinner cooked on board; the narrow canals at Kumarakom; and then four days on the coast at Kovalam with one long day trip to the end of the country.
You keep the same driver and the same air-conditioned car for the whole week, with a local guide joining you for the Cochin sights, so the planning is done and you can spend the week deciding between tea and a beer. Two honest warnings. It is humid here for most of the year, which is why everything grows so well, and the Kanyakumari excursion is three hours of driving in each direction, so it is a day you commit to rather than squeeze in.
One private car and driver for the whole week, plus the night on the houseboat at Alleppey.
Mattancherry's Dutch Palace has walls painted floor to ceiling with scenes from the Ramayana, and the synagogue a few streets away is floored with hand-painted Chinese tiles, no two quite alike. St Francis Church and Santa Cruz Basilica finish the morning. It is a compact walk with a guide who can tell you which empire built what.
You board at Alleppey in the afternoon and the boat moves at roughly walking pace past paddy fields that sit lower than the water. Lunch and dinner are cooked on board while you watch, and the boat ties up for the night. The frogs start at dusk and are louder than you expect.
Beyond Alleppey the channels narrow until the banks are within arm's reach, which is the part most people remember. Kumarakom sits where they open out into Vembanad, the largest lake in Kerala. The afternoon is free, and there is nothing to do but watch the fishing boats, which is the point.
Kanyakumari is the southernmost tip of the Indian mainland, where three bodies of water meet, and the crowd on the beach at sunset is half of it. Padmanabhapuram Palace on the way there is a large timber building with floors polished to a dark shine. It is a six-hour round trip in the car and a day you will talk about afterwards.
November to February is the most comfortable stretch, with March still manageable. April and May are hot and sticky, and the southwest monsoon runs roughly June to September.
Arrive Cochin
Our man meets you in the arrivals hall and sees you to the hotel, where rooms are ready from 1400. Nothing is scheduled, which after an overnight flight is the right answer.
Cochin to Alleppey
90 km / 2 hrs
A guided morning in old Cochin: the Dutch Palace at Mattancherry and its painted walls, the synagogue at the end of Jew Town, St Francis Church where Vasco da Gama was first buried, and Santa Cruz Basilica. You then drive south to Alleppey, board the houseboat and cruise into the afternoon, with lunch, dinner and the night on board.
Alleppey to Kumarakom
Breakfast on the boat, then off at the jetty and on through the narrower canals, where the banks are close enough to see what is cooking. Kumarakom sits on Vembanad Lake, the largest stretch of water in Kerala, and the rest of the day is yours to sit and look at it.
Kumarakom to Kovalam
175 km / 4 hrs
The longest transfer of the week, south along the coast with a stop for tea when you want one. Kovalam is a set of small curved beaches under a red and white lighthouse, and the afternoon is free to work out which one suits you.
Kovalam, excursion to Kanyakumari
95 km / 3 hrs each way
An early start for the tip of the country, calling at Padmanabhapuram Palace, built largely of wood and cool inside even in April, and the Suchindram temple on the way. At Kanyakumari itself you look out at Vivekananda Rock offshore and stay for sunset on the beach before the drive back.
Kovalam
A free day on the coast. Breakfast is included, the sea is warm, and the only decision is whether to move at all.
Kovalam to Trivandrum airport
17 km / 30 mins
A short run up to Trivandrum for your flight home. It is close enough that you are not giving up a morning to get there.
We price the land arrangements and your flights together, then come back with one number. No deposit is taken on the call and nothing is booked until you say so.
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No. This is a land-only price, so it covers hotels, transfers, the car and driver, the houseboat and the guiding. We quote flights separately alongside it, which usually works out better because we can price whichever airline and airport suits you rather than one fixed option.
Yes. British passport holders need an Indian visa before travelling, and most visitors apply online for an e-visa. It is your own application, but we will tell you what the itinerary needs in the way of addresses and dates. Leave yourself a few weeks rather than a few days.
A converted rice barge with a bedroom and bathroom, a shaded deck with chairs, and a crew who steer, cook and tie up for the night somewhere quiet. Lunch, dinner and breakfast are cooked on board and are included. It is air-conditioned at night on most boats; do ask us when you book if that matters to you.
We would not. The canals are working water - villages wash, fish and travel in them - and the current and boat traffic are not set up for swimmers. Save the swimming for Kovalam, where you have two full days of coast.
Both are real. Kerala is humid nearly all year and the backwaters have mosquitoes around dusk, so bring repellent, long sleeves for the evening and clothes you do not mind sweating in. December to February is the most comfortable stretch. Speak to your GP or a travel clinic about antimalarials and jabs.
Less than most India tours, but it is not nothing. The two real drives are Kumarakom to Kovalam at around four hours and the Kanyakumari day at about three hours each way. Everything else is under two hours, and it is all in a private air-conditioned car with your own driver, so you stop when you like.
Prices shown are the supplier’s published “from” price for the land arrangements only, per person on a twin-share basis, and vary by date, hotel grade and party size. International flights are quoted separately. The route map is an illustration of the order of stops, not an accurate map. Patel Travel is ATOL 74904 and IATA accredited. Tours are operated by our ground partner in India; your confirmation will state who is responsible for your booking.
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