State of Kerala Travel Forum

Hi
We will be arriving in Cochin by cruise ship docking at 10am. We would like to do a boat trip on the backwaters. Are there any tour operators in Cochin that do a short trip for a few hours?

“ Itinery help ”
Oct 18, 2009, 1:42 PM
hi,

Please can you experts out there help me with my itinery. I am really struggling and would be very grateful if anybody can help me. i do not mind how critical people are of my plan. here is my first attempt


Depart Manchester 8/1/10 and arrive in Trivandum. Plan to stay 3 nights to see main sites and recover from flight


Then bus to Kollam

Visit Monroe Island.

Get ferry from Kollam to Alleppy which has three stops

Stay 1 day in Alleppy to see site


From Alleppy to Kumily


In Kumily for walking and wildlif


from Kumily to Cochi

Stay in Cochi 5-6 day


From Cochi to Kannur


To see Theyyattam




Then train to Trivandum will stay in cochin overnight. Then off to beach for approx 5 days


We fly back to Manchester on 1/2/10

Please can anybody help.

Thank you.

Christine.

Will be going to Kochi for a week with my kids of Indian origin, any good suggestion for nice hotel, clean and wat don't miss in kochi and nearby areas. Also a traditional Ayurveda massage place.

Any good place to eat ?

Thanks

Due to a chnage in plans we are now going to Kerala for 15 days in December- flights are booked! We have a good idea of what we want to do/see, but would really appreciate any advice on the following:
1. Had anyone stayed at the Fort House hotel in Kochi (Cochin)? Would you recommend? Old wing or new wing?
2. We want to spend 1 or 2 nights on a houseboat (preferebaly with pick up and return, by car, to Kochi/Cochin) Can anyone recommend a company they have been with? Iea of cost?
3. Public transport - any ideas how to prebook (is this necessary anyway?)bus from Cochin to Munnar. Munnar to (Kumily) Periyar. Periyar to Kotttayam. Do the VOLVO buses do these routes (seem to be generally recommended)- can they be booked online. If not, can tickets be bought in advance from Kochi? Where?
4. Any recommendations on places to stay in Munnar and Varkala(or are Edava or Odayam preferable to Varkala???) Would like to stay in a homestay for part of the trip- any that you would recommend in these places??

Finally - are anti-malarials advisable?
Any advice much appreciated.

Rose

PS We travelled to Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with Intrepid Travel last year- our only ever group trip. We want to visit Kerala independently. We are fairly well travelled- China, Vietnam, etc independently- but did feel we would have struggled in Northern India (esp. around public transport which we prefer to private car). Are we being too ambitious. Is Kerala generally easier to negotiate than Northern India???

Hi i m planning to come kerala for my honeymoon.

Arrival Date : at Trivandrum on @ 19.00 Hrs on 23rd November,09.
Departure Date : from Calicut on 6th December,09 @ 13.00 Hrs.

My proposed itinerary is as follows

Day 1: 23/11: Evening reach in Trivandrum - go to Kovalam,
Day 2: 24/11: Visit Kanya kumari, Wax musueum
Day 3: 25/11: Leave for alleppy after sight seeing in kovalam stay @ Pagoda resort
Day 4: 26/11: Alleppy, Cruise ride / House boat stay
Day 5: 27/11: Allpey to Thekkady , relax
Day 6: 28/11: Thekkady sight visit & elephant ride
Day 7: 29/11: Thekkady to Munnar, relax @ munnar
Day 8: 30/11: Munnar sight visit
Day 9: 01/12: Munnar to Cochin (halting @ cochin to break long journey)
Day10:02/12: Cohin to Thrissur (want to cover VAZACHAL / Aithrampalli)relax
Day11:03/12: Thrissur to Vythiri Resort
Day12:04/12: Vythiri Resort sight visit
Day13:05/12: Vythiri Resort , relax
Day14:06/12: Vythiri to Calicut & Departure for Mumbai.


Is this plan okay? do i need to make changes?
Can u suggest any places to include / cover or drop anything from the above list.

I am strict Jain (does not eat onion, potatoe, garlic etc.)
Also suggest gujarati / north indian reataurants at these places.

Hello all, another weather question...

going to be in Kerala from 22nd dec onwards... can anyone tell me if the weather is (generally!) okay at this time of the year in the Varakala area as i know Tamil Nadu is pretty wet then?

Many thanks for any info :)

I have applied for Yoga teacher training at Tulasidalam school of yoga pada for coming December.Its my first travel to Kerala.How is the weather in Dec? Which are the places I can travel in Kerala near Chegannur where the ashram is situated.

Hello travelers,

My wife and myself arrive in Trivandrum on September 4th, 2009. After jet lag is over :) we will be searching for a furnished apartment to rent for 2-4 months. ANY, and I mean Any comments, tips, or general help you can offer would be much appreciated, and I thank you in advance for your time. Happy travels to you all,

Sincerely,

Dave and Leela from Portland, Oregon, USA

Hi VT Memebers,

Me and my wife will be travelling to Kerala from 6th sep, will be starting from bangalore would need a suggestion how shud we plan our trip as we wnt to cover kovalam, allepey an munnar. We hve from 6th need to cum bak by 12th pf sep.

Please help we are totally confused were to strt and were to end.

Cheers

hari om dear all

i m going to spend one week in kerala, last week of august and i m searching for hotel guest house on the beach

any suggestion?

We are travelling for 10 days in Kerala from Aug 14 to 23. We have received quotes for a car/driver rental from several companies and the cheapest is from KeralaTravel.com which is offering an AC Indica with driver for Rs11,000 + tax (total Rs11,284) for the full 10 days (1500km included and Rs7/km for anything higher). This seems like a good rate compared to others. However, we have not travelled much in India and I am not familiar with this company. Has anyone used this company or know of them and could share experiences on whether they are reliable? My concern is that the driver simply does not show up!

Many thanks in advance for help.

Hi im going to be Kerala from the 17th Dec to the 25th. I plan to fly into Trivandum and out from Cochin

Can anyone suggest places i should go to in such a short spacce of time. My initial plan is 5 days in Kovalam and 3 days in cochin, but would be grateful if anyone had better sugestion.

Also where would be the best place to visit the backwaters from.

Many thanks

We are in touch with an agent called Benny Kurian from a travel agency called keralawildlife.com http://www.keralawildlife.com/. He has provided some quotes on a car/driver for us.

Since we only came across this company via internet we're trying to assess if they're going to work well. Has anyone used this company or are familiar with them? Would appreciate any insights as to whether they are reliable or not, as their car quote is very competitive.

Thanks Chitra

presently i am in mysore i am thinking of visiying munnar alleppy kochi and ooty and kodaikanal plz give advices or suggestions

I am planning to visit Munnar, Kerala from 24th August to 29th August, 09. How will be the whether, as per histry, during that period ? How will rain during that period ? Will this time be correct and fomfortable for visit to Munnar ?
Best Regards.
Thanks.
BBP

Can you give me a list of Affordable Tour Packages in Kerala...
i have researched and got many good opinions about OstrichTours.com , please help me more...

Freddy

hello
anyone has information of where to go for a day and spend the time
with elephants, a ride around, a bath with elephants, a typical
village ....

i dont even know if such place exists, i am not looking for something
very tourist, any ideas?

thanks

We are a family of 2 adults and 2 kids (ages 9 and 6) planning to travel around Kerala in mid Aug (Aug 15 to 23). We are familiar with India but have not travelled as a young family. Would very much appreciate help with some key things:

1. Weather: my understanding is by mid Aug, the monsoon in Kerala should be tailing off (maybe an hour of rain/day rather than continual). Is that accurate? We were hoping to go into the Western Ghats, Munnar, etc.

2. Car/Driver: we were planning to take a train from Bangalore to North Kerala (maybe Wayanad area) and then hire a car with driver from there. Would anyone have any good recommendations of drivers either from there or other major towns in mid to Northern Kerala?

3. Itinerary: we love hiking, wildlife and outdoors (kids are very hardy!), but would like to see some of the notable temples also.

If we start in Kalpetta in Wayanad, we were planning the following:
- 3 days in Wayanad to see the Wildlife Sanctuary, Edukkal Caves, Pookot Lake, Neelimala Hills.
- 1 day in Thrissur to see Guruvayur and Vadukkunathan Temple
- 1 day in Kottyama, cruising the backwaters
- 2 days in Thekuddy seeing Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
- 1 day in Munnar hiking/trekking.

(a) What do you think of this itinerary? Is it too ambitious?

(b) How similar are the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary? Are they different enough to need to visit both? How about the Bandipur/Mumumulai Sanctuaries in comparison?

4. When you hire a car/driver, do you need to finish at the same place as you start? for instance, in the above itinerary, we start in Kalpetta and finish in Munnar. Is that acceptable?

5. Any other suggestions given the above?

Many thanks in advance for any help.

Hi I'd like to rent a boat for a week for just one person next Feb. in Kerala. Can I get a smaller boat than the ones I'm seeing in the ads? maybe one cabin and just bone guide. thanks john

Hi,

Im thinking of a 14 night holiday to Kerala (specifice destination undecided), generally whats the nightlife like? Are there many local markets???

visiting munnar is my dream but being a doctor with private practice I can never manage free time during nov to feb.Plz suggest which time of year from remaing months would be best n minimum how many days do I need to visit imp places in kerala apart from munnar.I am an outdoor person n will surely hate to waste time indoors caught in rain. Also I would like to travel without prepaid packages as I wish my schedule to be flexible.plz give tips on this.
Thank u!

Hi,

I planned to visit munnar with my wife on july 10th.We will come to cochin by flight and stay in cochin for 1 day.Next day we will go to munnar by car and stay there for 2 days.On 13th we will proceed to alleppey and stay there in house boat for 1 day.On 14th we will reach cochin airport.

I came to know that july is rainy season in munnar.I already booked tickets for my travel.Also paid for the package.Please let me know How it will be in munnar during my trip..We will have a car from day 1 to day 4 with us during our trip.

Please reply me as soon as possible..I'm much worried about my trip :(

I am planning to visit Munnar & Thekkady between July 25 -30. Can any one advise whther this is right time to go? The resort guys explained that the rainy season will be over by this time.

Will it rain a lot in July end?

Hi,
I am planning to visit Munnar with my wife on my Fist wedding Anniversary in 2nd week of July for 4 days frmo Bangalore. Main Moto is to relax & enjoy not to visit many places.
I am thinking to reach Cochin in the morning by Train & from there take package tour to avoid tiring overnight bus journey. 2 night stay in munnar & one in House boat.

Can you please help me answering my following query.

1. Is it the good time to visit Munnar in July.
2. is my plan is correct or it can be changed in better way for 4 days munnar tour.
1st Day by evening we will reach Munnar. morning we will reach Cochin & then from thr Munnar. Night stay in Munnar.
2nd Day Munnar site seeing & night stay in munnar.
3rd Day leave to allapey for House boat & night stay in House Boat.
4th Day Reach Cochin & catch night Train to Bangalore.

3. Will 2 nights & one day will be enough to Visit Munnar or do i need to extend my tour one one more day.

4. Will it be good to go thru Travel agent or book the resort & taxi from own.
5. Any idea about Blackberry hill resort or any other better 3 star resort. Mahindra club is beyon our budget.

6. One Travel agent is asking for 18200 Rs for my trip including accommodation with breakfast, all meals in the houseboat and ac car for Balckberry Hills. Is it worth to pay for this 4 days trip.

Thanks in Advance,
Ravi

I am visiting Thiruvananthapuram for one week from Monday next, and I would like to know what night life there is there to attend.

Ideally I would like to visit Clubs, Pubs to hear Music and perhaps even meet some people, particularly the Ladies

Any suggestions would be much appreciated

Regards

Daniel

hi
what is the price, aproximately, for 1 day?
and spending the night in boat?
is it easy to book when you arrive or best to book in advance?
the period is august
any other info will be appreciated
thank you

hi
anyone can suggest a reliable place in Kerala for a massage?
thank you

im thinking of visiting munnar for a week in november,as i would probs be flying in to cochin,can anyone give me an idea of the price,and length of time (to get to munnAR) of an air con taxi for wife and i and suitcases from cochin to munnar,AND ANY OTHER ADVICE,THANKS

hi,my wife and i plan on travelling to kerala in november for two weeks,probs flying into cochin,and would like to stay in a hill station area ,followed by a week at the beach before flying back to uk.please can anyone please advise !.im very open to suggestions.we are a 47/48 years old thanks

Hi,
my girl friend and I are going to Kerala in November, been told its quieter than Goa, with no bars, I am not a night clubber but do like to sit and have a few beers and eat out making that my night.
I would very much prefer to go to Kerala than Goa, and just chill out in some beach shack and have a few beers with some thing to eat, if this is the case please advise which shacks or restaruants to go to, many thanks Steve.