4 weeks in southern India

Hello,

I was hoping I could get some feedback on this rough itinerary with regard to 1) time allowance and 2) best places to spend more time based on my objectives.

I'll be in India for July and August. All of July I will be in an ashram in the countryside near Nashik, so for August I'd like to explore. The idea is to go from Mumbai to the southern tip and back up to fly out of Chennai. Does that sound like way too much for a month? I tend to underestimate the size of India! My objectives are to lounge on beautiful beaches, get in a backwater tour, see some cities with great atmosphere, and if possible, stop at some Buddhist temples or areas with a Tibetan population. I don't necessarily need a day-to-day itinerary but I don't want to end up too far from Chennai at the end of the month, though I haven't bought my outbound ticket yet. I'm not including Mumbai in the trip since I've already been there.

The route:

Puna (maybe a day)
Goa (several days)
somewhere nice in Kerala for a backwater tour (Kollam?)
Amma's ashram (a day)
Trivandrum (4 days, I see that Onam Festival is in late August)
...
Auroville (day trip)
Pondichery
Chennai (4 days or so)

It's a very rough plan so far, but I would really appreciate any input. Feel free to add a city that I didn't mention. Thanks!!

you could go to Mammallapuram near Chennai for beach lounging instead of Goa. It's cheaper, more convenient, and a better atmosphere. This is coming from someone who doesn't care for Goa, though.

If you're going to the southern tip you will (or should) make a stop in Kanyakumari - I haven't been but have heard it's worth the visit. If you're interested in making stops at ashrams I would skip Amma (unless you're particularly attached) because it's a bit of a hassle to get up there, not a day trip. In Kanyakumari there's a beautiful ashram I've heard about - here's some info: http://www.vkendra.org/accommodations

Up to you of course but that's what I would do if I was taking your same route. Good luck!

If you want to visit some cities with great atmosphere, don't miss Cochin, excellent place to spend a couple of days! Again, in Augest in Alappuzha there is a great event - Nehru Trophy Snake Boat Race, and there are lots of backwaters tour in Alappuzha too (but I believe it's mainly big houseboat tours). In Quilon you could take a country-boat tour through narrow channels of Kerala backwaters, visiting small villages and overlooking usual life of village people. In Kochin my friends have a full-day backwater tour - first in a big houseboat, than they move to a smaller boat and have a village tour, I don't remember the price, but it something about 800-1000 IR including transfer and good lunch.

Thanks for the replies! And thanks for the tip about Amma's, candycanegirl. May I ask why you're not a fan of Goa? I haven't been there yet.

And thanks for the advice on backwater tours. There are so many cities to stop in in Kerala -- I don't know which to choose!

They're quite close to each other, and bus and train connection in Kerala is good, so you can move from one to another any time you like I think you'll love Kerala, a great state and great people. The one problem - I think it's quite hot and humid in Augest But if you'll have some time - you could move to Munnar, a beautiful hill station in 4-5 hours of bus travel from Cochin. I believe the weather in Munnar will be a bit cooler and definetly more pleasant than in coastal area and in backwaters.

If you're into package tourism, being bothered by touts all day, eating overpriced Western food, being surrounded by tourists, getting drunk/doing drugs and partying is your cup of tea, then you will LOVE Goa.

It's not all negative - the South is definitely more relaxed, I enjoyed my time in Palolem, Benaulim and Colva. But I could only last the weekend and I was ready to get out of there. It's not a real "India" experience, felt quite silly.. many people coming are thinking of India as their personal resort. As someone living there, staying in ashrams and wanting to get more of a spiritual and relaxed experience it sounds, I'm not sure Goa is what you're exactly looking for. You can get the beach relaxing and gorgeous scenery throughout Kerala, in Kanyakumari, and definitely in Mammallapuram - without the tourist package feel.

I'd go with candycane girl there - the south of Goa has nice relaxed vibe to it and may fit in more with the sort of thing you're looking for.

weatherwise it would make more sense to start your trip in Tamil Nadu and end it in Kerala, so you can avoid some of the monsoon rains in Kerala, which are slowing down by mid/end of August.

I would take a flight Mumbai-Chennai and then travel down Tamil Nadu via Mammalapuram, Pondicherry, add some beautiful temples for example Madurai, Thanjavur, Tiruvannamalai or similar, from Madurai overnight train to Trivandrum, explore backwaters, beaches and whatever, move northwards to Cochin and flying out from there.

I would also suggest Mysore, can be a days trip.

I really appreciate these helpful replies!! I have to comment on each --

Thanks for the heads up on Goa, candaycanegirl. That does NOT sound like my cup of chai! I'll check out the south instead and then head for Kerala. Actually I love hot and humid but I will check into Munnar as well. I hadn't thought of hill stations.

The Mumbai-Chennai route is because the yoga training is near Mumbai, so I have to start from there. Thanks for the tips, venus girl!

I was interested in Mysore but it looked like it would take quite a while to get there. I didn't thenk I could make it a day trip. Will check it out though!

Again, thanks for the help, everyone.