Kerala Tamil Nadu Itinerary

isobella

Hi ! We (myself, husband, my parents and grandmother) are going to be travelling around Kerala and Tamil Nadu for 2 weeks end of Dec/Jan. So far, I have got the following itinerary :
Arrive Bangalore + 1 day
Flight to Cochin
Cochin ( 2 nts) - Brunton's Boatyard
Kumarakoram ( 2 nts) - Coconut Lagoon
Car to Trivandrum area
Kovallam area (3 nts) - Lagoona Davina
Car or Train to Kanyakumari and 2 nights there
Train to Madurai ( 2 nts)

From there we were planning on going to Chennai and perhaps a day trip to Mammallapuram or Pondicherry, back to Chennai and then to Bangalore, but having second thoughts.

Perhaps Madurai to Ooty to Mysore to Bangalore might be better. How will we do that? Are there trains? We don't want to move around too much as there are elderly folk amongst us in the group. Any suggestion? Only constraint is that flights out of India are from Bangalore. Many thanks!!

Aparajith

Seems there are lot of backwater in you Itinerary. If that is what you love then it is fine. But it would be a nice idea to take the Madurai-Ooty-Mysore angle. Though this circuit is better covered by road (read private car) rather than train.

vandy

hi there,I agree with post number 2, from madurai it should not be a problem
to coimbatore, and then onto ooty- maybe by tourist train,blue mountain
railway,from metapalyum to ooty,from ooty the back way to mysore and onto
bangalore,whilst in trivandrum enquire about SHAMA deluxe volvo buses,good
private bus company going to many areas. happy and safe travelling,
reccommended hotel in ooty is sullivan court hotel.

rgds, paul vandy

isobella

Thanks for the suggestions. I like the Ooty- Mysore idea too as it will be a change and will go for that! Thanks for the hotel tips too.

Best Wishes

Isobella

john.sw

The Ooty to Mysore road takes you through Madamulai Wildlife Sancturay - It is a great drive!

You may also consider stopping at Masinagudi for the night. It is only 1 hour outside Ooty, but there are two super places to stay. One is Bamboo Banks, and the other is Jungle Retreat.

Brunton Boatyard is a good hotel - look out for the dolphins as you sit on your balcony, but maybe avoid the restaurant. The food is good, but it is massively overpriced, which may leave a nasty taste in your mouth!

In my opinion, the best restaurant in Kochi is at the Grand Hotel in MG Road, Ernakulam.

Coconut Lagoon is paradise! You are in for a treat if you dine in the main restaurant.

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divadino

I spent 3 weeks in Tamil Nadu and Kerala last year. I had actually planned to start in Chennai and make my way down the coast of Tamil Nadu and then across to Thanjavur, Trichy, Madurai and then up into the Periyar NP and to the tea plantations nearby (amazing!), before hitting Cochin and going down the east coast as far as Kanniakumari. Unfortunately I flew into Chennai the day after the Tsunami hit and decided to head inland straight away for obvious reasons. It all worked out though and I ended up spending a few extra days chilling in Varkala (a bit touristy for me) - should have maybe done a bit more time in the Ayurvedic retreat instead near Cochin.

Check out my travelogue if it helps to see the pace of the trip - we had a driver for part of it.

Dinah

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