Mumbai to Cochin in 18 days?

vstx

Im planning a trip in December (probably 2nd week)and will stay for about 18 days to maybe 21 days. Im 26, male, first time traveling alone. I have only been to one other country (Philippines) before. I really want to focus my trip in the southern part of India. I dont have any concrete plans yet but so far just trying research and plan where to go. Here's what i came up with as far as places to see.

Arrive in Mumbai (2 days) to Aurangabad (3 days) to Bijapur (3 days) to Hampi (3 days)to Goa (3 days) to Cochin (4 days). Leave from Cochin to LAX.

My budget for the trip is around $35 to $50 for a day. My preferred mode of transportation are trains. I dont mind traveling in the daytime and i am very flexible with my schedule. I just want to basically ask for opinions on whether i should include(Kerala?)/remove a place i had listed on my list, go to less places and stay in one place longer, or any other suggestions. I feel like a sponge just trying to absorb all these wealth of information from this site. Great job guys!!!

snonymous

Firstly, December especially the latter half upto mid Jan is peak season as the weather is very pleasant and Christmas / New Year vacation time, so please book early be it trains, hotels, cars, flights, whatever. If you are booking this early you may well get cheap domestic flights although undoubtedly trains are cheaper. If you want to check flights look at makemytrip.com etc.

www.indianrail.gov.in will give you all the info about trains, routes, bookings etc.

2 days is more than enough for Mumbai, you will get ample info about what to see on the Mumbai forum of this site. From Mumbai to Aurangabad by the Tapovan express [leaves around 6am] is 6hrs, there are also night trains in which you can book in AC Sleeper class. Since you are going all the way to Aurangabad, extend by a day and see the Lonar meteoric crater – 5hrs drive away, it’s the 2nd largest of its type in the world.
There is an MTDC hotel on the rim of the crater, and MTDC hotels near the Ajanta caves: look at maharashtratourism.gov.in for more details. You will get recommended cheaper places I am sure, if you check these forums.

In Bijapur a whole day or 2 max is more than enough. We stayed at the Karnataka Tourist Dept hotel Mayura which was very clean [but basic], modestly priced and served really excellent meals, which is why I remember it so vividly !! . http://www.karnatakatourism.com/kstdc/hotels.html
You can hire a local guide to show you all the important sights.

2 – 3 whole days in Hampi is fine, again we stayed at the Mayura Hotel near the Tungabhadra reservoir at Hospet, again very good food, modestly priced and clean. We did a whole day tour from the Karnataka Tourist Dept which was comprehensive and interesting, but you can also hire a local guide for an individual tour for a modest fee. We did the Hampi Bijapur run by hired car as part of a 2 week trip from Mumbai so I cant help you about trains although Im sure you will get info from others on this forum and from the indianrail site.

3-4 days is good for Goa, plenty of good info on the Goa forum on this site.

If you could spend 5-6 days in Kerala there is so much more you could encompass in your trip. Cochin – the Fort Cochin / Mattanchery heritage area can be explored in a day. If you want more beaches, you could take a 5min ferry boat ride across to Vypeen island and an auto rickshaw ride from there to Cherai beach. The Cochin harbour cruise is also nice, look out for the omnipresent dolphins. Kerala tourism depts.. KTDC runs half day backwater tours which you may be interested in: check details at:
ktdc.com
keralatourism.org
If you are willing to spend some more time, you could also visit the Periyar tiger sanctuary at Thekkady periyartigerreserve.org 5hrs drive from Ernakulam, or the Allapuzha / Kumarakom backwaters area not far from Cochin.
You will get plenty of suggestions for budget hotels on the forums at India Mike, and you have plenty of time to sift through all the info you will surely get.

Hope this helps.

vstx

thanks snonymous. I really appreciate all the great info especially the places to stay! (i would definitely consider those) Im planning on booking early, i just want to be able to have some sort of plan on where to go.

snonymous

I think your choice of destinations is good.

Tip: Once you reach Aurangabad, you will find literally hundreds of tour operators flogging you Ajanta / Ellora / Lonar tours at a reasonable price. I havent been recently so I cant recommend any in particular but if I come across any links I will forward them to you. Or you can also hire a pvt car with driver for the circuit, which is not that expensive - estimate INR 1500 per day approx.

You can do a search on this site, and Im sure other members will also contribute their recommendations.