Need Help! South India Itinerary - Dec 08

RaniK

Hi,

I am planning to come to India this December. I will be in Hyderabad with my mother. And have 6 days where I'm trying to plan a trip. I have never been to South India, so thought that may be a good option, but I am open to other ideas. I need to travel back to Hyderabad after that time.

The dates of my free time are December 22-27.

What would be a good itinerary of places to go..any must see's?

Any help would be appreciated..thank you in advance!

pmvelu

Vizag will be one good option !

Also If you could specify your interests [ Beaches / Architecture / Religious / Hills etc..] We could share more info !

Regards
Velu

libertycanyon

You will definitely have to prioritize! Here are some obvious choices within range of Hyderabad:

For beaches, Goa is the place, but lots and lots of people also love the simpler life at Gokarana, on the coast in Northern Karnataka.

For architecture and/or religion, you can't beat Hampi! I recommend renting a motor scooter and tooling the backroads near there. Also, don't miss a corricle ride down the river!

For hills, the lovely Nilgiri Hills and Western Ghats of Southern India can offer up lots of beauty: on the Tamil-side places like Ooty or Kodaikanal will satisfy every tourist; in Karnataka the beautiful Coorg region is full of coffee plantations and cozy, quiet homestays, and Kerala has tea and spices all over the hills, if you can drag yourself away from the beautiful coastlines there.

There are lots more options all over the southern states, not to mention points North of Hyderabad! As Velu said, decide how you want to spend your time (partying, quiet walks, temple tours) and/or where you like to travel and I bet someone here can find you that place in India!

snonymous

There is a lot to see in Andhra Pradesh itself. Have a look at their tourism dept website for some ideas.

http://www.aptourism.in

RaniK

HI again,

Thank you PMVelu, LibertyCanyon & Snonymous for your help so far..I will give you a little insight on what I'm looking for on the trip. We are going for a family wedding first in Hyderabad and then coming back to Hyderabad for another family function after the week I have off in between. Me and my mother were first thinking of a spa vacation, but decided against that as didn't want to get bored.

Neither of us have ever been to the south, so thought it would be a good place to see. I am looking for a mix of exploring in a few big cities to see temples/shop/ other attractions (Madras, Chennai?), seeing the backwaters (I heard Munnar nice, not sure though), spice farms and going to a hill station (Darjeeling, Ooty). Maybe some interesting excursions (wildlife..) if you recommend them.

If I could have advice on a possible itinerary with this info, that would be great. I no so little about the south, that I don't even know where to start!! Snonymous, thanks for the link for places in Andhra Pradesh..Would one of those cities be recommended over Madras or Chennai?

Also, I need advice on places to stay (looking for 4 or 5 star hotels). How are the treetop hotels? That sounds interesting!

I am in my 30's and my mom is in her mid 60's.

One last question..do you think it would be better to set up a tour or just book each place ourselves and explore that way?

Thank you again in advance for all your help..It really helps to hear advice from people who have been there!!

Rani

gouthami11

Madras, Pondicherry, Tranquebar, Thanjavur, Trichy - by car is a good option. You have picked the holidays for this trip - so everything will be full up - trains, flights and hotels.

Hyderabad - Madras by Flight and the rest by Car will be one hassle less.

Madras - more than enough 4/5 star hotels.
Pondicherry - try for the Hidesign hotel of the Sarovar Group - right on the waterfront
Tranquebar - Neemrana group has a place on the beach
Thanjavur - Only 3 star hotels available. Or try the Sterling Holiday Resorts at Swamimalai - an hour away.
Go on to Trichy and admire the temples and church and then board a flight back to Chennai.

Enjoy!

RaniK

Thanks Gouthami11 for your reply and suggestions. I was talking to my mom and we have some ideas of places we would like to see, but I'm not sure how to plan the itinerary or if I'm trying to do too much..

We can leave Dec 21 late or early Dec 22 from Hyderabad

These are the options of what we would like to see:

-Houseboat - Alleppey
-Munnar - Spice Farm
-Rameshwaram (how is this if anyone has gone, also is it possible to do a day trip or do you need to stay the night?)
-Visit a Metropolitan city (at first, I was thinking of stopping in Cochin, but have heard there isn't much to do here..any other suggestions? Would Bangalore be feasible? or is Madras a better option?)
-Varkela (my mom wants to relax, but is there anything to see here, or is it mainly a beach area?). We looked at the Leela hotel..any other good ones that you can recommend?

I had also wanted to see a hill station (ooty) but not sure if this can be done, or is it too far away.

I know I am asking for a lot for a short time (we need to be back in Hyd. late on Dec 26 or early 27th), but I am hoping to see the highlights of the South before I leave.

Any advice/suggestions would be much appreciated once again!

Thanks
Rani

pmvelu

@Rani,

For those 4 Days, May be you need to cut short atleast Rameswaram and Ooty [Which are too far from the other places your mom is interested]..

Option 1 :-

May be :-

Dec 22:-
From Hyderabad , get a Flight to Cochin.

Try out Houseboat in Alleppey [ 11 am to 11 am kind of normally for this houseboat stays ..]

Dec 23:-

Get a Cab From Alleppey to Munnar and in Munnar you could stay for 2 nights, Followed by 1 night in Thekkady [ These 2 places are more than ooty put together ]

Get a flight Back to Hyderabad from Cochin !


Option 2:-

Get flight from hyderabad to Trivandrum
Stay in Varkala for a night
Move to Alleppey and have 1 night experience in houseboat
Move to Cochin and explore Cochin and surroundings for 2 Days
Get flight back to hyderabad from Cochin Airport


Hope this helps!
Velu

santos_g15

hey u need time to do this.in my humble opinion u will tire yourself by travelling to these places even by train ac class.(i have done the mistake) and you will lose ur days in travel seeing not much .cover a single state .either kerala or karnataka or tamilnadu or andhrapradesh .i would give preference in same order i have mentioned.
let me suggest an itenary
day1:travel hyd-kochi by air .if its too expensive travel to chennai by train and then get connection train to ernakulam.(kochi).travel to munnar by car 4 hrs.
day2:munnar is a hill station ,easly you can engage yourself for couple of days.
day3:travel to thekkady -visit periyar wildlife sanctuary.take a boat ride or a 3 hr trek through the forest.
day4:travel to allepey-houseboat.
day 5 :varkala or kovalam (beach)
day6:get to trivandrum to get connection to hyderabad.

have happy and safe trip,
Santhosh