Please provide feedback on South India itinerary

icejaguar

My husband and I are traveling to India in October for 3 weeks. I made this itinerary but would love feedback if I should add things or remove things. We are looking for a little bit of everything- wildlife, city exploring, beaches, etc Also not super touristy (although don't mind visiting some of the major tourist spots). Advice?? Thanks

Mumbai (3 nights)

overnight train to Hampi

Hampi (3 nights)

Train to GOA
Anjuna Beach (3 nights), use car and driver to explore Old Goa, spice plantations, etc

Overnight Train to Fort Cochin
Fort Cochin (2 nights)

Bus to Munnar hills (2 nights)

Bus to Periyar Tiger Reserve
Tiger Trail

Bus to Kottayam (1 night)
then backwater cruise to Alleppey (2 nights)

cab to Cochin international airport
fly to Mumbai… fly home...

icejaguar

just want to add we have never been to India before and are in our mid-20s.

machadinha

Looks pretty balanced I guess. Go for it, let us know about your experiences

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icejaguar

Thanks! Its so hard to prioritize where to go (although its a bit easier when you narrow down to south india and not north india). At first we weren't going to go to Hampi and instead spend the extra days in Varkala Beach but we have been reading great things about Hampi so decided to devote some days to the area. But the itinerary is still up in the air

machadinha

I think it looks quite alright really. Hampi is really quite something, I and many others thought and think; and one beach in India is really enough I'd say, while blasphemy to others I don't think they're all that great. Moreover, Varkala I thought was a dump already in the early 1990's, all I hear is it's become way more over-developed since. But, many here still swear by it.

Anyway, I think what you have there looks alright, and (quite refreshingly ) you don't seem to have made the mistake of wanting to jam the entire country into those three weeks, so I think you came up with a doable (and attractive!) plan yes. Other than that, anyone you ask might have their own bits & bobs to add; but again, it looks OK to me as it is.

Have fun! nb On Hampi, if you haven't already, do check this thread: Hampi: Everything you want to know. , as well as that member's website at http://www.hampi.in/ .

machadinha

nb One note on Periyar then, I've not been, but make extra sure you can do the safari in just one day like you seem to be planning. If not, see if you can take off some time from elsewhere to add here (not from Hampi though! Three days minimum there is really worth it I'd say); with these parks, it often pays to stay a bit longer to increase your chances of actually seeing any wildlife.

icejaguar

Thanks for the tip! We were planning on doing this guided hike: http://www.periyartigerreserve.org/html/tigertrail.htm Maybe we will do the 2 night/3 day trip to increase our chances to see wildlife

philip007

icejaguar, your itinary looks goos in fact I too am traveling from Mumbai to Goa then Goa to Kochi in late Nov so I would be interested in your experiences.

Your idea of hiring a car and driver for touring around Old Goa sounds good. Will you be arranging this throught your hotel when you get there ?

The train journey from Goa to Kochi is 16 hours....ouch.

Anyway good luck.

Philip

icejaguar

yes a long train ride! but you can't visit India without spending a chunk of time on a train, right?

I guess I will use whatever homestay we are at to get a car and driver? Not sure- is that the best way to get a car and driver? Maybe get one for Munnar too?

Thanks for the comments!

machadinha

You can always ask around with your guesthouse, the tourist office, some travel agents, yes. Shouldn't be a great problem.

Guesthouse/hotel personnel provided you feel somewhat comfortable with them are always a good source of information on what should be reasonable rates in any case. Of course and conversely, there exist those that will have an "attractive deal" on offer with their nephew's neighbor's cousin... Just keep your eyes open & your wits about you. When unsure, shop around some and see what different prices you hear, this will quickly give you some sense of the price of things. A trick to haggling is never look too keen on what you're after, just casually enquire, goof around some or have some tea if you want, then stroll on, you can always return later. Never let yourself be "pressurized" into a deal; there is no pressure, you're on a holiday, goddarnit!

One thing this does take is time, and patience. And a sense of humor. Oh, and btw kids,

In India, that isn't a long train ride -- it's just a train ride, period Just kidding, really; IJ, you might like this thread by Philip on it & its replies, Is a 16 hour train journey really worth the time - or a flight ?

icejaguar

good tips machadinha! yes I will discuss with husband but I'm honestly looking forward to the train experiences.

machadinha

nb A note on your entry, and if I add it all up, I think you've allowed for a couple of days in Mumbai on your exit, which I think is a good and wise thing:

This is tricky to advice on precisely, but: On a first visit, entering whatever Indian metropolis (or rather entering it by whatever metropolis you need to since you're flying in) can be pretty overwhelming. It can be hard to appreciate at first. (And then others seem to feel right at home from the beginning, so you might as well disregard this.)

It follows that it's not a good idea to want to rush around first, so take some days to acclimatize. On the other hand, you may not want to spend too much time there & get on the move to get "into" the country (and out of that metro madness).

So it's hard to say and it will differ for all of us, but I'm thinking maybe two nights upon arrival would suffice, then get going. It obviously doesn't matter all that greatly, then again on just three weeks the one day could be added elsewhere, even just to your exit visit, when you'll likely be able to appreciate the city much better. (Or to your park, for instance.)

Well, see what you make of it. Obviously your time of landing on that first day comes into play, too (as in landing at night isn't much of a day, is it).

machadinha

ps On that note, after Mumbai Hampi should be über-relaxing really,* so I think you're following the right route

* As will be much of the rest of the trip, really. It looks quite nice indeed. Of course, it may be hard to notice for lack of comparison (and it will all be likely just as exotic to you as you might want), but I could think of far more stressful destinations there. Should be a very good introduction to (a part of) the place. If the bug bites you, rest assured you will be back!

icejaguar

Thanks again mach! Unfortunately it looks like its going to be quite a hassle to get from Mumbai to Hampi (no direct trains). So now we are thinking Mumbai-Goa-Hampi-Bangalore-Kerala. The other alternative is Mumbai-Goa-Hampi-Goa-Kerala so we'll see! thanks again

machadinha

Hm. Have you looked for Hospet, which is the railhead for Hampi? See http://erail.in?T=BSR::HPT: . Note those trains run just twice a week though, indeed. And arriving at that time (20:00) you might want to consider staying the night in Hospet. Although pushing straight on to Hampi shouldn't be impossible, it's just a half hour or so by bus. I'd rather take it easy looking for a hotel at my leisure the next day though (which is exactly how I did it when I visited & arriving in Hospet in the evening -- in 1993, mind. If anything Hampi's guesthouse & backpacker restaurant scene should have exploded more now than it already kind of had then.)

Those trains take 20.5 hours barring any delays mind, to give some sense of perspective