So Little Time...1.5 weeks in south, need advice

dharma-jim · Oct 16th, 2009, 08:49

Family of 5 traveling in South India, 2 adults 3 teens (19,17,15) want to see and do it all, of course. Fairly adventurous although fond of indoor plumbing...Only the dad has been to India before. Trains can be mixed with flying for speed; our budget is flexible.

We'll be in Goa for a few days then leaving Wednesday December 23 after the flea market. Then have 10 days before we fly out of Mumbai midnight January 2.
Places of interest:
Hampi
Auroville(Pondicherry)
Mysore
Madurai
Cochin/Backwater

So, one idea is to skip Hampi,
fly to Chennai,
train to Pondicherry - 2to3 days
train to Madurai - 2 days
train to either Kerala and skip Mysore - 2to3 days
fly to Mumbai to connect with flight home
or
train to Mysore and skip Kerala

Advice greatly appreciated. Also to book all this, 5 tickets with each leg, should we use a domestic India travel agent and if so any names of agents would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

DJ

Hal · Oct 16th, 2009, 10:16

My choice would be Hampi then Kerala.
Hampi is not to be missed.

ribhu95 · Oct 16th, 2009, 10:42

Dharma-jim,

If you can also indicate your interest in order of historical places, spiritual / religious places, beaches, backwaters,...forum members would be able to pitch in better.

Two broad themes I see are :

Hampi - Mysore - Kerala or

Chennai - Pondy - Madurai - Kerala...

Depending on your choice you should choose one of these options and fine tune your itinerary.

Welcome aboard.

ribhu

vonkla · Oct 16th, 2009, 17:26

It may still be to much but have a look at this

Train Goa Hospet

Train Hospet to Bangalore and then Mysore
Train Mysore to Madurai
Train Madurai to Cochin

To find train have a further look at http://erail.in/

For booking trains see this thread How to book train tickets online - consolidated advice

tittooraju · Oct 16th, 2009, 17:58

I would second the idea that hampi, mysore, kerala..
It depends on your interest..
How about flying in to bangalore and then moving to hampi, mysore by train and then flying to cochin..

dharma-jim · Oct 17th, 2009, 01:05

Wonderful input. I am truly heartened that so many people (what we used to call strangers...) are willing to advise us. Thanks.

This a buffet trip, a little sample of everything.
Our general interests are:
more to ordinary India rather than just tourist areas, hence places like Madurai or Mysore,
more rural than big city, hence backwater,
would love a visit to an Ashram
also I read about family stays which sounds much better than the isolation of tourist hotels.
Beach and typical vacation are not important, this trip is about experience and exposure.
Some keywords from the kids are: monkeys, sports, meditation/yoga, sadhus, other teens, thali and dosas...

Oct 16th, 2009, 08:49	#1
dharma-jim Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 6	So Little Time...1.5 weeks in south, need advice Family of 5 traveling in South India, 2 adults 3 teens (19,17,15) want to see and do it all, of course. Fairly adventurous although fond of indoor plumbing...Only the dad has been to India before. Trains can be mixed with flying for speed; our budget is flexible. We'll be in Goa for a few days then leaving Wednesday December 23 after the flea market. Then have 10 days before we fly out of Mumbai midnight January 2. Places of interest: Hampi Auroville(Pondicherry) Mysore Madurai Cochin/Backwater So, one idea is to skip Hampi, fly to Chennai, train to Pondicherry - 2to3 days train to Madurai - 2 days train to either Kerala and skip Mysore - 2to3 days fly to Mumbai to connect with flight home or train to Mysore and skip Kerala Advice greatly appreciated. Also to book all this, 5 tickets with each leg, should we use a domestic India travel agent and if so any names of agents would be appreciated. Many thanks, DJ

Oct 16th, 2009, 17:26	#4
vonkla Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Netherlands Posts: 558	It may still be to much but have a look at this Train Goa Hospet Train Hospet to Bangalore and then Mysore Train Mysore to Madurai Train Madurai to Cochin To find train have a further look at http://erail.in/ For booking trains see this thread How to book train tickets online - consolidated advice __________________ . See our travel journals Mumbai-Dehli in three months; From Kochi to Delhi

Oct 16th, 2009, 17:58	#5
tittooraju 20LEGEND Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Home sweet home.. "Kerala" Back from a journey of a lifetime.. Posts: 149	I would second the idea that hampi, mysore, kerala.. It depends on your interest.. How about flying in to bangalore and then moving to hampi, mysore by train and then flying to cochin.. __________________ Ente keralam ethra sundaram.. www.sarathkumar.blog.com

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Oct 16th, 2009, 10:16	#2
Hal . . . _ _ _ . . . Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Toronto Posts: 2,302	My choice would be Hampi then Kerala. Hampi is not to be missed.

Oct 16th, 2009, 10:42	#3
ribhu95 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 264	Dharma-jim, If you can also indicate your interest in order of historical places, spiritual / religious places, beaches, backwaters,...forum members would be able to pitch in better. Two broad themes I see are : Hampi - Mysore - Kerala or Chennai - Pondy - Madurai - Kerala... Depending on your choice you should choose one of these options and fine tune your itinerary. Welcome aboard. ribhu

Oct 17th, 2009, 01:05	#6
dharma-jim Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 6	Wonderful input. I am truly heartened that so many people (what we used to call strangers...) are willing to advise us. Thanks. This a buffet trip, a little sample of everything. Our general interests are: more to ordinary India rather than just tourist areas, hence places like Madurai or Mysore, more rural than big city, hence backwater, would love a visit to an Ashram also I read about family stays which sounds much better than the isolation of tourist hotels. Beach and typical vacation are not important, this trip is about experience and exposure. Some keywords from the kids are: monkeys, sports, meditation/yoga, sadhus, other teens, thali and dosas...