South India with my Mom and 3 kids for 1 month

Laerke

My boyfriend and I will be in India already and then my Mom and my 3 siblings are coming for about a month (21st of October to 26th of November). My siblings are 13, 11 and 8 years old, the oldest is a girl and the two youngest boys. I’ve been to India twice before (about 5-6 months total) but my mother and siblings have never. My mom went backpacking with my boyfriend and I 2 years ago in Thailand for 2 weeks. So I feel we are some what reasonably prepared for the experience… but still it is India!

They fly into Mumbai at 00:15, they don’t really wanna see Mumbai, and I’m thinking we just need a place to chill for a couple of days and for them to get over their jet-lag. So therefore I thought of going to Murud (Murudi) to the Golden Swan beach resort www.goldenswan.com, will it be possible for us get a car/taxi to take us at that time of night? And what would the price be? I could arrange it beforehand as I’ll be there already. I’ve never done this before, always only taken trains and busses so I’m kinda clueless.
Also is the Golden Swan beach resort/Murud worth going to? Is there any other place better suiting as our chill out/get over jet-lag place?

From Murud we would then get on a train to Goa and stay there for a week or so, then we thought about visiting Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary. We have seen something online about tree top house accommodation, I think the kids would love that, but I was unable to find any prices – also is this a place that should be pre-booked? Does anybody know if it is possible to ride elephants in there?

We would also like to visit Hampi, as I think it is a lovely place The only thing I worry about is getting there, I don’t think my Mom will be too keen on an very bumpy overnight bus, and accommodation there – I’ve only ever stayed in very basic guesthouses in Hampi, is there anything slightly more up-scale? We are still on a budget though.

Then we thought about visiting Jog falls, as far as I see we should be there at the very end of the rainy season – so they would be pretty impressive right? What is the best way of visiting them, from where? It is not a place you stay overnight is it?

Originally we had thought about doing just the above, but I’m thinking that maybe we would have time to go to Kerala too. The backwaters is pretty cool, and we could rent our own boat and sleep on it, again hoping that the kids would like that – I really think my Mom would anyway. Then we could also go to Kodanand, and se the elephants get washed in the river – is it true you can help? We could stay in Cochin/Kochi for a few days and then maybe make our way to Varkala. I remember it as such a nice place, but my boyfriend thinks the beach is really not very child friendly, with big waws – what do you think?
I would then put them on a flight back to Mumbai from either Kochi or Coimbatore. Will it be easy for them to get from the domestic airport to the international airport? (From where thet’ll be flying home).

Taken into consideration that they have never been to a place like India before, and my Mom is in her late 40ties and the kids – are kids, do you guys think this is a sensible itinerary? Are we missing something great? Should we skip some of the proposed places? Should we rather go to a park in Kerala than to Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary?
They don’t wanna see a lot of temples, they would get temple-fatigue very quickly I think – Hampi will be plenty. They want beach time and fun experiences, they are very excited about going on the sleeper train. They wanna see elephants, go to markets and try Indian food.

Can you recommend hotels/guesthouses in any of the places we plan on visiting, somewhere with atmosphere or special in any way?

I know this is a LOT of questions, but I just really want my family to have a great time. And I want to be well prepared. I’ve read the “Am I in over my head” thread by barefoot4kids – great train info Steven! Some of it very useful for us too :-) As well as Dhans post and what ever else I could find on here.
So looking forward to your inputs - thanks in advance.


Places we plan on visiting:
Murud
Goa - probably Palolem
Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary
Hampi
Jog falls
Kochi – backwater cruise
Varkala

Picture of the whole family:

Attached Thumbnails

 

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madan80

The kerala itenarry will be exciting. I think if you are upto it, go from hampi to mysore. Check out the Palace and then proceed to bandipur. There is the Kabani River Lodge.Check http://www.junglelodges.com/ for more info You can try and go on the night safari, and then head to kerala.

Keep kochi as base, you can spend a day at munnar, and take a few days to chekc out Kochi's old Portuguese area. There are things to do around kochi as well. Proceed to Allepy to go on the houseboat, but i must point out, the houseboats (from what I heard) are not budget accomodation.

The Santa Cruz domestic and Sahar international airport are a little far off (as in different sides of the run way) so ideally, book flights that allow you a through check-in. This way from Kochi airport you can fly to bombay (Mumbai) and the airline (like Jet) will transfer you. Also, there are shuttles from the Domestic to the international. ( its like going from term 1/2/3 of heathrow to Terminal 4)

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vandy

Hi there, If you go to Check out forums and then to
India Travel Itinerary Advice you will see a post "around sth india with 2 kids" from agatap about half way down page 1.

You may find some info in my Reply that may help you with rgds to
kerala.

You can go to Cherai Beach(vypeen island), short ferry ride across harbour from fort cochin. I also suggest to visit Munnar for a day
or two(elephant rides) and then go to Backwaters Area.

Not sure about travelling all the way to varkala for a couple of beach days, you should have had a good dose of beach in Goa and
Cherai Beach(cochin area).

I saw another post where some pics showed a very nice looking
family friendly accom in Kotayam Backwater area, I think it is
called Lake Village.Looks really nice. I'll look it up and tell you what section it is in.yes in forums section go
to States in India and then go to Kerala section,you will see post "just back from long holiday" from jenny&ernie
have a look at their pics from cochin area and you will come across Lake Village.

Houseboats are not cheap, but you will be there before peak season really hits, you should be able to get away with 3-4 bedroom A/C O'Night cruise for Between 10 - 15000rps.If this is too much you can do Country Boat cruise during daytime hours,
4 hr cruise is ample,will take you into smaller canals where houseboats cannot go,highly reccomended.

rgds - vandy

mani

Hello Learke,

Murud is atleast 5-6 hours by road from Mumbai and although you will be able to get a tourist taxi to take you there it is not sensible to travel the distance so late at night as there are more chances of accidents on the highway at night.

Your mother & siblings will be arriving into mumbai at 00:15 hrs and will take atleast another hour or two to clear the customs immigration etc and get out of the airport. that would mean that they will be able to leave the airport only by 0200 hrs.

Murud is a beautiful beach place but not ready for foreigners i.e. food ia mainly coastal indian. continental or food to european taste will not be available. so please take that into consideration.

If you do plan to go ahed to Murud then you have two alternatives
- sleep the night at a hotel near gateway of india and then take a ferry in the moring to alibaug and then by local transport to murud.
_ sleep the night at a hotel close to the airport and leave in the morning by tourist taxi / van for murud.

If you want to chill out and get to Goa then why not proceed directly to Goa. take the JAN SHATABDI EX from Dadar station ( terminus ) at 5:30 in the morning this reaches Madgaon (goa) at 1350 hrs. you could arrange a taxi / hotel transport to pick you from the station at Goa. In Mumbai you could arrange for a taxi to take you to Mumabi airport, Pick-up your family - you could spend some time at any of the 24 hr cafe of a 5*hotel use their facility to freshen -up and then have the taxi drop you to Dadar Terminus at 5 am. this train has the Chaircar coaches which are A/C and would be comfortable. this would be like travelling by economy class on a flight. If you do decide to do this please book your tickets well in advance.

For the rest of your trip I would let the other with more experiance guide you.

On the way back from kerala - please make sure that your family's flight into Mumbai arrives atleast 4-5 hours before their scheduled departure from Mumbai. The International and domestic airports in Mumbai use the same runway but are a distance apart. also due to air traffic congestion there ia always a chance of their flight arriving late by almost an hour into mumbai. they would need to keep atleast half hour for transfer time and would need to checkin for their international flight 3 hours before their scheduled departure time. When they arrive at the domestic airport, they must not leave the airport from the main gate but ask for courtesy transfer coach - this will also be marked. To use this courtesy coach they will have to show their tickets.

all the best and enjoy your trip.
mani

dhans

Hi Laerke,

Allthough our kids are younger, you'll find tips in the links below. If you have any additional questions, do send a PM.

Hans

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Tips for trips to India with (young) children: India with kids
Stories about our travels in India: Journal

machadinha

Around south India with 2 kids , for your convenience

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Reading tips, all picked up at IndiaMike : INDAX's A Comprehensive Guide To India / Dinoj Surendran's Desi Humor / ITHVC on Culture Shock & Travel Health / JetLag Travel Guides For the Undiscerning Traveller / India Travel Links

Laerke

Thank you all very much for your replies and information!! I'm reading through it all now - and taking notes!

vacky

Hi

The advise given by Mani is the best...... as far as strategy in Bombay and Murud is concerned.

I would have suggested you the same.

an overnight in Bombay would not even cost you much .......... a double bedroom in a decent hotel will be available at around USD 30 - 40 .......... u have option of cheaper hotels though.

u can take a hotel around colaba and then take a Ferry or Catamaran in the morning for Alibag as instructed by Mani.

Going to Murud by sea will be much quicker than by road, u will save 2-3 hours by sea rather than travelling by road ....... moreover u will be more safe and secure rather than traveling by road in the night.


-VAQ