Kerala

omnipresence

I have been doing a lot of reading on Indiamike about the backwaters but still have questions. Maybe someone will be kind enough to help.

I am planning on flying in from Mumbai to Cochin and then heading straight from the airport to either the Coconut Lagoon or the Kumarakom Lake Resort - any advice on which one is better? Also how long is the ride from cochin to one of these places?

Another alternative is to take a houseboat from Alleppey to Kumarakom overnight and then stay at Kumarakom the whole day and that night before heading back to Cochin.

Any advice on how to make my 2-3 days in Kerala memorable will be much appreciated.

citybell

From cochin either you can take a train or a bus or drive down to Allepey.

If you go to Alleppey, you have more choices of house boats..you can get both that are owned by KSRTC and private companies. Also you cna decided as to number of nights or days you wish to spend in the house boat.The one in which we travelled took us from Alleppey to Kumarakom.After spening one night the following late afternoon we took a speed boat to Cochin.

2-3 days are in too short to spend in Kerala.You need atleast a
week. If you have time suggest you to visit Munnar and /or Thekkady besides visiting Cochin.

have a nice trip to kerala.

dhans

As you don't have a lot of time: if you need help in Kerala contact jenny. She has a lovely guesthouse and runs a small travel company. Highly recommended.

Hans

Her web site is www.cochinkerala.com

Email: fourens@eth.net

Indiamike:
http://www.indiamike.com/reviews/sho.../cat/21/page/1

Tel 0484 2394989 or 0484 2436280
Mobile 94473 77788 or 94473 70707

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palmlandtours.net

You could see another discussion on Coconut Lagoon / Kumarakom lake resort at Coconut Lagoon or Kumarakom Lake resort.
From Cochin airport to Kumarakom it would take 1½ hours. For Houseboat cruise, I would recommend Alleppey around / Alleppey - Thottappally than Alleppey - Kumarakom.

I happened to find a new guesthouse in the tea plantations close to Periyar. Costs Rs 2000 / 2 pax with all meals. Penshurst.

http://www.palmlandtours.net/kerala/homestay/penshurst/penshurst.htm

reisefieber

Last Novembre, we spend 3 weeks in Kerala- to me, it was toooo short. But, this was my first trip- maybe, you can see a 3-day trip to Kerala as a weekend excursion.
We also had a stop to see the backwaters. Rented a housboat (booked already in Cochin together with the taxi)
It was ok, but I wouldn`t recommend it. Renting housboats is a tourist industrie there (if you know what I mean). Even the crew is friendly and everything, you are one of hundreds of visitors.
A overnight trip on a boat doesn`t take you away from the beaten track. But I have seen pictures, and I heard people telling about beautyfull areas.
Conclusion:
Spend more time or leave it
Look for a induvidual assistance to get around in that area
or, strip it down to a ride on a puplic boat (esp. if you don`t need a personal cook and your own boat for a night)you`ll see the same.

haritha

cl did it beautifully .klr did it in the better way , now back water ripples and radisson is also going to have properites in kumarakom. Holiday with people you can trust. may be bit expensive, The friendly managements of klr or cl can arrange a good bouse boat for you .Then why you have to bother about.

ladyvetphd

I stayed In Kumarakom for 3 days in the last week of Jan06. I too flew in from Cochin and took a cab to Kumarakom. The back water ripples is a nice resort with good food, and the Vembanad lake was amazingly serene and life seemed Idyllic. You can take a cruise on the Kettuuvallam or houseboat, I took a 3 hours ride on a steamer, since I didn't palni advance. If you are brd watcher, you get to see a variety. You should go for A early morning canoe ride in the bird sanctuary, it's fun!. Also don't forget to see the Drift wood museum!