2 Weeks in Kerala - Help needed

blabel

Hi,
We are a couple in our late fifties looking to spend 2 weeks in Kerala beginning April 10th.

We Would like to visit/do the following:

Munnar
Thekkaddy/Periyar (wild life)
Kovalam/Varkal(?) - Few days relaxing by the sea - snorkeling
Houseboat

Should we rent a car and driver for the entire vacation
Or are we better off renting cars by the day at each destination ?
My wife is extremely allergic to mosquito bites. are we taking a big risk visiting any of the above ?
Where can I get a detailed road map of Kerala ?

Thank you all for this fanatastic site.

vandy

Hi there,

Firstly, I suggest you forget the Houseboats if as
you say your wife is Extremely Allergic to mosquitos.

The order of your itinery should be based around
where in Kerala you arrive & Depart from.

If this is your first trip to India, I strongly
suggest Keeping your travel to a minimum.Try and
spend at Least 2-3 nights in Places that interest you.If you can afford a A/C Car & driver for the duration of your trip, I would suggest you do it.
This will also give you the Advantage of having the driver showing you around the Place where you
are staying.It MAY be possible for the driver drop you at various Locations & then pick you up
in a few days time and take you to next location.
You can then use local driver for sightseeing.

It will be starting to warm up and start getting
Pretty humid in Coastal Areas, it will be cooler
in the Hills.

If you go to Forums section on homepage and then
go to States of India sub forum & click on Kerala
you should see a lot of similar threads to yours,
which should also give you some valuable info.

Rgds - vandy

blabel

Our plan is to

Madurai – Mannur (Bus or train ?) Mannur stay at High Range Club
Mannur – Kumarokkam – Train / Car and Driver ? Coconut Island resort
Kumarokkam – Thekkady – Best way ton get there ? Hotel recommendation ? is one night enough
Thekkaddy – Madurai – Prefer to hire car and driver any recommendations ?


Than you all, you are the best

pundabee

It would help to know how many days you have available?

Anyway, you are zig-zagging a bit which has the consequence of making the travelling too extensive. Especially the Munnar to Kumarakom journey is a problem (8 hours on bus, 7 hours in car).

An alternative, which would make the travelling a little more comfortable and would take you to an additional location would be:

Madurai to Thiruvananthapuram (train 7½ hours, originates from Madurai so shouldn't be delayed)

727 QUILON PASS MADURAI JN 23:15 TRIVANDRUM CNTL 06:40

Thiruvananthapuram to Kottayam (train) to Kumarakom (bus, 16 km), e.g.
7229 +SABARI EXPRESS TRIVANDRUM CNTL 07:10 KOTTAYAM 10:05
6382 +CAPE MUMBAI EXP *TRIVANDRUM CNTL 08:10 KOTTAYAM 11:30
2625 +KERALA EXPRESS TRIVANDRUM CNTL 11:15 KOTTAYAM 14:05

Kottayam to Thekkady (bus 3½ hours)

Thekkady to Munnar (bus 4 hours)

Munnar to Madurai (bus 4 hours)

Or you could do your initial suggestion, but in different order:

Madurai to Munnar
Munnar to Thekkady
Thekkady to Kottayam/Kumarakom
Kottayam/Kumarakom to Madurai (you would get a train or bus from Kottayam to Thiruvananthapuram and and train from there to Madurai).

The number of days to stay in particular places depends on your reason for going there, which types of attraction and activities you are interested in etc.

subabu2002

my suggestion is,

madurai-thekkady-kumarakoam-munnar-madurai.

all the trips,cab is best.

secondly, bus is best.

and also,if kumarakoam will skip,madurai-thekkady-munnar trip would be best.

-suresh babu.

blabel

Thanks all. I am sorry I was not too clear in my previous message.

We have about 10 days

Madurai to Teni (must)

Teni to Munnar (Must)- Thse two legs I would like to do by train (even a slow one) because of the rave reviwes of the scenic beauty of this area.

I would like to visit Thkkady and Kumarokkam befor leaving to Madurai via Rajapalayam & Srivilliputtur.

Is there a road from Thekkady to Rajapalayam ?

Maybe I should Do

Madurai - Teni - Munnar - Thekkady - Kumarokam

From kumarokkam what is the best way to Rajapalayam - Madurai


Thank you guys

subabu2002

i think there is no train route to theni from madurai.if you want to see rural areas,cab is best.you can stop whatever you want to explore the village areas.

madurai-theni-bodi(bodi naayakkannur)-munnar.

and then to thekkady from munnar(around 100 kms).

and then from thekkady-kottayam-allapuzha or kumarakoam.

for rajapalayam,srivilliputhur,the re is a route

kumarakoam-thekkady-kambam-rajapalayam-srivilliputhur-viruthunagar-madurai.

why would you like to visit rajapalayam and srivilliputhur??

-suresh babu.

blabel

Thanks for your input.

I need to go to to Rajapalayam to visit an old friend's family. (He passed away a few years back.

Madurai - Teni - Munnar

Munnar -Thekkady

Thekkady - Rajaplayam - Madurai

How do I fit in a trip to the backwaters ?

Munnar - Kumaroakam - Thekkady
or
Munnar - Thekkady - Kumaroakam - Thekkady - Rajapalayam - Madurai.

What are the western ghats and can I add to my itinerrary.

Thanks

vandy

Hi Blabel,

The Western Ghats is a mountain range,it runs along the Kerala/Tamil Nadu border.Places like,
Thekady,Kumily,Munnar,etc are all in the Western
Ghats region.As you will be travelling in April
when the weather will be starting to warm up,the
Western Ghats area will be a cooler alternative to
the Lower regions(coast)of kerala.

I don't think there would be the same Mosquito risk staying in a resort compared to staying on a Houseboat.Therefore I will suggest an itinery which can incorporate Kumarakom,alternatively maybe your friends in Rjplam can organise a car(indica)& driver to take you from Rjplam - Thekady - Kumily - Munnar - Teni - Madurai.

According to my Map, Rajapalaiyam is not that far
south of Madurai.It also looks like the train from Madurai to Quilon to Kotayam(Kerala) goes through Rajapalaiyam.I would visit your friends first in Rjplam and then continue by train to Kotayam,taxi to Kumarakom for resort stay.
From Kumarakom (Kotayam) you could Hire Car(indica)& Driver to take you to Thekady(Periyar)&
Kumily - Munnar - Teni - Madurai.

As far as a good map goes try contacting,
info@dcbooks.com and enquire where you could purchase A Road Guide To Kerala(TTK discover india
series)publication with fold out latest map inside
If you are coming through Chennai I would envisage
there being a D C Bookstore, if not TTK Healthcare
Printing Division is located at,
328,G.S.T.Road,Chromepet,Chenn ai.I actually purchased this book from the souvenier shop at the
Taj Garden Retreat Resort in Kumarakom.DC Books
administrative office is in Good Shepherd Street in Kotayam. www.dcbookstore.com

looking forward to hearing your review of The High
Range Club in Munnar,Looks & sounds wonderfull.

Have heard the Munnar - Thekady(Kumily) (vice-versa)trip is just spectacular, I would also envisage the Munnar - Teni journey the same.

Happy & Safe Travelling

vandy

BTW, you will see my car Preferance is Indica, this is because in
my Opinion they are more comfortable & reliable than the Ambassadors for longer Journeys,unless the ambassador is newish.

blabel

Thanks Vandy/Subabu and others,

I would like to leave Rajapalayam to the last so I will have some flexibility as to how long to stay in and what to do in Rajapalayam.

We are leaving LA on the 1st and will arrive in Madurai on the 10th.

How about this plan ?

Madurai to Teni – Bus or car (One night Teni)
Teni to Munnar – Train ( 3 nights)
Munnar to Thekkady – Car 2 Nights (enough ?)
Thekkady to Kumaroakam – Car 2 nights
Kumarokkam/Kottayam – Rajapalayam by train (preferably sleeper)

Can I rent an Indica with driver in Munnar ? If not, where ?

Thanks all

Scandojazzbuff

Do yourself a favor and hire a car and driver. You will not regret it. Call Mani at Travel South India. spmani6500@yahoo.co.in or www.travelsouthindia.co.in
Tel: 91 9486377106-mobile

I did it in December, starting in Chennai and doing most of what you are doing. They take care of you very well leaving you to enjoy your trip and not worrying about transportation to and from places.

Make sure your wife is covered up especially in the late afternoon/evenings. Socks, shoes, pants, longsleeved tops. Think practically and stay out of the sun.

Thekkady and Munnar are lovely. Munnar is easier to navigate and Thekkady is jammed with tourists and is very small. You will have to come to Thekkady first if coming from Madurai. Something to do with the license of car hiring. The drive from Thekkady to Munnar is beautiful. Munnar is worth a few days. Cochin is worth a couple of days. Most of the tourists go south. If you go north to Wayanad Wildlife Preserve, there will be few tourists and you can stay at the mouth of the forest and see wild animals. Well worth doing as it is beautiful and peaceful. The hills are much cooler. The Western Ghats are wonderful.

vandy

blabel, please note, i am pretty certain there is no train between Teni & Munnar, so car is best option,practical to use same car & driver for Munnar and beyond to Thekady,the advantage is that you will have his services to sightsee around Munnar area.

all the best

vandy

blabel

Thanks all

Vandy, it looks like there is a train from Madurai to Teni/ Bodi
We will be in Madurai for a couple of days, so I can make inquiries and make alternate arrangements if no train.

I want to spend a night in Teni and get to Munnar – By Taxi may be

Spend a few nights in Munnar – Do short trips/treks

Hire a car and driver in Munnar (How feasible is this?)

I sent couple of emails to Highrange club – no replies yet.
Tried calling the three numbers listed in their web site 04865-230253 04865-230597 – no answer. The third number listed 230724 cutts off after a few rings (maybe a fax line) Any one in that area can you please help ?

I need to know in advance whether I could hire a car there or not.

I plan to take a leisurely drive from Munnar to Kottayam/Kumaroakam Via Thekkadi.

Plan to leave Kumaroakam by train to Rajapalayam

Rajapalayam to Madurai by train or car.

I can arrive in Madurai on April 9th and need to be back in Madurai by the 22 nd

Does this make sense ?

Travel agents (reliable ones only please) welcome to contact me re renting car from Munnar to Kumaroakam – 5days.

Mod Note: Travel agents are not allowed to operate on this site, and are not at all welcome to contact members.

Thanks again

Selkie

If you do get to the coast, don't expect to snorkel - the seas are notoriously rough a lot of the time with powerful breakers and, in many places, dangerous rip tides. Do some research into the swimming conditions of where you are staying - people drown every year off Keralan beaches, including at the 'touristy' places.

Re mozzies - take anti-mozzie spray that incluses DEET - this really works. Your wife could also see her doctor before she goes away and gets a course of anti-histamines to take all the time while in India that will reduce any allergic reaction if bitten. If you run out of mozzie spray, the local anti mozzie stuff is a cream called 'odomos' which actually smells ok and works very well.

Oh, and if you decide you want to explore the backwaters (well worth doing - beautiful) but decide against the houseboat option you could consider the local or tourist ferries that ply the backwaters instead - I went on one of the tourist boats for a few hours and it was fab - and no mozzies.

Another point - you are coming to Kerala at a time when the weather is heating up and getting humid before the monsoon - be aware that it could be VERY hot and humid, including at night. Do yourself a huge favour and choose accommodation with air con for night use - unless you want to lie bathed in your own sweat all night! (nice!)

One last (I think! ) point - Kerala is well known for it's temple festivals that involve elephants. These can be fantastic - do try and catch one, they are a great spectacle and have a lively atmosphere, and of course the elephants are wonderful.

Enjoy yourselves - Kerala is a wonderful state.

P.S. my avatar pic is a photo I took from the ferry of sunset over the backwaters - it really does look like that....

Nick-H

Hi Blabel, I added a note to your post, as you can see.

If any agents do contact you, please let a moderator know. They are very strictly not allowed to operate on the site, but they creep in under the doors and up the drains, like cockroaches!

I'm sure you'll enjy your trip. Kerala is soft and beautiful

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