Backwater houseboat overcharge?

Salohcin · Oct 30th, 2009, 06:55

Hello friends:

I realize we will be travelling in what is considered peak season in Kerala but I just want to be certain the price quote I was given per day for a backwater tour on a converted rice barge is still within the acceptable (read: fair) range:

Is 12,000 INR per day a reasonable fee for 2 people to pay, travelling alone in houseboat with a top deck, A/C, double room, food charges included, during early January? We were considering 2 days so the total we´d pay would actually be 24,000 INR. This seems excessive, even for high season. I welcome your feedback.

Thank you and best regards.

vandy · Oct 30th, 2009, 07:19

Hi there,

Thats excessive allright.

In the so called OFF Season you can get a Houseboat like the one
you describe for around 5,000rps per night,Peak season I am not
Absolutely sure,but I would envisage around 8,000rps.

Eventhough it's High season I Personally would still not commit
Untill you actually see the houseboat FIRST and agree to a price
And for a 2 night journey you should also get some sort of reduction.

rgds

vandy

ribhu95 · Oct 30th, 2009, 08:36

In peak season, Kerala hotels and houseboats charge peak season extra surcharges of 20 % to 200 %.

So any price is a good one and there is nothing like an excessive price.

Ensure that you have enough references about the quality of what you are booking...

ribhu

rondel · Oct 30th, 2009, 08:40

Yes, I think that's way too much too pay. You'll get a much better price once you're in India - I think the pre-booking online can be very expensive. Will you be somewhere in India where you can do some investigating book from there? Like Cochin or Fort Cochin? - I'm sort of assuming you'll be houseboating near Allepey..

rathee · Oct 30th, 2009, 12:44

couldn't agree more with rondel here. You will have to pay alot if you book online. My suggestion would be to book once you reach cochin

Salohcin · Oct 30th, 2009, 15:35

Greetings friends and thank you very much in advance for your input

We arrive in Kochi on the morning of Jan 4th and plan to spend a couple of days visiting, then go down to Lake Kumakarom and take a houseboat from there to Alleppey (rather than go from Alleppey...). My question is how long does the process take if you go where the houseboats are and select your boat or if one does this remotely 2 days prior in Kochi? Is there something like a 24 period from the time you reserve your boat to the time you´re scheduled to depart on your trip? I don´t have a sense of the logistics involved or how formal or informal a process this is...

bsprasad · Oct 30th, 2009, 17:36

The Place where the houseboats are docked (Jetty) and the tour operators office will not be close. But once you go to the jetty and select your boat, the boat operator will call the owner and you can start the negotiation.

It works like this. If you see the boat and then take a business card and then proceed to the office, you can negotiate and finalise the price.

Normally the drop from the hotel you stay (If you stay max of 2-3 kms from where the boat is docked) is done free by the tour operator who you finalize.

Try and locate a tour operator who has a boat of his own than the guy who uses the other guys boat.

You can check the following sites for more reference.

www.keralahoneymoonholidays.co m

www.lakeviewhouseboat.com

Regards

B.S.Prasad

obione980 · Oct 30th, 2009, 17:48

Quote:

top deck, A/C, double room

To my mind that implies a double storey houseboat! You do not need that. A single story boat is more than enough (given that many of them have two en-suite bedrooms anyway).

Re the advice that you get on this site:- Many posters will be Indian - and they will be able to bargain a significantly lower price than you ever will - keep that fact in mind. Two days/one night is the usual thing - actually 12 noon on Day 1 to about 9/10 am on the following day. There will be a crew of 3 to look after you. Price?? Who knows. It will depend on the demand on the day - and your bargaining skill - and the direction of the breeze - and who knows what other factors.

rondel · Oct 31st, 2009, 02:43

Hey Salohcin - it strikes me that you might be getting more confused now than when you started

I found the info I had here - and the company that I talked to was Destination Holidays - they had offices in Cochin but I couldn't find a website. I ended up having to cancel so I can't speak for the service but it looked good. You will find that the hotel where you're staying or tour offices in Cochin can hook you up I think. You may pay a little more than if you go right to the Jetty but you'll be settled and will still pay a lot less than what you were originally quoted I'm sure.

Hope you have an awesome trip.

chackmatha · Oct 31st, 2009, 23:13

WHY BOOK IN COCHIN

Better to do in Kumarakom when you go from Kumarakom to Aleppey .

Do in Aleppey if you do Aleppey round or heading to Kumarkom or to Kollam .

YOu can also book house boats in Kannur and Nileswar too .

Nothing is going to happen eve if you do not do a house boat trip in Kerala

citybell · Nov 1st, 2009, 00:00

Both Kerala Tourism and private operators have houseboats.Private operates charge more because of better decoration inside of the boats and to their whims.But this can not be done by Kerala Tourism since this Government owned.

Suggest Alleppey is better to engage a housebaot than at Kumarkom as houseboats' main Jetty is in Alleppey.

During peak season, it is difficult to get hosueboats but not impossible.Also during season, you have no power to negotiate the price as next customer would be waiting for them.
Heard that during last season when i went there,it was dull and you could negotiate the price and choose the houseboat you like. We paid about 6000 rupees.If the season is active, may be you would be charged 8000 is my guess.Charges will be more for an airconditioned ones.

Note that the charges is always inclusive of all meals, bottled water, snacks etc.in houseboats.

gOgOIndia · Nov 1st, 2009, 00:22

Hi

My advice would be to only go for one night on the houseboat, 2 nights would have been too long for us.

We went straight to the jetty in allepey and paid about 8,000 rupees in febuary last year and had a choice of boats. We had a large boat, one bedroom with air conditioning and a flat screen tv in the lounge area which we watched a bollywood movie on once we moored up (we actually moored up quite early i was thankful for TV once it got dark)

Its always best to go see the boats before booking them as there are many horror stories about substandard boats being used and dissapointed customers - its too expensive to end up having a rickety boat!

Oct 30th, 2009, 06:55	#1
Salohcin Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Oslo, Norway Posts: 20	Backwater houseboat overcharge? Hello friends: I realize we will be travelling in what is considered peak season in Kerala but I just want to be certain the price quote I was given per day for a backwater tour on a converted rice barge is still within the acceptable (read: fair) range: Is 12,000 INR per day a reasonable fee for 2 people to pay, travelling alone in houseboat with a top deck, A/C, double room, food charges included, during early January? We were considering 2 days so the total we´d pay would actually be 24,000 INR. This seems excessive, even for high season. I welcome your feedback. Thank you and best regards.

Oct 30th, 2009, 15:35	#6
Salohcin Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Oslo, Norway Posts: 20	Logistics of renting a houseboat in Kerala Greetings friends and thank you very much in advance for your input We arrive in Kochi on the morning of Jan 4th and plan to spend a couple of days visiting, then go down to Lake Kumakarom and take a houseboat from there to Alleppey (rather than go from Alleppey...). My question is how long does the process take if you go where the houseboats are and select your boat or if one does this remotely 2 days prior in Kochi? Is there something like a 24 period from the time you reserve your boat to the time you´re scheduled to depart on your trip? I don´t have a sense of the logistics involved or how formal or informal a process this is...

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Oct 30th, 2009, 07:19	#2
vandy Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: perth-australia Posts: 1,144	Hi there, Thats excessive allright. In the so called OFF Season you can get a Houseboat like the one you describe for around 5,000rps per night,Peak season I am not Absolutely sure,but I would envisage around 8,000rps. Eventhough it's High season I Personally would still not commit Untill you actually see the houseboat FIRST and agree to a price And for a 2 night journey you should also get some sort of reduction. rgds vandy

Oct 30th, 2009, 08:36	#3
ribhu95 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 262	In peak season, Kerala hotels and houseboats charge peak season extra surcharges of 20 % to 200 %. So any price is a good one and there is nothing like an excessive price. Ensure that you have enough references about the quality of what you are booking... ribhu

Oct 30th, 2009, 08:40	#4
rondel Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Vancouver Posts: 22	Yes, I think that's way too much too pay. You'll get a much better price once you're in India - I think the pre-booking online can be very expensive. Will you be somewhere in India where you can do some investigating book from there? Like Cochin or Fort Cochin? - I'm sort of assuming you'll be houseboating near Allepey..

Oct 30th, 2009, 12:44	#5
rathee Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Delhi Posts: 31	couldn't agree more with rondel here. You will have to pay alot if you book online. My suggestion would be to book once you reach cochin

Oct 30th, 2009, 17:36	#7
bsprasad Account Closed Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 468	The Place where the houseboats are docked (Jetty) and the tour operators office will not be close. But once you go to the jetty and select your boat, the boat operator will call the owner and you can start the negotiation. It works like this. If you see the boat and then take a business card and then proceed to the office, you can negotiate and finalise the price. Normally the drop from the hotel you stay (If you stay max of 2-3 kms from where the boat is docked) is done free by the tour operator who you finalize. Try and locate a tour operator who has a boat of his own than the guy who uses the other guys boat. You can check the following sites for more reference. www.keralahoneymoonholidays.co m www.lakeviewhouseboat.com Regards B.S.Prasad

Oct 31st, 2009, 02:43	#9
rondel Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Vancouver Posts: 22	Hey Salohcin - it strikes me that you might be getting more confused now than when you started I found the info I had here - and the company that I talked to was Destination Holidays - they had offices in Cochin but I couldn't find a website. I ended up having to cancel so I can't speak for the service but it looked good. You will find that the hotel where you're staying or tour offices in Cochin can hook you up I think. You may pay a little more than if you go right to the Jetty but you'll be settled and will still pay a lot less than what you were originally quoted I'm sure. Hope you have an awesome trip.

Oct 31st, 2009, 23:13	#10
chackmatha Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: India Posts: 67	WHY BOOK IN COCHIN Better to do in Kumarakom when you go from Kumarakom to Aleppey . Do in Aleppey if you do Aleppey round or heading to Kumarkom or to Kollam . YOu can also book house boats in Kannur and Nileswar too . Nothing is going to happen eve if you do not do a house boat trip in Kerala

Nov 1st, 2009, 00:00	#11
citybell Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: INDIA Posts: 171	Both Kerala Tourism and private operators have houseboats.Private operates charge more because of better decoration inside of the boats and to their whims.But this can not be done by Kerala Tourism since this Government owned. Suggest Alleppey is better to engage a housebaot than at Kumarkom as houseboats' main Jetty is in Alleppey. During peak season, it is difficult to get hosueboats but not impossible.Also during season, you have no power to negotiate the price as next customer would be waiting for them. Heard that during last season when i went there,it was dull and you could negotiate the price and choose the houseboat you like. We paid about 6000 rupees.If the season is active, may be you would be charged 8000 is my guess.Charges will be more for an airconditioned ones. Note that the charges is always inclusive of all meals, bottled water, snacks etc.in houseboats.

Nov 1st, 2009, 00:22	#12
gOgOIndia Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Scotland Posts: 15	Hi My advice would be to only go for one night on the houseboat, 2 nights would have been too long for us. We went straight to the jetty in allepey and paid about 8,000 rupees in febuary last year and had a choice of boats. We had a large boat, one bedroom with air conditioning and a flat screen tv in the lounge area which we watched a bollywood movie on once we moored up (we actually moored up quite early i was thankful for TV once it got dark) Its always best to go see the boats before booking them as there are many horror stories about substandard boats being used and dissapointed customers - its too expensive to end up having a rickety boat!