Help- Suggestions for 20 days in kerala in May

tstfs

I am planning to come down from Delhi to Cochin in May for 20 Days. Would like help to plan my trip. Any ideas?

tstfs

Would like to see to munaar, backwaters and a lot of beaches

htid

Well then you already have Munnar on your itinerary We'll be there in May, which sounds like a good idea, a nice break from the heat nearer the coast. We're also going to Thekkady to visit Periyar. May is supposably the best month to go, so you may want to consider going there, but it depends where abouts in Kerala you'll be. Nagarhole is apparently better than Periyar (according to what I've read on here) but it's quite far North within Kerala, so unless you want to do a lot of travelling, you won't really be able to go to the beaches in the South and Nagarhole too.

As for beaches, I only know either Kovalam or Varkala. I've not been before, but we'll be in Kovalam in May too, so I can't really tell you anything about it before you go! As I said though, these are really far South so it depends which part of Kerala you'll be visiting.

snonymous

Periyar sanctuary is the best, in my opinion, especially in May when wildlife sighting is virtually guaranteed. It is also very well organised.
periyartigerreserve.org
Make sure you go on the first boat [for the most sightings] in the Upper Deck [for best photo ops]. Get your hotel to book the tickets in advance as May is 'season'. Also book a jungle walk [short or long] with the tribal guides, from the info centre within the sanctuary. You will definitely see lots of elephants, deer, lion tailed macaques, nilgiri langurs, boar, Malabar giant squirrels, huge butterflies like the southern birdwing, several varieties of birds and lots more. If you do the overnight jungle camp or night trek [book at the info centre] you may, if you are lucky and pray very hard, spot a tiger, or at least a leopard or jungle cat or so.
Do make the effort to go to Periyar, you will never be disappointed. Its about 3hrs from Munnar and 4-5 hrs from Ernakulam / Cochin airport - Nedumbassery. http://www.keralatourism.org/ has a list of hotels in the area.

To TSTFS
For backwaters go to Allapuzha - Allepey and Kumarakom. There is also a backwaters trip for half a day from Ernakulam which is also quite nice but you can stay on a houseboat in the Allepey area. Do look out for dolphins in the Cochin harbour, if you take a public ferry across to Vypeen island you will spot them for sure.

prashshir

My advice is you select the places u want to cover. Like beaches, forests, hill stations, heritage sites, backwaters etc. I was able to cover Kochi, Allappuza, Munnar in 5 days, if you add Tekkady/Periyar it shall be say 6 to 7 days. If you go south towards Trivendrum then you can choose to go to Kanyakumari but then you need some more days. Anyway if you are coming so far away from delhi why not spend 2 or 3 days more.

rebeccam

"Would like to see ... a lot of beaches"

Greetings, tstfs. TWENTY days??!! I'm jealous!!

HOW are you arriving? If by plane or train (or even by car) and you want to see lots of beaches, perhaps start at Trivandrum, and head to the beach just south of town (Kovalam) then work your way North up the coast road via Varkala, and continue north again to Alleppey/ Mararikulam Beach. It will be beachside all the way!
From Alleppey, take the boat on the backwaters. After that, you could head East to Periyar (as described by Snonymous) then north to Munnar . After that, to Coimbatore, perhaps out of Kerala a bit to Ooty and Coonor (and the famous blue railway) and thence to the Wayanad area of Kerala.

There are less-visited but supposedly lovely beach areas nearer to Calicut, so that if you've not had enough of beaches, you could alternatively after Munnar, head back to the West Coast at Kochi, head north for more beaches and some interesting places like Guruvayoor, then return to Delhi from Calicut if you've come by plane or train.
If you instead arrive in Kochi, perhaps spend a couple days there, then head south to nearby Alleppey, and its backwaters, then continue to Munnar--Wayanad, etc, as described above.


Disclaimer: I've not yet been to Kerala. These are JUST IDEAS..based on my own enjoyably obsessive research, for my first trip there in December. If interested, I've also gathered some names of interesting-sounding homestays all along the route described above. ( As it turns out, my itinerary will be a bit different than originally planned. It's still evolving, because so many places I read about --many here on IM--sound wonderful!)

Good luck , and have fun with your planning and trip!

alaivani

I am curious about the advice on May being the season... all travel agents and people in general tell me May is off season. In fact I lived in Chennai for two years and April end begins Agni Nakshtram (or fire star) the hottest days of year are at this time, most people don't travel at this time. In fact we been going past two years at this time (may end) and it is HOT! So far as travel goes you probably wont' need to book hotels or tours long in advance (as compared to November December- when we've also been to Kerala and it's amazingly vital in tourist areas as compared to the same place in May) In fact we plan on going to Lakshadweep in May end and the agent is telling us (Two different agents) that since it is off season (and close to monsoon) that water sports and unnecessary travel between islands is not available at this time of year!
Going to beaches like Kovalam and Varkala would be nice, but you may be the only people there- esp. in Varkala. We went to Varkala Nov. 2006 then in May 2007 and it was two totally different worlds. In Nov. there were so many Indian and foreign tourists and all the shops were buzzing, in May end it was a total ghost town. We may have been only the second people there and even buildings were dismantled and removed- it was unlike I've ever seen anything in India. You could hear a pin drop over there!
Kanyakumari is nice to see at that time of year- we went in 2007 May...it was wonderful. We stayed in Hotel Sea View and enjoyed it alot. (Here is a travelogue on our trip between Kanyakumari and Trivandrum- http://alaivani.com/Blog/tabid/56/En...3/Default.aspx)
Hope this was somewhat helpful!
Jennifer

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More about me, my intersts, passions, etc. at www.alaivani.com

tstfs

Thanks folks,
Now my plans are slightly more planned.
I am arriving in Cochin on the 12th night, have to be back in Cochin on the morning of 18th of May for one full day and then I am free for the backwaters and the beaches, though I have to be in Quilon for a day in between.
What I was planning was
12th night ---- Cochin
13 May-- journey to Periyar and the tiger reserve
13- 14- periyar
15- 17 munar
18 th early morning to Cochin
19th morning to the backwaters- kumarakom/alleypey
19,20,21 \ the backwaters
22nd morning take a taxi to quilon
22nd night quilon

tstfs

or should I do it the other way? I am really confused

vandy

Your Itinery looks pretty good,you may want to enquire in Allepey when Booking a Houseboat if you
could possibly do a Allepey to Quilon Cruise.
With the time you have in backwater region it would be very relaxing if you could do the above
Cruise.If not you could also enquire if you could
Take a local backwater Ferry from Allepey to Quilon, this would also be very interesting.

Could you please let me Know if you do either of the above suggestions for Future Reference.

Thanks & Rgds

vandy

pundabee

I would say it depends on means of transport (Vandy's suggestion on how to get from Alappuzha to Kollam makes good sense).

If you are planning to travel by bus between the other locations, I would go to Munnar before Periyar since travelling by bus from Kochi to Munnar is less hassle than travelling from Kochi to Periyar (Kumily) by bus, and going uphill to Munnar is nicer than going uphill to Periyar, plus this alternative route gives you one uphill trip and two downhill trips whereas your suggestion gives you two uphill trips and one downhill trip (downhill is quicker than uphill!). Also, you should consider spending a few days in Fort Kochi.

snonymous

May is undoubtedly very hot in Kerala and Goa but it is also school and college vacation period - look at any classified ads page in the Mumbai papers which are full of ads for tour packages to Kerala, Goa and other popular destinations. Hotels in Kerala do not offer any discount during this period, even though it is really humid in the coastal regions. Mornings and evenings are very pleasant on the beach, and one can always laze in the shade in the afternoons.

May end is the worst time for Lakshadweep as the seas are choppy and underwater visibility is very poor. Obviously not the best period for diving / snorkelling as you will not be able to see the corals and wealth of marine life too well. Mid Nov to the first week of May is the best time. We went in December [at least a decade ago !!!] which though hot, was perfect for viewing underwater life.

snonymous

From Ernakulam go to Munnar first and thereafter to Thekkady, Kumarakom / Allepey and Quilon. A full day in Cochin is enough, try and do a harbour cruise or a public ferry ride upto Vypeen island so as to watch the dolphins in the harbour, they are always jumping up and down and it is a most delightful sight.
Dont forget to take a good pair of binocs as you will appreciate this in Periyar, also a camera with a good zoom to get good shots of the elephants from the boat. Enjoy your trip.

htid

Wanna bet?

We're staying at the Leela in May and it's going to cost $185 a night, compared to the £240 we were quoted for September - March period. We're staying at a homestay in Munnar which is 1500R a night which would be 2500 a night in Nov - March and finally we'll be at Chrissy's hotel paying 1380R a night whereas Dec-Jan is 2070.

tstfs

will do so, the moment I get back