Houseboat itineraries

Leslie H

We will be coming to the Backwaters from Periyar and continuing on to Fort Kochi afterwards. So, we are wondering about what makes sense for a houseboat overnight.

Would it make sense for us to pick up a houseboat in Kumakarom and "sail" to Alleppey, or should we start and finish in Alleppey?

If we did one vs. the other, what would the differene in itinerary be?

Thanks,
Leslie

vandy

Personally I would start and finish in Allepey.

If you want to visit Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary Tell Houseboat
Operator right from the start that's what you want to do.
Even if you have to make it a condition of Hiring Houseboat.

rgds

vandy

Leslie H

Hi Vandy,

Could you please explain why you would do Alleppey to Alleppey instead of Kumarkarom to Alleppey?

Thank you,
Leslie

Lord Average

I explored the possibility of getting a houseboat to take us from Alleppy to Cochin.
I was told that its not really possible as there is a barrier between the two areas that houseboats are unable to cross.

We opted to just do a 24 hour circular cruise around Alleppy and were very happy with what we did.

We then took a taxi from Alleppy to Cochin, which was a straightforward and comfortable journey of around 2 hours.

My advice is to make the comfort and cleanliness of your houseboat your main priority. There is not a lot of scope for a variety of itineries as these boats are restricted to the larger waterways, and so cover well used routes.

However please also consider trying a country boat (ie canoe) for a few hours around sunrise or sunset. These can take you down the small, intimate canals and are silent and peaceful. They make a good contrast with the houseboats.

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Leslie H

Thank you, Lord Average, for the information on Alleppey and the suggestion of a country boat. Unfortunately, we will have no time for that.

We are coming from Periyar in the morning, boarding a houseboat and then heading straight to Fort Kochi when we exit the houseboat. We will only have that half day in Fort Kochi as we must leave the next day.

The country boats do sound wonderful, though, but I will have to save this for my next visit to Kerala.

The reason I was asking about Kumarkarom to Alleppey vs. Alleppey round trip is that we are coming from the East, so I thought that maybe Kumarkarom is more convenient to get on the boats. Then, we head straight to Fort Kochi, so leaving from Alleppey definitely makes sense.

But, if everyone thinks that Alleppey round trip is better than Kumarkarom to Alleppey, I would love to know why, and we will do that.

Thanks again!

Leslie

vandy

Hi Leslie,

I only choose Allepey as I an more Familiar with Allepey than
Kumarakom area and the choice of Houseboats is larger.

Granted Kumarakom is shorter distance from Periyar for you.
As you are on a tight schedule,stick with your Kumarakom to
Allepey plan, it maybe just a little bit more price wise as the Houseboat operator from Kumarakom has to incorporate the
Allepey drop off & Return to Kumarakom.No big deal really.

Have a wonderful Houseboat experience & Safe Travels.

Please post your Periyar & Backwater experiences.

Rgds

vandy

Leslie H

Thanks, Vandy.

HannahB

Vandy

You seem to know quite a bit about the kerela backwater trips - have you travelled a lot in kerela?

i only have 7 days and i am trying to fit in as much as i can - what do you think of a cochin - munar - periyar - allepey (1 day out and back from alleppey cruise) and then back to cochin? Would the other way round be better? ie - cochin - alleppey - periyar - munar to cochin?

Also I love the sound of the canoe trips - what are these like and how much do they cost?

thanks

vandy

Good Day HannahB,

I did reply on another thread to your Itinery Route Question.

NO I haven't travelled a whole lot to Backwaters only a few times and enjoyed everyone of those visits.Will be back there in a couple of weeks time for some more exploring.

The canoe thing is Fantastic, it's called a Country Boat, cost are approx 300 rps per hour and worth every cent, or should I say Rupee. 3 - 5 hrs is ample for a good look around the smaller
canals, making a few stops along the way for stretching the legs and a cup of chai & samosa, what ever you do, DON"T Forget
your camera when going on the Country Boat.

Mate, If you like the place you can allways return at a later date & do some more exploring, and you'll also find things a
lot easier to organize once you've been before.

All the Best

vandy

HannahB

Vandy,

Will it be obvious where to get a country boat from once I am in Alleppey (or do you get it from Kochi?). It sounds wicked!
Also if we wanted to do a house boat with a few others is this possible? I am travelling with my boyfriend but i thought it would be nice to take a boat out with a small group of people - is this possible?
Are there any thread discussing doing a cruise with a group of randoms!!!

Thanks very much

HB

rukum

all information is very useful.

I plan to go to Kerala on 25-27 Oct, 08 for house boat also.

im still curious that can we stay in house boat for 2 nights along the backwaters or it's impossible.

beside house boat on alleppy, country boat and hill station in Munnar.

do you have anything to recommend for 3 days trips. may be 2.5 days.

thx in advance

olivegreen

see, we are of 3 families. 9 adults & 2 kids(5 & 6 years)travelling from chennai to allepey on end may

2. If we go for allepey to allepey one night house boat will it be nice?

3.If we check-out by 9.30 - 10 am is there any place that we go around in the day hours & we will check-in to a hotel at allepey on 23rd by eve so that we can check-out by 24th accordingly.

4. Is there any place between allepey to ernakulam that we can see, so that we will check-out on 24th earlier by noon and have a visit to those places and take a train at ernaulam by 7.00pm.(If nothing is there please confirm me).

5. Please let me konw, which is better? either kumarakom & kottayam sight seeing or allepey, ernakulam .

I've got a quote from an agent for the(package) houseboat,hotel as well a vehicle for 2 days:rs.20000/- (22ND MORNING TO 24TH EVE)Is this a better quote?

Leslie H

The recent post reminded me that I never posted a trip report. I can't address all of the previous post's questions, but, hopefully, my trip report will provide some of what is requested.

In Periyar, we arranged for a driver to take us from Periyar to Kumarakom, a houseboat from Kumarakom to Alleppey, then a driver to take us from Alleppey to Fort Kochi. Since we were coming from the East, we decided to do a "point to point" trip from Kumarakom to Alleppey rather than Alleppey to Alleppey.

The drive from Periyar to Kumarakom was beautiful, and Kumarakom is a quaint area. While we waited a few minutes for our houseboat to arrive, we walked around a bit.

At approximately 12:00 PM, the houseboat arrived, and we (party of 2 friends) were greeted by the crew of 3: a captain, a driver, and a cook. We were immediately served coconut drinks (served in the coconut) and a basket of fruit.

The boat had one bedroom, with 2 single beds and a bathroom. The boat was clean and fine, but certainly not luxurious. The cost for one night on the boat was 5000 Rupees, including lunch, dinner, then breakfast in the morning, plus air conditioning. We sailed for a while, then stopped for lunch (wonderfully created by our cook). We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Lake and canals. We had the option of stopping to purchase local shrimp for dinner preparation, but we opted for the already-included fish dinner.

We docked for the evening at a delightful small town on a small canal (turns out, it was the captain's home town - he sleeps at home at night, then returns to the boat in the morning - works well, since there are only 2 spots in the open area for sleeping, and there's a crew of 3). During both the evening and morning, we explored the town on foot (residences, temples, and preparation for a huge wedding, meeting lots of locals). Dinner and breakfast were both wonderful and prepared and presented with great care.

After breakfast, we continued to Alleppey, which is HUGE compared to Kumarakom and has a totally different feel to it. We were really pleased that we had opted to begin our journey in Kumarakom.

We arrived in Alleppey at approximately 10:00 AM. After we disembarked, we walked a short distance (accompanied by our captain) to the pre-arranged driver, who took us directly to our accommodation (Hotel Mother Tree) in Fort Kochi. We didn't have time to do any exploring between Alleppey and Kumarakom, so I can't address that question.

As for costs, the driver from Periyar to Kumarakom was approximately 1500 rupees, the houseboat was 5000 rupees (would have been less without a/c), and the driver from Alleppey to Fort Kochi was approximately 2000 rupees. In Fort Kochi, Hotel Mother Tree, we had two rooms (they only have rooms with 1 bed, so we didn't share), each for 900 rupees (80 rupees extra for breakfast).