Houseboats in Northern Kerala?

ZUZU · Jul 20th, 2008, 23:12

Hi All-

So much useful information here on India Mike - Thank you all!

We will be on our first trip to India in December/January. We will be in Northern Kerala in Kannur for part of the trip and we wanted to incorporate a houseboat stay. I have read that this is much more low-key in Northern Kerala than in southern Kerala - and that sounded great to us!

I've found Bekal Boat Tours and they sound great and this isn't too far North of Kannur, but I also read about Kairail - not sure if that is a company or a town - that were supposedly beginning houseboat tours ~20km north of Kannur. I can't find a thing about them on the internet and I wondered if anyone had heard anything about Kairail or other houseboat companies in the Kannur or Tellicherry areas.

Many Thanks in advance!
Patty

pmvelu · Jul 22nd, 2008, 20:35

@Patty,

I haven't tried out House boat in Kannur but I did travelled extensively around Kannur / Thalaserry / Mahe areas and visited many a tourist spots / Not-so-tourist spots around !

If at If you are looking for any other info about this region , I could share my experiences !

As your question is unanswered , Just I thought of responding with What I know !

Cheers

Happy Travelling !!

Jorge Reverter · Jul 23rd, 2008, 16:26

I'm actually in Bekal but have not tried the backwaters in this area because I was coming from Kollam and Allepey ad have got a great time at the backwaters here and there and enough is enough.

As far as I know the best band most scenic backwaters in this area are in Valiyaparamba (30 km south from Bekal) that means nearer of Kannur.

Jorge

ZUZU · Jul 30th, 2008, 09:41

pmvelu,

Thanks for your reply! we would love to hear about your experiences in the Kannur region. We will be there in Jan of 2009 - actually a 3 week trip with the last week spent in northern Kerala. My basic plan was spending about 4 days in Kannur - either at Costa Malabar or at Kannur Beach House (the two places that sounded the best to me). Hoping to enjoy the sea, some local cuisine, theyyam, the loom/fabric factory, simple exploring. Then as Jorge suggested head north a bit to around Bekal and do a 24 hour backwater tour there. I also wondered about splitting the time a bit - maybe a day in Tellicherry or a little more time in Bekal than just the houseboat. Was very intrigued by Wayanard but we really are just in Kannur from a Saturday or Sunday through Friday afternoon and I was afraid to over schedule.

Would love any suggestions. This is our first trip to India and we'll be in Jaisalmer, Mumbai and Goa before heading to Kannur area - so I think less touristy aspect will be welcome!

pmvelu · Jul 30th, 2008, 16:32

Oh .. That's a nice plan Patty..!!

I will summarize what we experienced in that region . And i am very poor in explaining anything in fewer sentences

.. Excuse me for that !

Mahe :- [UT of Pondicherry]

"Mahe" has almost nothing except Liquor shops / Tile Shops / Elctronics shops and Gas Stations !.FYI, As Mahe Belongs to "Union Territory of Pondicherry" , All the above said items are very very cheap when compared to all of the southern states [Say Tamilnadu,Karnataka and Kerala] . If needed,You could buy any of those things here @ much much lesser price . Tourism wise it does not have any thing worth to see OR French architectures etc .. and it looked like yet another kerala Town . When we Drive from Kozhikode [ Calicut] to Kannur, the highway NH-17 passes through Mahe ane we will never even realiz when we enter Mahe and when we left as for us it's almost like a fun...
We saw "Welcome to UT of Pondicherry - Mahe Province] and within 5 minutes or so we saw a board "Thank you for visiting Mahe" & "Welcome to Kerala"

Thalaserry :-

1. Between Talaserry and Kannur, there is a Drive-in Beach [ Only one of it's kind in india] and you could Try out a Drive in the shores and ideal time might be evening 3.30 - 6 pm . Very Nice place for Sunsets. This beach is called as "Mullapizhangadu Beach". // Highly Recommended //

Kannur :-

1.There is an interesting place which is around 17 kms from Kannur called as "Muthappar Temple" situated in a place called "Parasinikadavu". This is very famous temple in North Kerala but this place is really worth a visit for "Boating in the Sprawling Lake" and the scenic surroundings. We loved it !Worth a Try !

2.You could avoid the beach which is at the heart of Kannur City [ Payyambalam Beach] .. That's Over crowded , Dirty and another unique thing is "Cemetery" is just situated very near the "Entrance" of the beach... [ Yes it's virtually entrance only , as the road leading to beach is very very narrow !!...]

3.You could try out the "Most beautiful " MeenKunnu beach [Locally called as Chal beach] which is around 7 kms north of Kannur . We infact Visited this beach when we returned from PArsinikadavu back to Kannur [ it's just a detour of 3 kms from NH-17 Kannur - Bekal [Nearer to a Fishing village called "Valapattinam"]!. --This has very very clean beach with No crowd at all and it's beautiful !

4.If you want a Secluded Off-the-track kind of place, "Pazhassi Dam" will be of much interest ..This is around 35 kms from Kannur and last 7 kms or so , road was poor BUT in this 7 kms, Lots of Cashew nut trees on either sides and the dam was nice , Scenic with a small garden !. When we went , we were the only "visitors" out there [but we saw people are working in the Garden as well as in the dam - This is just to assure it's not a deserted place]

I am attaching few photos of the above_said places with this post [ If you place the cursor on the photo it will show the place name]!. Will attach few more photos related to "Drive_in beach" on next post as the number of attachments allowed reached the maximum limit !!

Hope this helps !

Happy travelling !!

pmvelu · Jul 30th, 2008, 16:37

Photos Related to Drive_in Beach [ Mulapizhangadu beach]:-

ZUZU · Aug 1st, 2008, 08:05

pmvelu,

thank you so much for the wonderful suggestions! we are really looking forward to our time in northern kerala. There will be four of us and we wouldn't have a car of our own. Do you think to see the temples and beaches you mention would it be best to simply arrange a day guide/driver through our hotel to help us get around a bit?

thanks again,
Patty

pmvelu · Aug 1st, 2008, 10:23

You are Most Welcome Patty

!!

Yes, You are right !.Hiring a Car with driver will be the best option to explore all these places & We did it in our car only !!..

Pazhassi Dam & Parasinikadavu , You could try out in Forenoon & all other places , Late Afternoons/ Evenings will be the better time to visit !!

Happy Travelling !!
Velu

Jul 20th, 2008, 23:12	#1
ZUZU Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Durham, NC, USA Posts: 13	Houseboats in Northern Kerala? Hi All- So much useful information here on India Mike - Thank you all! We will be on our first trip to India in December/January. We will be in Northern Kerala in Kannur for part of the trip and we wanted to incorporate a houseboat stay. I have read that this is much more low-key in Northern Kerala than in southern Kerala - and that sounded great to us! I've found Bekal Boat Tours and they sound great and this isn't too far North of Kannur, but I also read about Kairail - not sure if that is a company or a town - that were supposedly beginning houseboat tours ~20km north of Kannur. I can't find a thing about them on the internet and I wondered if anyone had heard anything about Kairail or other houseboat companies in the Kannur or Tellicherry areas. Many Thanks in advance! Patty __________________ Zuzu

Jul 30th, 2008, 09:41	#4
ZUZU Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Durham, NC, USA Posts: 13	Would love to hear about Kannur Region pmvelu, Thanks for your reply! we would love to hear about your experiences in the Kannur region. We will be there in Jan of 2009 - actually a 3 week trip with the last week spent in northern Kerala. My basic plan was spending about 4 days in Kannur - either at Costa Malabar or at Kannur Beach House (the two places that sounded the best to me). Hoping to enjoy the sea, some local cuisine, theyyam, the loom/fabric factory, simple exploring. Then as Jorge suggested head north a bit to around Bekal and do a 24 hour backwater tour there. I also wondered about splitting the time a bit - maybe a day in Tellicherry or a little more time in Bekal than just the houseboat. Was very intrigued by Wayanard but we really are just in Kannur from a Saturday or Sunday through Friday afternoon and I was afraid to over schedule. Would love any suggestions. This is our first trip to India and we'll be in Jaisalmer, Mumbai and Goa before heading to Kannur area - so I think less touristy aspect will be welcome!

Jul 30th, 2008, 16:32	#5
pmvelu Maha Guru Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Mysore Posts: 743	Oh .. That's a nice plan Patty..!! I will summarize what we experienced in that region . And i am very poor in explaining anything in fewer sentences .. Excuse me for that ! Mahe :- [UT of Pondicherry] "Mahe" has almost nothing except Liquor shops / Tile Shops / Elctronics shops and Gas Stations !.FYI, As Mahe Belongs to "Union Territory of Pondicherry" , All the above said items are very very cheap when compared to all of the southern states [Say Tamilnadu,Karnataka and Kerala] . If needed,You could buy any of those things here @ much much lesser price . Tourism wise it does not have any thing worth to see OR French architectures etc .. and it looked like yet another kerala Town . When we Drive from Kozhikode [ Calicut] to Kannur, the highway NH-17 passes through Mahe ane we will never even realiz when we enter Mahe and when we left as for us it's almost like a fun... We saw "Welcome to UT of Pondicherry - Mahe Province] and within 5 minutes or so we saw a board "Thank you for visiting Mahe" & "Welcome to Kerala" Thalaserry :- 1. Between Talaserry and Kannur, there is a Drive-in Beach [ Only one of it's kind in india] and you could Try out a Drive in the shores and ideal time might be evening 3.30 - 6 pm . Very Nice place for Sunsets. This beach is called as "Mullapizhangadu Beach". // Highly Recommended // Kannur :- 1.There is an interesting place which is around 17 kms from Kannur called as "Muthappar Temple" situated in a place called "Parasinikadavu". This is very famous temple in North Kerala but this place is really worth a visit for "Boating in the Sprawling Lake" and the scenic surroundings. We loved it !Worth a Try ! 2.You could avoid the beach which is at the heart of Kannur City [ Payyambalam Beach] .. That's Over crowded , Dirty and another unique thing is "Cemetery" is just situated very near the "Entrance" of the beach... [ Yes it's virtually entrance only , as the road leading to beach is very very narrow !!...] 3.You could try out the "Most beautiful " MeenKunnu beach [Locally called as Chal beach] which is around 7 kms north of Kannur . We infact Visited this beach when we returned from PArsinikadavu back to Kannur [ it's just a detour of 3 kms from NH-17 Kannur - Bekal [Nearer to a Fishing village called "Valapattinam"]!. --This has very very clean beach with No crowd at all and it's beautiful ! 4.If you want a Secluded Off-the-track kind of place, "Pazhassi Dam" will be of much interest ..This is around 35 kms from Kannur and last 7 kms or so , road was poor BUT in this 7 kms, Lots of Cashew nut trees on either sides and the dam was nice , Scenic with a small garden !. When we went , we were the only "visitors" out there [but we saw people are working in the Garden as well as in the dam - This is just to assure it's not a deserted place] I am attaching few photos of the above_said places with this post [ If you place the cursor on the photo it will show the place name]!. Will attach few more photos related to "Drive_in beach" on next post as the number of attachments allowed reached the maximum limit !! Hope this helps ! Happy travelling !! Attached Thumbnails Last edited by pmvelu : Jul 30th, 2008 at 18:42.

Jul 30th, 2008, 16:37	#6
pmvelu Maha Guru Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Mysore Posts: 743	Photos Related to Drive_in Beach [ Mulapizhangadu beach]:- Attached Thumbnails

Aug 1st, 2008, 08:05	#7
ZUZU Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Durham, NC, USA Posts: 13	Thank you! pmvelu, thank you so much for the wonderful suggestions! we are really looking forward to our time in northern kerala. There will be four of us and we wouldn't have a car of our own. Do you think to see the temples and beaches you mention would it be best to simply arrange a day guide/driver through our hotel to help us get around a bit? thanks again, Patty

Jul 22nd, 2008, 20:35	#2
pmvelu Maha Guru Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Mysore Posts: 743	@Patty, I haven't tried out House boat in Kannur but I did travelled extensively around Kannur / Thalaserry / Mahe areas and visited many a tourist spots / Not-so-tourist spots around ! If at If you are looking for any other info about this region , I could share my experiences ! As your question is unanswered , Just I thought of responding with What I know ! Cheers Happy Travelling !!

Jul 23rd, 2008, 16:26	#3
Jorge Reverter Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Murcia - Spain Posts: 1,224	I'm actually in Bekal but have not tried the backwaters in this area because I was coming from Kollam and Allepey ad have got a great time at the backwaters here and there and enough is enough. As far as I know the best band most scenic backwaters in this area are in Valiyaparamba (30 km south from Bekal) that means nearer of Kannur. Jorge

Aug 1st, 2008, 10:23	#8
pmvelu Maha Guru Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Mysore Posts: 743	You are Most Welcome Patty !! Yes, You are right !.Hiring a Car with driver will be the best option to explore all these places & We did it in our car only !!.. Pazhassi Dam & Parasinikadavu , You could try out in Forenoon & all other places , Late Afternoons/ Evenings will be the better time to visit !! Happy Travelling !! Velu

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