Just a week in Kerala

bjm

I've gone over this so much I can't see straight. Because of airline connections, we have only 7 days, 6 nights in Kerala, yet we have many things we want to see. Is the following itinerary possible? If not, what would you drop? We are not really beach goers, but seeing very south of India is appealing.

Day 1 fly into Trivandrum, Book hotel Samudra
Day 2 leave mid-morning for Kumarakom and stay at Waterscapes, skip the houseboat, but take cruises
Day 3 leave Kumarakom after lunch for Munnar, stay at Tea County
Day 4 Tour Munnar area, second night at Tea County
Day 5 Drive to Cochin, stay at Bolgatty Palace
Day 6 Cochin, Bolgatty Palace
Day 7 mid-afternoon leave for airport

Is this so rushed that we would not really enjoy any place? Does Cochin need more time, which we could only do by dropping Trivandrum? We arrive in Delhi 11 p.m. on Jan. 29th, early morning on the 30th before we settle in. Flights to Trivandrum are too early for us on the 30th. Next day flights arrive in Trivandrum at 1:30 p.m. or so. That's all the time there is.

Thanks for help.

Nick-H

On a whistle-stop tour you can 'do the sights' of Kochi in an afternoon! And there's nothing wrong with leaving something in a city for another time.

Come to think of it, you could leave the hill-station stuff for next time, and take a more relaxed trip up the coast from Trivandrum to Kochi.

arunchs

Really hard to give an advice here. The places are all where you should really be. I would suggest leaving straight for Kumarakom once you arrive.

__________________
My India travel blog
My Images from India

dhans

Agree with Nick and Arunchs. We loved Tea County, so that's a real fine place to go to.

Have Fun,

Hans

__________________

Tips for trips to India with (young) children: India with kids
Stories about our travels in India: Journal

bjm

Thanks, all. I will consider all suggestions. My spouse wants the hill station and I want the backwaters. We'll just have to balance the rest.

Nick-H

Can't leave either out then!

I've spent periods as short as than in Kerala and had a good time in several locations --- didn't get up into the hills, though.

Have even been there for only four days, but I spent the entire time in just one hotel.

vandy

Hi There,

Is there any specific reason why you are flying
into Trivandrum,if not you can save a lot of time
and energy by flying into Cochin.The common reason
why people go to Trivandrum is to then head for
beach area(Kovalam)and since you are not into the
beach thing I don't see the point.

I also recommend staying somewhere in Fort Cochin
area where you can see and do a lot more.
Bolgatty Palace is very overated from what I saw
and not much to do there.

Try your best to change flight from Tvm to Cochin,
an extra couple of days in Cochin will be more
benefical in my opinion, for example just out
of Cochin there is a place called Kodanand where
you can watch and also help wash elephants,its
only about 1 & half hrs from Cochin,you need to
go in the morning,hire a car and driver,easy done

Anyway just some ideas to consider.Road journey
from Tvm to kumarakom is very time consuming,at
least 5hrs if traffic is ok.

Rgds - vandy

Nick-H

Kanyakumari is within a day trip of Trivandrum. There is a stunning wooden palace on the way.

But Kumarakom is much closer to Kochi. When I used to do Coconut Lagoon, they pick you up by boat from the other side of the lake.