Kerala Backwaters - A cruise on budgets!

valerielenny · Feb 13th, 2008, 06:30

i was in Kerala Backwaters last month, 17th January.

I proceed from Ernakulam KRSTC to allepey by bus, direct.
Pls try to get 8am bus, so you can spend time to choose hseboats.
Then from the bus station i took Tuk Tuk to the port, less then 10 minutes to the port. We have choosed hseboat called Anjali after few sight and bargain. Cost me rs5500 one nite/AC. Included welcome drink, lunch, tea break, dinner, and breakfast on the next day. We checked in at 11:30am.

we have a chance to go to inner/rural village because one of the hseboat staff alight at his village and invited us to come to see his village which is not too far from the alighting point.
Then we continue the cruise, till dawn.

Our hseboat Anjali is very clean, tidy bedrooms, sundeck and living is spacious. The staff is so nice and friendly. Foods are marvellous. We had purchased the tiger prawns cos us rs1000 per kg. And the chef cook for us, no extra charge. Yummy..

We have a good sleep on boat, my bedrooms window facing to the river and early morning we spent smtime to see the paddy field. We had breakfast and continue the cruise. Then return to Ernakulam by bus.

vandy · Feb 13th, 2008, 06:42

Hi Valerie, sounds like you had a good time.

Hope you have some pics for us.

Did you manage to get into the Hills ?

Would you go Back sometime ?

rgds - vandy

valerielenny · Feb 13th, 2008, 06:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by vandy

Hi Valerie, sounds like you had a good time.

Hope you have some pics for us.

Did you manage to get into the Hills ?

Would you go Back sometime ?

rgds - vandy

Yes Vandy, really have good time in Kerala, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Cochin. Will come back to Kerala. I didnt go to Munnar because i went to Cameron Highland, Malaysia which is similar to Munnar. You can see my pictures in my Friendster..
my email for my frenster is lennyvalerie(at)hotmail.com
I can add you as my fren list in order for you to view my pictures

After the hseboat:

Then we took train sleeper class from ernakulam to bangalore,
rs278 per person. Reaching Bangalore very early in the morning.
We took public bus sight seeing in Bangalore. At evening, we fly from Bangalore to Delhi by domestic flight. Not so bad, delay for 20 minutes.

2 nites in Delhi, one day trip to Agra, Taj Mahal. From Delhi we proceed to Mumbai by flight gain. 1 nite in Mumbai. Shopping.. shopping paradise and beautifull city. From Mumbai took another local flight to chennai, stay Chennai 1 nite, dat trip Chenai and watch local movie, interesting. From chennai we took train 2 AC to Ernakulam, kochi. Spent time for Ayurvedic package,at Agastyatheeram Fort Cochin, Peter Celi street.(included Ayurvedic body masage and Sorovasti) RS950. They drive us to Allepey village Ayurvedic Centre for massage n Sirovasti then they took us to river by boat till dawn, diner and send us back to Fort Cochin. Same day at 11pm we fly back to Singapore.

We had wonderfull trip to explore India within 10days. Crazy but fun.

tstfs · Apr 9th, 2008, 02:12

this has very good information. Thanks

kirik87 · Apr 20th, 2008, 01:15

hey ppl great thread... im plannin for a overnight stay in a houseboat at kumarakom with my family of 5 ... so would like to hire a 2 bedroom house... since il be visitin in the month of may which is a high season..do i have to book the houseboats well in adavance or inspect it on spot and then book it.. also can someone tell me how much il have to shell out for a normal delux houseboat(2 bedroom)...
il be travellin from thekkady to kumarakom...so wil leavin tekkady by 7am do??? wil be travellin in a private vehicle...

which are best backwater routes from kumarakom...

--kiran--

cicliced · Apr 23rd, 2008, 21:49

I took a houseboat overnight from Kollam to Allepey in February (1 full day and 1 night), it was a good route i thought. Kumarakom isn't far from Allepey so depending on time you could go from Kumarakom to Kollam in 1 night and 2 full days.

fyi... I also got a public ferry from Allepey to Kumarakom which was brilliant.

Any questions let me know...

htid · Apr 24th, 2008, 15:21

We'll be going on a 7 hour houseboat when we're in Cochin (May), what price would you expect to pay for that? We will get Saj of sajhome (where we're staying while in Cochin) to book it and he's quoted 475/person, but reading about these overnight things, people are paying into the 4000s per night, so is 475 for 7 hours enough, or does it sound too cheap and therefore a very basic boat that may not have such good service?

Cheers.

CliveG · Apr 25th, 2008, 15:00

Hi Htid,
Is it a houseboat or a backwater cruise you have booked. From Cochin I think it is the one day backwater cruise. They take you by minibus to a boat and you cruise the backwaters in the morning, have lunch and then transfer to smaller canoes to travel along the narrow waterways. On the way you stop at various places including coir workers homes, a spice garden and possibly a slaked lime producer. The cost is about Rs475 and is an excellent price (lunch included) for a very good day out.

htid · Apr 25th, 2008, 19:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by CliveG

Hi Htid,
Is it a houseboat or a backwater cruise you have booked. From Cochin I think it is the one day backwater cruise. They take you by minibus to a boat and you cruise the backwaters in the morning, have lunch and then transfer to smaller canoes to travel along the narrow waterways. On the way you stop at various places including coir workers homes, a spice garden and possibly a slaked lime producer. The cost is about Rs475 and is an excellent price (lunch included) for a very good day out.

I'm not sure what it is to be honest, I just e-mailed saying we wanted to spend a day on a houseboat and could he arrange it for us, he got back saying it would be a 7 hour thing and costs 475/person. Sounds just right then, thanks for the info

nomad · May 26th, 2008, 09:12

Beach,

is that your picture?

Feb 13th, 2008, 06:30	#61
valerielenny Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: singapore Posts: 39	hye there i was in Kerala Backwaters last month, 17th January. I proceed from Ernakulam KRSTC to allepey by bus, direct. Pls try to get 8am bus, so you can spend time to choose hseboats. Then from the bus station i took Tuk Tuk to the port, less then 10 minutes to the port. We have choosed hseboat called Anjali after few sight and bargain. Cost me rs5500 one nite/AC. Included welcome drink, lunch, tea break, dinner, and breakfast on the next day. We checked in at 11:30am. we have a chance to go to inner/rural village because one of the hseboat staff alight at his village and invited us to come to see his village which is not too far from the alighting point. Then we continue the cruise, till dawn. Our hseboat Anjali is very clean, tidy bedrooms, sundeck and living is spacious. The staff is so nice and friendly. Foods are marvellous. We had purchased the tiger prawns cos us rs1000 per kg. And the chef cook for us, no extra charge. Yummy.. We have a good sleep on boat, my bedrooms window facing to the river and early morning we spent smtime to see the paddy field. We had breakfast and continue the cruise. Then return to Ernakulam by bus.

Feb 13th, 2008, 06:42	#62
vandy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: perth-australia Posts: 487	Houseboat Hi Valerie, sounds like you had a good time. Hope you have some pics for us. Did you manage to get into the Hills ? Would you go Back sometime ? rgds - vandy

May 26th, 2008, 09:12	#70
nomad Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Singapura Posts: 595	who took the picture Beach, is that your picture? __________________ Rahul Verma http://rverma.smugmug.com www.pbase.com/rverma

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Apr 9th, 2008, 02:12	#64
tstfs Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: India Posts: 68	this has very good information. Thanks

Apr 20th, 2008, 01:15	#65
kirik87 Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: bangalore Posts: 1	hey ppl great thread... im plannin for a overnight stay in a houseboat at kumarakom with my family of 5 ... so would like to hire a 2 bedroom house... since il be visitin in the month of may which is a high season..do i have to book the houseboats well in adavance or inspect it on spot and then book it.. also can someone tell me how much il have to shell out for a normal delux houseboat(2 bedroom)... il be travellin from thekkady to kumarakom...so wil leavin tekkady by 7am do??? wil be travellin in a private vehicle... which are best backwater routes from kumarakom... --kiran--

Apr 23rd, 2008, 21:49	#66
cicliced Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: London Posts: 36	I took a houseboat overnight from Kollam to Allepey in February (1 full day and 1 night), it was a good route i thought. Kumarakom isn't far from Allepey so depending on time you could go from Kumarakom to Kollam in 1 night and 2 full days. fyi... I also got a public ferry from Allepey to Kumarakom which was brilliant. Any questions let me know...

Apr 24th, 2008, 15:21	#67
htid Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Sheffield, England Posts: 129	We'll be going on a 7 hour houseboat when we're in Cochin (May), what price would you expect to pay for that? We will get Saj of sajhome (where we're staying while in Cochin) to book it and he's quoted 475/person, but reading about these overnight things, people are paying into the 4000s per night, so is 475 for 7 hours enough, or does it sound too cheap and therefore a very basic boat that may not have such good service? Cheers.

Apr 25th, 2008, 15:00	#68
CliveG Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: PORTSMOUTH U.K. Posts: 605	Hi Htid, Is it a houseboat or a backwater cruise you have booked. From Cochin I think it is the one day backwater cruise. They take you by minibus to a boat and you cruise the backwaters in the morning, have lunch and then transfer to smaller canoes to travel along the narrow waterways. On the way you stop at various places including coir workers homes, a spice garden and possibly a slaked lime producer. The cost is about Rs475 and is an excellent price (lunch included) for a very good day out.

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