Kerala backwaters/Cochin to Munnar travel

Hi,

I will be spending 6 days in Kerala in Feb with my girlfriend, We fly into Trivandrum, want to go on an overnight backwater trip and would like to visit a tea plantation before flying north from Cochin.

Firstly the backwater trip - Allepey seems to get a lot of good reviews, do people agree with this or are there any other recommendations?

Secondly - Tea Plantations - Munnar looks amazing, but again would anyone recommend elsewhere? Ooty looked appealing at first but reading more into it it seems to be getting to touristy which we would like to avoid.

I have contacted a travel company in Kerala who have quoted USD150 for a AC car with driver (and all costs) from Cochin-Munnar-Cochin for 2 nights. Does that sound reasonable?

We dont have a massive budget and are limited to 6 days in Kerala.

Thanks for your much valued help and advice
James

since u r gonna be in cochin, i'd suggest you do your backwater thing in kumarakom/kottayam which is approx 70kms from cochin. you could book a houseboat for an overnight cruise as well at one of the many resorts in kumarakom (kumarakom lake resort, backwater ripples etc).

And if you decide to do your backwater thing in kumarakom, you could spend time visiting the kovalam and the poovar island (island with ocean on one side and backwater on all the other three) wen u r in trivandrum. Poovar is approx 35kms from trivandrum. There are coupla good resorts on the island(poovar island resort and isola di cocco).

Thanks RYU, do you (or anyone else) have any opinions on the Munnar questions?

James

hey..$150.00? for the whole day? you might want to consult frommers INdia or lonely planet for prices..

I am indian and my hubby is american and we are going with out 2 kids to india..bangalore-mangalore-kerala-ooty-goa so we are excited.
hey you should go to the houseboat.it's very romantic. do one night don't do 2 nights..it might be too much.

i am still researching..make sure u take your shots..hep A/B, typhoid, flu shot and maleria pills..it's masquito season in s. india in Dec!

take care..
Suz



I have heard that allepy is good and also kumerekum also..

Thanks Susan,

It's $150 for the drive from Cochin to Munnar and back, staying in Munnar for 2 nights. Has anyone else done a similar trip? Any advice?

Thanks
James

Some friends and I went to Munnar and stayed for a night and really loved it. It's green and peaceful and delightful. I recommend it.

Does $150 sound reasonable for the Munnar trip described above? Has anyone done a similar trip?

Thanks!

I would say that a little bit expensive. We are going to Munnar again this year and will be charged RS4380. Last year it was Rs3900.
A rough calculation suggests that works out at about $110 (my maths maybe wrong so check). Last year the Kerala Tourist Board wanted to charge Rs5500 which is about $137 for the same trip. Have you tried to barter a bit with them - they may come down a bit. On the other hand we may be talking about a $13 difference which is a lot by Indian standards but not necessarily a lot to us in the West.

Thanks Clive,

Who was your trip booked through?

Since you have been to Munnar before do you have any other hints/tips?

I book through Lacadives which is a company I dive with when visiting India. I don't know if they book for people who do not go diving with them but you could try.

They are based in Mumbai but have an office in Kochi:
tel: 91 226662 73 81/2
fax: 91 6666 9241
e-mail lacadives@gmail.com
You could also contact the Keralan Tourist Office in Kochi - I don't have their number unfortunately.

I was in Munnar in January this year (2007) for 2 night and loved the greenery, the scenery and a great visit to the tea museum. " nights was enough for me as I like to keep moving and the nights were just too quiet for me.

The overnight backwaters trip from kumarakom to Alleppey is fantastic but I think you'd find 2 nights on board a little too much.

Hints and tips - go with the flow!
Take time to view the tea plantations - I just love to see hundreds of acres of what are really bonsai trees - stunning.
We went to a spice garden just outside Munnar and learnt a lot about how the plants grow. I like the town at night. We ate at a chaat stall and had an omelette and appam with curry sauce for just Rs15. The people were great and I spent lots of time talking to a shopkeeper and stallholders. This year we will visit Eravikulam Wild life sanctuary which is apparently worht a visit although it is a little way out from Munnar. There are plenty of places to saty in to suit all budgets but the more expensive ones can get booked up early. Be warned it can get quite cold at night so bring a fleece or jacket.

Try GITC for a quote.. They are known to be quite competitive and has the longest history with Kerala... Used to be a bit upmarketish a while back, but not too sure on the current prices..

http://www.greatindia-holidays.com/

Thanks for all the great info,

Have you been to other tea plantations in the region? Munnar sounds great but I dont want to ignore the possibility there could be others just as good? I will be travelling between Trivandrum and Cochin so could visit any plantations within a few hours of this route. Or should I stick with Munnar because of all the recommendations?

One more question - will the waterfalls be 'active' around this time of year? or do they only flow after the monsoon season?

you must go to marayoor. i asked locals at munnar, where is a smaller and nicer place to stay and they told me MARAYOOR. a bus trip from munnar, with lots of mountain and tea plantation scenery. stay MARAYOOR TOURIST HOME and indrajith(the manager)will look after you. it is the most pleasant town to wander around in and a park to go trekking in, to look for elephants, deer and other native fauna.
there were no other tourists around in 2005, when i was there,in march.they also have a flower season mid year, i think and ancient archeological finds.early morning trip to the park at sunrise in a 3 wheel taxi was lovely. i didn't see elephants but saw deer, bison and black faced monkeys. people in the town were very casual and no hassles.
it was one of those places one could retire to.
one warning::no atm-not when i was there anyway.had to go 40ks by bus into tamil nadu for money. had to laugh and enjoyed the trip!