Kerala Budget Trip

jinglebelll

Hi Am planning to visit Kerala( end june - 1st wk july).

Itinerary: mumbai - Coimbatore/Cochin - Munnar (2) - tekkady (2)-kumarakom (2)- allepey (1)- cochin (3)- mumbai

My stay and travel should cost me about 23000(for two)including a night at the houseboat(Kumarakom).

Sight seeing still needs to be calculated.

How is Periyar House in Tekkady and Zena cottages in Munnar?

My budget is about 40k inclusive of flights, food, travel and shopping (5K). Plannin to stick to it or reduce it.

Any tips on how can I reduce my travel expenses?
I will be travelling as follows: (please suggest better options if any)
Cochin/Coimbatore - Munnar - Non A/C Cab - 1500/2000 INR
Munnar - Tekkady - suggestions welcome (Mode and cost)
Tekkady - Kottayam - Local transport - Still to figure out
Kottayam - Kumarakom - Ferry/Boat - still to figure out (not more than 200)
Kumarakom - Alleppey - Ferry/Boat - still to figue out (not more than 200)
Alleppey - Cochin - Suggestions welcome.
Cochin - Cochin Airport - Suggestions Welcome.(my assumption - 300-400 if i get an auto, dont know if this works else a cab.)

snonymous

Periyar House in inside the sanctuary. We will be staying there end May. I will let you know how it is when I get back. You have budgeted quite well so far and will certainly get the benefit of off season monsoon rates.
Transportation would be a major component of your expenditure apart from hotels. Wherever convenient you could take state transport buses from point to point, though it may not be so easy with cumbersome luggage. Alternately for a more comfortable journey, from Munnar you can negotiate a fixed price with a pvt taxi for the rest of the trip, or you can hire the taxi separately for each leg of your trip, in this case usually they want the return fare so it may turn out expensive. Food is usually cheap and good at any of the small restaurants near bus stands and stations . You can check budget accommodation in KTDC motels ktdc.com or a list of hotels at various price ranges at keralatourism.org Periyar House has a special off season rate in the monsoons.

Im sure you will get useful suggestions from other members.

SueJ

The houseboat will be a large component of your budget. It is generally much cheaper (due to both competition and layout of the area) to hire a boat in Alleppey rather than Kumarakon.

If you reversed your whole itinerary you could pick up a houseboat in Alleppey, and get it to drop you off in Kumarakom.

jinglebelll

Thanks SueJ. I buy your point and shall try and consider altering. Thing is that i am kind of into it for about two weeks now, and hence will need a big shift. Also, will need to check taxi fare from Cochin to Alleppey.

Thanks. Snonymous !!! Would be great if you can share things like travel expenses, taxi fares, bus fares, guide fees, and other such things...It has taken me almost two weeks to find various things on Kerala. Thankfully am here to get things far more easily...

snonymous

Taxi fares: Approx. INR 1500 per day for small car eg. Indica / Ambassador + Drivers 'batha' approx. INR 150-200 per day. Bus fares I dont know as I am not using buses but they will not be expensive especially the State Transport buses. To get an idea of approx. private bus fares in India try redbus.in and ticketvala.com

Guide fees say for temples should not be more than INR 150 for about 2-3hrs, they will quote higher but you can negotiate them down. The forest guides in the various sanctuaries have fixed rates, check out periyartigerreserve.org for the approx. rates.

If you go to the keralatourism.org website, click the message boards and post a message with your itinerary, asking for a quote. You will get replies from a lot of tour operators and you can whittle it down as per your requirements and budget.

jinglebelll

Thanks...Will surely check both of these. BTW, there is one more site named abhibus.com for the bus ticket availibility.

Are you planning to go to Munnar as well...?

snonymous

Hello Jinglebell

Thanks for the new site.

Yes, we are doing Periyar, then Munnar, then Thattekadu and back, but from 21 May onwards - no off season discounts !

jinglebelll

Hi, I have heard of a gentleman called Joseph Iype in Munnar. Spoke to him a few days back. He claims to have a mention in all the guide books of India. I saw his name in the lonely planet and digged out his cell no.

Am planning to stay at his cottages - Zena cottages.

It is also said that he has a good knowledge of Munnar and takes you on good treks. (Am still to check this myself... )

You may want to try this out.

snonymous

Thanks. I think we have got quite a bit of feedback for the Munnar region, and more or less decided our itinerary which is basically to stop wherever we feel like and wander off on our own, off the beaten track. This is what we do wherever we go, and it has been most rewarding since we delight in simple things like wildflowers, butterflies and that sort of stuff. Not really into proper trekking or mountain climbing, much prefer hiking and rambling at our own leisurely pace.

We have been to Periyar before and will be doing the guided bamboo rafting day trip as well as a few guided nature walks, plus the mandatory early morning boat ride ! Plan on stopping frequently along the scenic route from Cochin airport via Cheruthoni.

jinglebelll

Am sure you have!!!

Have a good trip. Will wait for a feedback on Periyar.

htid

Joseph is also mentioned in my Rough Guide: Kerala, so he must be doing something right.

MrJ

Well we were there in the end of March this year...
Since he was mentioned in the rough guide, we decided to pay him a visit to get some info on short treks.

It was a disappointment... He has moved, so it was a bit harder to find him. (You can see where his old booth was but he has moved a bit further on.) More importantly the information we got wasn't very useful.

Jeroen

jinglebelll

Thanks Guys.

However, will check this one out.

I actually was planning to stay at a place called Ela Ecoland, a resort 18 kms away from Munnar, but finally decided on Joseph's cottages.

Will get back and let know my experience.

snonymous

http://idukki.nic.in/map.htm is a cheerful touristy map which you might like, Jinglebell. Its got places marked on it that are missing from the conventional maps.

jinglebelll

That should be very helpful...Many thanks!!! BTW...I am thinking to prepone my trip..may be in mid june....a couple of feedbacks indicate that rains and back waters (house boat) may not be a good idea. I am still kinda in a quandry...any suggestions?