Kerala Itinerary: Advice Needed

Pranav Kulkarni

Hi,

I will be traveling to Kerala in 1st week of November along with my parents. Here is my itinerary:

31st Oct: Reach Kochin (by Air) and visit Guruvayur Temple. (If possible visit Kaladi also)

1st Nov: Travel to Trivandrum (by Train) and visit Kovalam Beach and AnantPadmanabhswamy Temple

2nd Nov: Travel to Kanyakumari (Train/Bus) and visit Vivekananda Memorial and enjoy the beach and full moon day

3rd Nov: Travel to Varkala for more beach and visit some religious sites.

4th Nov: Travel to Kollam and enjoy the backwaters in Kollam - Alleppey Ferry. Reach Alleppey in the evening.

5th Nov: More Backwaters from Alleppey to Kumarakom

6th Nov: Travel to Munnar

7th Nov: Stay in Munnar

8th Nov: Return to Kochi and travel back to Mumbai at night

I have already finalized the first part of my itinerary (31st - 4th). I need some advice on the latter half:

1. Should I go for overnight stay in the Houseboat for Alleppey - Kumarakom Backwaters? Or is there any option to spend the day in the houseboat / ferry and stay in the hotel at night?

I want to cover places like the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary. Will it be possible in a 8 Hr or so journey? Also what will be the cost of either option?

2. Is there a direct bus from Kumarakom to Munnar? I searched on Google Maps and the distance by road is around 140 KM (which can be covered in under 3 hours by car). But is there a KSRTC / Private bus?

3. Can anyone suggest good budget hotels in both Kumarakom and Munnar? I am planning to stay at most 1 night in Kumarakom (i.e. If I can spend only the day on the houseboat) and 2 in Munnar. I think its better to stay nearby the bus stand in Munnar as travel by other modes is quite expensive.

4. How much is the general waiting time at Guruvayur Temple? I have considered around 3 hrs from reaching the place to the actual Darshan. Is it fair?

Any other comments / suggestions on the itinerary are most welcome!

vonkla

There is a ferry from Alleppey to Kottayam, it takes about 2.5 hours.

We were in Kottayam in December and asked the hotelman about the visit to the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary. He advised us to visit it at six in the morning.
We found that to early and took a rickshaw. After a ride of half an hour we were there at eight P.M. At that time there was hardly any bird.
We hired a fishing boat and went to the lake. Neither many birds there.

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kerabyte

Once you reach alleppy take a boat ride to kumarakam ( you can rent a private boat or use the public boats which ply daily at fixed times ) the boat ride will take only less than 2 hours. You can see the bird sanctuary in kumarakom (which is very close to the jetty ) and opt to stay the night in kumarakom or head to kottayam which is just a half hour in bus or taxi and get a bus to munnar from kottayam.(there are daily buses to munnar from kottayam)04812562908 is the bus station enquiry number. You can spend a day or two at munnar and head back to cochin via thattekkadu bird sanctuary

rathee

Hi pranav,

I would definately advise you to take the ferry from Allepy to Kottayam as suggested by vonkla. In my opinion, the 24 hour ride is houseboat is not worth the money since in the evening it would stop at 5 or 6 anyways and you will have to spend the rest on the night stationed. They will start at about 10 in the morning and would continue till 5 or 6 in the evening.

Taking the ferry (rs. 10 from Allepy to Kottayam), or canoe (rs. 100 per hour) for 2-3 hours is a better option and stay the night at hotel ( I would advise near the lake as the sunset and sunrise is worth seeing)

Not sure about bus from Kumarakom, but certainly from Kottayam you will find a lot of buses as it has both govt. and private bus stations.

There is no need to stay near the bus stand in Munnar as it is not a very big town anyways. You can cover the whole town in 15-20 minutes, plus there are lot of auto rickshaws available in 10 or 15 rs. I would suggest you check out home stays on Kochi road, near DTPC office, they are cheap and away from the hustle and bustle of traffic.

Finally, the waiting time at Guruvayoor temple will be more than what you are expecting. I was there 2 weeks ago and there were atleast 1000 people in queue for main temple darshan. However, there is another short queue nearby, from there you can enter into the temple and catch a glimpse of the Holy Lord Guruvaurappan from a distance. I preferred this as this will give you a quick access into the temple premises.

Also, I would suggest instead of visiting Kumarakom bird sanctuary, you can visit Chinnar and Eravikulum both on same route in Munnar as you are going there anyway.

Have fun!!!

Pranav Kulkarni

Hi All,

Thanks for your advice. I have decided to follow the below route:

5th Nov - Alleppey - Kumarakom - Kottayam - Munnar. Travel via Ferry / Canoe from Alleppey through to Kumarakom on to Kottayam. Will see if the Bird sanctuary can be covered.

Will take the bus from Kottayam to Munnar. Hope it reaches there in 5-6 hours. So I can spend the night in Munnar.

6th - 7th Nov. Sightseeing in Munnar including Eravikulam WLS, The Tea Plantations, The Dam, Top Station, Echo Point, etc.

8th Nov. Leave from Munnar for Nedumbassery. Visit Kaladi on the way.

After reading the feedback, I wonder where it will be futile to visit Guruvayur? I mean if 2-3 hours are not enough for the darshan then better not go there at all since its around 2+ hrs from the Airport.

But if one has to go, What is the best route? Take a train from Alwaye to Thrissur and then bus to Guruvayur? Is the Alwaye station nearby the airport? I guess the taxi fare must be well over 1000.

Also can anyone tell me how frequent is the bus service between Trivandrum and Kanyakumari? I guess its a 3 - 3.5 hrs journey at most. But is the bus service good?

kerabyte

yes the alwaye station is nearer to airport that eranakulam north or south
there are always bus between trivandrum and kanyakumaai
there are trains also