Kerala Itinerary - Help Needed

We are planning for a Kerala Trip in August, 14th night to 2oth evening. Kerala having a lots of tourist attraction and offbeat places, it is very difficult to have a good trip in just 6 days. However, as we are travelling from a long distance, we would like to experience everything i.e. Beaches, Hills and backwater. I have come up with the below plan.

14th August: Arrival at Trivandrum Airport at 11:35 PM. Overnight at Hill and Sea View resort.

15th August: Early Morning visit to Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Have breakfast at hotel and then visit the beaches of Kovalam. Proceed to Poovar for overnight stay after lunch. Night stay at Estuary Island Resort.

16th August: Poovar to Alleppy/Kumarakam with enroute visit to Varkala. Check in at houseboat. Overnight at houseboat. Houseboat is not booked yet.

17th August: Alleppy/Kumarakam to Munnar with enroute visit to Periyar wildlife Sanctuary (if possible), Spice Plantations and other enroute sightseeing points. Overnight at Munnar.

18th August: Munnar sightseeing.

19th August: Munnar to Cochin with enroute sightseeing of waterfalls, hill palace. We would like to visit Athirapally waterfalls also. Overnight stay at Orion Skywings at Fort Cochin.

20th August: Sightseeing at Cochin and drop to Cochin airport at 5:30 PM.

It would be great if you can help me with the sightseeing details as per the above itinerary and details of the approximate distance and travel time between places.
I have not yet decided about Alleppy/Kumarakam. Could you please suggest if a backwater boat ride will be better than staying in a houseboat overnight? For backwater trip, Alleppy or Kumarakam, which would be better? Or will it be better to have a boat ride for 1-2 hrs in Alleppy and then proceed to Thekkady for overnight stay? Please suggest.

I spent 52 days in India and left 2 weeks ago. I can't advise on your entire itinerary as mine was different but I ended up spending quite some time in Alleppey for it was an amazing place to me: nice people, much cleaner than anywhere else I have been and, as a woman traveling alone, I felt safe, really safe. Now, last but not least: the backwaters represent one of the best experience of my trip!!!
I did not want to spend one night on a houseboat because I felt that this was a lost time (when I sleep, I just sleep) but some people like it. I felt that this was a loss of money for just one night. After my first homestay, I moved into a second one that I foudn amazing: pretty, quiet but close to the canal, with scooter and bike rentals and free wifi... All I needed in short =)
From there, I called different people for a canoe tour in the backwaters and chose a 2 hour tour... I could have stayed longer, this was simply incredible!!!
When I left to Kumali (close to Munnar), I really enjoyed the bus ride through the mountains and tea field but got bitten by, I suspect, bed bugs... I did not like the city of Kumali, neither the pushy retailers nor the atmosphere not all that welcoming for a single woman. The plantation and elephant ride were awesome I must say but I headed back to Alleppey the next morning when I had planned to stay 3 to 4 days.
Then I went to Pondicherry and once there I u-turned the same day to go back to Alleppey which had by then become my "Indian home" =D
I spent 2 weeks there instead of a few days, was treated like a princess by the crew of my homestay who took me to the ayurvedic & homeo doctor to treat the bites on my harms and legs (ended up seeking western treatment as I did not have the patience to wait for plants to heal me, I must admit).
One thing I've done there and loved was to rent a scooter and just drive around, mostly looking for little beaches where I stopped and talked to people who, beside the language barrier, loved that I tried to speak with them and were especially welcoming... Then, I surely was blessed with the place I ended up as the manager of the homestay took me through the villages where I could see the local life as it is.
By simply walking along a lake, I also took incredible pictures and interacted with the villagers and even saw a snake in a yard...
I hope this helps, feel free to ask questions if you have any, I was very sad to leave India and especially sad to leave Alleppey whom population and feel were so nice and welcoming.
Have a fantastic trip!!!

i would suggest the following on your trip plan

arrive Trivandrum airport , stay at Poovar first night
second night at Kovalam ( if you want this change )
third night stay on board a houseboat ( since you already had two beaches prior to this i would suggest you skip varkala , because from Kovalam to Alleppey , it takes 4 hours driving time , so to reach a houseboat for stay , the normal check-in time is 12 Noon , which means you have to start from Kovalam not later than 9 AM)
forth & fifth night stay at Munnar ( Munnar requires a day and half for sightseeing . skip thekkady as you would require to drive 4 hours from Alleppey/ Kumarakom to Thekkady and then another 3 & 1/2 hours drive from Thekkady to Munnar. which means you just have to stop at Thekkady for an hour , and then proceed to Munnar to reach there by 6 PM .)

for a 6 nights 7 days plan , i would suggest the below plan

14th - Poovar
15th - Kovalam
16th - Houseboat
17th - Thekkady
18th - Munnar
19th - Munnar
20th start sufficiently early from Munnar so that you can also include Athirappallay, but as discussed earlier in another thread, the driving time would be approx 5 Hours . do this of you plan it well and have sufficient time for check-in to the flight

Thanks Salgen and Neenu. I can not change my night stay plan as the hotels are already booked. I wanted to spend both the nights in Poovar but decided against the same as we are arriving very late in night and were not sure if the boat ride to Poovar will be doable or safe in dark.
On 16th, we plan to start early in morning, by 8 AM at max so that we reach Alleppey in time. I was undecided on the houseboat as I didn't really enjoy the 2 nights I spent in a Kashmir houseboat as we got bored with the lack of mobility in night! As Salgen rightly said, you do nothing but sleep. I am now planning to do a canoe ride for a couple of hours in Alleppy and then stay in Alleppy or proceed to Thekkady. I am interested in Thekkady just for the elephant safari. Can skip it for next time though. My initial plan was to proceed to Munnar from Poovar in a day itself but decided against the whole day journey and spend a day somewhere around the mid point of the route.
17th and 18th we are in Munnar and will start for Cochin on 19th morning, after breakfast. If possible, we will cover Athirappally on our way back or skip it this time.
On 20th, we plan to cover sightseeing areas in Fort Cochin itself and then proceed to the airport in the afternoon.
Is there any time restriction in driving on the hill roads?
As suggested by Neenu, I posted my query on the message board of Kerala Tourism websites and getting quotes around INR 10000 for a car for the entire trip. However, some are mentioning that the car will be available from breakfast to sunset. One of my cousins was also refused an evening visit to market in Munnar sighting the same reason. Is it a general norm in Kerala or is it imposed by some agents only?

Hi Salgen,

Thanks a lot for your input. Could you please let me know the details of the homestay in Alleppy and the cost of canoe ride?

I want to book a prepaid auto/cab from Trivandrum airport to our hotel in Kovalam. I found the distance is about 14 km. Can anyone suggest if I can get prepaid taxi/auto from the domestic terminal and what are the charges? Hotel has quoted me INR 700 which I consider very steep considering the distance.

The hotel price would be higher in most cases , you may please check the rates at Trivandrum Airport pre-paid counter

tel nos :

Trivandrum Airport assistance - 0471 270 2600
Trivandrum airport Pre paid counter - 0471 250 2278

Thanks a lot Neenu. I'll check the rates by calling these numbers.

my pleasure ! , Ananya

Suggest me one thing, considering the short time I have, should I just keep the backwaters for next time and proceed directly to Munnar on 16th August? My main intention to break at Alleppy was to not to do the long journey in a day. Considering that the travel time from Alleppy to Munnar would not be less than 6 hours with enroute sightseeing, we will be reaching Munnar by 3-4 PM on 17th which will give me just 1 full day in Munnar for sightseeing.So, wondering!

There is a cheaper option of doing the backwaters trip from Kollam to Alappuzha , if houseboat seems to be expensive and if you dont want to miss the feel of the backwaters
it is an 8 hours long trip starting near the Kollam KSRTC bus station at 10:30 AM and reaches Alleppey by 6 PM . you have a completely relaxing backwater ride from Kollam to Alleppey in this case , stay overnight at Alleppey and then start to Munnar from Alleppey by around 9 AM , and you are there in Munnar by around 2 PM , check -in to the hotel and next day you can half a full day sightseeing of Munnar

the other option is take the water transport department operated SEE KUTTANAD cruise , it is a 2 & 1/2 hour cruise affordable to anyone , it cost INR 25 per person , this is a tourist cum passenger boat

check the site of state water transport department http://www.swtd.gov.in/

to the right hand side corner, bottom of the page , you have details regarding this 2 and half hours SEE KUTTANAD cruise and the Kollam - Alappuzha boat service . check if this suite you and hence you could break the journey at Alappuzha ( Alleppey)

Hi, Thanks for the information regarding Boat tour from Kollam. But, I couldn't find in the site, the process for booking this tour (where should we book this? Do we need to book in advance? Or could we reserve this just before the time?

Hi karthikn,

when are you planning to travel ,if during any of these months ( july- oct) , you could go there are book on arrival at the jetty

if in peak season, you have to do it in advance
the government had talked about making it online soon, but i am not sure if the online booking facility has started , will check and revert