Visiting Kerala With my wife for the first time- Advice needed

Hello Friends, I am from Kathmandu. I am visiting Kerala this october with my wife. We will spend 5 days in there. We have heard so many nice things about Kerala, so we selected this place to spend our holiday. I know there are many cities in Kerala. But we are arriving at Kochin (Ernakulam Railway Station). I am not sure how much time should we allocate to different cities? Is Kochin our right choice? Or Trivandrum would be better to stay in? Please we desperately need practical suggestion about things we must do and places we must go. Remember we are on a budget trip :-) Last year we visited Mumbai and Goa. And Yes, it was amazing trip.

I have traveled to Kerala and enjoyed staying in Alleppy on the back waters. Very beautiful,and relaxing. Cochin is very nice also. Trivandrum is a city very hot near the Sea I make a special pilgrimage to the Padmaswamy Temple t also the Ganesha temple is near by. I feel you and you wife would like Alleppy
Best regards,
Deborah

Kerala has amazing variety within a small space...
Backwaters at Alley or Kumarakom is of course a must visit...

There are hill stations like Munnar, wilderness like Wayanad and beaches like Kovalam... You have to decide what interests you the most as you cant cover it all in 5 days...

I did a backwaters trip last January. You can take a flight to Kochin and then hire cabs/auto rickshaws to Alleppey or Kumarakom... In case you take the train, nearest major station is Kottayam....

You can also read my Alleppey Kumarakom Travelogue...

Hi Kamal Kumar

Welcome to kerala- God's own country. Kerala has got vivid variety of tourism destination which depends on the taste of the traveller. We here lack snow filled mountains only, which of course would not be new to you being in Nepal. We have got some beautiful beaches, wildlife, hill stations, backwaters, heritages sites and some richest temples of the world... Let me know your schedule and taste so as to optimize your 5 days stay time in Kerala..

Thanks everybody. And Hello Pramod thanks for being so welcoming. As we are from Nepal we are not much interested in hill stations and national parks. What amaze us are beaches,backwater, sea, shopping and eating. We have been doing lot of research online but have not been being able to decide our itinerary. As I have already said we have 4 and half days to spend in Kerala. We are also thinking about going to Kanyakumari. But we also feel that is not so realistic as we will be spending most of our time on the road. So what would be the good idea? Shall we spend all of our time in and around Kochi? What are the most beautiful beaches? Say one beach where we could spend a whole day just sitting and watching the sea. I also found that boat houses are quite expensive. are they? Do you suggest us to spend at least one night in house boat? where? I am sorry for bombarding with so many questions. Thank you in advance.

For a backwater cruise you can check http://ktdc.com/tours.php. Quite a few members have done this and were satisfied.

For beach you can check Cherai Beach. You can also check out Kodanad where you can bathe elephants in the morning.

You can also spend a day in Alleppey or Kottayam.

We where at Kerala for second time last month. If you are landing in Cochin, you can go around cochin. There are a few places to see like Chinese fishing net, church etc at cochin. In alleppey a single room houseboat should cost you 5 to 6K for a overnight stay. If you like beaches then you can proceed to varkala (3hrs from Alleppey), then Kovalam (3hrs from Varkala), Poovar lake and from their to kanykumari or the other route would be from alleppey to thekkady, munar, and madurai . Best Wishes!!!

There is the Mattancherry Palace also nearby.

There is also the oldest synagogue in India in Cochin.

Hi Kamal

Being a frequent traveller I do understand the difficulties and the prior arrangements which need to be made before a journey. If you are with your family, then so much of effort is required to be on safer side. You said that you are arriving Kochi by train. Hope your return trip is also reserved by train.

If you are not interested in Hill stations( remember the hill stations in this part of the world is not the same as in your part ie not snowy moutains), then your concentration should be more on beaches. Well, in Kochi Cherai Beach is a famous one. Ofcourse, houseboats are somewhat expensive, but that would be a different experience for you. A backwater trip in Aleppey would be enjoyable... Aleppey is almost 60 KM from Kochi on way to Trivandrum. In trivandrum also some beautiful beaches are there. Kovalam, as u know, is the choice of most of the foreigners visiting India. Kanyakumari is 90KM from Trivandrum which is famous for sunrise and sunset view. Its the meeting point of Indian ocean, Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea and the southern most tip of indian mainland. I would suggest you the following itinerary

Day 1- Kochi sightseeing + cherai beach
Day 2 Aleppey and reach trivandrum by evening
Day 3 Trivandrum +kovalam
Day 4 Kanyakumari
Ofcourse the timings should be flexible depending upon the mode of travel you prefer.. When are you arriving at cochin? When is your return journey? By train or by air? From which station?

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Thank you for your reply Pramod and much thanks for the itinerary. We have decided to spend a night in houseboat. Bases on your suggestions, here is our proposed itinerary. Please suggest.

Day 1 - Arrive Kochi at 2 PM at Ernakulam (what about staying at Fort Kochi? Is Cherai beach nearby?)
Day 2 - Travel to Alleppey by road and check into houseboat
Day 3 - Checkout from Houseboat and go to Trivandrum+Kovalam. Stay the night in Kovalam
Day 4 - Do some sightseeing in Trivandrum and Go to Kanyakumari- Stay the night in Kanyakumari
Day 5 - Kanyakumari-Kochi
Day 6 - Depart Kochi 10 AM from Ernakulam

Still few more questions:
- Do we need to book the houseboats in advance from here? or we can get one when we will be there? Do the Houseboat company manages to pick us up from Kochi to Alleppey?

- As we said, we would also like to do some shopping specially sarees and other traditional garments and handicrafts. Is there any specific shopping region or we can just buy them on our way everywhere?

- Similarly do you suggest booking hotels and Varkala and Kanyakumari as well? Or we could just get one when we are there?

- How far is Varkala from Trivandrum? What are the places we should visit in Trivandrum?

- Finally, what would be the convenient and reliable means of transportation between all those places except expensive cabs and hired cars?

I am really sorry for asking you so many questions Pramod. I do really hope you are not irritated :-)
Thanks again.

Absolutely no problem kamal kumar..

Advance booking not required for houseboats. You can negotiate the rates on arrival. Cochin to aleppey is almost 60 Km so there is not need for taxi pick up. Lot of buses would be available..

You can buy some handicraft items as a part of remembrance of your visit. You can purchase that from trivandrum.

I think no prior booking is required in varkala or kanyakumari. Varkala is on the way to Trivandrum from Aleppey. Almost 50 KM before trivandrum

Kovalam 20KM from Trivandrum. Kanyakumari further 90km from trivandrum..

As you are only two, go for some arranged sightseeing. search in ktdc website

Feel free to contact me for any queries.

Pramod

5 days too short...well you could do it...but it would be sleep/wake/travel/look around

Thank you friend, I guess you all have already got sense how excited, muddled and thrilled we are; trying to go to everywhere in few days. Well very very practically and without any sympathy towards us what do you suggest? Should we skip Kanyakumari and Trivandrum and spend all of our time in and around Kochi and Alleppey? As I have already said we love beaches. But we don't want to hop from one beach to another. We are just looking for a single beach where we could find the perfect joy and environment. If you have to suggest one name what would that be? Again about Kanyakumari: I am most confused. One mind says its not that far, just be there. Another mind says I would waste lots of time inside a bus travelling around and getting tired. Thanks again for your comments and suggestions. Please do a final favour for me. And thanks a lot everybody. You guys are really helpful and this forum is awesome :-)

Well, Kamal I would rate Kovalam as the best beach in Kerala. Kanyakumari being a special destination is a must visit place in my opinion.. Ofcourse, covering too much would be tiring for you.. Plan according to your convenience.
Pramod

Kamal

If you going to Kovalam do not miss POOVAR. Come and give us your feedback.

Sathish