Homestays in South India

Rangoli

I was in India last year, and one of the best experiences we had was a homestay in Kerala. The family was lovely, the grandmother cooked delicious meals and even showed us how to make a few dishes, every one made us feel more than welcome and it was a wonderful way to get to meet Indians who weren't touts or auto-rickshaw drivers.

I am going back this year, and want to find more homestays. There is absolutely no problem finding them in Kerala, but we are also going to be in Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu as well. Does anyone have any advice? Outside of Hampi I don't seem to see anything...

I am looking for simple homestays, not overly touristic. I am not looking to pay vast amounts of money and be treated as in a fancy resort, and I am not looking for a "homestay" with more than 20 rooms (which I would qualify more as a family run hotel). Basically I am interested in meeting and interacting with normal Indian people. When we were in Kerala we simply went to the tourist office and inquired, they had a long list.

If anyone has any experience or ideas, I would love to hear about it.

Please note that I am not looking for invitations to sleep on anyone's couch!

Thanks

kalbarri

i am looking for a homestay in chennai. any favourites, anyone?