Kerala

[BronteGirl]

Hi - planning ahead for our 30th wedding anniversary next year and we would like to visit Kerala for 8-10 days assuming any travel restrictions are lifted. We visited India in 2019 so we are aware of some of the challenges involved in visiting this country. Anyone been to Kerala and done a tour of the main towns/attractions? Would like to end with a beach for a couple of days if possible. Does anyone have any recommendations or things to avoid etc Thanks

There's lots to explore. It's a beautiful
Place. Check out this blog. It has a lot of information and will give you some Ideas (not my blog but it was recommended by someone who knows Kerala inside out 😊)

www.theadventurousflashpacker.com/kerala-itinerary-5-days/

Yes!! Loved it. Loved all of it actually (Mumbai 50:50 and Goa not so much).

We flew down to the very bottom and worked our way up slowly so did an internal flight from Mumbai to Trivandrum but you could fly to Cochi and go down the coast instead. If you want to end on a beach then if Kovalam is as nice a resort as it was then that would be a lovely ending.

Cochi is an interesting city for a day or two, the Ernakaulum area less so. The backwaters is great, the ferry that runs to/from Kollam and Allepey is a cheap way of seeing a lot of it without having to pay for a houseboat and they do feed you along the way. Allepey itself is really nice too, caters for tourists without being touristy. Kollam is ok for stopover.

So if it were me I'd fly to Cochi and do the sights there, make my way to Allepey, have a few days there and then get the boat down to Kollam. Get transport from Kollam to Kovalam and have a beach few days. Fly back up to go home from Trivandrum. You can build in a few other touristy bits from most of those places too. The DK guidebook to India covers this area surprisingly well.

I would go back in a heartbeat if I could!

A few days in Fort Cochin! Highly recommend Sajhome homestay as a place to stay. They can arrange a tour of the backwaters by boat.

If you can get to Hampi, it's absolutely incredible. You can hire a tuktuk and driver who will take you on a tour of the sites. You can get an overnight train to Hospet from Bangalore and then tuktuk to Hampi.

Be aware that the boat across the river in Hampi operates from a certain time in the morning which may not leave enough time to get back to the train station in Hospet to get your onwards train. Hospet is not a nice place to stay, I learnt from terrible experience.

It was nearly 15 years ago but I thought Kovalam was a bit of a shithole compared to the rest of Kerala, we did end up in a nice resort a bit out from there after a few hellish days in Kovalam itself.

For beach we stayed in Varkala and it was lovely. Very odd having to drink a nice cold lager from a tea cup (dry state, tourist police come and check but the restaurants still serve alcohol anyway!)
We did a backwater cruise for 2 days and a tea plantation for a few days.
I loved Kerala, the food was amazing!

I think we stayed at the Uday something in Kovalam, probably could have not left the complex (as they always advise you but the best food places are always around and about aren't they, found that particularly in Goa they wanted to keep you in!). I remember being asked if we wanted any booze 😂 I remember them only having dry days rather than being fully dry but was 15 years ago.

We never did half the things on the list which included Hampi, and Munnar. Did the classics in Mumbai so I'm hopeful I'll never feel the need to go back there as I did find it hard work.

Thank you everyone for your helpful advice. Off to start planning now!

Did they not film a series of The Real Marigold Hotel in Cochin ? Might be worth watching for ideas ? I think my friends travelled on a houseboat.