Kerala

Kerala, in a few days

From the old spice port of Kochi to a houseboat on the Alleppey backwaters, the tea estates of Munnar and the cliffs of Varkala: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

Day by day

1

Kochi (Cochin)

Days 1-2

A spice port traded through by Arabs, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and British in turn. The cantilevered Chinese fishing nets on the Fort Kochi shore are its emblem.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Old Kochi and the Chinese nets, guidedHalf day · from €20
  Fort Kochi and Mattancherry on foot, from the fishing nets to the spice warehouses and the Dutch Palace.
• A Kathakali performanceEvening · from €12
  Kerala's classical dance drama, where the story is told through gesture and eyes, with the make-up applied in front of the audience beforehand.

✦ Free to visit

• The Chinese fishing nets
• Fort Kochi, its colonial lanes and galleries
• The Paradesi Synagogue and Jew Town
• The seafront at sunset

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Zostel Kochi ↗ (€12 a night) · Mid-range: Brunton Boatyard ↗ (€130 a night) · Luxury: Taj Malabar Resort ↗ (€260 a night) · All places to stay by budget →

📲 Book things to do in Kochi (Cochin) on GetYourGuide

2

Munnar

Days 3-4 · 🚗 Car 4h

A hill station at around 1,600 metres in the Western Ghats, where tea bushes cover every slope the British planters could reach.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Tea estate and tea museumHalf day · from €15
  From the picking on the slopes to the rolling and drying in the factory, then a tasting.
• Eravikulam National ParkHalf day · from €25
  Grassland at the top of the hills, home to the Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found nowhere else. The park closes every February and March for the calving season.

✦ Free to visit

• Tea estates from one horizon to the other
• The viewpoints over the Western Ghats
• The waterfalls
• The mountain lakes

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Zostel Munnar ↗ (€13 a night) · Mid-range: Tea Valley Resort ↗ (€85 a night) · Luxury: Windermere Estate ↗ (€180 a night) · All places to stay by budget →

📲 Book things to do in Munnar on GetYourGuide

3

Alleppey and the backwaters

Days 5-6 · 🚗 Car 4h30

Alappuzha sits on a maze of lagoons, rivers and canals running parallel to the coast, best seen from the deck of a houseboat.

🎟️ Worth booking

• A night on a backwater houseboatNight on board · from €120
  A night aboard a kettuvallam, a converted rice barge, with a cook on board and the boat moored at dusk.
• Canoe through the narrow canalsHalf day · from €15
  A small boat goes where the houseboats cannot, down village canals barely wider than the hull.

✦ Free to visit

• The backwaters and the paddy fields
• The villages along the water
• Alleppey beach and its lighthouse
• Sunset over the sea from the clifftop cafés

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Palmy Residency ↗ (€22 a night) · Luxury: Purity at Lake Vembanad ↗ (€260 a night) · All places to stay by budget →

📲 Book things to do in Alleppey and the backwaters on GetYourGuide

4

Varkala

Days 7-10 · 🚗 Car 3h

A beach at the foot of red laterite cliffs, with a temple town behind it and ayurvedic centres along the clifftop path.

🎟️ Worth booking

• Yoga class above the sea2h · from €15
  An early morning class on the clifftop, facing the Arabian Sea before the heat sets in.
• Boat trip along the coastHalf day · from €25
  A morning at sea off the cliffs, with dolphins often seen in season.

✦ Free to visit

• The cliff and the beach below
• The temples
• Sunset over the sea from the clifftop cafés
• The sacred springs

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Zostel Varkala ↗ (€12 a night) · Mid-range: Gateway Varkala ↗ (€85 a night) · All places to stay by budget →

📲 Book things to do in Varkala on GetYourGuide

Worth sorting before you go

A driver, then a houseboat · A car and driver handle the hairpin roads up to Munnar, and a houseboat takes over on the backwaters.

📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly

🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta

🚗 Car hire
Compare the agencies before you land.
Compare · Booking

💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut

🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer

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Flavours & local habits

🍽️ Worth tasting

• Dosa: a thin, crisp pancake of fermented rice and lentils, served with sambar and chutney.
• Idli: soft steamed rice cakes, the standard southern breakfast.
• Kerala curry: fish, prawns or vegetables cooked in coconut milk with curry leaves.
• Sadya: a vegetarian feast served on a banana leaf, eaten with the right hand.
• Filter coffee: strong South Indian coffee with hot milk, poured from a height to froth it.

⚠️ Best avoided

• Drink sealed bottled water only, and eat food that is hot and freshly cooked.
• Cover shoulders and knees at temples, and take your shoes off at the door. Some temples admit Hindus only.
• Agree the auto-rickshaw fare before you get in, or use Uber or Ola.
• Plan around the monsoon: heavy rain from June to September, and again in October and November.

Words that help

English ↔ Tamil

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The practical page

Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/kerala

Packing checklist

Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.