Kochi · Munnar · Thekkady · Alleppey · Kovalam · 7 nights / 8 days · family
Kerala Complete — 7 Nights
The whole state, without rushing any of it. A night in Fort Kochi to land properly, two in the Munnar tea hills, one at Thekkady, one on an Alleppey houseboat and two at Kovalam. Kanyakumari is a day trip from the coast if you want the southern tip of India as well.
Photos
Highlights
- A night in Fort Kochi — Chinese fishing nets, the Dutch Palace, Jew Town and the cafés
- Two nights in Munnar with a full day for the tea estates
- Periyar lake and a spice plantation walk at Thekkady
- A deluxe Alleppey houseboat night with all meals aboard
- Two nights at Kovalam, with Kanyakumari reachable as a day trip
- Fly into Kochi and out of Trivandrum — no backtracking
- Private air-conditioned car and driver for all eight days
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1 — Arrive Kochi
Land, check in at Fort Kochi, and spend the afternoon walking. The Chinese fishing nets at sunset, the Dutch Palace at Mattancherry, the synagogue and the spice warehouses around it. Dinner somewhere on the waterfront.
Day 2 — Kochi to Munnar
Four hours up into the tea, with the waterfalls on the way. Arrive by mid-afternoon.
Day 3 — Munnar, all day
Tea estates, Mattupetty Dam, Echo Point, Kundala Lake, Eravikulam if it's open, and the Tea Museum if the cloud comes down.
Day 4 — Munnar to Thekkady
Three or four hours across to the spice hills. Periyar boat, spice plantation walk, and Kathakali in the evening if you'd like it.
Day 5 — Thekkady to Alleppey, and onto the houseboat
Down to the backwaters, aboard around noon, and then the afternoon on the water. All meals on the boat.
Day 6 — Alleppey to Kovalam
Breakfast on the water, off by nine, and south down the coast. At Kovalam by early afternoon.
Day 7 — Kovalam, or Kanyakumari
Free at the beach, or take the day trip to Kanyakumari — the point where three seas meet, the Vivekananda Rock, and sunrise or sunset over water in both directions. It's a long day and it costs extra for the car; tell us in advance and we'll build it in.
Day 8 — Home
Transfer to Trivandrum airport.
Included
- Hotels for every night of the trip, on twin sharing, with breakfast each morning
- A private air-conditioned car with a driver for the whole trip — every transfer and every sightseeing stop
- Your driver is with you 8am to 8pm each day
- One night on a deluxe Alleppey houseboat, a 20-hour cruise with lunch, evening tea, dinner and next morning's breakfast cooked on board
- All toll charges, interstate permits, parking fees and driver allowance
- All applicable taxes on the above
- A single point of contact in Delhi before, during and after the trip
Not included
- Flights or trains to and from the start and end points
- Lunches, dinners and snacks, unless a meal is listed in the inclusions
- Entrance fees at monuments, parks, boat jetties and viewpoints — these are paid at the gate
- Personal expenses: tips, laundry, phone calls, room service, porterage
- Optional activities, and any upgrade you decide to take on the day
- Travel insurance
- Anything not written into the inclusions list above
Best time to go: September to March; the June to September green season is wetter, greener and considerably cheaper
Things to carry
- · Photo ID for every traveller, including children — hotels ask for it at check-in
- · A light rain jacket or a compact umbrella
- · One warm layer: hill station evenings drop to 12–15°C even in summer
- · Walking shoes with grip, not new ones
- · Mosquito repellent
- · Any regular medication, plus motion-sickness tablets if you are prone to them — the ghat roads have a lot of bends
- · A power bank; charging points on the houseboat are limited
Cancellation policy
More than 30 days before departure: we retain ₹3,000 per person and refund the rest. 30 to 15 days before departure: 25% of the package cost. 14 to 8 days before departure: 50% of the package cost. 7 days or less, or no show: 100%.
Houseboat nights, festival dates and a few resorts carry stricter terms of their own. If any part of your booking is on non-refundable terms, we tell you in writing before you pay anything — it will never be a surprise at the cancellation stage.
Refunds go back to the account you paid from, within 7 to 10 working days of the cancellation being confirmed.
Flight tickets, once issued, follow the airline's own rules and are refunded only to the extent the airline refunds us.
More questions, answered
- Are flights included?
- No. The price covers everything on the ground from the moment you land to the moment we drop you back. We can book your flights alongside the package if you'd rather have one invoice — just say so when you enquire.
- Is the car ours for the whole trip?
- Yes. Same car, same driver, from arrival to departure. It isn't a shared coach and it isn't a series of separate transfers. Your driver is with you 8am to 8pm each day.
- What if there are four or six of us?
- The price drops per head, and not by a little. The car and the driver cost the same whether two people are in it or six, so a group of six pays roughly a third less each than a couple does for exactly the same trip. Tell us your group size and we'll send the real number.
- Can we change the hotels?
- Yes, within reason. Tell us what you want and we'll price it. The categories on this page are the ones we hold rates in, but we're not locked to a fixed list.
- How do we pay?
- Part now to confirm the booking, the balance before you travel. You get a proper GST invoice, not a WhatsApp message with a UPI ID.
- Is Kanyakumari included?
- The day trip isn't in the base price — it's an extra day of running for the car, and we quote it separately so people who don't want it aren't paying for it. Ask us and we'll add it to your quote.
- Seven nights with children — is it too much driving?
- It's the version we'd suggest for a family, precisely because it isn't. The Kochi night at the start and the two at Kovalam at the end mean only three of the eight days involve a long transfer. The 6-night version is tighter.