Kerala luxury holiday
| country: | India |
| location: | Kerala |
| departures: | This trip can be tailor-made to suit your dates, budget and requirements |
| price: | From £1464 (14 days) excluding flights, based on 2 people sharing. Price includes all accommodation, all transfers (with A/C) any activities listed, current taxes and local assistance. We can arrange flights from the UK |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Experiencing the highlights of Kerala at a relaxed pace with a mixture of sightseeing, wildlife viewing and leisure time. The hotels used on this tour are top range, extremely comfortable and the owners have a strong belief in ecotourism.
This tour gives you a chance to experience a diversity of landscapes from the harbour city of Cochin to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in the highlands of the Western Ghats. A trip to Kerala is not complete without time to experience the backwaters, so we have allocated four days in this area (two at a resort and two on a houseboat). We have included a stay in a restored estate house set in a rubber plantation and also three days at the beautiful beach area of Mararikulam.
All your transfers will be in a chauffeur driven air-conditioned car. This tour does not compromise on comfort, despite being responsible.
The best time to visit Kerala is during the European Winter (October to April) with the very best months being December, January, February and March. May, June and July are usually wet and August and September can be pleasant and in many places is festival time.
This tour gives you a chance to experience a diversity of landscapes from the harbour city of Cochin to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in the highlands of the Western Ghats. A trip to Kerala is not complete without time to experience the backwaters, so we have allocated four days in this area (two at a resort and two on a houseboat). We have included a stay in a restored estate house set in a rubber plantation and also three days at the beautiful beach area of Mararikulam.
All your transfers will be in a chauffeur driven air-conditioned car. This tour does not compromise on comfort, despite being responsible.
best time to go
At approximately 8 degrees from the equator Kerala is located within the tropics - this means that the temperature is warm to hot throughout the year. Kerala has two monsoons a year – the main south westerly (from the Arabian Sea in June/July) and the later north easterly (from the Bay of Bengal in October/November). The best time to visit Kerala is during the European Winter (October to April) with the very best months being December, January, February and March. May, June and July are usually wet and August and September can be pleasant and in many places is festival time.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Cochin. Arrive at the historic harbour city of Cochin; spend the rest of the day relaxing or exploring Fort Cochin. Overnight Malabar House. |
| Day 2: | Sightseeing in Cochin. Take a guided half day city tour of Cochin and visit sights including St Francis Church, Mattancherry Palace, Jew town and the Chinese fishing nets. In the evening attend a Kathakali performance, arrive early to watch the performers apply their make up and costumes. Overnight Malabar House. |
| Day 3: | Coconut Lagoon. Transfer by car and boat to Coconut Lagoon, one of the most special hotels in the backwaters. The rest of the day is free to relax or take part in local activities. Overnight Coconut Lagoon |
| Day 4: | Free day for activities. A range of activities are offered by the hotel including guided village walks, boat trips and bird watching to name but a few. Ayurveda treatments are also offered and resident naturalists offer nature walks. Overnight Coconut Lagoon |
| Day 5: | Houseboat. Board your Houseboat which will moor along side the resort around lunchtime. Spend the rest day cruising the backwaters, relaxing, eating and being looked after by the attentive staff on board. Overnight deluxe air-conditioned houseboat. |
| Day 6: | Cruising the backwaters. Full day cruising the backwaters. The boat will stop at places of interest along the way where you can get off and explore. Overnight deluxe air-conditioned houseboat. |
| Day 7: | Thekkady. After breakfast disembark from the houseboat and transfer by car to Thekkady (Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary). Rest of the day free. Overnight Spice Village |
| Day 8: | Soft trek. An early morning guided soft trek in the forest is included in this tour. Other activities may be arranged locally and this may include a jeep safari, a boat trip across the lake or a bullock cart ride. Overnight Spice Village. |
| Day 9: | Western Ghats. Transfer by car to Kanam Estate in the foothills of the Western Ghats and stay in a stylish Estate House set amongst a rubber plantation. Overnight Serenity. |
| Day 10: | Free day. Spend the day enjoying this 1920’s property. Serenity has a swimming pool and small gym. There is also a chance to ‘spend a day with an elephant’. Overnight Serenity |
| Day 11: | Mararikulam. Transfer to the beach resort of Mararikulam. Overnight Marari Beach Resort |
| Day 12-13: | Relax. Days free to relax and explore the area. Overnight Marari Beach Resort. |
| Day 14: | Depart. Transfer to Cochin airport for your return flight. |
tailor made holiday
This trip can be tailormade to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by British travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more luxurious trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments before relaxing in comfort in some of the best and most characterful local accommodation! Quality and value are the hallmark of these trips.how this holiday makes a difference
|
By supporting locally owned hotels and homestays we are helping to provide employment for local communities. All of the hotels on this tour are extremely proud of their strong policies regarding the environment and ecotourism. CGH Earth Group who own Coconut Lagoon, Spice Village and Marari Beach have evolved over four decades into a chain that specialises in remaining true to the environment – one of their mottos is "Nature remains the Chief Architect". While staying at their resorts the staff will be happy to show you around their various environmental projects including water harvesting and water re-cycling, organic farming, biogas facility, composting etc.
The Malabar House hospitality team (which includes Serenity) is committed to sustainability and social and environmental responsibility. They are the only operation (at the time of writing) in India that is certified by Green Globe 21, the worldwide environmental certification program for sustainable travel and tourism. The houseboat is locally made using traditional methods and natural materials and owned by a local company. All our houseboats adhere to stringent environmental rules and regulations that are in force on the Kerala backwaters. The ground handling of this tour is provided by our local agent and we supply him with 90% of his turnover. All of the drivers and staff are local people. Thus we have fifteen local families that are directly financially reliant upon us. Our drivers have a contract and are paid a monthly wage. This is very unusual in South India where most drivers are normally employed on a commission-only basis (not easy for such seasonal work). All of the guides we use are local. Tailor-made holidays cater for couples or small groups and this means that our customers have the opportunity to interact with the locals. All of our customers are supplied with detailed information about their holiday. We supply general advice relevant to all customers as well as more specific facts about your particular tour. These documents offer our customers lots of advice and guidance including how to obtain an Indian Visa, which immunisations are recommended, how much to tip people, how to dress appropriately and how to behave in National Parks. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |