Kerala family holiday
| country: | India |
| location: | Kerala |
| departures: | This trip can be tailormade at a time to suit you and adapted to suit your budget and requirements |
| price: | From £3898 (14 days) excluding flights, based on family of four staying in two rooms. Peak season surcharge: £170 for a family of 4 from 20 Dec - 10 Jan. We can arrange flights from the UK |
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the amazing things you'll be doing
This tour in Kerala, South India, has been specially put together for small families. It is suitable for children of any age who are relaxed about camping and staying in non-western environments (e.g. the food is all Indian).
It offers both luxury (travelling through the backwaters on a houseboat), with adventure (sleeping in a tent on the banks of the river Periyar) and the chance to see elephants and take three-wheelers around Kochi city.
This trip can be tailormade at a time to suit you and adapted to suit your budget and requirements.
It offers both luxury (travelling through the backwaters on a houseboat), with adventure (sleeping in a tent on the banks of the river Periyar) and the chance to see elephants and take three-wheelers around Kochi city.
This trip can be tailormade at a time to suit you and adapted to suit your budget and requirements.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1-2: | Kochi. Your arrival in the City of Kochi. Set on a cluster of islands and narrow peninsulas, Kochi is a city of cultural diversity - winding streets, shady trees, Kathakali dance, modern Indian art, 500-year old Portuguese houses, mosques, a tiny Jewish community with ancient roots - and ferry boats scuttling backwards and forwards. Once you are settled into your hotel, we can take you on our backstreet tour of the city by foot and three-wheelers, visiting the spice market, the fishing harbour and, in the evening, the city's Kathakali dance show. Overnight (2 nights): The Old Courtyard Hotel, Fort Cochin - 200 year old Portuguese building, centred on a cobblestone courtyard, fine food, and live classical Indian music in the evenings. |
| Day 3-4: | Lowland Forests at Thattekkad. We will make our way by car (one hour) to the bird sanctuary at Thattekkad, a lowland forest rich in bird life - over 270 species in a very small area & staying tented camp. We will walk the forest, go on canoe trips, go birding and visit the waterfalls nearby. This is also a chance to meet up with the elephants at the elephant camp for an interaction, an experience you will carry home as the highlight of your trip to Kerala. Overnight: (2 nights): The Hornbill Camp, a luxury tented camp (with en-suite toilet) on the banks of the river Periyar. You'll wake to a dawn chorus of birds and will be cared for by the local community members. Large numbers of rare birds and butterflies can be seen in the adjacent bird sanctuary. |
| Day 5-7 | Munnar. From the lowlands, we'll take the spectacular two hour long drive the National Highway 49 - through forests and tea gardens - to the hill station of Munnar, 1524 metres high in the mountains. The combination of crisp mountain air, craggy peaks and tall red wood trees make it a peaceful retreat. Here rare endemic bird species find their home - the White bellied Shortwing, the Broad tailed Grass bird - as well as the endangered Nilgiri Tahr (primitive cousins of true goats). The area was once a favourite summer resort of the British and still has a colonial air. Our stay at the Plantation Bungalow - a Tea Planter’s bungalow - reflects the lives of the planters. Here we can explore the plantations and meet the artisans who work the land. We can walk the tea estates, take picnics, visit the indigenous people at their kudis or villages, go mountain biking, or scale the second highest peak South of the Himalayas (Meesapulimala). Overnight: (3 nights): The Plantation Bungalow - a planter’s bungalow - perched on a cliff overlooking valleys and mountains. |
| Day 8-10: | Periyar Tiger Reserve. We’ll make our way to Periyar reserve and the drive time is 4 hours. Periyar is a 777 sq km forested wildlife reserve - home to bison, sambar, wild boar, Nilgiri langur, elephants and tigers. Run under the imaginative supervision of the Kerala Forest Department, it is also home to the indigenous Mannan community, who help conserve the reserve in exchange for income from eco-tourism. Living in the outskirts of the reserve, they run many of the activities that we can do - trekking, bamboo rafting, night treks, elephant rides and plantation visits, boating, tribal village visit, jeep safari to Gavi. Overnight: (3 nights): Spice Village |
| Day 11: | On board a Rice boat. We'll take the car (4 hours drive time) to Alleppey on the Kerala backwaters, where we'll be met by the houseboat. One of Kerala's most luxurious forms of accommodation, the houseboat is a converted rice-barge. Reclining on cushions, you'll travel through the rivers and a labyrinth of man-made canals that flow through island paddy fields. Overnight: House boat, lunch and dinner on board. |
| Day 12-14: | Marari beach. We'll make our way to Arakkal homestay (30 minutes drive time) - just 200 meters from the sea. This is the home of Abi and Mini. Mini is a beautician and a wonderful cook. You can stroll along the beach, go swimming, take an elephant ride (this is usually possible), going cycling, and have your hands and feet henna-ed. If you'd like to have traditional clothes made up for you, Abi can take you to Allepey to buy the materials and then get it measured and sewn up by the local tailor. Overnight (3 nights): Arakkal home stay. Note: the beach at Arakkal is a public beach used by the local fishermen and not suitable for sunbathing. If you are looking for a conventional resort with a beach suitable for sunbathing, we can arrange this for you. |
travellers' tales
All the guides and hosts were very nice people who did their best to ensure we had an enjoyable time....We were pleased that the places we stayed seemed conscious about minimising environmental damage. (more)
how this holiday makes a difference
 When you take a tour with us, around 60% of your money stays in India – supporting the social/environmental work of our partners and the projects they support. Hotels and homestays are owned by local people. We only use local guides and drivers, with local hosts providing personal insight into a specific area e.g. we aim to use indigenous trekking guides. Our tours are listed in the Ethical Travel Guide, published by Tourism Concern. We charge carbon tax to our guests for their flights according to the rates given by Climate Care and pay Climate Care yearly. |
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 lead 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. |