Kerala tailor made holiday
| country: | India |
| location: | Kerala |
| trip type: | This trip can be tailormade throughout the year and can be adapted to suit your requirements for 2 to 12 people. This tour can be taken anytime |
| price: | From £640 (10 days) excluding flights. Includes all local sight seeing, air conditioned car ,deluxe hotels, airport transfers, meals as specified, all internal taxes. |
| offers: | £50 off per person for departures in April, May and June 2010 |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Kerala tailor made holiday
We welcome you to Kerala, God's Own Country. With the Arabian Sea on the west and the Western Ghats towering on the east, Kerala is networked by forty-four rivers.
Kerala is a very easy place to simply sit back and enjoy. The name means "land of coconuts"; the palms shade nearly the entire state from the tropical sun and many call the beach at Kovalam the best in India. Travellers come for tranquil stretches of emerald backwaters, lush green hill stations and exotic wildlife, ayurvedic health resorts, enchanting art forms, magical festivals, historic and cultural monuments, and exotic cuisine... a truly unique experience.
We will be visiting Cochin, built around a saltwater lagoon of the Arabian Sea and one of India’s most attractive cities. On to the tea plantations in the Cardamom Hills and then Periyar for wildlife viewing. The holiday ends with a cruise on a private houseboat or ‘kettuvallom’ through the peaceful palm-fringed backwaters of Kerala.
Extensions: A 7 day Ayurveda tour extension is available on request.
Kerala is a very easy place to simply sit back and enjoy. The name means "land of coconuts"; the palms shade nearly the entire state from the tropical sun and many call the beach at Kovalam the best in India. Travellers come for tranquil stretches of emerald backwaters, lush green hill stations and exotic wildlife, ayurvedic health resorts, enchanting art forms, magical festivals, historic and cultural monuments, and exotic cuisine... a truly unique experience.
We will be visiting Cochin, built around a saltwater lagoon of the Arabian Sea and one of India’s most attractive cities. On to the tea plantations in the Cardamom Hills and then Periyar for wildlife viewing. The holiday ends with a cruise on a private houseboat or ‘kettuvallom’ through the peaceful palm-fringed backwaters of Kerala.
Extensions: A 7 day Ayurveda tour extension is available on request.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Morning arrival in Cochin. Our executive will meet you and take you to your hotel. Rest of day at leisure. Evening welcome dinner. (D) |
| Day 2: | Cochin. We explore the old city this morning, visiting the 16th century Church of St. Francis, the Paradesi Synagogue in the heart of Cochin’s Jewish Town, the Mattancherry Palace, and the enormous cantilevered Chinese fishing nets characteristic of the Kerala coast. Afternoon free. (B,D) |
| Day 3: | Cardamom Hills. Today we drive inland and up the winding roads to the picturesque town of Munnar, located amongst tea plantations in the Cardamom Hills at 5.906ft. We spend the afternoon in this delightful spot and stay overnight at the resort. (B,D) |
| Day 4: | To Periyar. This morning we drive down from the hills and continue through coffee and pepper plantations to Periyar, where we stay at a resort. Afternoon boat trip on Lake Periyar, a haven for birdlife, including herons, hornbills and egrets. There are also approximately 800 elephants in the Periyar Reserve, and we hope to see some at the water’s edge. (B) |
| Day 5: | Spice Plantation. This morning we will have fascinating visit to a small spice plantation, where we will learn about the many uses of the spices, both in medicine and local cuisine. The rest of the day is at leisure. (B) |
| Day 6: | To Kumarakom. This morning we journey by road to Kumarakom, where we take a short boat ride. Overnight at the resort (B,D) |
| Day 7: | A full day at leisure. (B,D) |
| Day 8: | Houseboat cruise. After breakfast we board our private houseboats or ‘kettuvalloms’ for a memorable day of cruising through the peaceful palm-fringed backwaters of Kerala, passing local farming and fishing communities along the banks of the narrow canals. Each houseboat has two comfortable twin bedrooms with ensuite facilities. We spend overnight on board. Please note that each houseboat has a variable number of twin bedrooms with ensuite facilities. There is a large open-sided sitting area where meals, using local fish and vegetables (prepared on board) are served. Your houseboat is fully staffed, with a captain, his mate and a butler, who will accompany you on land for short excursions to local churches, temples and other attractions. (B,L,D) |
| Day 9: | Return to Cochin. In the morning disembark at Alleppey and drive back to Cochin for an afternoon and overnight hotel. A farewell dinner has been arranged. (B,D) |
| Day 10: | Depart Cochin. |
traveller reviews for Kerala tailor made holiday
We had a really great time. We got to chill out as well as do different things and activities. We were able to see different parts of Kerala which we could have planned ourselves but this saved us a lot of time and stress.
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how this holiday makes a difference
 In this trip we have made an arrangement with a local ground handling agent who takes care of our hotel bookings and other logistic support, hence 60% of the revenue generated from this tour goes back in the local hands of Kerala people. Throughout trip we only use local guides & escorts who are very well paid. The transport company is locally owned and we sometimes visit local restaurants en-route which are family run & owned locally. One of hotels we use was a former palace and a living example of maintaining an old heritage building in its former glory. Not only does our custom contribute to conservation of the building, but we also make it a point that they should give employment to the local people so that the local economy can benefit from tourism. In Munnar we use Tea County Hill resort, designed in the local style and surrounded by sprawling tea plantations. All staff is from the local area and purchasing is done locally from Munnar itself. This hotel has kept its old world charm by maintaining the old gardens which are dependent on recycled waste water. On the backwaters cruise, the boats are owned by the local people, an ancient tradition and way of life which is still alive in Kerala and which we help maintain by our custom. At Kumarakom we use Backwater Resort whose staff is all locally appointed and very well paid. While visiting Periyar National Park the clients are informed about the Park and advised: Stay in the vehicle all the time except at designated camps, do not leave your track while walking on foot, take all litter back home with you or put it in a bin at a camp, do not drop anything from the vehicle, please do not feed the animals or birds, please do not smoke or take matches or lighters into the park – fires can be devastating, please do not enter park under the influence of alcohol. We work in partnership with Jagriti which works for the poor children who have no homes and make their shelter in railway platforms. We donate £5 per person to this association and help the children to find job placements. |
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. |
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