[2fast4u]

hi to all team bhpians

i am presently in bahrain and plan to visit "God's own land".
I will be visiting around mid December - duration of stay 9 days.
presently I am unsure of which airport whether Cochin or Trivandrum would be best for starting the trip

i have planned to visit
Kanyakumari 1day,
Kovalam couple of hours or maybe 1 day,
Kollam 1 day,
Cochin 1 day,
Munnar 2 days (extendable by 1 day),
Thekady Periyar 1 day probably a tree house,
Kumarakom backwater and Allepey backwater 1 day.

9 days does not make justice to this wonderful place, would love more time.

i can extend my stay by 2 days and would like to know from the Team Bhpians
1) places not to be missed.
2) best route to avoid waste of time - where to start - which airport would suit best to begin.
3) what would be the hotel bookings like in mid december

over to the bhpians.
thanks

[Mistakenguy]

I would suggest you to start from trivandrum and start moving from south to the north . ie kanyakumari to thekkadi .
Kanyakumari-Kovalam-Kollam-Kumarakom,Allepey-Cochin-Munnar-Thekady is what I would do ..

[hvkumar]

Does not really matter which airport, Trivandrum or Cochin, since you have to complete the circuit covering both.

The ideal circuit would be to disembark at one and return from the other, although you will end up paying the taxi operator for one-way return to his base.

Let us assume that you land up in Trivandrum. The itinerary would go as follows:

Day 1: Trivandrum Airport, directly drive to Kanyakumari, 3 hours, stay overnight at Kanyakumari

Day 2: Return to Trivandrum/Kovalam (this is 13 kms from TVM), stay at Kovalam or Trivandrum

Day 3: From Kovalam/Trivandrum, drive to Kollam, 70 kms, 1.5 hours, stay at Kollam

Day 4: Kollam to Thekkady, around 200 kms, 6 hours, stay at Thekkady/Kumili

Day 5: Thekkady to Munnar, 120 kms, 3-4 hours, stay overnight

Day 6: Stay at Munnar

Day 7:Munnar to Kumarakom, under 150 kms, 4 hours, stay at Kumarakom

Day 8: KUmarakom

Day 9: Kumarakom to Kochi, 70 kms, 2 hours

Board the plane at Kochi

If it is backwaters you are looking for, you could do the cruises off Kollam too - in the Ashtamudi Kayal (Kumarakom and Alapuzha are in the Vembanad Kayal). If you decide to do that, then you can proceed directly from Munnar to Kochi/Airport, 120 kms, 3 hours

Let me warn you that all hotels are fully booked in December, that being teh peak foreign tourist season, and expensive hotels in Kerala become more expensive. It may be cheaper to stay in Trivandrum instead of Kovalam which is not a great beach anyway.

All backwater resorts are likely to be booked and expensive, maybe teh Kollam option (or Paravur Kayal, near Kollam) looks a better option than Kumarakom. There are a couple of good resorts on the Paravur kayal and Ashtamudi Kayal.

Book hotels in advance. Hire a car from Trivandrum and retain it all teh way through till you discharge it in Trivandrum. In case you wish to complete a round trip (back to Trivandrum/Kochi), keep in mind that the distance between teh 2 cities is 220 kms, 4-5 hours. Kochi Airport is 25 kms from Kochi north of Kochi (Trivandrum is South of Kochi).

IN case you wish to reverse the order of travel, this would be the circuit:

Kochi Airport-Munnar-Thekkady-Kumarakom/Kollam-Trivandrum-Kanyakumari-Trivandrum

[jkdas]

Dec would be peak time with tourists. Be sure you book first. And it will be costlier.

for eg: house boats which cost 5k per day off season goes upto 50k mid ec

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by 2fast4u

"God's own land".
I will be visiting around mid December - duration of stay 9 days.

Call your travel agent and make a booking through Etihad Holidays - they have some great packages. Either that or Emirates.

[RedOne]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Day 4: Kollam to Thekkady, around 200 kms, 6 hours, stay at Thekkady/Kumili

Day 5: Thekkady to Munnar, 120 kms, 3-4 hours, stay overnight

Day 6: Stay at Munnar

Day 7:Munnar to Kumarakom, under 150 kms, 4 hours, stay at Kumarakom

How about Kollam to Kumarakom by house boat (or reg boat) on the back waters, and then from Kumarakom do Munnar, Thekkady, Kochi? I haven't done this so do not know pro/cons but always wanted to do Kollam-Kumarakom by boat.

Gears,
Red-One.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by RedOne

How about Kollam to Kumarakom by house boat (or reg boat) on the back waters, and then from Kumarakom do Munnar, Thekkady, Kochi? I haven't done this so do not know pro/cons but always wanted to do Kollam-Kumarakom by boat.

Gears,
Red-One.

Although there is a continuous waterway from Kollam to Kumarakom/Alapuzha (Ashtamudi Kayal intersecting with Vembanad Kayal), I am not sure whether there are any tourist boats on that route (or regular ferries for that matter).

Kumarakom to Munnar is also a good routing via Kottayam, Muvattupuzha, Kothamangalam, and therefrom to Thekkady and back to the plains via Peeremede, Mundakayam, Kottayam.

[2fast4u]

Route Query:

As I will be travelling Nagapattinam to Munnar wanted to know which route is better
1) Surface
2) Scenery
Route 1 = Nagapat - Tiruchirapalli - Madurai - Munnar
Route 2 = Nagapat - Tiruchirapalli - Dindigul - Munnar

the sector in question is after Tiruchirapalli to Munnar.
thanks bhpians

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by 2fast4u

Route Query:

As I will be travelling Nagapattinam to Munnar wanted to know which route is better
1) Surface
2) Scenery
Route 1 = Nagapat - Tiruchirapalli - Madurai - Munnar
Route 2 = Nagapat - Tiruchirapalli - Dindigul - Munnar

the sector in question is after Tiruchirapalli to Munnar.
thanks bhpians

If you go via Madurai, you will go on NH49 via Andipatti and Theni, Bodi, Bodi Medu and Poopara.

If you go via Dindigul, you will go via Periakulam, Vathalagundu to Theni and take NH49 from thereon.

Between the above 2, there is hardly any difference, except in the routing that you take from Nagapattinam. I guess you can come straight from Thiruvarur to Pudukottai and Madurai/Dindigul without touching Trichy. The route goes through several small towns, rich paddy fields, etc before climbing up the ghats after Bodi.

The other route would be to take the Trichy-Musiri-Karur-Dharapuram-Udumalaipet route to go to Munnar via Chinar and Maraiyoor. This route is boring through TN, but once you get to Kerala border at Chinar, you go through wildlife territory. Ideally, you can take the 2 different routes either way. I have not checked out teh distances, but I think they may not be vastly different.

[2fast4u]

thanks HVKumar
dindigul munnar = 150 kms
madurai munnar = 152 kms

will choose anyone based on how good my connectivity is. thanks for the info.

[manziee_crusier]

I think your question is already answered.
Try MapmyIndia - maps, directions, and local search across India - just search, print and go! and plan your trip.
It can really help you

[deepakhon]

Hello everyone,

I and my family are planning to drive down to the following places from Bangalore during the mid/third week of Jan:
Munnar
Tekkadi
Kumarakom/Alleppey (house boat stay for one day)

It would be great if people who are well versed with these areas can help me out in with the following:
1. Which of these places should I visit first and how should I plan my journey?
2. What are the best routes to take?
3. What are the good hotels/resorts there?

I have a two year old daughter who will be accompanying me on this trip. So, some comfortable hotels/resorts is a requirement.