[andescondor]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBoss

I would suggest as follows:

Day 1 : BLR - Parambikkulam, arrival at noon and activities of package.
Day 2 : Till noon at Parambikulam to complete the package and then to Munnar via Valparai, Athirappilly Falls (some 300 kms, drive will be a bit tiring, you may reach Munnar in the night only)
Day 3 : Munnar
Day 4 : Munnar - Thekady
Day 5 : Thekady - Bangalore via Theni, Dindigul.

Add one more day and you'll be able to cover Parambikulam and Thekady.

Thanks for the suggestions. Let me see if I can add one more day. From a stay perspective, Thekkady and Parambikulam are similar - forest stay, jungle safari, boat ride etc... Or, is there any other attractions in Thekkady which are not offered in Parambikulam? Question is, is it worth another overnight stay at Thekkady.

Also, Parambikulam to Athirappilly to Valparai to Munnar seems a bit too long > 10 hours etc. Or, is there a shorter route. I was thinking of excluding Valparai for Athirappilly. Dont want to miss the waterfalls. What do you suggest?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by andescondor

Also, Parambikulam to Athirappilly to Valparai to Munnar seems a bit too long > 10 hours etc. Or, is there a shorter route. I was thinking of excluding Valparai for Athirappilly. Dont want to miss the waterfalls. What do you suggest?

If you're planning Athirapilly & Vazhachal (both waterfalls almost next door to each other with separate entries from the road about 1-2Km apart), head back to Munnar via Kochi instead of going all the way to Valparai, will save you time.
Hence, I was suggesting Valparai and Parambikulam as a separate trip
I haven't been to Thekkady but I think it can be done as a day trip from/en route Munnar.

[andescondor]

Thank you all. Assuming that I stay at Munnar for one full day - what are the attractions I should cover and not miss? Thank you.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by andescondor

Thank you all. Assuming that I stay at Munnar for one full day - what are the attractions I should cover and not miss? Thank you.

Look up the dedicated Munnar thread you should find what you're looking for.
Some of them are: Eravikulam, echo point, maatupetty dam, Kundale dam, top station, tea museum.

[andescondor]

Originally Posted by andescondor

Also, Parambikulam to Athirappilly to Valparai to Munnar seems a bit too long > 10 hours etc. Or, is there a shorter route. I was thinking of excluding Valparai for Athirappilly. Dont want to miss the waterfalls. What do you suggest?

From Bangalore to Parambikulam - Google map shows 8 hrs 20 min and 7 hours without traffic (BLR - Hosur - Erode - Pollachi --> Parambikulam)

From BLR - Periyar house - Google map shows 8 hrs 40 mins and 7 hours without traffic (BLR - Hosur - Karur - Dindigul -->Thekkady)

How long does it actually take to travel to these places provided that I start at 5 AM in the morning and are these the best routes in terms of time and road conditions? Please advise.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by andescondor

From Bangalore to Parambikulam - Google map shows 8 hrs 20 min and 7 hours without traffic (BLR - Hosur - Erode - Pollachi --> Parambikulam)

For Parambikulam the routes you can consider are:
1. Bangalore-Salem-Avinashi bypass-turn off towards Mangalam-Palladam-Pollachi-Anaimalai-Sethumadai-Parambikulam

Bangalore-Avinashi about 5 hours with one 30 minute break
Avinashi-Pollachi < 1.5 hours
Pollachi-Parambikulam 1.5 hours

So I think about 8 hours is a decent estimate.

You may find this useful, from our visit last year - here

2. Bangalore-Salem-Coimbatore-L&T Palakkad bypass-turn off towards Pollachi-Anaimalai-Sethumadai-Parambikulam
(My preference is #1 but this will work too since you start by 5am and you will have 4 laned roads till Coimbatore)

[ghodlur]

Experts,

I am planning a Kerala trip with family in last week of October sans driving. Will be flying to Kochi and the itinerary is Kochi>Munnar (2N)>Thekkady (1N)>Kumarakon (1N)>Kovalam(3N)>Kochi (1N)> fly back to Mumbai. From Kovalam, I will be doing Kanyakumar (1D), Poovar Island+Trivandrum sightseeing (1D) and Kovalam beach 1/2D. Does this itinerary looks good. The trip is through a packaged tour costing approx 40K including travel + hotels. Hotels are as follows:
1) Munnar: Summer breeze (near Vengala dam), property owned by package tour owner.
2) Thekkady; Grand Thekkady
3) Kumarokom: Manor back water
4) Kovalam - Green shore apartments
5) Kochi - Hotel pearl palace.

Trip advisor reviews about the hotels are good enough, may not be exactly too comfortable. Experts who have stayed at any of the above hotels to provide more insight.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Experts,

I am planning a Kerala trip with family in last week of October sans driving. Will be flying to Kochi and the itinerary is Kochi>Munnar (2N)>Thekkady (1N)>Kumarakon (1N)>Kovalam(3N)>Kochi (1N)> fly back to Mumbai. From Kovalam, I will be doing Kanyakumar (1D), Poovar Island+Trivandrum sightseeing (1D) and Kovalam beach 1/2D. Does this itinerary looks good. The trip is through a packaged tour costing approx 40K including travel + hotels. Hotels are as follows:
1) Munnar: Summer breeze (near Vengala dam), property owned by package tour owner.
2) Thekkady; Grand Thekkady
3) Kumarokom: Manor back water
4) Kovalam - Green shore apartments
5) Kochi - Hotel pearl palace.

Trip advisor reviews about the hotels are good enough, may not be exactly too comfortable. Experts who have stayed at any of the above hotels to provide more insight.

Why would you want to travel all the way back to Kochi from Trivandrum (which is a 6hr drive at best)when there are plenty of flights available from TRV to BOM.The day you land,head to Kochi,stay for a night there and go around Kochi and then next day or the day after head to Munnar.From there to Thekkady.From Thekkady to Kumarakom,from Kumarakom to TVM and fly back to BOM from TVM.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Experts,

I am planning a Kerala trip with family in last week of October sans driving. Will be flying to Kochi and the itinerary is Kochi>Munnar (2N)>Thekkady (1N)>Kumarakon (1N)>Kovalam(3N)>Kochi (1N)> fly back to Mumbai. From Kovalam, I will be doing Kanyakumar (1D), Poovar Island+Trivandrum sightseeing (1D) and Kovalam beach 1/2D. Does this itinerary looks good. The trip is through a packaged tour costing approx 40K including travel + hotels. Hotels are as follows:
1) Munnar: Summer breeze (near Vengala dam), property owned by package tour owner.
2) Thekkady; Grand Thekkady
3) Kumarokom: Manor back water
4) Kovalam - Green shore apartments
5) Kochi - Hotel pearl palace.

Trip advisor reviews about the hotels are good enough, may not be exactly too comfortable. Experts who have stayed at any of the above hotels to provide more insight.

Thats a nice itinerary! While at Kovalam, have lunch/dinner @ Leela if it aint raining. It has one of the best views.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Why would you want to travel all the way back to Kochi from Trivandrum (which is a 6hr drive at best)when there are plenty of flights available from TRV to BOM

Actually I booked flights during the recent offers by airlines and the best and cheapest way was to book to and from from Kochi. I did look at the flights from Trivandrum, the last flight was at 8 pm and that too by AirIndia. Most of other flights I saw on booking day were in the mornings and none late evenings. In fact I was planning to arrive at Kochi by Train which leaves Kochuveli at 9 and reaches Ernakulam by 1pm but then it would be too much dependence on trains, hence skipped it.

The tour operator has promised to visit a few beaches enroute to Kochi.

[JoseVijay]

My Trip to Munnar has been finalised. I will be reaching on 3rd Oct by afternoon. Request help to plan my stay for 3 days. We will be there for 2 full days,i.e., 4th and 5th. So please help me plan local sight seeing on 3rd. Which are the places to visit on 4th and 5th?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

My Trip to Munnar has been finalised. I will be reaching on 3rd Oct by afternoon. Request help to plan my stay for 3 days. We will be there for 2 full days,i.e., 4th and 5th. So please help me plan local sight seeing on 3rd. Which are the places to visit on 4th and 5th?

Keep 1 day to visit these places are they are all on the same route:
1.Echo Point
2.Kundale Dam
3.Matupetty Dam & boating
4.Top Station (this is almost the end of this route and you can return after visiting here)

On the other side you have Eravikulam national park (usually very crowded, so plan the visit accordingly). This is on the Marayoor route and you will see the crowd if you take this route into Munnar

Also plan to visit the Kannan Devan Tea stores near their office inside the Munnar Town and other stores selling honey, spices, etc - good to just walk around the streets inside the town.
The Team Museum is also worth a visit, maybe on the evening of Day 1 or 2.

If you like veggie food, visit Saravana Bhavan inside the town, no relation to the "real" HSB Saravana Bhavan group, worth a visit nevertheless for simple, tasty food.

You can also refer several travelogues here on Team BHP including mine from 2011 here

Have a great trip, Drive Safe

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by NPV

Keep 1 day to visit these places are they are all on the same route:
1.Echo Point
2.Kundale Dam
3.Matupetty Dam & boating
4.Top Station (this is almost the end of this route and you can return after visiting here)

On the other side you have Eravikulam national park (usually very crowded, so plan the visit accordingly). This is on the Marayoor route and you will see the crowd if you take this route into Munnar

Also plan to visit the Kannan Devan Tea stores near their office inside the Munnar Town and other stores selling honey, spices, etc - good to just walk around the streets inside the town.
The Team Museum is also worth a visit, maybe on the evening of Day 1 or 2.

If you like veggie food, visit Saravana Bhavan inside the town, no relation to the "real" HSB Saravana Bhavan group, worth a visit nevertheless for simple, tasty food.

You can also refer several travelogues here on Team BHP including mine from 2011 here

Have a great trip, Drive Safe

Thank you very much for the information. This will surely help me planning my trip. How about visiting Rajamalai side? Is this towards Marayoor? I am still wondering how I missed your travelogue.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

Thank you very much for the information. This will surely help me planning my trip.

Please note: Not many options for food. You need to have them at the resort where you stay. That is the best option.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by ampere

Please note: Not many options for food. You need to have them at the resort where you stay. That is the best option.

I have already spoken to the hotel representative. They have agreed to provide Break fast and Dinner. But I guess, we will be trying out different restaurants for food.