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Kochi-based ground team
Kerala Tour Packages, built around slowing down rather than ticking off.
Tea hills above Munnar, a night adrift on the Alleppey backwaters, spice plantations at Thekkady and the long quiet beaches south of Kochi — sequenced so the journey between them is short.
6–8Ideal trip days
900 kmOf backwaters
24×7On-trip support
Kerala, planned properly
Kerala punishes over-packed itineraries
Kerala looks compact on a map, and travellers routinely try to fit the hills, the backwaters, a wildlife park and two beaches into five days. The roads are winding and slow, and the result is a holiday spent almost entirely in a car. Every My Trip Companion Kerala tour package deliberately caps the driving — usually three bases in six days, in the order the geography actually allows: Kochi, up to the hills, then down to the water.
The classic route runs Kochi to Munnar to Thekkady to Alleppey, with a houseboat night before finishing on the coast. We arrange the houseboat itself rather than a broker, book hill stays for the view, and keep a trip host reachable throughout. Kerala also travels well alongside our other southern and eastern regions — see Meghalaya tour packages for the green-hill equivalent in the northeast, or browse all our tour packages.
Why Kerala
Three reasons Kerala works when other trips exhaust you
A whole day where nothing is scheduled
A houseboat on the Alleppey backwaters is the rare Indian travel experience with no itinerary at all. You board, you drift, you eat, you moor for the night. That is the entire plan.
Hills that smell of cardamom
Munnar and Thekkady sit in working tea and spice country. Estate walks, plantation stays and the specific cool of 1,600 m after the coastal humidity.
Ayurveda that is not a spa menu
Kerala is where the tradition is actually practised, and the monsoon months are the classical season for treatment. We can route a trip around a genuine clinic rather than a hotel add-on.
Kerala packages
Pick a starting point, then make it yours
Every itinerary below is fully customisable — hotel category, pacing, route and add-ons — at no extra planning fee.
Honeymoon
Kerala Backwater Retreat
Tea-hill mornings above Munnar, then down to a private houseboat night on the Alleppey backwaters.
Houseboat nightPrivate cabEstate walkBreakfast
₹39,999per person
Enquire →Classic
Kerala Grand Circuit
The full south-Kerala route at a sane pace — Fort Kochi, the tea hills, a spice plantation and the backwaters.
Houseboat nightKathakali showPrivate cabBreakfast
[[NEEDS: price]]per person
Enquire →Beaches
Backwaters & Beaches
A houseboat night followed by the cliffs at Varkala and the long sands at Kovalam — the slowest version of Kerala.
Houseboat nightBeach staysPrivate cabBreakfast
[[NEEDS: price]]per person
Enquire →Offbeat
Wayanad & Northern Kerala
The north — coffee estates and waterfalls in Wayanad, the Malabar coast, and Theyyam season if your dates align.
Estate stayLocal hostPrivate cabBreakfast
[[NEEDS: price]]per person
Enquire →Prices are per person on twin sharing and vary by season and hotel category. Your trip designer confirms an exact quote in writing before any payment.
When to go
Best time to visit Kerala
Kerala has two monsoons, and whether they are a problem depends entirely on what you came for.
| Season | Months | Weather | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak | Dec – Feb | Dry and pleasant, ~22–32°C | Backwaters, beaches, first-time visitors |
| Shoulder | Oct – Nov & Mar | Warm, occasional showers; very green | Fewer crowds, better rates, comfortable hills |
| Southwest monsoon | Jun – Aug | Heavy rain, ~24–30°C; humid | Ayurveda season, waterfalls, lowest rates |
| Northeast monsoon | Sep – Oct | Intermittent rain; lush | Onam festivities, snake boat races |
October to March is the easiest weather for a first Kerala trip. The June-to-August monsoon is genuinely wet, but it is also the classical Ayurveda season and the hills have never looked better — if that is why you are coming, it is the right time.
The circuit
Places every Kerala itinerary should consider
Kochi
1–2 nightsFort Kochi’s Portuguese, Dutch and British layers, the Chinese fishing nets at sunset, Jew Town’s spice warehouses and an evening Kathakali performance.
Munnar
2 nightsTea estates stacked up the hillsides at around 1,600 m, Eravikulam National Park for the Nilgiri tahr, and the coldest nights of your trip.
Thekkady
1–2 nightsPeriyar Tiger Reserve around its lake — dawn boat rides, guided nature walks and cardamom and pepper plantations all around.
Alleppey
1 night on boardWhere the houseboats leave from. A traditional kettuvallam takes you through village canals and out onto Vembanad Lake, mooring overnight.
Varkala & Kovalam
2 nightsVarkala’s red cliffs above the sand and Kovalam’s lighthouse beach — the usual way to finish before flying out of Trivandrum.
Wayanad
2+ nights · offbeatCoffee and spice country in the north, Edakkal caves, Chembra Peak’s heart-shaped lake and far fewer visitors than the south.
Before you fly
Getting to Kerala
Three international airports means you rarely have to backtrack — fly into one and out of another.
By air
Kochi (COK) is the usual arrival point and Trivandrum (TRV) the usual departure if you finish on the beaches. Kozhikode (CCJ) suits Wayanad and the north. Booking an open-jaw ticket saves a long drive back.
By train
Kerala has one of the better rail networks in India, running the length of the coast through Kochi, Alleppey and Kollam. Scenic, cheap and slow — good for one leg of a trip, not for all of them.
Getting around
Roads are narrow and winding, so distances mislead. Kochi to Munnar is only about 130 km but takes four hours. This is exactly why our itineraries limit you to three bases in a week.
Houseboat practicalities
Boats board around midday and moor by early evening — night cruising is not permitted. One night on board is the sweet spot; two starts to feel long. We book the boat directly rather than through a broker.
Where you sleep
Where you sleep in Kerala
Choosing between a houseboat, a plantation and a resort is really a choice about what you want your mornings to look like.
Houseboat (kettuvallam)
1 nightA private crew, a cook and your own deck. Rooms are air-conditioned overnight only, and the boat is moored from evening — the appeal is the water, not the hotel.
Plantation & hill stays
Munnar & ThekkadyBungalows inside working tea and spice estates. Cooler, quieter and far more characterful than the hotel strips in Munnar town.
Beach & backwater resorts
CoastFull-service resorts at Kumarakom, Varkala and Kovalam for the end of a trip, when what you actually want is a pool and nothing scheduled.
No surprises
What’s included in every package
✅ Included
- ✓Handpicked stays — hotels, resorts or homestays as per package
- ✓Private vehicle with a local driver for all transfers and sightseeing
- ✓Daily breakfast at all stays
- ✓Dedicated trip host with 24×7 on-trip support
- ✓All standard permits and paperwork where required
- ✓One night on a private houseboat with full board, where the itinerary includes Alleppey
➕ Quoted separately
- •Flights and trains to and from the region
- •Lunches and dinners (we recommend the best local spots)
- •Entry tickets and optional activities unless explicitly listed
- •Travel insurance and personal expenses
- •Anything not listed under Included
- •Periyar boat safari and national park entry fees
- •Ayurveda treatments and spa packages
In frame
Kerala, through our travellers’ days
[[NEEDS: more Kerala photography]] — this gallery reuses the Kerala images already in the media library. Upload trip photos you own the rights to and swap them in.
Good to know
Kerala trip FAQs
October to March has the most comfortable weather and is the easiest choice for a first trip. June to August is the southwest monsoon — genuinely wet, but it is the classical Ayurveda season, the hills are at their greenest and rates are at their lowest. September brings Onam and the snake boat races.
Six to eight days. A realistic split is one night in Kochi, two in Munnar, one or two in Thekkady, one on a houseboat and one or two on the coast. Trying to add more bases means spending the trip on winding roads rather than in the places themselves.
For most travellers, yes. Boats board around midday and moor by early evening because night cruising is not permitted, so a second night adds a lot of stationary time. If you want longer on the water, we would usually suggest a backwater resort at Kumarakom instead.
Very. Driving days are short, the food is mild by Indian standards, the backwaters and Periyar boat safari appeal to most ages, and medical care in Kochi and Trivandrum is excellent. The hill stations get cool at night, so pack a layer.
It depends what you want. If you have come for Ayurveda, for photography or for the landscape at its most dramatic, the monsoon is the right season and prices reflect it. If you have come for beaches and backwater sun, wait for October.
Keep exploring
Pairs well with Kerala
Your Kerala trip starts with one message
Send your dates and whether you want hills, water or both, and a Kochi-based trip designer will reply with a Kerala itinerary that keeps the driving short — usually within a few hours.
+91 91038 00859 · hello@mytripcompanion.in