5N / 6D
Houseboat
Kerala: Backwaters, Tea Hills & Spice Country Tour with Round-Trip Flights
Munnar(2N) → Thekkady(1N) → Alleppey(1N) → Kochi(1N)
Sold By: Carestop India LLP
5.0 (4 reviews)
Offers payment via Holidify
$ 462
$ 529
12% off
/personDetailed Itinerary
- Your morning flight lands at Cochin International Airport, where your driver will be waiting past the arrivals area.
- The road east departs from the coconut flatlands within the hour and begins to ascend.
- By the second hour, the temperature of the air coming through the window changes significantly.
- Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls appear in sequence along the ghat road.
- The final stretch of the journey runs between tea slopes that are trimmed flat like a tabletop.
- Dinner will be waiting for you at the hotel.
- Eravikulam National Park opens early and rewards early risers.
- Visitors can see the Nilgiri tahr coming down to the road.
- The park offers views of Anamudi, the highest peak in South India.
- The afternoon loop includes:
- Mattupetty Dam and its boats
- Echo Point on the lake
- The tea museum at Nallathanni, where you can follow a tea leaf from withering trough to grading table
- Photo Point and the estate roads provide beautiful views as the light fades.
- The drive south transitions from tea plantations to cardamom country, with the aroma preceding the arrival of the plantations.
- Thekkady is located adjacent to the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
- An afternoon boat ride on the lake offers a chance to observe wildlife, including elephants, gaurs, and sambars, as they come down to drink at the submerged treeline of a reservoir that was flooded in 1895.
- A walk through a working spice garden afterwards provides insight into the scents experienced throughout the day.
- You descend from the hills for the last time and arrive in Alappuzha around noon, where your houseboat is docked and ready.
- These are rice barges converted for guests, and the crew sets off as soon as you are aboard.
- The afternoon consists solely of water: paddy fields situated lower than the canal, toddy tappers working the palms, and children rowing home from school.
- The boat moors before dark, and the kitchen serves karimeen prepared in the local style.
- Breakfast is served while the boat returns to the jetty.
- You will be on the road to Kochi by mid-morning.
- Fort Kochi is best explored slowly and on foot:
- The cantilevered Chinese fishing nets on the north shore.
- St. Francis Church, where Vasco da Gama was first buried.
- The Dutch Palace at Mattancherry, featuring its Ramayana murals.
- Jew Town, a street lined with spice warehouses and antique dealers, ending at the Paradesi Synagogue.
- A slower morning.
- A final breakfast in Kerala.
- Transfer to Cochin International Airport in time for your flight home.
- If your departure is late enough, there is time for a visit to Marine Drive or a last trip to the spice market on Bazaar Road.
- Your driver will discuss these options with you over breakfast.
Stay & Meal Details
Munnar
2 nights
Grand Plaza Munnar, Green Ridge or SN Gardens
Thekkady
1 night
Michael's Inn, Green Woods Resort or Hotel Ambadi
Alleppey
1 night
Private 1-bedroom deluxe A/C kettuvallam
Kochi
1 night
Abad Plaza, Ginger Kochi or Hotel Excellency
12% off
Package Policies
- Return economy airfare Ahmedabad ⇄ Kochi
- 5 nights on twin sharing — 2 in Munnar, 1 in Thekkady, 1 on a houseboat, 1 in Kochi
- Daily breakfast at all hotels, plus dinner on Day 1 at Munnar
- All meals aboard the houseboat — lunch, tea, dinner, and breakfast
- Private A/C vehicle throughout, with fuel, tolls, parking, driver allowance, night halts, and the Munnar levy
- Airport meet-and-assist and both transfers at Cochin International
- Eravikulam National Park slots and Periyar lake boat tickets, pre-booked
- Mattupetty boating, Tea Museum, Echo Point, the spice plantation tour, and the Fort Kochi monuments
- Bottled water throughout, welcome kit, and domestic travel insurance
- 5% GST on the package value, billed at invoice
- Lunches on Days 1, 2, 3, and 5, and dinners other than Day 1 and the houseboat
- Kathakali, Kalaripayattu, and the Kochi cultural evening — bookable as add-ons
- Elephant rides, bamboo rafting, Alleppey shikara, and other optional activities
- Peak-season supplements for 19 Dec – 5 Jan, and the compulsory gala dinners
- Camera fees, jetty charges, and viewpoint parking paid on the spot
- Room service, laundry, telephone, minibar, and personal expenses
- Tips to the driver, houseboat crew, and hotel staff
- Anything arising from flight delay, roadblock, strike, or weather, and anything not listed under inclusions
- Experience six days of adventure.
- Explore the tea terraces of the high Western Ghats.
- Wander through cardamom forests.
- Enjoy a night on the Alappuzha backwaters.
- Discover the spice godowns of old Cochin.
- Air tickets are non-refundable once issued, whatever the notice period.
- More than 21 days before departure: the land portion is refunded less ₹2,500 per person.
- 8 to 21 days: 50% of the land portion is retained. Inside 7 days or no-show: no refund.
- Houseboat and peak-season hotel bookings are non-refundable once confirmed.
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Kerala: Backwaters, Tea Hills & Spice Country Tour with Round-Trip Flights
Munnar(2N) → Thekkady(1N) → Alleppey(1N) → Kochi(1N)
Sold By: Carestop India LLP
5.0 (4 reviews)
Offers payment via Holidify
$ 462
$ 529
12% off
/person