New

Highlights of Kerala

Name: Highlights of Kerala
Brand: Exodus
Rating: 2.5 (2 reviews)

2 reviews

Activity

Culture

Overview

Easy-going, exotic and entrancing – explore a totally different side to India in the tropical state of Kerala

Serene backwaters. Thriving rubber plantations. Idyllic coastlines. Kerala is India at its most laidback and inviting. Join one of our much-loved Indian tour leaders to immerse yourself in the scenery and meet the local people. Along the way, you’ll stay on a backwaters houseboat, explore the old spice port of Kochi, share a meal with a family in Thekkady and spot wildlife in Periyar National Park. We finish by the sandy shores of the Arabian Sea – an idyllic ending to an unforgettable trip.

Key Information

Trip Code: AIO
Ways to Travel: Guided Group
Countries: India
Carbon Footprint: 73.9kg CO2e per person per day

What's Included

All accommodation: 4 Superior nights (hotels), 3 Classic nights (2 hotel, 1 houseboat)
All breakfasts, two lunches, three dinners
Immersive itinerary with all transport (private air-conditioned bus) and listed activities
Expert tour leader to enhance your adventure
Group arrival and departure transfers available

Don't Forget To

Request a single room if required, purchase travel insurance and arrange any visas and vaccinations. Also, check out India's Golden Triangle and Best of Sri Lanka, which you can combine with this adventure.

Highlights

Experience laidback Kerala with a guide who knows it better than anyone
Witness remnants of India’s colonial past in the historic spice port of Kochi
Meet the rubber tappers of Kanjirappally and share a Keralan meal with the family
Look for tiger tracks and spot monkeys on a nature walk in Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary
Cruise the backwaters and lakes on a traditional rice barge – a classic experience in South India!

Itinerary

First Destination: Kochi (Cochin)
Next Destination: Kovalam

Accommodation:The Killians Hotel (or similar)
Meals included:Dinner

Accommodation:The Killians Hotel (or similar)
Meals included:Breakfast

Accommodation:Peppervine Hotel (or similar)
Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation:Peppervine Hotel (or similar)
Meals included:Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation:Houseboat
Meals included:Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

Accommodation:Soma Palmshore (or similar)
Meals included:Breakfast

Accommodation:Soma Palmshore (or similar)
Meals included:Breakfast

Meals included:Breakfast

First Destination: Kochi (Cochin)
Next Destination: Kovalam

Begin your adventure in the spice port of Kochi, where the remnants of colonial rule can still be seen in the historic buildings.

If you arrive in time, join an afternoon harbour cruise around Fort Kochi (arrive at the hotel by 1pm to join).

Around 6pm, say namaskaram to your tour leader and fellow travellers, when we gather as a group for the first time to get to know each other and learn more about the adventures ahead.

Your tour leader then ensures a big Keralan welcome by arranging dinner at a local restaurant.

Want to explore Kochi further? Secure pre-tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

Accommodation:The Killians Hotel (or similar)
Meals included:Dinner

Join your tour leader for a sightseeing tour of Kochi, taking in the adjacent historic neighbourhoods of Fort Kochi and Mattancherry.

In Fort Kochi, we visit St Francis Church, where Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama died in 1524; see Santa Cruz Cathedral, originally used as a warehouse by the British; and wander past fishing nets lining the harbour entrance, which were introduced by the Chinese in the late-14th century.

In Mattancherry, we visit Mattancherry Palace, built by the Portuguese in the mid-1500s in a traditional Keralan style, and Jew Town, once home to a Jewish community and now a great place to peruse antique shops and warehouses.

If you’re interested, visit Thomas Chettan in the Little Queen Embroidery shop to learn about hand lace work, a dying art using bobbin lace. There is the option in the late afternoon to see a Kathakali dance performance – a similar show is also available in Periyar on Day 4.

Accommodation:The Killians Hotel (or similar)
Meals included:Breakfast

Leave Kochi in the morning and transfer to the bustling village of Thekkady, gateway to Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. Breaking up the five to six-hour drive, we stop at a traditional Keralan bungalow in the serene rubber plantations of Kanjirappally. Take a walk through the plantations, watching our guide as they show us how to tap rubber, while also seeing regional trees such as rambutan, mangosteen, nutmeg, pineapple, banana and coffee. After, we enjoy lunch served at the plantation house.

Post lunch, we complete our drive to Thekkady. The whole area is a centre for spice growing, and this evening there is a short walk around a spice garden, where we see many different spices growing.

Accommodation:Peppervine Hotel (or similar)
Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch

Before breakfast, join a nature walk (approximately two to three hours) in Periyar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, in which your expert local guide points out tell-tale wildlife signs, including tiger tracks, animal droppings, and trees marked by sloth bears. You’re also like to spot monkeys in the trees and bird life.

In the afternoon, you have free time to explore the village and bazaar, with the chance to visit shops selling cardamom, vanilla, peppercorns, turmeric and other spices.

Alternatively, join an optional boat cruise on Periyar Lake to look for elephants, otters, wild pigs and buffalos. There is also an abundance of bird life – kingfishers, storks and hornbills are the most spotted. Other optional activities include an Ayurvedic massage, Kathakali dance show, and a martial arts performance.

We then join a family in their home for a cooking demonstration followed by dinner. We normally eat in their garden, under cover, among a variety of spices, which we have explained to us during the demonstration.

Accommodation:Peppervine Hotel (or similar)
Meals included:Breakfast, Dinner

Today, we drive (four to five hours) to Alleppey to board our houseboat at midday and begin our cruise between the backwaters and larger lakes.

The cruise is one of the trip highlights – these enchanting boats, built of anjili (wild jack) wood and bamboo, transported goods for hundreds of years. Now, they have been decorated and made into comfortable cruise boats.

As you meander through tropical vegetation, we can see prolific bird life and gain a different perspective on village life. The cruise takes us along shallow, palm-fringed canals where coconut fibre, coconut meat and cashews are loaded onto dugout canoes.

In the evening, the boat is anchored by a bank, and we watch the sun set over the paddy fields.

Accommodation:Houseboat
Meals included:Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, we leave our houseboat in Alleppey and drive (approximately six hours) along the scenic Malabar Coast to Kovalam.

Visit Mannarasala Temple en route, which is decorated with more than 100,000 snake images. Couples seeking fertility come here and your tour leader explains the origin of snake worshiping.

Continuing, we pass through Quilon for a tea break before arriving at our destination. Once a relaxing hideaway on the old hippie trail, Kovalam has now been discovered, but the influx of tourism has not diminished this beautiful setting, and we have time to explore the restaurants this afternoon.

Upgrade to a sea-view cottage today – speak to your sales representative for more details

Accommodation:Soma Palmshore (or similar)
Meals included:Breakfast

Today is free to unwind on the soft, sandy beach or visit the shops for last-minute souvenirs. This is a great chance to enjoy fresh seafood from one of the many small beach restaurants. Try tandoori dishes – the clay ovens add an exquisite taste to bread and curries.

You can opt for an optional half-day village tour at Mannadikonam (approximately one-hour drive) near Balaramapuram.

Alternatively, join an optional full day’s sightseeing from Kovalam to Kanyakumari, the end point of India where three seas meet: the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. If it’s open, the trip can also take in the old wooden palace at Padmanabhapuram (extra cost), a marvellous building with fantastic wood carvings, and the Hindu temple at Suchindran, with amazing stone carvings. This trip can be booked and paid for locally. Please note, it is a long day (approximately 8am-6pm) and roads can be prone to traffic delays, but it’s always a popular activity.

Upgrade to a sea-view cottage today – speak to your sales representative for more details

Accommodation:Soma Palmshore (or similar)
Meals included:Breakfast

The adventure ends today. Begin your return journey home or, if you’d like a bit more time to relax on the sandy shores of Kovalam, speak to your sales representative about extending your stay.

You can combine this trip with India’s Golden Triangle, Colours of Rajasthan or Sri Lankan Highlights for a longer adventure.

Meals included:Breakfast

Dates & Prices

Need flights or extra nights? Book through us – one team, one seamless journey

Call us on 1 844 462 4317

Your Group, Your Adventure

Want to choose your travel companions? Gather your family and friends and let us create a Private Adventure just for you.

View Details

Accommodation

Hotels and a houseboat

We spend most nights in hotels and one night on a traditional Keralan houseboat. Our hotels are all in the heart of the towns in which we stop. The accommodations typically used are on the day-to-day itinerary. However, below are a few of the notable accommodations on this trip.

Upgrade to a sea-view cottage on Day 6 and 7 of the itinerary – speak to your sales representative for more details

Fort Kochi: The Killians

Highlights of Kerala

Within the Fort Kochi neighbourhood, this boutique hotel is in the heart of the action, close to the shores of the Arabian Sea. It also has an outdoor swimming pool, while the architecture is inspired by ancient and modern Portuguese, German, Dutch and Indian styles.

Thekkady: Peppervine Hotel

Highlights of Kerala

The four-star Peppervine is conveniently located for our adventures, close to Kumily town (the local name of Thekkady), where you’ll find plenty of shopping options, including locally grown spices and an eclectic assortment of souvenirs. Surrounded by woodland, the hotel offers comfort and tranquillity, with an outdoor swimming pool and open-air restaurant. So close to wildlife, you won’t find it hard to spot monkeys swinging in the trees as you relax.

Alleppey: Keralan houseboat

Highlights of Kerala

No trip to Kerala is complete without a houseboat stay. Typically, the boats are converted barges (known locally as kettuvallam), once used to transport rice from farm to market. All cabins have private bathrooms, and the staff keep you well fed. The houseboats have a deck and dining area, although the style/layout varies between boats. There is a cook, driver and assistants for each boat and the food is traditional Keralan fare using local produce. Houseboats have two to five twin-bedded rooms. Larger groups may be split over several boats; however, the group reunites at riverside stops and the overnight anchor point where your leader will be available.

Worth knowing

Single rooms are very limited on the houseboat so cannot be guaranteed and you may be required to twin share for this night.

Essential Information

This trip is rated Activity Level 2 (Easy & Moderate). For more information on our trip gradings, visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please contact us.

Suitability: Although not a demanding tour, it is a busy and active itinerary with lots to see. Driving time is kept to a minimum and is not normally longer than four to five hours. Prepare for some early starts. The roads are generally pretty good, but traffic and/or road damage/maintenance can sometimes slow us down.

Monuments: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is responsible for the conservation of many monuments in India; very occasionally, this may mean work is taking place at sites visited on this trip. The ASI schedule is never published so it is not possible to forewarn when work is taking place.

Key information

Start hotel: The Killians, Post box 22, River Road, Fort Kochi, 682 001, Kerala
Phone: +91 484 22 17 245
Recommended arrival time: Check-in is typically from 2pm. There will be a welcome briefing around 6pm this evening.
Airport: Kochi Airport (COK)

Getting to the start hotel

The start hotel is approximately a 1hr 15min drive from the airport. We provide one group transfer from the airport to the hotel, which you can join at no extra cost, provided you can be at the airport before the transfer leaves. Speak to your sales representative for the transfer times or to arrange a private transfer.

Catching your return flight

There’s one group transfer to Trivandrum Airport (TRV), which you can join at no extra cost. Please speak to your sales representative for the time of the transfer. If the group transfer does not suit your flight time, speak to your sales representative to arrange an alternative.

India

To avoid possible problems at immigration, make sure your passport is valid for a minimum of 180 days at the time of entry into India.

Travellers from the UK, US, CA and EU normally need a visa to enter India. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.
Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.

• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/asia/india
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/india
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/india/entry-requirements
• USA: www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/India.html

Travellers eligible for an e-visa, which includes those from the UK, US, CA and EU, can apply at www.indianvisaonline.gov.in/evisa/tvoa.html.

For more information on applying for your Indian Visa, including details required for your start hotel and local reference contacts, please click on this link: Indian Visa Information.

New Digital Arrival Card

Travellers from the UK, US, EU and Canada must also complete a Digital Arrival Card. This can be filled online up to 72 hours before arrival via the official Indian visa website https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival/. This is separate from the Indian e-visa process and this remains the same. Physical cards will remain at the arrival airport until 1 April 2026, at which point the Digital Arrival Card will be made mandatory.

The included meals are detailed on the day-to-day itinerary. Allow at least 1,650 rupees (approximately US$20) per day for lunch and dinner where these are not included. You can eat out very cheaply in India, but if you mainly eat at the more expensive restaurants, you will spend more than the suggested amount.

In most towns, there is a good choice of restaurants and a mix of Indian and Western-style foods. If you are a vegetarian, India is probably one of the best destinations to visit. Tea and soft drinks are very cheap, while a large bottle of beer is approximately 500 rupees (US$6). Due to Kerala state laws, alcohol licenses are limited to one or two bars in each area and not all hotels are permitted to serve alcohol. The first day of every month and certain holidays in India are dry days, when no alcohol is permitted for sale.

Mineral water is available in the bus in large containers, so please bring a bottle with you to refill. Please note, restaurant service can be quite slow.

The most important feature of the Indian climate is the wet season or monsoon. The main monsoon strikes the Kerala coast in late May and sweeps northward over the next month or so. The ideal time to visit is during the dry season from October to March. Days are hot and the nights warm, the average maximum daytime temperatures are 21C-30C (70F-86F) and 6C-20C (43F-68F) at night. In the hills, temperatures can be considerably cooler and may near freezing point at night.

Frequent rainstorms occur in November. However, they are usually quite short, and the sun normally comes out quickly afterwards. Please note, swimming in the sea at Kovalam is not always possible, depending on recent weather conditions; however, the hotel we use in Kovalam has a pool.

As a certified B Corp, we’re on a mission to improve our social and environmental impact across all our adventures.

We do this through our innovative Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan.

This ‘nature positive’ approach is designed to help nature and communities thrive in harmony through practical solutions, such as reducing carbon and waste on our trips, supporting conservation projects through the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation, and rewilding 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller.

You’ll also find Thriving Nature, Thriving People moments across our trips. These experiences are often a highlight of your adventure, while also benefiting the natural world or local communities.

On this trip, we:

Meet rubber tappers in Kanjirappally and share a Keralan meal, learning how rubber farming supports family livelihoods.
Join a local family for a cooking demonstration and dinner, learning about spices and regional cuisine in a home setting.

Reviews

Add new review

Melanie Dommett

Added March 2026

Highlights of Kerala

This trip is not up to Exodus's usual standards. The bus journies are almost all considerably longer than the trip notes suggest, partly on account of the extensive roadworks currently taking place in Kerala. The itinerary tries to cover too much ground for the time available

Most Inspirational Moment

Lunch at the rubber plantation in a beautiful homestay run by charming people

Thoughts on Group Leader

He was replaced part way through the holiday after a member of the group complained about him. This was dealt with poorly by the local Exodus representative. The new guide left before the end of the trip leaving those of the group whose flights had been cancelled on account of the Iran war with no one on the ground to assist with their arrangements

Advice for Potential Travellers

Be prepared for very long bus journies

Alasdair Murray

Added March 2026

Highlights of Kerala

This was an OK holiday but we've been on better Exodus trips.

Most Inspirational Moment

Riverboat trip was relaxing and very comfortable . Boat had only been on a few trips and was comfortable and spacious.

Thoughts on Group Leader

OK, enthusiastic and knowledgeable but have generally been on trips where spoken English of the group leader is better which helps understanding and organisation of the trip

Advice for Potential Travellers

Trip note suggested times for travel between destinations were underestimated - often 1-2 hours longer (and no reflection on the bus driver). The prospect of an 8hr travelling optional excursion on the final day was quickly dismissed after previous experiences. Accommodation was generally OK although hotel at Kovalam was tired and bathroom in particular left a lot to be desired. Sightseeing venues a little underwhelming to me, relative to say Highlights of Northern India which we have been on previously.

Read all reviews