Let’s face it, India is huge! Planning a trip for the first time can be a daunting task. It’s hard to figure out where to begin! For our first trip to India, we wanted to get a snapshot of the country, while seeing some memorable sights along the way. We spent one week in the state of Kerala in southern India and then followed up with the classic golden triangle in the north (Jaipur, Delhi and Agra). Here is part 1 of our first-timer’s 2-week itinerary for India.
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WEEK 1: Kerala
Day 1: Fly into Cochin International Airport
We noticed that a lot of international flights fly to Cochin Airport for a reasonable price. Our particular flight landed late at night, so we stayed the night at a decent airport hotel called BlueBell. We even walked there, as it was only about 15 minutes on foot from the airport.
Day 2: Travel Kochi to Munnar
After a great breakfast consisting of masala dosas and coffee, we took a 3-hour Uber ride to the hill station of Munnar.
It is also possible to take a bus for a fraction of the $55 CAD we spent. We opted for an Uber, as we were tired from our recent travelling and our hotel in Munnar was not located near the bus station. The rest of our afternoon/evening was used to relax and recharge, while also enjoying a delicious dinner at our hotel. We stayed at Crayons Guest House. Although this was a decent accommodation overall, it is a bit far from the main town. We would recommend staying closer to town.
Day 3: Munnar Sightseeing
Munnar is best known for its beautiful scenery, such as its rolling hills covered with lush, green tea plantations. All the sights to see are spread out all over the Munnar area, so a car or a tour is needed to see everything.
“Tour guides” are a dime a dozen, with every tuk tuk driver in the area offering inflated prices to show you the area. We discovered the best value by far is using the District Tourism Department Council (DTPC). This is an official government-run full day tour for only 400 rupees per person. As long as they have a minimum of three people, the tour will take place. You just need to show up to the DTPC office by 9am. For more information, check out their website and read about our experience below.
Our experience on the DTPC tour:
We took the city bus to the DTPC. Note: Google Maps does not necessarily provide accurate bus times. Give yourself a lot of extra time when waiting for the bus. We waited almost 45 minutes for one to come! We arrived to the DTPC office 15 minutes late at around 9:15am. Luckily there was one other tourist waiting for two more people to arrive in order to take a tour!
Since there was only three of us, the day was fairly flexible. In fact, we opted not to visit the first two places on the tour. The first place was a flower garden and the second was an elephant riding camp (see our post “Are Elephant Sanctuaries Actually Ethical?” to learn more about why we would never visit a place like that!).
We did visit Mattupetty dam, Echo Point, Kundala dam, the Munnar Top Station, Munnar town, a local restaurant for lunch (our expense) and the Lockhart Tea Factory and Museum. At the tea museum, we took the factory tour, which we wouldn’t recommend. It is overpriced (400 rupees per person) and is essentially a sales pitch to sell tea without even tasting any.
Nevertheless we enjoyed our time at Lockhart since we saw the famous Bollywood star, Aishwarya Rai, who was arriving to film a scene there!
On the DTPC tour, we did not get a chance to see Eravikulam National Park, as it is closed at that time of year for calving season of Nilgiri Tahr (endangered mountain goats). We also did not see the Attukad waterfalls, as it is dry season, or the Pothamedu View Point. Overall, a full day tour of the Munnar area for only 400 rupees was an excellent value and we would highly recommend it.
Day 4: Travel Munnar to Alleppey
After a wonderful (and extremely filling) breakfast at our guest house, we checked out and caught the bus to Alleppey.
Because this is a popular route, we purchased designated seats from the bus station one day prior. The total cost for both of us was 405 rupees (approx. $4 CAD each) and the travel time was around 6 hours. We were also able to catch the bus from a stop closer to our hotel and did not need to travel into town.
Although the bus was rather crowded and the roads were very curvy, the views were really nice. There was one break along the way for passengers to use the toilet and/or purchase something to eat or drink.
Upon arriving to Alleppey train station, we took a rickshaw to our hotel for 50 rupees (taxis were offering 500 rupees for the same journey!). We stayed at the Treebo Palmyra Grand Suite, which was clean, comfortable and an excellent value. We had dinner at the hotel and relaxed for the night.
Day 5: Alleppey Backwaters Tour
The main attraction in Alleppey is the relaxing backwaters. Some people opt to rent a houseboat and spend a night on the water. Many reviews online noted that the novelty of the houseboat wears off fairly quickly and it can become pretty boring after a while.
Therefore, we decided to book a day tour in a canoe. There are tons of companies that offer similar tours and generally cost around 900 rupees per person. Most include breakfast and lunch at a “local home” and approximately four hours exploring the backwaters in a canoe paddled by a guide.
The majority of the canoes will also stop somewhere so you can sample “toddy” (a local alcohol made from fermented coconut), with the opportunity to purchase some to enjoy on the ride. Since Kerala was once a “dry” state, this was the way for locals to consume alcohol!
Overall, we had a good experience and felt the canoe trip was an excellent way to explore the backwaters. We shared our canoe with four Indian girls on holiday, which made the day trip even more fun.
Day 6-7: Travel Alleppey to Fort Kochi and explore
After another amazing breakfast buffet at our hotel (Indian breakfast is awesome), we checked out and took a rickshaw to the bus station. The easiest way to get to Fort Kochi from Alleppey is to take the bus to Thoppumpady then take a short Uber ride the rest of the way. At the station, there were many helpful locals that pointed us to the correct bus. The ride took around 1.5 hours and it cost 108 rupees for two of us (approx. $1 CAD each).
We stayed in a private room at Zostel, a no-frills hostel in a good location. Fort Kochi is small and easy to see everything on foot. It’s pretty touristy, with most of the best rated restaurants serving western food. We stayed two nights, but you probably only need one.
A few highlights of Kochi include:
-watching the sunset behind the giant Chinese fishing nets
-checking out the Kochi-Muziris Biennale art festival, which only takes place in March every year (and is free on Mondays!)
-having some good coffee at Loafers Corner Cafe
-taking the ferry to Ernakulam (the ride is nice but there is not much to do over there)
-eating momos at a Tibetan Chef’s Restaurant (the best meal we had)
Fort Kochi to the Airport
Getting from Fort Kochi to the airport is really easy on the airport bus. Times are posted on a sign at the bus station. Wait by that sign to catch the bus. It cost 205 rupees for two of us (approx. $4 CAD) and took about an hour.
NOTE: We opted to visit only three places in Kerala, as we wanted to limit the amount of travel time. Many first timers also tack on a trip to Verkala, which is known for its nice beaches.
Read on here: India For The First Time: A 2 Week Itinerary PART 2 (Golden Triangle)
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