Kochi Festivals and Events Tours 2023/2024

“This was a very well designed itinerary - leisurely it was as described in the brochure. The 7 hills walk was perhaps rather more arduous than described and I was glad I had decided to heed the advice of the local guide, having had a recent knee replacement. Germanus Hotel in Madurai was a bit pretentious on the surface and grubby underneath. Hotels in Kochi and Madurai were a long way from the centre of the towns and it was a great pity not to be able to have longer in Kochi. Boat trip slightly disappointing as it was to be a highlight for me. Drives through Western Ghat mountains and tea plantations were fantastic.”

“We had 15 people on our group tour. We were from various walks of life and occupations, we were made up of several single people; a couple, a mother and daughter, friends travelling together up to 3 people and a family, we were mostly female group with only two men and aged between 20s up to 70s. We all got along nicely and enjoyed sharing experiences. Many people were pretty well travelled and at least two of us had never been to India previously. Our trip was made up of people from Britain, Australia and Hungry which made group dynamics more interesting.Kerala and Tamu Nadu offer some of the most scenically beautiful countryside the world has to offer! There is great cultural diversity seen here too. Wildlife is present but perhaps not in the numbers you might hope. This area offers great experiences and some architectural and historical delights. You will see tea plantations, rivers, mountains, forests, wonderful back waters and beaches. It is very green and so can be wet at times which impacted on us at Periyar when walking in the forest so little seen due to mist other than black monkeys and hearing a lone bull elephant breaking branches (so still exciting!). The hills at Munnar are a pleasant warm temperature, however if you like more sun and humidity you are likely to also experience this on your trip too.This is a fantastic trip although, I think leisurely may not be how I would categorise this as some people struggled a little with the treks and there are long travelling days ahead. 4 to 7 hours although you often stop to see things along the way such as fruit bats, brick factory etc. You will likely experience some cold showers from time to time in the always clean and decent accommodation furthermore, you are likely to have some periods whereby you might benefit from taking along snacks if you need to eat very regularly.”

“The trip's title really sums up our impression of Kerala. The vegetation is lush and every tree or plant seems to bear medicinal and /or edible spices,delicious fruit or vegetables. It was a very varied trip - some long journeys, but to see as much as we did, they were necessary and our bus was air conditioned and very comfortable. Our walk through the tea plantations was most enjoyable . I think we will appreciate a cup of tea even more, having seen the pluckers at work. The drive over the mountains to Tamil Nadu was spectacular. Relaxing on our houseboat as we floated past villages was a very pleasant experience. We didn't see tigers or elephants, but still enjoyed our boat trip in the Nature Reserve, although we were slightly surprised by the numbers of humans we saw! Our group was interesting and fun to be with. and we never felt like we were merely following a disinterested guide. Sibil did his best to answer our many questions and every venue had a local guide.”