Kovalam Tours in Winter

This was a really great trip. I had no specific expectations and so it was all a wonderful surprise. The trip is quite full on and covers a wide variety of places and activities, from mad hectic cities, tea plantations, temples, backwater cruising to beaches and everything in between. We had a great bunch of very friendly people in our group , which was full at 16. This wasn't a problem as the bus was spacious and with AC .. a must... if sometimes a bit too ferocious! Our guide Sathish was an absolute star , very knowledgeable, very helpful and seemed genuinely happy to be with the group .He went out of his way to arrange alternatives when we couldn't do the original plan... it was festival season so pretty busy in places. The only downside was some of the hotels were really a bit shabby and in some cases needed a good clean. I did not expect luxury but I think Exodus need to review their choice of hotels .

A very different experience from the trips to northern India I had taken over the years. Made extra special as it was over Christmas and New Year. A great variety of landscapes, experiences and people.

Great trip. Decent hotels except the last one in Kovalam- short of disaster. In a 20 year old guide book was already described as outdated, no words how it is now. Excellent guide. Out of my 7 trips with Exodus I think he was the best one. Impeccable English, as opposed to some other guides on my other trips. Makes a difference when you understand what the guide is saying.

This was an excellent holiday. The trips to the tea plantation, rubber plantation and spice farm were interesting, but the highlight was the night spent on the houseboat on the backwaters of Kerala. But what really made the difference was the professionalism of our tour guide Biju Kumar. Not only did he provide lots of information about the life and culture of Southern India, but he was ever present in ensuring our trip ran smoothly. Indeed one night he had to accompany two of our party to A&E – fortunately they were OK.

This was a fascinating and exciting trip. Our tour guide, Sam Benjamin, was wonderful. He made the difference between a truly excellent trip and a mediocre one. No doubt India, especially Southern India, is an appealing place to travel. Our tour took us through a host of places in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In Cochin, we gained a sense of the people and history of this early port town dating back to at least the 1500’s. The tea plantations of Munnar were interesting. But the temple town of Madurai was fascinating. The tour of the Sri Meenakshi Temple, because it offered and opportunity to both observe and interact with Hindus visiting the temple, allowed me to gain a vivid, experiential sense of the religious passion that drives Hinduism. The bicycle rickshaw between the Thirumalai Nayaka Place and the Temple was quite interesting – allowing me to perceive first-hand the cities’ everyday life and poverty. Johnson, our guide through the temple, was quite knowledgeable. Thekkady and the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary were even better. I had my doubts about cooking our own meal under Sheril’s supervision. (Sheril and his wife own a restaurant in Thekkady.) But the meal turned out to be surprisingly good. The hike through the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary was fantastic. Even though we started early (6:30am) with the hope of seeing the tigers and elephants living there, we did not. But our indigenous guide, Rangu, made our exploration of the Sanctuary exciting, nonetheless. We got a good sense of these animals natural habitats. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Our homestay was low key – we stayed in a home built in the 1930’s that contrasted sharply with the hotels we stayed in – and saw Tambi (sp.?), one of the workers at the home, harvest rubber. What was intriguing in our walking tour of the surrounding area was how this rural area was becoming a suburb of newly built cement houses. I counted in the immediate neighborhood six houses built in the last three years. The contrast between the quiet, gentle style of where we stayed and the noisy housewarming celebrations of two neighbors, provided much food for thought about the change going on in this section of Kerala. The other highlight, besides Periyar, was our overnight stay on a houseboat near Alleppey. The fresh, warm breeze as we slowly wound our way through the backwaters of coastal Kerala very much reminded me of the trade winds in Hawaii. There was gentle, refreshing quality to the whole experience. I loved it. Not specified in the tour notes but a key part of the trip, was our tour guide taking us over several back roads and stopping so we could see, for example, bricks being made or a trained elephant (waiting to participate in a religious ceremony) and talk to his trainer (or mahout). The stops gave us a very vivid sense of Kerala rural life. I would also add that our driver, Sandsill (sp?) ably navigated us through the chaos of Indian traffic. Despite the chances many Indians take that would, to a naïve American, likely end in a crash car, I never saw a car accident during our whole trip. Once I got use to the style of Indian driving, I felt quite comfortable and safe with Sandsill. He is a very skilled driver with a talent I quite admire. Watching him “in action” made the time go by quickly. Our trip ended in Kovalam. A former “hippy colony”, I found Kovalam enjoyable – visiting the beach side shops, restaurants, mosques, churches, and fishing harbor. Even better, was talking to many of the town’s inhabitants. The food, especially the Tandoori dishes and “Sizzlers” provided a relaxed context to reflect on the whole trip.

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 20’s up to 70’s. 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 monkey’s 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.