Varkala Tours and Trips

What an amazing trip! It genuinely exceeded my expectations on so many levels! From beginning to end, everything was exceptionally well organised, with every detail carefully thought through and plans adjusted when necessary to maximise our enjoyment. The cycling routes were a brilliant way to experience Kerala’s towns, cities, fishing villages, stunning coastline and authentic local culture. Loved every moment, but particularly enjoyed the afternoon coasting down the Kerala backwaters on the houseboat, where I suddenly realised I was the most relaxed I had been for many months! :) Each day felt different, with a great mix of activities and experiences, plus some wonderful surprise cultural moments that we simply weren’t expecting. The food throughout was excellent: fresh, varied and full of flavour, and the standard of the hotels was consistently very good. Having swimming pools at many of the properties was a real bonus and the perfect way to unwind after a day on the bike. Overall, it was a fantastic holiday and I would highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for a well-organised, active trip with great food, comfortable accommodation and truly unforgettable experiences.

There are almost no words to describe how fulfilling this Kerala trip was. I have taken a lot of interesting trips in my time, including northern India, but this really touched my soul like nowhere else and I cannot explain why. There wasn’t anything that I didn’t love about the trip. The food was great, the people were so, so friendly, the group was fantastic, the countryside so pretty, hotels were comfortable and the cycling was something I have never done before but really enjoyed. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I’ve just returned from this tour and can honestly say it exceeded all expectations. From start to finish, the trip was exceptionally well organised, with every detail thoughtfully planned. The cycling routes offered a perfect way to take in Kerala’s beautiful coastline and local culture. Each day brought something new and memorable, with a fantastic range of activities and experiences that really made the trip special - with lots of surprise cultural experiences that we did not expect. The food was excellent throughout, fresh, varied, and full of flavour and the hotels were of a great standard. Having access to swimming pools at many of the accommodations was a real bonus and a great way to relax after a day’s cycling. Overall, this was a truly fantastic holiday. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a well-organised, active trip with great food, comfortable accommodation, and unforgettable experiences.

One of my best ever cycling holidays lead by a brilliant local team (Vini and Arun) headed up by the amazing Safi. It was good to experience the chaos of a city in Mysore with crazy traffic and cows in the road. Fort Kochi, which is a world heritage site, was laid back with lots of interesting things to see on our day off the saddle and lovely boutique shops where there was no hassle from vendors! The night on the converted rice barge was lovely and relaxing and so nice to float past everyday life on the river. Cycling along the coast, it was good to see fishermen hauling in their catch and to paddle in those warm waters. I particularly loved waving at friendly locals as we cycled by (and them waving back) and the school children so excited to see us and practice their English. Apart from the climb up to Ooty which is optional, I felt this holiday should be rated a difficulty level of 3 rather than 4. Once you've finished the Western Ghats, the cycling is very flat. Added to all that, we had a truly lovely group of fellow cyclists on the holiday who all helped make this such a pleasurable trip.

This cycle tour was one of the best experiences I have ever had. Exodus were a great company and as a solo traveller I was very impressed with the support, nothing was too much trouble. It was a great itinerary, our tour leader was informative, flexible to all members of the group and did his best to accommodate everyone, despite there being some challenging members in the group. All accommodations were great and of a good standard. I would highly recommend the tour

We did this tour after a week in the North doing the golden triangle so it was nice to sample the north and the south of India - they are very different. The cycle routes were fabulous and as were in the main flat within most people’s ability. The tour should be named cycling the backwaters and coast of Kerala as more time is spent in the backwaters than on the coast - not a complaint as the backwaters are fabulous. The night on the houseboat was amazing and the home stay was better than we expected. A great way of seeing the area.