Highlights
Savour South India - Embark on a culinary and cultural journey through the vibrant flavours and lush landscapes of Kerala. Explore fragrant plantations - Meander through plantations where tea leaves as well as cumin, cardamom, pepper, and other spices are harvested. Float through the backwaters - Relax on a traditional houseboat and journey through the famous Kerala backwaters.
Itinerary
Immerse yourself in the colorful tapestry of southern India on this nine-day sightseeing tour, traversing Kerala and Tamil Nadu from Kochi to Munnar. Designed for those who appreciate easy-paced journeys with a strong culinary focus, this trip offers a seamless blend of local sights and sensory delights.
Explore fragrant tea and spice plantations, where cardamom, cumin, and pepper are harvested, and float through the tranquil Kerala backwaters aboard a traditional houseboat. Along the way, sample regional dishes with opportunities for both omnivorous and vegetarian palates—dedicated veggie departures ensure everyone can savor Kerala’s unique cuisine. Highlights include visits to grand palaces, bustling markets, and lush plantations, all paired with authentic food experiences.
What sets this tour apart is its focus on local flavors and farm-to-table experiences, making it a standout choice for travelers eager to taste as much as they see in southern India.
day 1Trip starts in Kochi (Cochin)
Our trip starts in Kochi, a port city on India's Malabar Coast. Also known as Cochin, it's been a port since 1341, when it was used by Arab, Chinese and European merchants. Built across several islands with criss-crossing waterways, the city has a cosmopolitan feel and a vibrant food scene amongst the local markets and street food stalls. There are no planned activities today, so you're free to arrive at any time. Our tour leader will hold a welcome meeting in the hotel reception at 5pm and there'll be the chance to go for dinner afterwards. If you arrive later, they'll catch you up in the morning. If you'd like a hotel transfer, you'll need to arrive into Cochin International Airport (COK), which is 40km/1.5 hours from the airport. Our hotel for the next two nights is an art-deco style property located on Willingdon Island, just a short distance from Forty Kochi. The hotel has a choice of excellent in-house restaurants.
day 2Explore Kochi and Sadya lunch
day 3Breakfast dosa making before drive through tea and spice plantations to Munnar
day 4Full day exploring Munnar and visit to the tea estates
day 5Drive to Thekkady and farm-to-plate spice garden tour
day 6Cookery class, village walk and toddy tapping
day 7Discover the backwaters by houseboat
day 8Morning in the backwaters before returning to Kochi
day 9Trip ends in Kochi
What's Included
Customer Reviews
The tour was everything I expected and more.
What a lovely trip, the itinerary offered a great amount of variation with so many different things to see, do and experience every day. From vibrant towns, tea plantations and peaceful backwaters. I especially enjoyed the hike at Munnar through the tea plantations and learning about the local wildlife. The trip was well balanced Santosh our guide leader was outstanding, knowledgeable, organised, friendly and always making sure everything ran smoothly. The hotels including the home stay and boat experience were all good and the food throughout the trip was consistently delicious. So many different flavours, variety and explanations of the different foods/ spices used I have travelled with Explore many times and this was a really good trip
This trip was exactly as described. It is full on, brekky 7.30am out at 8.30am. A lot of coach travel but with breaks that made it fine. The accommodation was far better than I expected. Our tour leader was always on hand, always checking everyone was present, and was very approachable. This was my first trip with Explore and I was a solo traveller but I always felt included. I will be booking my next trip soon. 🙂
We thoroughly enjoyed this trip to Kerala and the experience was good. Although we did feel this wasn’t a food experience which is why we booked it. Some of the cookery experiences were missed out and although much of the food was good it didn’t really come with descriptions or recipes which you would expect on a food focused tour. We really enjoyed the tea plantations and the boat trip, although it would have been good to know before that we’d need an overnight bag. The house stay was a little simpler than I have previously had and the interaction with the family was limited. The hotels were generally good and in nice locations. Luckose, the guide tried hard to give us lots of experiences which made for very busy days. He was very attentive to us as my friend was recovering a knee operation and he made sure we were well looked after.
A great experience with stunning scenery at the tea plantations and from the houseboat. The food was amazing. Abhi our guide really made the trip though and was the most attentive and hard working Explore guide I have had (this was Explore trip 36). He was there at every meal, helping with orders and his love of his job and country were obvious. Thanks Abhi - you were outstanding. The hotels were of a very good standard although hot water was not available at the homestay or on the boat (although the boat was very comfortable). It is advisable to have a smaller bag for the boat as it is difficult to move large bags onto or off the boats. Avoid Air India - my flight was cancelled on the day out meaning I missed the first day of the tour, there were also further delays both en route and on return.... Overall though a wonderful experience with a lovely group of fellow travellers. Highly recommended. Do take an umbrella!
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