Kerala & the Tropical South

This was a wonderful journey through beautiful Kerala and Tamil Nadu…so bright, so colourful, so vibrant. We had such amazing experiences, from strolling through the streets of Fort Kochi, to trekking through the beautiful tea plantations of Munnar and seeing elephants in the mist of an early morning walk at Periyar. We learnt so much about Hindu culture from our lovely guide Biju, and visited some beautiful temples along the way…a real highlight of the trip. I loved the contrasts between vibrant buzzy cities, with thrilling tuk tuk rides, and the peaceful backwaters of Alleppey…drifting along the tranquil waters watching Kingfishers and Egrets. Just lovely. I would thoroughly recommend this tour of the Tropical South.

This was my first time to India and I decided I wanted to start in the south because I heard it was a bit more beginner friendly and I was traveling with my daughter in her late teens for our first time just the two of us. I was blown away by the warm hospitality, the scenery, the food and how well organized this trip was. The itinerary is varied and really includes a bit of everything you need to see in Kerala and Tamil Nadu: verdant tea plantations, historical architecture and incredible access to temples, welcoming and warm connection with local people and guides, spice gardens, wildlife preserves, drifting down the backwaters in a houseboat with your own cook and captain, I still can't believe we did and saw so much. We ate a huge meal one night with a local family and then toured a village and learned about traditional crafts with another family, we got beach and pool time and watched thunderstorms out over the Arabian Sea as we enjoyed dinner as a group. Just truly an unforgettable experience every step of the way.

This was my first trip to India, and Kerala was the ideal place to start - relatively compact, affluent, clean, and accessible, with incredibly friendly, helpful locals, and a wide variety of sights to see. The pace of the trip was perfect, moving on to a new destination every other day, normally on the road for 3-4 hours, with plenty of comfort breaks and additional sights along the way. I feel like we saw as much as was comfortably possible in 12 days. The one area for improvement would be a little more free time to explore independently. In Cochin, in particular, we had a very busy morning visiting several churches, a palace and a synagogue, only stopping for a late lunch, and it seemed a missed opportunity to spend some time wandering through the narrow streets of the old quarter for tea, chats with locals, and a bit of shopping. This would have helped with orientation too, as it was our first full day after the long journey from the UK.

As an Exodus staff member this was an incredible trip! This itinerary is well crafted to show off all Southern India’s highlights; from tea plantations, temple cities, sleepy coastal towns, wildlife and houseboats to all the friendly locals! Biju, our guide was stand-out with his incredible depth of knowledge and insight into his home state of Kerala as well as the whole of India, he really did make the trip! Vinod, our driver was impeccable navigating the twisty roads of the Western Ghats with precision. All in all, a once-in-a-lifetime trip that I will never forget! Highly recommend.

Wonderful trip through a unique part of India. As usual with Exodus we had a great group of like minded travelers and a variety of things to see and experience. There was a good mix of urban and nature. Cochin would have been a lot better if the hotel was in Fort Cochin. Too much time was spend driving back and forth.