A first trip to Kerala usually means Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady and a night on an Alleppey houseboat, which fits comfortably in 5 nights. Add Kovalam or Varkala and a day at Kanyakumari and it becomes 7 to 8 nights. Most families fly into Kochi and out of Kochi or Thiruvananthapuram, though the Konkan line gets you there by train from Mumbai in a little over a day. We plan the route, hotels, the houseboat and a car with a driver who knows the ghat roads.
Kerala packages at a glance
| Package | Nights | What it covers | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munnar short break | 2N / 3D | Kochi to Munnar, tea estates, Eravikulam (outside Feb–Mar), back | A long weekend |
| Classic Kerala | 5N / 6D | Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady, a houseboat night at Alleppey | First-timers, families, honeymooners |
| Kerala with Kovalam and Kanyakumari | 7N / 8D | The classic route plus two nights on the beach and a Kanyakumari day | Families with a full week of leave |
| Backwaters and beach only | 4N / 5D | Kumarakom or Alleppey, then Varkala or Kovalam | Senior citizens who’d rather skip the hills |
The full day-wise plan for Classic Kerala 5N/6D is on its own page. The other formats are built from it, adding or dropping days, and any of them can be changed to suit you.
How the usual route works
Kerala is a long, narrow state, so the order of stops matters more than the number. The standard loop starts at Kochi, climbs to Munnar, runs south along the hills to Thekkady, drops down to the backwaters at Alleppey (Alappuzha) and either returns to Kochi or carries on south to Kovalam and Thiruvananthapuram. Doing it the other way round works too. What doesn’t work is zig-zagging, because hill roads are slow.
- Kochi (Fort Kochi and Mattancherry). The Chinese fishing nets on the Fort Kochi waterfront, St Francis Church, the Dutch Palace at Mattancherry and the old Jew Town lanes. Half a day is enough for most families. The Dutch Palace is closed on Fridays.
- Munnar. Tea country at about 1,600 m, where three streams meet (the name is said to mean “three rivers”). Tea was first planted here in 1880. Expect tea estates, the Tata tea museum, Mattupetty dam and lake, and Eravikulam National Park.
- Thekkady. The town at the edge of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. The main draw is a boat ride on Periyar lake, formed by the Mullaperiyar dam in 1895, plus spice plantation walks in Kumily.
- Alleppey or Kumarakom. The backwaters. Alleppey has the most houseboats and canal life; Kumarakom, on the other side of Vembanad lake, is quieter and resort-based, with a small bird sanctuary.
- Kovalam or Varkala. Kovalam is the easier beach for families, close to Thiruvananthapuram. Varkala has its red cliffs and the Janardhana Swamy temple, and suits couples.
- Kanyakumari. In Tamil Nadu, at the southern tip. A day from Kovalam for the Vivekananda Rock Memorial ferry and the sunrise or sunset.
Eravikulam closes for the tahr calving season
If seeing Nilgiri tahr at Eravikulam is the point of your Munnar visit, avoid February and March. The park, which covers 97 sq km and contains Anamudi, the highest peak in South India, shuts every year while the tahr give birth. In 2026 it was closed from 1 February and reopened on 1 April. The 2027 dates will be notified by the forest department nearer the time, usually in January. When it’s open, visiting hours are roughly 8 am to 4 pm, and visitors go in by batch, so book tickets online a few days ahead in holiday weeks.
Good to know: Neelakurinji flowered on some Munnar hills in 2026, but the big Eravikulam bloom that comes every twelve years is next expected in 2030. Be wary of trips sold as “kurinji season” before then.
Houseboats: what a night on the backwaters is like
A kettuvallam was originally a rice barge. Today’s houseboats have one to four bedrooms, a crew of two or three, and a cook who makes Kerala meals on board. Most overnight boats board around noon, cruise through the afternoon, and tie up for the night at about 5:30 pm, then return you by around 9 am. So the cruising is roughly five hours, not a full day. Ask for a private boat rather than a shared one, and an air-conditioned bedroom if you’re travelling in April or May. Ask the operator which hours the AC runs; we confirm this before booking.
For grandparents who find the boat steps difficult, a lakeside resort at Kumarakom with a day cruise is the easier option.
Best time to go, and Kerala in the monsoon
October to March is dry and comfortable on the coast, and cool in Munnar. Christmas, New Year and the Diwali week are the busiest and dearest, so book houseboats and Munnar hotels early for those dates. April and May get hot and humid on the plains, though Munnar stays pleasant.
The southwest monsoon reaches Kerala around 1 June (in 2025 it arrived on 24 May) and rains heavily through August. It isn’t a bad time to go if you want green hills and lower rates, but beach swimming is out, hill roads can close after landslides, and Periyar boat trips may be cut. Leave a spare day in the plan.
Getting to Kerala from Mumbai, Pune and Delhi
By air: Kochi has the most flights and is closest to Munnar, about three hours by road from the airport according to Kerala Tourism. Thiruvananthapuram suits the beach end of the trip. Flying into Kochi and out of Thiruvananthapuram saves a day of driving back.
By train: The daily Netravati Express (16345) leaves Mumbai’s Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 11:40 and runs down the Konkan coast via Ernakulam and Alappuzha, reaching Thiruvananthapuram the next evening, about 30 hours in all. It’s a scenic run but a long one for elderly travellers; many families take the train one way and fly back. Between 15 June and 20 October the Konkan Railway runs a slower monsoon timetable, so check timings for those months.
Notes for senior citizens
- The Kochi to Munnar road is all hairpins after the plains. Carry motion-sickness tablets and plan a stop at the waterfalls on the way.
- Eravikulam involves an uphill walk to the viewing area. Go at your own pace and carry water.
- Boarding the Periyar boat and the houseboat means a few steps down from the jetty. Ask for a hand; crews are used to it.
- Houseboats have narrow stairs to the upper deck. Ask for a bedroom on the lower deck.
Questions families ask before booking
Is 4 nights enough for Kerala?
Only if you drop one stop. Kochi, Munnar and Alleppey fit in 4 nights. Adding Thekkady properly needs a fifth.
Alleppey or Kumarakom for the backwaters?
Alleppey for the houseboat night and village canals. Kumarakom if you’d rather stay in a resort by the lake and take a shorter cruise. Both are on Vembanad lake.
Will we see a tiger at Periyar?
Very unlikely. Periyar has been a tiger reserve since 1978, but from the boat you’re far more likely to see elephants, bison and deer at the water’s edge, especially on the first morning trip.
Can we get vegetarian food everywhere?
Yes. Hotels on this route all serve vegetarian meals, and the houseboat cook will make a vegetarian or Jain menu if we tell them in advance.
For more on the hill town, see the official Kerala Tourism guide to Munnar.
Checked November 2026. Munnar and Eravikulam details are from Kerala Tourism, and the 2026 closure and reopening dates from Onmanorama reports of January and March 2026. Monsoon onset dates are from IMD reports, train times from the Indian Railways timetable as published, and the monsoon timetable dates from Konkan Railway. Houseboat timings vary by operator. Park dates and fees change every year, and we confirm them when we send your quote.