Holidays in South India, including Kerala, from tailor made to super luxury - we are the India specialist tour operator from the UK.

Swaying palm trees... peaceful, sultry backwaters....
colourful people in colourful costumes.... wildlife..... tea & spice plantations.....
all this and more can be experienced in this unbeatable, value-for-money tour

Day 01   Fly UK to Kerala
Day 02   Kovalam   Arrive Trivandrum Airport & transfer to the beach resort of Kovalam. Rest of the day at leisure to recover from your flight. Hotel Soma Palmshore
Day 03 House Boat    Morning - after a brief sightseeing of Trivandrum which includes the Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Horse Palace, Napier Museum and the State Handicrafts Emporium, you will be driven to Alleppey to board the houseboat for your overnight cruise. Overnight on the Houseboat:
Day 04 Thekkady    After breakfast disembark from the houseboat and be driven to Periyar Wild Life Sanctuary. This journey offers very interesting natural sights on the way to your destination. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight Hotel Grand Thekkady
Day 05 Thekkady   After breakfast you will take a boat safari on Lake Periyar to view the wildlife.   After lunch there will be a Spice Plantation Tour with our local guide.
Day 06   Munnar   Morning drive uphill through tea and coffee plantations to Munnar. Late afternoon take a short tour around Munnar.. Over night at Olive Brook Homestead.
Day 07   Munnar to Cochin    Afternoon be driven to Cochin and on arrival check in to Tissa's Inn. Rest of the day at leisure.
Day 08   Cochin    Today there will be a tour around Cochin to experience the historical and cultural richness of this famed city. Evening visit to a local theatre for a traditional Kathakali dance show. Overnight at Hotel.
Day 09   Cochin Appropriately timed transfer to the Airport for your return flight to the UK

Day 01 Fly UK to Cochin
Day 02 Arrival Cochin Airport. Met on arrival and immediate transfer to your hotel in Fort Cochin (40 km, 1 hr). Remainder of the day free to relax or stroll in the immediate area. Evening visit to a local theatre for a Kathakali dance show.
Day 03 After breakfast, walk to St Francis Church, the oldest European Church in India and the Chinese fishing nets believed to brought to Kochi by the Chinese Traders. Travel by auto Rikshaw for a live experience of the streets of Fort Cochin and to the Dutch Palace at Mattancherry, The Jewish Synagogue in the heart of what is locally called Jew Town and the home of the spice market.
Day 04 Mid-morning drive to Alleppey (60 kms, 01 hr 15 mts)and on arrival board your houseboat to for an overnight cruise around the backwaters of Kerala. Lunch, dinner and overnight on the houseboat.
Day 05 After breakfast, disembark from house boat and drive to Periyar (145 kms, 04 hrs)
South India’s most popular wildlife sanctuary, encompassing an area of 777 sq km., set on the attractive man-made Periyar Lake; it attracts over 300,000 visitors a year. Though the sanctuary was made a part of Project Tiger in 1973, it is better known for its elephants.
Check in to Pepper County Home stay, a heritage home-stay set amidst the quiet and serene surroundings of Amaravathy, it is spread across 7 acres of lush green landscape comprising spice plants and fruit trees. Comfortable accommodation is offered in well furnished rooms that are appointed with all modern amenities including telephone and attached washroom that receives a continuous supply of hot and cold water.
Evening visit to a Kalaripayattu (Martial Arts) performance at a local theatre
Day 06   Mid morning boat ride at Lake Periyar to see the wildlife around the lake as you cruise along its banks. Apart from elephants, bison, sambar, wild boar, langur, otter and flying squirrel are common. There are also 246 species of birds and 112 species of butterfly
Later enjoy an Elephant ride through a spice plantations.
Day 07   After breakfast drive to Kothamangalam (160 kms, 4 hrs 30 mins) On arrival, check in to Mundackal Estate Bungalow home-stay, an old home set within over a hundred acres of multi crop plantation. The architecture is a version of Kerala style of homes seen across the state modernised by good usage of wall space by using large bay windows, inward cut verandahs and large glass coverage letting fresh air and light indoors. The gracious verandas facing the south and the cool corners tucked in them are ideal for you to relax at any time of the day with nothing but freshness all around you.
Rest of the day at leisure or you may visit the nearby Thattekad bird sanctuary.
In the evening you can participate in the cooking demonstration offered by your hostess
Day 08   After breakfast drive to Palakkad (145 kms, 3 hrs 30 mins). Check in to Kandath Tharavad the ancestral home of the Kandath family set in the lush rice paddies of rural Kerala. The house is a two hundred year - old gem of domestic architecture constructed primarily of mud and teak, built in 1794.
Tharavad is the place to experience Keralan village life. The house is set in a rustic village outside Palakkad Town, taking you back to a bygone era, away from busy traffic and into a countryside that is absolutely quiet and calm.
Day 09   Spend the day visiting the local villages, meeting a Fortune teller, visit the family temple with a rare opportunity to enter the sanctum sanctorum to see the Pooja (prayers), or, take a bullock cart ride through the village.
Day 10   After breakfast leave for Calicut by road (135 kms, 3 hrs) Check in at to Harivihar, a Heritage home stay. Situated in Calicut, part of the historic Malabar province, the gateway through which Europe, led by Vasco Da Gamma, entered the fabled Indies – Harivihar offers its guests the unparalleled experience of living in a heritage homestead surrounded by a verdant and serene landscape. Embodying the best in traditional Kerala architecture, this ancestral home of the Kadathanadu Royal family presents an ambience like no other and welcomes guests with an embrace of genuine warmth.
At Harivihar, you can enjoy the priceless benefits of Ayurveda – the science of pristine living perfected by ancient gurus. The fact that as a homestead it has received the prestigious Green Leaf accreditation – the highest honour from the Government of Kerala for authentic Ayurveda – makes Harivihar unique. Harivihar offers traditional Kerala Vegatarian meals
Day 11   After breakfast, drive to Wayanad district (80 kms, 2 hrs 30 mins), situated at an altitude of about 3750-4500 ft above sea level it spreads over an area of about 150 sq km, Wayand is world famous for its evergreen rain forests and plantations of coffee, tea, rubber, cardamom and pepper. Mist-capped mountains and breathtaking scenery dominate
Check in to Hill View Home stay. Situated in the small, sleepy village of Vaduvanchal, this is the ideal place for a quiet and peaceful stay.
Day 12   Morning visit the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary, situated about 16km east of Sultan Battery. An ideal destination to watch herds of wild elephants, the Sanctuary is contiguous with the protected area network of the Nagarhole National Park and the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in the neighbouring state of Karnataka and Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu. This sanctuary spread over 345 sq km is rich with fauna and flora, and comes under Project Elephant.
Other places you could visit include Meenmutty Waterfalls, Edakkal Caves and the Jain Temple.
Day 13   After breakfast drive to Thalassery (130 kms, 3 hrs 30 mins), a city on the Malabar Coast of Kerala. The name Tellicherry is the anglicised form of Thalassery.
Arrive and check in to Ayesha Manzil - a beautiful, old, colonial-style mansion overlooking the blue Arabian Sea, it was built in 1862 by Murdoch Brown, an Englishman who came to Tellicherry as a trader with the East India Company. This simple heritage home boasts a multitude of period furniture as well as family heirlooms and antiques collected and restored by the present owners, Moosa and Faiza. Faiza is a wonderful chef and cookery teacher and will be happy to demonstrate some of the finer points of how to prepare Mapilla cuisine.
In the evening witness a Theyyam or Theyyattam - a popular Hindu ritual of worship in North Kerala state. As a living cult with several thousand-year-old traditions, rituals and customs, it embraces almost all the castes and classes of the Hindu religion in this region. The performers of Theyyam belong to the indigenous tribal community, and have an important position in a major form of worship.
Day 14   Early morning start to visit the local fish and spice markets, handloom weaving workshops & temples. Evening drive to Muzhipilangad beach.
Day 15   After breakfast transfer to Thalassery Railway Station to board the train to Cochin at 1015 hrs. Arrive Cochin at 1610 hrs. and transfer to your hotel.    Over night at Cochin.
Day 16   Departure Cochin
Appropriately timed transfer to Cochin Airport (35 kms, 40 mins) to connect to your flight back to the UK

NB Ayesha Manzil is closed for the whole of May and June each year.
This tour is not available during those month

Day 01               Fly UK to Cochin
Day 02 Cochin   Arrive Cochin Airport where you will be met and transferred to the Malabar
                         House Hotel. Rest of the day at leisure.
Day 03 Cochin   After breakfast set off for a full day sightseeing of Cochin with an English
                         speaking guide. Evening Kathakali performance at the local theatre.
                         Overnight at Malabar House.
Day 04 Kumarakom   Morning check out from the hotel and proceed to Kumarakom
                         boat jetty from where you will be transferred by boat to check in to
                         Coconut Lagoon Resort.
Day 05 Kumarakom   At leisure, Ayurvedic massage, Sunset Cruise.
                         Overnight at Coconut Lagoon
Day 06 Thekkady   After the backwater experience and breakfast drive to Thekkady wildlife
                         sanctuary and check in to Spice Village. Evening Spice Plantation tour.
Day 07 Thekkady   Morning boat safari on Lake Periyar. The rest of the day at leisure.
Day 08 Varkala      Today drive to the Gateway Hotel. Check in and relax.
Day 09 Varkala      Morning you can attend yoga classes or indulge in some ayurvedic
                          therapies to soothe your body. Evening local sightseeing. Overnight at the
                          hotel.
Day 10 Trivandrum   Morning transfer to Trivandrum. In the early evening a short walk through
                          the city, sightseeing and visiting the Handicrafts emporium or the colourful
                          local market nearby.   Overnight The Muthoot Plaza Hotel.
Day 11 Trivandrum   Appropriately timed transfer to the airport for your return flight.