Things to do in Kerala and the backwaters

Things to do

1. Fort Kochi and the Chinese fishing nets

   Giant fishing nets on wooden cantilevers, hauled up at sunset. On Wikipedia

   Culture and historyMonument2 hrFreebest in the evening

2. A night on a houseboat in the backwaters

   A kettuvallam of wood and palm leaves, canals lined with coconut palms, and dinner on board. On Wikipedia

   RelaxationNature22 hr≈ €120takes the whole day

3. A kathakali performance

   An hour of makeup to watch, then gods and demons danced without a word. On Wikipedia

   Culture and historyShow2 hr≈ €8best in the evening

4. Mattancherry and the synagogue

   The Dutch Palace and its murals, Jew Town, and a synagogue from 1568. On Wikipedia

   Culture and historyMonument2 hr≈ €3best in the morning

5. Cherai Beach

   A beach lined with coconut palms on one side and backwaters on the other. On Wikipedia

   RelaxationBeach4 hrFreebest in the afternoon

6. An Ayurvedic massage

   Warm oils and slow movements, in the land that made Ayurveda a medicine. On Wikipedia

   RelaxationRelaxation1 hr 30 min≈ €30best in the afternoon

When to go

The most pleasant months in Kerala and the backwaters: from November to March, taking weather and crowds into account.

More ideas for those months: where to go in January, where to go in February, where to go in March, where to go in November, where to go in December.

Averages measured over recent years: mean temperatures and number of rainy days, month by month.

What budget on the ground?

Per person and per day, including accommodation, meals, local transport and visits — excluding the round trip. An estimate calculated the same way as in the app, from the local cost of living.

Budget

€20

Mid-range

€40

Comfort

€75

Getting there from Paris: the carbon footprint

Per person, round trip, in kilograms of CO₂ equivalent — manufacturing, energy and, for flights, contrails included.

Plane

2.9 t

Factors from ADEME (Impact CO₂); outside France, rail uses the European average published by the European Environment Agency.

Book on the ground

Tours and tickets

• Go City Multi-attraction passes for big cities
• KKday Activities and tours, especially in Asia
• Klook Tours, tickets and excursions
• Tiqets Museums and monuments, skip-the-line tickets
• WeGoTrip Self-paced audio tours

Internet on site (eSIM)

• Airalo Data eSIM, by country or region
• Drimsim SIM card that works in almost every country
• Saily Data eSIM
• Yesim Data eSIM

From the airport

• GetTransfer Drivers make an offer for your ride
• Intui Private transfers at a fixed price
• Kiwitaxi Booked transfers, from taxi to minibus
• Welcome Pickups Driver waiting on arrival, price fixed in advance

Rent a car

• Auto Europe Rental comparison
• EconomyBookings Rental comparison
• GetRentacar Cars from rental companies and private owners
• Localrent Local rental companies, often no credit card needed

Partner links: if you book through them, Tripora may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you and without changing the order of these lists, which is alphabetical.

Good to know: India

Plugs

Type C, D, M, 230 V

Emergencies

112

Driving

On the left

Near Kerala and the backwaters

• Sri Lanka — Colombo and Kandy Sri Lanka, 520 km
• Hampi India, 600 km
• Goa India, 640 km
• Maldives Maldives, 710 km
• Mumbai India, 1,080 km
• Udaipur India, 1,650 km

Elsewhere in India

• Agra and the Taj Mahal
• Amritsar
• Darjeeling
• Delhi
• Goa
• Hampi
• Jaipur and Rajasthan
• Leh and Ladakh
• Mumbai
• Rishikesh
• Udaipur
• Varanasi