Kerala / Sri Lanka tentative schedule - feedback?
Jul 13th, 2004, 04:02 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 547
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Kerala / Sri Lanka tentative schedule - feedback?
We've taken advice from many sources and have put together the following itinerary. Any input is greatly appreciated, as is advice on airlines from the US India and particularly Sri Lanka. We will be traveling in November.
Day 1 - arrive AM in Cochin, walking tour of city, stay at Malabar House Residency
Day 2 -3 - houseboat to Chambakulam Church, Alleppey, backwaters, Kumarakom and overnight
Day 4 - transfer to Thekkady (Hotel Spice Village) and evening water safari
Day 5 - 6 - Tiger trek in Periyar, overnight camping
Day 7 - transfer to Cochin, overnight in Cochin
Day 8 - 9 - AM flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka, overnight in either Tangalla, Unawatuna or Hikkaduwa (any other recos? Hotel recos?) for snorkeling/diving
Day 10 - car hire to Kandy, maybe ancient cities, overnight at Yala Safari Game Lodge
Day 11 - Yala national park
Day 12 - drive to Colombo for departing flight
Thanks!
Heather
Day 1 - arrive AM in Cochin, walking tour of city, stay at Malabar House Residency
Day 2 -3 - houseboat to Chambakulam Church, Alleppey, backwaters, Kumarakom and overnight
Day 4 - transfer to Thekkady (Hotel Spice Village) and evening water safari
Day 5 - 6 - Tiger trek in Periyar, overnight camping
Day 7 - transfer to Cochin, overnight in Cochin
Day 8 - 9 - AM flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka, overnight in either Tangalla, Unawatuna or Hikkaduwa (any other recos? Hotel recos?) for snorkeling/diving
Day 10 - car hire to Kandy, maybe ancient cities, overnight at Yala Safari Game Lodge
Day 11 - Yala national park
Day 12 - drive to Colombo for departing flight
Thanks!
Heather
Jul 13th, 2004, 05:28 PM
#2
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 333
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Honestly speaking, your itinerary looks extremely rushed and I would never do it that way. I've been in Sri Lanka and Kerala on extended trips and can give you advice if you need it.
I think it would be much nicer to choose either Kerala or Sri Lanka for a 12 day trip. They are both such wonderful places that trying to squeeze both in a short trip is not doing justice to either one.
Malabar House is very nice. Definitely recommended. House boats trips are wonderful, but would say you should consider much more time in the backwaters. I know some very nice places. Personally, I would skip Periyar on such a short trip. It wasn't that impressive for me.
Since you are planning a Kerala/Sri Lanka trip, I'll recommend a great website to check out. It helped me so much planning my trip and gives reviews for all sorts of nice and special places to stay. I stayed at many of the places listed.
http://www.i-escape.com
I noticed your plan for day 10. You can't go from the beaches to Kandy, the ancient cities, and to Yala all in one day! You might want to do a lot more research on driving times. Your whole itinerary doesn't allow much for the traveling time between places. Just a suggestion, but I would seriously rethink everything to allow for a more relaxed trip.
I think it would be much nicer to choose either Kerala or Sri Lanka for a 12 day trip. They are both such wonderful places that trying to squeeze both in a short trip is not doing justice to either one.
Malabar House is very nice. Definitely recommended. House boats trips are wonderful, but would say you should consider much more time in the backwaters. I know some very nice places. Personally, I would skip Periyar on such a short trip. It wasn't that impressive for me.
Since you are planning a Kerala/Sri Lanka trip, I'll recommend a great website to check out. It helped me so much planning my trip and gives reviews for all sorts of nice and special places to stay. I stayed at many of the places listed.
http://www.i-escape.com
I noticed your plan for day 10. You can't go from the beaches to Kandy, the ancient cities, and to Yala all in one day! You might want to do a lot more research on driving times. Your whole itinerary doesn't allow much for the traveling time between places. Just a suggestion, but I would seriously rethink everything to allow for a more relaxed trip.
Jul 15th, 2004, 07:07 PM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 547
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for your feedback Mealea. Out of curiousity, what did you dislike about Periyar? We are interested in doing something a bit more active and different and have incorporated wildlife into other past trips enjoyably. I would go crazy if we spent a week on the houseboat - I need something more active.
i-escape is a great site that I haven't used before - thanks for sharing. On a map it seemed like we could get up north to Sri Lanka in one day (it's only a hundred miles) but that's specifically why I've relied on these boards for such advice. We'll readjust those days.
i-escape is a great site that I haven't used before - thanks for sharing. On a map it seemed like we could get up north to Sri Lanka in one day (it's only a hundred miles) but that's specifically why I've relied on these boards for such advice. We'll readjust those days.
Jul 19th, 2004, 09:02 AM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,553
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
hlphillips,
Hey, I think we are lost...we're on the Asia board!
Well, I am also flirting with Sri Lanka right now, as a grand finale to an India itinerary.
I have secured frequent flier seats on Award Planner that will fly me into New Delhi with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur. Right now, I have five nights in Kuala Lumpur to play with, but if I visit Sri Lanka, I may add another day to give me four nights in Sri Lanka and two nights in Kuala Lumpur.
I, also, am strongly considering visiting Yala National Park. Take a look at this travelogue:
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/yala&page=1
It is amazing that this person saw three leopards in a single day when on my just completed Zambian safari I was very unlikely and only saw a single leopard on about 20 game drives. That person also saw buffalo, elephant, mongoose and all kinds of other animals. Just think what three days may be capable of producing.
I don't know Cochin or Thekkady, so cannot really comment on the rest of your itinerary.
I am considering this for next February:
Agra, 2 nights at Amar Vilas
Bhratpur, 1 night at Laxmi Vilas
Jaipur, 3 nights at Samode Haveli
Ranthambhore, 3 nights at Udai Vilas
New Delhi, 3 nights at Imperial Hotel
Overnight flight to Kuala Lumpur, early morning arrival, transfer to Colombo, Sri Lanka, transfer to Yala National Park.
Yala National Park, lodging not yet researched, 3 nights.
Kuala Lumpur, Ritz Carlton, 2 nights.
Good luck with your planning and I look forward to a report on Yala National Park!
Hey, I think we are lost...we're on the Asia board!
Well, I am also flirting with Sri Lanka right now, as a grand finale to an India itinerary.
I have secured frequent flier seats on Award Planner that will fly me into New Delhi with a stopover in Kuala Lumpur. Right now, I have five nights in Kuala Lumpur to play with, but if I visit Sri Lanka, I may add another day to give me four nights in Sri Lanka and two nights in Kuala Lumpur.
I, also, am strongly considering visiting Yala National Park. Take a look at this travelogue:
http://www.pbase.com/dbehrens/yala&page=1
It is amazing that this person saw three leopards in a single day when on my just completed Zambian safari I was very unlikely and only saw a single leopard on about 20 game drives. That person also saw buffalo, elephant, mongoose and all kinds of other animals. Just think what three days may be capable of producing.
I don't know Cochin or Thekkady, so cannot really comment on the rest of your itinerary.
I am considering this for next February:
Agra, 2 nights at Amar Vilas
Bhratpur, 1 night at Laxmi Vilas
Jaipur, 3 nights at Samode Haveli
Ranthambhore, 3 nights at Udai Vilas
New Delhi, 3 nights at Imperial Hotel
Overnight flight to Kuala Lumpur, early morning arrival, transfer to Colombo, Sri Lanka, transfer to Yala National Park.
Yala National Park, lodging not yet researched, 3 nights.
Kuala Lumpur, Ritz Carlton, 2 nights.
Good luck with your planning and I look forward to a report on Yala National Park!
Jul 19th, 2004, 09:31 AM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 2,552
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There must be an exodus from the Africa board because I'm planning a Novemeber trip to India too!
We're also using ff miles. First we'll fly to London on vouchers I had from a bump earlier in the year!Flying via London may not be the most obvious route from San Francisco but it's wonderful for visiting family! From London I have FF business class tickets out on Swiss (to Bombay/Mumbai) and back on BA from Delhi.
We'll be in India for just over a month with a couple of weeks in the UK...I can't wait! I'd love to make it to kerala but I think we'll end up mainly in Rajasthan and visiting friends in Delhi.
Rocco, the routing through KL sounds much better than the earlier one through Dubai. The National Park you mentioned sounds fascinating thanks for the link, however 3 days sounds like a very short time for Sri Lanka. I think it would be far simpler to fly directly from Delhi to Columbo, rather than routing back through KL.
One interesting thing to bear in mind about Sri Lanka is that strangely (at least with Star Alliance) Sri Lanka falls within South Asia while India as a destination is within "Central Asia" (?!!!) and therefore more expensive to get to on miles.
We're also using ff miles. First we'll fly to London on vouchers I had from a bump earlier in the year!Flying via London may not be the most obvious route from San Francisco but it's wonderful for visiting family! From London I have FF business class tickets out on Swiss (to Bombay/Mumbai) and back on BA from Delhi.
We'll be in India for just over a month with a couple of weeks in the UK...I can't wait! I'd love to make it to kerala but I think we'll end up mainly in Rajasthan and visiting friends in Delhi.
Rocco, the routing through KL sounds much better than the earlier one through Dubai. The National Park you mentioned sounds fascinating thanks for the link, however 3 days sounds like a very short time for Sri Lanka. I think it would be far simpler to fly directly from Delhi to Columbo, rather than routing back through KL.
One interesting thing to bear in mind about Sri Lanka is that strangely (at least with Star Alliance) Sri Lanka falls within South Asia while India as a destination is within "Central Asia" (?!!!) and therefore more expensive to get to on miles.
Jul 19th, 2004, 07:40 PM
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 547
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
LOL - it's nice to see some familiar handles at least!
A visit to Yala is what started this whole plan to Sri Lanka (and figured we'd add some time in Kerala since it's so close). After ten days in E.Africa we didn't see a single leopard, so that's our main goal. If you didn't see it, the July issue of Conde Nast Traveler has a great article on SL.
I've read good things about Ranthambhore and tigers so you should have a nice trip. I'm not getting my hopes up in Periyar, but perhaps we'll get lucky with the other animals and birds.
As I too am juggling FF miles with random airports in search of the best airfare, I saw the previous post where Aeroflot was mentioned and will give that a shot. The best quote I've gotten from the travel agent was around $1800 pp, which includes all flights from the midwest to Cochin, then to Colombo and back to the US with Singapore Airlines - which I'd really like to fly but think I can get a better price if I just keep trying on my own... from the Roccco school of thought!
welltraveledbrit is right on the timing of DEL to Colombo, though the tickets might be more expensive to fly directly. It's 1.5 hours from S. India, so I'd expect it would be around 3 from Delhi. I'll keep an eye out for your itinerary adjustments!
Heather
A visit to Yala is what started this whole plan to Sri Lanka (and figured we'd add some time in Kerala since it's so close). After ten days in E.Africa we didn't see a single leopard, so that's our main goal. If you didn't see it, the July issue of Conde Nast Traveler has a great article on SL.
I've read good things about Ranthambhore and tigers so you should have a nice trip. I'm not getting my hopes up in Periyar, but perhaps we'll get lucky with the other animals and birds.
As I too am juggling FF miles with random airports in search of the best airfare, I saw the previous post where Aeroflot was mentioned and will give that a shot. The best quote I've gotten from the travel agent was around $1800 pp, which includes all flights from the midwest to Cochin, then to Colombo and back to the US with Singapore Airlines - which I'd really like to fly but think I can get a better price if I just keep trying on my own... from the Roccco school of thought!
welltraveledbrit is right on the timing of DEL to Colombo, though the tickets might be more expensive to fly directly. It's 1.5 hours from S. India, so I'd expect it would be around 3 from Delhi. I'll keep an eye out for your itinerary adjustments!
Heather
Jul 19th, 2004, 08:53 PM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5,553
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Heather,
Thanks for the tip on the featuring of South Luangwa in the July Conde Nast Traveler. I don't know if my subscription expired or if I just never received it, but I better rush to a newstand/bookstore before August is released (maybe it is actually featured in August and I just haven't received it yet?).
I believe it was the June, 2004, Conde Nast Traveler that first turned me onto Sri Lanka, although I didn't give it much thought until I wasn't very excited about the prospect of adding Dubai or Hong Kong or Nepal. I never even heard of Yala National Park before yesterday! But now that I have read up more on Yala National Park, it is a must.
About the air, I think the best thing for me would be to try to get first class air to Colombo, and then find my own way to Delhi, a 3.5 hour flight costing about $500 pp for economy. If I can spend three nights in Yala NP, three nights touring, and one night in Colombo at the best hotel possible, I think that may work out very well.
Funny how we are each looking to a little island in Asia to produce leopards after East Africa and Southern Africa both failed to do so for the most part!
Thanks for the tip on the featuring of South Luangwa in the July Conde Nast Traveler. I don't know if my subscription expired or if I just never received it, but I better rush to a newstand/bookstore before August is released (maybe it is actually featured in August and I just haven't received it yet?).
I believe it was the June, 2004, Conde Nast Traveler that first turned me onto Sri Lanka, although I didn't give it much thought until I wasn't very excited about the prospect of adding Dubai or Hong Kong or Nepal. I never even heard of Yala National Park before yesterday! But now that I have read up more on Yala National Park, it is a must.
About the air, I think the best thing for me would be to try to get first class air to Colombo, and then find my own way to Delhi, a 3.5 hour flight costing about $500 pp for economy. If I can spend three nights in Yala NP, three nights touring, and one night in Colombo at the best hotel possible, I think that may work out very well.
Funny how we are each looking to a little island in Asia to produce leopards after East Africa and Southern Africa both failed to do so for the most part!
Jul 20th, 2004, 01:24 AM
#9
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 333
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Heather,
You asked why I didn't get too excited about Periyar. Well, for one thing I went in the summer and although the weather was beautiful and sunny on the coast and in the backwaters of Kerala, it was very rainy and gray when I was at Periyar.
I went on the boat trips around the lake and managed to see only a couple of pigs and a few birds here and there. Nothing at all to get much excited about. After the long journey to get there, I didn't think it was worth it. The weather was terrible, so that was part of it. But, I haven't heard many positive comments about Periyar even from people who went in the best season. I also thought the town was pretty grubby and depressing, not like the rest of Kerala which I find to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.
The journey to get to Periyar is also quite time consuming. On the other hand, Yala seems to be easier and more pleasant to get to. I've pretty much only heard excellent things about Yala. It gets rave reviews.
I've stayed at quite a few of the places listed on i-escape, so if you have any questions, just ask.
You asked why I didn't get too excited about Periyar. Well, for one thing I went in the summer and although the weather was beautiful and sunny on the coast and in the backwaters of Kerala, it was very rainy and gray when I was at Periyar.
I went on the boat trips around the lake and managed to see only a couple of pigs and a few birds here and there. Nothing at all to get much excited about. After the long journey to get there, I didn't think it was worth it. The weather was terrible, so that was part of it. But, I haven't heard many positive comments about Periyar even from people who went in the best season. I also thought the town was pretty grubby and depressing, not like the rest of Kerala which I find to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.
The journey to get to Periyar is also quite time consuming. On the other hand, Yala seems to be easier and more pleasant to get to. I've pretty much only heard excellent things about Yala. It gets rave reviews.
I've stayed at quite a few of the places listed on i-escape, so if you have any questions, just ask.
