wylie

Had an amazing 2 weeks in Rajastan last March, now we are planning a 2 week March 012 trip to the South. We just booked airline tickets in and out of Mumbai. Love suggestions of where to go.

thursdaysd

Well, Mumbai is only JUST South India. You can head due south to Goa - beaches if you're into that, but otherwise Panaji, the state capital, and Old Goa. And then go further south to Kerala for Kochi and the backwaters.

Or you can go inland to Aurangabad for the magnificent Ajanta and Ellora caves, but you'd need to head back to Mumbai from there.

For me the best parts of south India were the hills - Coorg (coffee) and the Nilgiri hills (tea) and the temples (Madurai, Trichy and Tanjore). And Mysore, which has an over-the-top palace and is a base for a few other sites including the exquisite Belur and Halebid temples.

My recent trip to India was almost entirely in the south - you can click on my name for my TR, although I still have Tamil Nadu to write.

wylie

Thanks I realize that Mumbai is just the beginning of the South, we just had to grab the return tickets on our airline points. I am open for any suggestion. I do know that we want a day plus in Mumbai, we want to go on an overnight houseboat, we want to go to both caves and Kerla. I have great things about Hyperbad, Mysore, Ponjeberry, But we really know little else of the absolute highlights. So any itinerary suggestions would be amazing.

Amy

I was in south India for a week of my three week trip; as I was visiting a church there, it's not the most overwhelming route, but you might get some ideas; this includes Cape Comorin, the "toe" of India: http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...rip-report.cfm

Here are some pictures just to get you excited http://travel.webshots.com/album/564942586iRIZak

To me, it was more about the sights than the sites, if you know what I mean; just those small things like the fresh jasmine garlands on the rear-view mirrors.

thursdaysd

Do you mean mean Hyderabad and Pondicherry (Puducherry)? Both are a bit out of the way from Mumbai and Kerala.

You could fly to Aurangabad for the caves, and then to Kochi for the houseboat (I hear it's gotten very crowded on the backwaters these days, but don't know what dates you're considering). What else do you want to see/do in Kerala?

Then you could take the train to Coimbatore and Mettupalayam to get the mountain railway up to Coonoor or Ooty. You'll need to take a bus or car and driver on to Mysore.