dethfire

I'm flying into Kochi on June 28th and flight out of Mumbai on July 15th

Here is what I have so far. Please help me optimize my time.

Kochi 1 night

Allepy HB 1 night

Thekkady 2 night

Munnar 2 night

Kochi 1 night (for flight to Jaipur)

Jaipur 3 night

Varanassi 3 night

Mumbai 1 night

How does that look? I think I have 2 more nights to spend somewhere. Suggestions?

Kathie

I suggest you slow down. You have not accounted for travel time... and travel times can be very long in India. You are also all over the sub-continent - so you need to allow lots of travel time. Any place you spend one night will mean you have no time to see/do/experience anything - just spend the night, maybe have breakfast and dinner there. And two night stays aren't much better - they allow you just one full day in a place. A three night stay is what I consider to be a minimum if you want to experience anything of a place.

You say you have 17 days, but really, it looks like you have 16 nights, meaning 15 days. With that amount of time, you want to choose an absolute maximum of 5 stops. Right now you have 8 stops. So your task is to cut and make this a trip you can enjoy.

thursdaysd

That looks terrible, as Kathie says. Rather than flying all over the place, concentrate on the south, since that is where you are starting and ending, and forget Jaipur and Varanasi on this trip.I don't know where you are flying from, but you will probably have jet lag. i would start with a night or two on a houseboat, and then at least two consecutive nights in Kochi. Consider adding Coorg and Mysore while you are in the south.

dethfire

Thanks for the advice! I'm a fairly fast travel, but I do understand the need for buffer time. Before reaching Kochi I will have spent a week in Oman so I'm not worried about jet lag. Should I add another day onto Thekkady and Munnar? I would fly to Jaipur and Varanasi. I don't expect to be back to India for a very long time, so I need to hit enough to be satisfied.

dethfire

I may add another night to Kochi/Munnar/Thekkady to give some travel buffer time

Kathie

Have you been to India before? Do you understand Indian travel conditions? How long it takes to get from place to place and the road conditions? I think you would be wise to add some time at the beginning of your trip, as you are proposing. I also think it would help to cut a couple of destinations.

dethfire

Really just 6 because I don't really care about Kochi or Mumbai, they are just ports of entry/exit. I traveled to Nepal for a month. I feel that is a little similar?

Kathie

India and Nepal share some commonalities, it is true. But in my experience (and it does depend on the area) the travel in India is more difficult - worse roads, more road hazards, more traffic, etc.
Also, India is a huge country; distances are farther than you might guess.

It looks like you have a few flights - to Jaipur, then, I assume to Varanasi, and probably Varanasi to Mumbai. Are you hiring a car and driver for the other travel?

I hope you have a wonderful trip.

dethfire

Yes those those are the internal flights. Car for the rest. Is it relativity easy to arrange for a taxi to take me to the kerala locations. Can hotels arrange this the day before?

thanks!!