Mincepie

Have not finalised anything yet..any suggestions please? This is just a rough plan. Will be travelling late Dec/Jan

3 nights Delhi(prob use some Marriott points)

Drive Jaipur early a.m. Taj Rambaugh Palace 2 nights.

Fly Jodhpur Taj Hari Mahal palace.

Fly Aurangabad 2 nights Taj

I night Mumbai Hilton

Goa 3 nights to relax Fort Aguada Beach Resort

Drive Munnar 2nights Windamere Estate

Drive Alleppy Raheem Residency

I night..houseboat

Kumarakom Coconut lagoon...not sure yet

Drive Kovalam Le Meridien 2 nights w/ trip to Kanyakumari

Thank you in anticipation. We have learned so much from you all already.

zoomoozophone

I can't comment on the first part of your itinerary, but for the south I do have a couple suggestions: in Munnar also take a look at Olive Brook - it is very close to Windemere but much less expensive. We stayed there for 3 nights and abosutely loved it. Very clean, airy rooms (I think maybe 7 total), fabulous meals and great staff (they even took us on evening walks through the tea plantations) We paid $75 a day for lodging, breakfast and dinner plus tea, and other light snacks. In Kumarakom, we *wished* we could have stayed at Coconut Lagoon - looked spectacular and probably worth the money. Our overnight houseboat tour was just ok. Next time, I would book a boat just for a day tour and not bother sleeping on it. During the day it was spectacular, but for nightime you don't gain much by it, we didn't sleep a wink due to rats, cockroaches and other creatures (and we know how to rough it too!)

Mincepie

Thank you Zoom. We were close to cutting the houseboat to a day trip...your rat story made that a definite!! Not really...unless the food on a houseboat was fantastic it did not seem worth an overnight.
Will take a look at Olive Grove.
Thanks again for your reply.

hobbes

OK, my comments on your itnerary. The Delhi Marriott is not very well located at all. The Bombay Marriott is a great hotel with a good suburban location near the domestic and international airport (I presume you will fly into Delhi and out of Mumbai to minimize back tracking - many carriers allow this). The Goa Marriott is also a lovely property tho it is not on the beach - having said that the Aguada beach is quite sad so hopefully that is not the draw of thge Aguada. You might want to consider using your points for Marriotts in Bombay and Goa and book something else in Delhi. To my mind Coconut Lagoon is an enchanted place to stay and hands down beats the Kumarokam Taj property - IMO it is one of the most gorgeous hotels in India. You could potentially economize in Jaipur where there are great small properties and splurge on the Coconut Lagoon. I would suggest 2 nights at Coconut Lagoon tho as it is a drive to get there and 1 night is very short. Olive Brook is a great option too.

Mincepie

Thanks Hobbes. In what way is the beach at Aguada bad?

cruisinred

I have been reading this India Itinerary post with interest, even though my plans for a trip are over a year away.

Just wondering about the Coconut Lagoon. Website looks great, and Hobbes says it is nice, but recent feedback on Tripadvisor.com is quite negative. Anyone know what to make of those conflicting reviews?

Mincepie- not sure if you have seen it, but the i-escape.com website has some nice looking, detailed hotel reviews for places in Rajastan and Kerala.

zoomoozophone

It is likely that our houseboat experience was a fluke, but even without them we didn't think the overnight part was all that spectacular. Our friends who live in India told us from the beginning to just go for the day, but we didn't listen to them Once the sun sets and you've had your dinner - better to just get back on land and stay at a hotel. For the price we paid for an overnight trip, we could have booked a really specatucular houseboat for a day.

hobbes

Mincepie, Goa is a fairly large island. The north where the Aguada and many other hotels are located is where the restaurants are, the flea markets are held, etc. The beaches are very average. Sand is not that clean, they are crowded, not that much shore line. If your intention in going to Goa is to laze on the beach you should ideally book a South Goa hotel - the Park Hyatt, Taj Exotica and Leela are some that come to mind. Becahes are almost white sand, much larger and few people except the hotel guests. However, you are then far from the "scene of action" and ideally should spend most of your time at your hotel as it is about 45 mins commute to come to the North. I love North Goa but then I do not go to Goa for a beach holiday - I like the feel of the town, the small bars and restaurants, etc.