AndyZ

Has anyone any experience of visiting South India (Kerala and Tamil Nadu) at monsoon time? I am having difficulty distinguishing between advice and hype.

We are contemplating a three week trip in august 09 to temples, hill-stations, wild-life, backwaters and beaches with our ten year old daughter.

We are used to unusual conditions we visited North India last winter and kenya the summer before that.

We know that the monsoon season is the low season, but is that because visits are impossible or just 'different'. And if so in what way?

The alternative is of course a shorter, dearer trip at christmas in peak season.

Any advice or experiences to share would be appreciated.

many thanks.

CaliNurse

I love Fodors Talk, but there's very little here about South India. Try posting your question and do research on the Indiamike forum.

Jaya

Lonely Planet India Forum has MUCH more on South India than Fodor's.

Cicerone

I have travelled in south India for business during monsoon, but not for pleasure (although I have travelled for pleasure in other seasons.) My view would be that as long as you are prepared for what you will find, travelling in the monsoon season is perfectly doable. What you are most likely to find are delays in transport, esp. trains and buses, due to flooding or just the heavy rain. What you also won’t be able to do is sit on the lovely beaches, or really quite enjoy so much time floating on the houseboats in the backwaters of Kerala, IMO, as you will have more overcast days than sunny ones, and it can be quite windy, as the monsoon clouds are pushing inland over the subcontinent. But if you are prepared for what you will find, then I think it would be enjoyable. It’s certainly a hugely important time to be in India, from a cultural standpoint. Many Indians themselves go to Kerala to see the monsoon break. But August is after the break, which typically is in mid-June, so you would miss the actual “break”. If you don’t already have it, I would suggest you get a copy of Alexander Frater’s book <i>Chasing the Monsoon</i>, which you may find inspiring.

As you may know from planning a trip to Kenya, going wildlife viewing during the rainy season is not the optimal time, as animals will not need to congregate at a few water holes, and heaver vegetation makes animals harder to see. I don’t think this is as much of an issue in south India which has a much more tropical and wet climate overall than sub-Saharan Africa (or even north India), but is something to bear in mind. While you will miss the brunt of the start of the rains, you may get some heavy downpours, see weatherbase.com and other sites to get an idea of the amount of rain you can expect. I don’t think I would call north India in winter or Kenya in summer “unusual conditions”, as both are the optimal time for visiting both places, i.e. the best weather, and your current intent would be to visit south India at a less than optimal time. Both areas also have quite well-developed tourist infrastuctures, which is less so the case with south India; so your previous trips may not have prepared you for what to expect. However, if you can be flexible with travel time in some cases (due to delays), don’t expect lots of sunshine or activities centered around having sunny days, then I think you may find it quite a unique experience. Bring a good sturdy umbrella and at least one pair of crocs!

One other thought would be, if you wanted to avoid most of the rain, is to stick to the EAST coast of India, where the monsoon will not hit directly until later in the fall. Pondicherry and that area south of Chennai. A drive would be a great way to see this coast line, IMO, and there is a good road. There are temples (Mahabalipuram), lovely beaches and other sights and then you get to Madurai which will just amaze you. The tourist infrastructure is undeveloped compared to places like Rajasthan, so don’t expect luxury. You can also go inland and include a hill station. I don’t think there are quite as many wildlife opportunities as Kerala (not as many wildlife parks), and no backwaters for houseboats, but certainly many things to see and do and good weather in August. See weatherbase.com for an idea of weather.

Amy

I was in TN (and a day in Kerala) in July of last year. I had few troubles, but I will say that when the rains came down while we were in Kerala the streets almost immediately flooded and the driving became quite difficult. I had a lovely time altogether, however, and really not a great deal of rain. My trip report is here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35147706 although it's not terribly detailed; the picture link in it to webshots may be more helpful: the South India album is here:
http://travel.webshots.com/album/564...k?vhost=travel

Happy travels, and definitely visit www.indiamike.com!