Kerala canals
 

Has anyone done a cruise on a kettuvallom in the backwaters of Kerala? Are 2 nights on the boat too long? Opinions? Thanks.

Hi, we did an overnight cruise on the canals and if we were to do it again, we'd probably just cruise during one day and stay on land at night. We didn't gain too much from the overnight part, although during the day it really is wonderful.

Also, if we did it again, we'd probably splurge on one of the really nice Taj boats just for the day (that was the same price as overnight on our little boat that was in need of some TLC)

For two nights, maybe you are travelling from one place to another? If not, I would suggest one at the most.

Take it for 2 Nights as one nights seems to be short as you have to disembark b4 u really feel it. This could be the best one , feel free to write incase interested in share more personal experience of Kerala
Alleppey Round Cruise – 2 Nights
Day1:- Pick up from Alleppey Finishing Point Jetty at 1200 hours. Cruise through Pallathuruthy River, Pookaitha River, Pullangady and reaches Champakulam. Visit Champakulam Church, which is more than 200 years old. Famous snake boat Champakulam Chundan and Kottaram Temple. After that proceed to Moonnatummugham for night stay. Enroute can stop at Nedumudy to visit the local market.


Day2:- Cruise through Mancompu have village walk and visit Bhagavathy Temple. Back to houseboat and proceed to Pulinkunnu and enters Puthenthodu which is a long stretch of narrow canal and reaches Kavalam. Further cruise will be through big rivers with various paddy fields on both sides viz. Mangalam, E-Block, H-Block, R-Block and reaches Cherukali Kayal for night stay.

Day3:- Cruise through C- Block, Kuppapuram and Azhikkal canal reach Alleppey Finishing Point Jetty at 1000 hours.

Yes, too long! Stay at www.cghearth.com property Coconut Lagoon in Kumarokam one of my all time fav Kerala - and India - hotels. Do a day or at most 1 night cruise from there.

Agree with Hobbes - Coconut Lagoon is the place we passed by a couple times and wished we had booked!

Thanks, I was in fact thinking of doing 2 days at brunton boatyard in cochin, cruise boat for 2 nights and then bangaram island all with CGH earth. Their boats look really wonderful.I could do Coconut Lagoon and boat from there instead. Not sure about the distances though. I'll look into it.

Two nights at a stretch can be too long, although once your day is over, you do wish you'd booked for another night. If you have the time, a nice option would be to split up the cruise into 2 days, maybe once before and once after your bangaram trips. By the way, be aware that everyone may not find the CGH Earth's eco-friendly policy very appealing. I've seen reports [I think on tripadvisor] where people complained about the lack of television, and the open-air bathrooms at Coconut lagoon. So if you're the kind of person who likes that kind of things, it might be better that you stay away [although I'm hoping that you're not that kind of person].

I'm not that kind of person! The idea of silence and scenery and good food definitely win over Tv and air con!
I'll be travelling to India for the Carrom World Cup which is in Delhi so our time in Kerala is limited to about 9 days. I think splitting this between too many locations might waste a lot of time. The CGH people suggest 2 nights on the cruise and they could transport us straight to the airport for bangaram if we are prepared to leave at 6 am. So it would really be only one day and a half cruising. After reading these posts I'm wondering whether to do 1 night at coconut and 1 night cruise......it seems to be pretty much the same area geographically...oh decisions decisions!!

DEFINITELY do at least 1 night at Coconut Lagoon. It is one of my all time fav hotels in the world. The open air bathroom is to my mind one of the attractions - showering with a canopy of greenery and the sky just a few feet away. The toilet and shower are actually covered but open on the sides. I'd be surprised if you missed a tv in Kumarokam - we certainly didn't! I'd do both nights at Coconut Lagoon and a day cruise...but then that's me. Do check whether you will eb sharing the baot with someone or will have it exclusively.

A night moored up on the lake was one of the hottest I have ever experienced. I loved the boat, but one night was enough.

Be sure to keep your arms and legs inside the mosquito nets.

Our boatmen also made some interesting waking noises. I don't think that I will go into detail-- but they were amusing and sufficiently frequent to get several mentions in the visitor's book.

Gill.