We plan to be in Kerala during the second week of August. I am hoping that will be the tail end of the monsoon season, but if anyone knows the general pattern during that time of the year, please do let me know.

Here are some thigns we have considered to do: Kumarakom 2 days, Allepey 1 day. Other options appear to be munnar, kovalam, kanyakumari, tree house in vythri, etc, etc.

With 9 days in kerala, I was looking for recommendations.

The monsoon generally breaks in early to mid June in Kerala, but it lasts until September, and so I think you will still find it quite rainy, esp in parts of northern Kerala. While the monsoon does move toward the north, it is so huge that it covers large swaths of India for months. (This is what the farmers depend upon.) It won’t be the downpours of June, but still rainy. Not necessarily a bad thing, as everything is then green, green, green and if you are prepared for it, perfectly fine. If you want to lie on a beach, not the best time to go, but otherwise it probably is OK. Take a look at weatherbase.com and try searching other weather sites for specific rainfall details.

I personally have always wanted to go see the monsoon break in Trivandrum in June. There is a great book by Alexander Frater called Chasing the Monsoon. The author follows the monsoon from its initial breaking point in Kerala all the way up and thorough India. The book will give you an idea of how important the monsoon is to the culture and economy of India.

Your itinerary looks fine, my only recco would be not to rush things and spend more time in few places. With 9 days, pick AT MOST 3 places, personally I think 2 is better with maybe day trips; but 3 is doable. Don’t know where you are flying in or out of, this might add time to your trip if your flight times are mid-day or if you have long drives, etc.. I assume you are considering spending some time on a rice barge houseboat. I could spend a week, but I would say at least 2 nights, I think 3 is better. You need some time to get away from the main areas where you pick up the boats and really explore back canals, that is where there are also lots of villages where you can stop off and meet people. The houseboats are not luxurious by any means (at least none that I saw), but are comfortable and very relaxing. There is a national park at Periyar which recent posters have mentioned, I don’t at all so can’t comment, you might look into how long the drive is from Kochi, it may be doable as a day or half day trip.

I just got back from 1 mo in South India. Here are a few things that we did in Kerala: We took an overnight stay on a houseoat at Allepy. Very relaxing and peaceful. Our room was comfortable. You could opt for a shorter trip ie 4 hours during the afternoon. We spent 2 nights in Munnar- the scenery is beautiful with the rolling hills of manicured tea plantations. It was cool in December but could be very nice in August. We stayed one night in Periyar and saw elephants, spotted deer etc from a boat cruise. I think you see more on the early morning trek. We spent a couple of nights in Cochin. The woman that organized our trip lives there and has a guest house there. I did learn that the Keralan people love monsoon season. I think I might try it sometime. They say it is a good time for a ayevedic retreat. We did not go to the other places you are considering.

I also recommend reading Chasing the Monsoon. Very interesting book.

Weather in August will still be rainy but this also means there's a lot of greenery around, like Cicerone said. Are you flying into Cochin? I've been to Allepey and Munnar, both nice. And also Kanyakumari (which I wasn't very impressed with). But I agree with picking 2-3 places otherwise you'll be travelling around a lot.

Thank you for your input and suggestions, it is greatly appreciated. I will make it a point to pick up that book.

My thought was to fly into Trivandrum from Bangalore, (or maybe take the overnight train for fun), spend a day or two, but if Kanyakumari is out, we will skip trivandrum.

Then drive to munnar for a couple of days, head towards Kochi to do the backwaters (Kumarakom/Allepey) for 3 to 4 days.

I think that should cover my 9 days, skipping the beach is probably the only painful part here.

We will be heading back to bangalore, so stopping in at Vythri "on the way" and staying at the tree house is under consideration. Anyone done that?

Have not been to Vythri but am booking at Tranquil resorts in Wyanad for Dec, have heard good things about it(Frommers loved it, if thats considered good!)www.tranquilresort.com

Not done the tree house but envy u hugely if u manage to - Green Magic Nature Resort is high on my to do list...sone day (sigh). In this weather I am not sure planning a houseboat stay is a good idea - if it is still raining it can be choppy. One of my favourite resorts is Coconut Lagoon at Kumarokam - www.cghearth.com. Be aware though that it is a 4-5 hour drive from Cochin so does not make sense for less then 2 nights IMO. The trip you are suggesting entails quite a lot of driving - which is OK, Kerala is a lush green state and scenic to drive thru. I have been to Munnar twice and of all the places you mention think it is skippable - coouple reasons : no outstanding acco, is basically a place to hike and see tea plantations which in the rain may not be doable. Instead, I would spend a couple days seeing Cochin - which is quite fascinating.