Kerala in 8 days: Kochi, Munnar and the Alappuzha backwaters

Seven nights, three bases: how the week fits together

The route makes a loop from Cochin International Airport (COK): three nights in Kochi, two in Munnar and two on the backwaters at Alappuzha, one in the town and one on a houseboat, before the drive back to the airport on day 8. Starting in Kochi gives you two easy days after the flight; Munnar comes next so that the climb into the hills is done while you are fresh; and the houseboat comes last because it sets you down after breakfast within reach of the airport. Cochin is one of the e-Visa airports, and the city, the hills and the backwaters all lie within about 120 km of it.

Book in this order. The houseboat goes first, because its date fixes the end of the trip. Next comes Eravikulam National Park: its booking site sells tickets by date and time slot, entry runs from 08:00 to 14:00, and the park closes each year for the Nilgiri tahr's calving season, from 1 February to 1 April on its booking page. The three rooms follow, once those two bookings have fixed your dates. Put the Mattancherry day in Kochi on a Sunday to Thursday, because Kerala Tourism lists Mattancherry Palace as closed on Fridays, and the Paradesi Synagogue as closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays.

The rooms priced in this guide are the ones our place guides price, at the same figures: on Bolgatty Island, a short boat hop from Ernakulam's Marine Drive; at Chithirapuram, a few kilometres down the valley from Munnar town among the tea; and on Beach Road in Alappuzha, between the canals and the sea. Taken from those guides' tariffs, these prices apply together from 1 October to 20 December 2026 and from 11 January to 31 March 2027: the Kochi tariff runs to 31 March 2027, the Alappuzha room and the houseboat keep these rates to 31 March, and the Munnar resort adds 20% at Diwali and Christmas. From 1 February Eravikulam is closed, so drop its INR 1,000 from the budget and give the day 5 morning to the tea estates instead.

Bolgatty suits this route better than Fort Kochi because it lies just off Marine Drive, on the Ernakulam side of the water: the drive to Munnar on day 4 starts on the mainland, and the Water Metro from High Court reaches both Fort Kochi and Mattancherry. Fort Kochi is the better base if you want the old town on foot in the evenings.

Days 1-3: Kochi, from the fishing nets to Jew Town

Day 1 - arrive and cross to Bolgatty. Cochin International Airport is about 40 km from Mattancherry, Kerala Tourism says, and no official drive time is published, so keep the arrival day free of fixed times. App-based taxis such as Uber and Ola are available in all airport terminal buildings, the UK Foreign Office says, and prepaid taxis and hotel transfers are offered too. Bolgatty is a quiet island just off Marine Drive, and the promenade across the water is the place for a first evening walk along the backwater, with the harbour beyond.

Day 2 - Mattancherry and Jew Town (Sunday to Thursday). Take the Water Metro from High Court to Mattancherry for the palace the Portuguese built for the Kochi kings, with its 17th- and 18th-century Ramayana murals, then the Paradesi Synagogue of 1568 with its blue Canton tiles, open from 10:00 to 12:00 and from 15:00 to 17:00. The afternoon is for the spice and curio shops of Jew Town; walk north to Fort Kochi for the boat back.

Day 3 - Fort Kochi. Go early, when the Chinese fishing nets are working off Vasco da Gama Square, then see St Francis Church, where Vasco da Gama was first buried, and Santa Cruz Basilica. Return to the nets for sunset and stay for Kathakali, Kerala's dance-drama. In Fort Kochi, Incredible India sends visitors to the Kerala Kathakali Centre for a performance; no seat price is published, so buy your seat at the centre earlier in the day. Our Kochi guide gives the Cochin Cultural Centre's daily 18:30 show as the alternative. The Water Metro's last boat from Fort Kochi to High Court leaves at 20:55.

The Water Metro lists 37 departures a day from High Court to Fort Kochi, taking 20 to 23 minutes, at INR 40; High Court to Mattancherry also costs INR 40. The Bolgatty to High Court hop takes 2 minutes and costs INR 20 on the route planner, but it has no timetable online, so when no boat is waiting at Bolgatty, take a taxi or an auto-rickshaw.

Day 4: up the ghat road from Ernakulam to Munnar

Munnar is reached by road: Kerala Tourism gives about 119 km from Cochin International Airport and about 120 km from Ernakulam Junction, the nearest railhead, suggests Ernakulam town as the starting point, and says public transport runs to Munnar from almost all major bus stations in the state. A car with driver from Bolgatty is the simple choice with luggage, and the same car can stay with you until Alappuzha on day 6; agree the fare for the three days before you set off. No drive time is published, so allow generous time for the 120 km, with stops, among them a sadya lunch at Kallar on the Aluva-Munnar road. The UK Foreign Office says to avoid travelling at night and in fog, so leave Kochi after breakfast and arrive in daylight; our health and safety guide covers road safety in full.

The road climbs into the tea hills to Chithirapuram, a few kilometres down the valley from Munnar town. Spend the late afternoon on foot between the tea rows rather than driving on to the town.

Day 5: Eravikulam's grasslands and the tea museum

Take the first slot of the morning at Eravikulam National Park, 13 km from Munnar town. In the Rajamala zone at its southern edge, herds of Nilgiri tahr, the endangered mountain goat, graze on open grassland below Anamudi, at 2,695 m the highest peak in South India. The park's booking site lists INR 500 for foreign nationals and INR 200 for Indian adults, plus INR 50 for a still camera, sold by date and time slot with your passport as ID. For payment, the site points foreign visitors to its third payment option, which takes cards issued outside India and, it says, no Indian bank card; the park's phone numbers are on the same site. Tickets can also be reserved, for an INR 50 fee, at the counter in the information centre in Munnar, open from 09:00 to 15:00. Food, drink and plastics are not allowed inside, and apart from its few motorable roads the park is walked on foot. Be at the park well before your slot.

In the afternoon, the KDHP Tea Museum in the Nallathanni Estate tells the story of tea in these hills since 1876, with an old tea roller and a miniature factory, and ends at a tasting counter; Kerala Tourism, which calls it the Tata Tea Museum, lists it as open from 10:00 to 17:00 on all days. If you have energy left, the lake at Mattupetty, 13 km from town, has boating from 09:00 to 17:00, where the DTPC's five-seat speed boat costs INR 1,080. Our Munnar guide covers the rest of the hills, from Top Station to Kolukkumalai, if you add a night.

Day 6: down from the hills to the coast at Alappuzha

Leave Munnar after breakfast and drive straight down to Alappuzha in the same car. The road runs back down the ghat towards Ernakulam, about 120 km, then 62 km south to Alappuzha, about an hour on NH 66 by the district administration's figure. No drive time is published for the road down from Munnar, so plan most of the day for it and arrive before dark.

Alappuzha's beach is the place for the evening. The pier built by Captain Crawford more than 140 years ago runs out into the Arabian Sea, and the lighthouse of 1862, one of the oldest on India's south-west coast, stands in the town behind it.

With a ninth day: a night at Thekkady. Periyar Tiger Reserve is the reason to stop at Thekkady. The Idukki district administration gives Thekkady as 106 km from Munnar, about 4 hours, and 164 km from Alappuzha, about 5 hours, so a night there fits between Munnar and Alappuzha as an optional extra and makes the trip nine days. The reserve's boat trips are not in the budget below.

Days 7-8: a night on the backwaters, then the airport

Day 7 - the houseboat. Keep the morning for Alappuzha: the Sree Krishna Swamy Temple at Ambalappuzha, south of town, is counted among the seven most important Vishnu temples in Kerala and is famous for its pal payasam, a sweet milk porridge. The DTPC lists it as open from 04:00 to 12:30 and from 17:00 to 20:00. The temple sets its own rules on who may enter and what to wear, so ask at the gate. The priced boat is Saffron, run by Spice Routes Luxury Cruises, whose office is at Pallathuruthy: its booking page gives check-in at 1:00 pm, at the owners' 200-year-old heritage home outside town, and its boats lie near Chennamkary village, almost 10 km from the bustle of Alappuzha; lunch, tea, dinner and breakfast are served on board. Go from the temple to the check-in by taxi or auto-rickshaw; Spice Routes publishes neither the heritage home's address nor a transfer time, so ask for both when you book and leave the temple by its 12:30 closing. A kettuvallam is an old rice barge with bedrooms under its curved roof, and the afternoon is spent cruising the backwaters before the boat moors for the night; the paddy country around them is Kuttanad, the Rice Bowl of Kerala, where, Kerala Tourism says, cultivation is done some 4 to 10 feet below sea level. Our Kerala backwaters guide explains the boat classes and how to choose one. For a cheaper day on the water, DTPC Alappuzha says government-operated boats take you from one point to another on the water; no timetable or fare is published online, so check the next departure at the DTPC office at the KSRTC bus station, and carry small notes.

Day 8 - back to Cochin airport. Breakfast on deck, off the boat at 9:00 am, and a taxi to the airport: the district administration puts Cochin International Airport 2 hours from Alappuzha by NH 66, and the boats lie almost 10 km out of town, so allow extra time. Book an afternoon or evening flight, because a morning one leaves no margin after the boat.

With a seventh day only, take two nights in Kochi instead of three and see Mattancherry and Fort Kochi on the one full day, which needs the same weekdays as day 2. Day 4 becomes day 3, and so on, with the flight home on day 7.

What the week costs for two

This model follows the plan above for two adults sharing a room, on dates between 1 October and 20 December 2026 or between 11 January and 31 March 2027, outside Diwali and Christmas, with prices checked on 17 October 2026. Each room is the one our place guide prices, at the same figure.

• Kochi, 3 nights: the Golf view double room with breakfast priced in our Kochi guide, at INR 4,500 a night on its tariff for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 (INR 13,500), plus 5% GST (INR 675): INR 14,175.
• Water Metro in Kochi, for two, on days 2 and 3: each day Bolgatty to High Court (INR 20), High Court to Mattancherry or Fort Kochi (INR 40), Fort Kochi to High Court (INR 40) and High Court to Bolgatty (INR 20), INR 120 a person a day: INR 480.
• Sadya lunch on day 4 at Bayovali Herbal Garden, Kallar, at INR 250 each, the top of its listed INR 200-250 range: INR 500.
• Munnar, 2 nights: the Executive room for two priced in our Munnar guide, at INR 8,499 a night including breakfast and taxes: INR 16,998.
• Two dinners in Munnar town at the state tourism corporation's hotel, which our Munnar guide prices at INR 700 a person plus GST: INR 2,800 plus GST. Eat early and drive back to Chithirapuram before dark, or dine at your hotel instead.
• Eravikulam National Park, two foreign visitors at INR 500 each: INR 1,000.
• Alappuzha, 1 night: the Deluxe room priced in our backwaters guide, at INR 8,000 a night from 1 October to 22 December and from 11 January to 31 March, room only: INR 8,000.
• Dinner and breakfast at the same hotel, at its listed INR 700 and INR 370 a person: INR 2,140.
• Houseboat, 1 night: the one-bedroom luxury boat priced in our backwaters guide, with lunch, tea, dinner and breakfast on board, at INR 50,000 plus 5% GST from 1 October to 20 December 2026 and from 6 January to 31 March 2027: INR 52,500.
• Total on the luxury boat: about INR 98,593 for two (14,175 + 480 + 500 + 16,998 + 2,800 + 1,000 + 8,000 + 2,140 + 52,500), before the GST that the hotels add to the Alappuzha room and to the meals in Munnar and Alappuzha.
• Without the houseboat: about INR 46,093 for two. Standard and deluxe houseboats are booked through the District Tourism Promotion Council's pre-paid counter in Alappuzha or directly with operators, and no price list for them is published online; the DTPC's own overnight package runs from 12:00 to 9:00 the next morning, with lunch, evening snacks, dinner and breakfast.
• Road legs: about 430 km in all, from the airport about 40 km to Kochi, about 120 km up to Munnar, about 120 km back down towards Ernakulam and 62 km on to Alappuzha, then about 85 km to the airport, plus the short runs around Munnar on day 5. No official fare is published for the taxis or the car with driver, so compare quotes against that distance.
• Not included: the road legs and the transfer to the houseboat's check-in; lunches in Kochi and on days 5 and 6, and dinners in Kochi; tickets for Mattancherry Palace and the synagogue, Kathakali seats and the Tea Museum entry, none of which publishes a price, so carry small notes; the INR 50 still-camera fee at Eravikulam; boating at Mattupetty; tips for the houseboat crew.

When to go, and what the rains change

October to March is the season for this route, the months Incredible India calls the most pleasant in Kochi. The southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala around 1 June, the India Meteorological Department says, and runs to September; the northeast monsoon then brings Kerala a second wet season from October to December, with a normal 492.0 mm of rain over those three months. From October to December, expect showers on the houseboat deck and keep a spare day for the ghat road; our Munnar guide explains the monsoon warnings. January and February miss both rainy seasons; of the budget dates, those from 11 to 31 January are both dry and open at Eravikulam. In February and March, while Eravikulam is closed for the calving season, Munnar is still worth its two nights for the tea estates, the Tea Museum, Mattupetty and the road to Top Station; the best-time guide sets out Kerala's seasons month by month.

August has its own reason to come: the Nehru Trophy Boat Race, in which snake boats race on Punnamada Lake at Alappuzha. Kerala Tourism's 2026-27 event calendar lists the 2026 race for 22 August, and the race opens the season of Kerala Tourism's Champions Boat League; dates change each year, and the calendar gives them. Book the houseboat and the Alappuzha room early for race weekend.