Classic Kerala Holiday

Explore Kerala’s backwaters, rivers and beaches on this adventure-filled 14-day private tour around the Spice Garden of India. Factor in a packed guided itinerary, and a range of accommodation from hotels to campsites to houseboats, and you’ve got a holiday you’ll never forget.

No guidebook can ever really prepare you for the explosion on the senses that makes India so compelling. And Kerala consistently rates high on people’s hit lists when it comes to places to see here. With its laid-back, chilled out ambience, and a climate to match, it’s a great place to explore. Its main draw is its intricate web of rivers, canals and lagoons that snakes its way through the landscape. Add rice fields, coconut groves and idyllic sandy beaches that are scooped into the coastline, and there’s not much else you could wish for.

This two-week classic Kerala holiday immerses you into the heart and culture of Kerala, with the knowledge that you are travelling with a local operator who will go out of their way to ensure that your visit supports and enhances the lives of people living in local communities. You’ll stay on a houseboat and enjoy a backwater cruise past tiny villages to Alleppey, spend time camping deep in the forest of a wildlife sanctuary, and head out on a night time trek through the Periyar tiger reserve. Then there’s the day of bamboo rafting, where you’ll bob along the Periyar Lake and spend time trekking through the countryside. And if all that wasn’t enough, you’ll also get to see the spice fields that give this part of India its well-deserved name as the Spice Garden of India.

If you’ve always longed to set foot in India, but were never quite sure how to go about sorting out an itinerary, this tour is just the thing. You won’t have to worry about finding the right bus, hailing a taxi, or making sure the hotel you’ve picked is a decent one – because it’s all done for you on this tour. There is no herding round in a group on this trip and no joining busloads of other tourists, your holiday is your own. You choose when you want to go and while the trip does have an itinerary, you can go very much at your own pace.

What sets this tour apart from so many others is their approach and sensitivity to the environment and the local communities, whilst at the same time trying to give you a fantastic holiday to remember. The visits to the spice farms are not all about cynically forcing you to buy, but are included to give you a chance to meet local farmers and to understand how globalisation affects them. The evening folk performances are designed to encourage local traditions, whilst at the same time entertain guests. And many of the trekking guides employed in Periyar were previously involved in poaching and this entire section of the trip was designed to create jobs and sustain local communities.