Navigating the Kerala Coastline

Started the trip from Chengalpattu Railway Station on 21st Evening. Though Kanyakumari doesn't come in Kerala, still we considered it as our starting point. Reached Kanyakumari early next morning. Besides Vivekananda Memorial & Thiruvalluvar Statue, there are hardly any places to explore. The town is small and you can explore on foot. Visit the pier to have some quiet time. The ferry queue may get busy if some school trip is going so keep additional time in hand.

Left early next morning by train for Trivandrum. Took a prepaid auto to Kovalam. One of the best beaches to be explored. Thin crowd, clear water and good food. Taking a hotel near the beach is preferable as the road to the beach is steep and getting back can be tiring.

Left around 9am for Varkala by train. We had booked accommodation near Varkala Cliff. Also explore Kappil beach but you may skip it if time does not permit. Evening at the cliff is happening as it has a good crowd and lot of cafes.

Left for Kollam early morning. This day was most hectic but worth it. Accommodation was at Hotel Sea Palace. One of the best budget hotels I came across in all my travels. After check in and breakfast we took an auto to Jatayupara which is 40km away. You can see the bird sculpture along with cable car ride. After that we came back to Ashtamudi lake after lunch. We explored the lake on a govt. ferry which dropped us at last point. We returned to the hotel almost at 7pm. The day has a lot of travelling as the points are far from each other.

We came to Alleppey early morning and check in Hotel Golden Sun. It is a fantastic homestay with super friendly people. We just relaxed the day on a ferry ride to Kottayam and came back by bus. The ferry ride will cover almost 3 hours in the backwaters.

Last day of the trip, we reached Kochi in the morning. We went to a homestay in Fort Kochi and got fresh. We just explored Fort Kochi and Jew Town. The area around Jew Town has very good crowd and you can get souvenirs for friends at good prices. Later that evening we took the train from Ernakulum and returned to Chennai the next morning.