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- The next day, we took a smaller route to Nedumudy, giving us a closer look at the backwater villages, and a chance to actually get off the boat and wander into the Nedumudy village. Then, after around an hour, when the return boat arrived, we boarded it, along with the lungi clad men, back to Alleppey!
Do we need to stay on a houseboat in Alleppey?
- You can, but there are several on-the-ground options for stay in Alleppey as well. Alleppey is teeming with accommodations, that fit all budgets.
- We had stayed at a nice little place called The Wind n Waves, a minute away from the Alleppey beach.
Top tips for experiencing Kerala backwaters on a budget
- Looking for a quick escape? Then Kerala Holiday packages are one option you can consider
- Because the Kerala backwaters play a vital role in the daily lives of the locals from Kochi, Alappuzha (Alleppey), Kollam, to Trivandrum, the state transport has a well-connected network of boats.
- Since they are state-run, the charges are official. This is real Kerala backwater experience, not the popular Kerala backwater houseboat tours.
- How to get to Alleppey (Alappuzha) for a Kerala backwaters experience? Some Konkan Railway trains halt at Alappuzha (Alleppey), some at nearby Kottayam. Alappuzha is a 2 hr train ride from Trivandrum, in the south. Regular shuttles run between Alappuzha and Kochi (Ernakulam) to the north.
- If you have the time, there is a longer route from Alappuzha (Alleppey) to Kollam. This is an eight-hour journey which means a stayover at the destination is a must.
- Kerala backwaters do not have to be an expensive affair. These state transport rides are not only cheaper making Kerala backwaters on a budget possible, but also the experience is more immersive and real.
- Tour packages in Kerala always include the experience of Kerala backwaters as part of the itinerary.
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62 thoughts on “Kerala backwaters beyond houseboat tours”
Fantastic !!.. One Of The Best Kerala backwater Tourism Places I have ever visited there is -Venattukadu , A remote rural backwater village with friendly people and animals ..Great Food Too, For more please search ‘Venattukadu’ on Youtube you will get several videos…
Thank You for sharing this. Actually, I too planned to visit Alleppey. Wonderful pictures. Maybe, I think I will have great memories in visiting this place.
Very useful information.
Speed boat ride between longest bridges on river Godavari. What an experience!
Click on below link to watch Full Video
I have plan to go for summer vacation and search for where to go and reached on your blog where I see Kerala is best place for holiday destination and I will plan for kerala in next week. Thanks for sharing amazing content and photos.
It’s really informative post about Kerala Backwater Tours.. especially the Houseboat in Alleppey… Thank you for the post..
I went to Kerala 5 years ago and loved the boat trip in back waters. I felt awesome….
Thank you for your nice blog post.Keep it up author.
We loved every minute of the Alleppey backwaters in Kerala. Such a unique and tranquil experience. The houseboat and the paddle boats were a highlight for us. Never got a chance to go for an Ayurveda massage but it gives us another excuse to go back and see the backwaters again.
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Enjoyed reading the article above, Your pictures are stunning. kerala backwaters are important feature of Tourism in Kerala “God’s Own Country”.
Enjoyed these experiences yesterday! Was wondering about the life of these people in awe.Though my thoughts were on similar lines, I wouldn’t have been able to pen them so well. Very beautifully written!!!
Hey Anusha, thank you! Lucky are those people who call the Kerala backwaters home! Glad you enjoyed the beauty of these backwaters.
Is there anything to see in nedumudy?
The life of the people who live by the backwaters of Kerala. Visit the fish market where the people of Nedumudy come for their pick, the coconut oil mill where the women line up with their stock of coconuts. Slice of life of the locals – and the beautiful landscape of farms on the banks of the backwaters of Kerala – that’s what’s there to see in Nedumudy.
Reading your post was so much fun. It is not that I have not been to Alleppey. I live in trivandrum and I have been to alleppey more times than I can remember but your writing is just so wonderful that it almost teleported me to the place!
Kerala is a beautiful place.It has very beautiful beaches. I extremely enjoyed my Kerala trip. This post refreshed my beautiful memories of that trip.
Your pictures are enchanting. Your pictures and write-up are tempting us to travel in local State water transport in and around Alleppey.
We are retired couple. We like to travel in this February or March (as per your suggestion) by train from Chennai to Alleppey, stay in a lodge in Alleppey, travel in Kerala State Water Transport Boats, stay one night in a boat house. Then travel to Munnar, stay for 2 days and return to Chennai.
Kindly advise us: (1) Reasonably priced lodge in Alleppey (2) A Safe and reasonable priced boat house in Alleppey (heard some boat houses have a lot of insects, ants etc.) (3) Mode or transport from Alleppey to Munnar (4) Reasonably priced lodge in Munnar.
Thanks for your valuable time
V Thangamani
Nice blog.. Good job.. Thank you so much for the information. It’s a great post…I love travelling and want to travel all over the world. Explore new places, adventurous things and many more. And photographs are just amazing. Keep writing !!!
Thank you, Sophia! Happy travels to you!
I have never been to Kerala. Is it ok if we plan for Kerala visit in March
It does start to get hot in March in Kerala.
Really nice article and beautiful clicks. Been there twice. I must try state run boat service next time.
Hey Shreenidhi, those state-run boats give a peek into the slice of life on the Kerala backwaters.
Amazing … Will try in my November Kerala Visit.
What is the travel time for Alleppy to Nedumudy?
Hey Aritra, November is a great time to visit Kerala. The boat ride from Alleppey to Nedumudy was a little less than an hour long. We spent some time in Nedumudy and took the same boat back to Alleppey on its return journey.
This is such a comprehensive post with stunning pictures! Backwaters is one of the most important aspects of tourism in Kerala which receives a large number of tourists from all over to discover the real beauty of ‘God’s Own Country’.
Thanks!
Hi !Sandeepachetan,I always read abt ur travails in मटा रविवार .How wonderful and myriad experiences u guys gather every day ! Reading all those goodies even I feel to do the same.
I must all ur clicks n pics r eye candies ! Hv a wanderful life both of u ☺ Regards,Tanuja Durve.
Hello Tanuja, thank you so much fro writing to us. It is always great to hear from our MaTa readers. We try to explore the local way of doing things when we travel. The Kerala backwaters exploration was also one such attempt. We really enjoyed the experience of being in the backwaters of Kerala with the locals!
Wow…I loved reading about Kerala. I have always wanted to visit the famous Backwaters of Kerala. I hope to fulfill my dream. 😀
And I loved your narration.
Thank you, Manogna! Hope you travel to Kerala soon and experience the famous Kerala backwaters fro yourself. Happy travels!
Stunning pictures and a lovely narrative! loved the read 🙂 The place looks so different when you narrate it as a local! 🙂 Very well written!
Thanks, Divyakshi! You are right, I am guessing what we see if we are sitting in one of those luxury houseboats would be different than what we saw, this time, traveling with the locals in their mode of transport over their backwaters! Glad you enjoyed the read 🙂
The photographs are mesmerizing – the lifestyle they portray certainly looks idyllic, at the tourists’ glance. I think the well-appointed bungalow would draw me. Am I right in thinking the mosquitoes would not?
Hello Frederick, thank you so much. Glad you liked the photos of the Kerala backwaters. It would be an amazing experience living in those bungalows – something we definitely want to do on our next trip to Kerala. Friends who previously lived on the houseboats did complain of the mosquitoes. The bungalows would probably be better. It was the dry season when we were there so they didn’t bother us much. But an insect repellent should always be kept handy 🙂
Lovely experience. You guys not only traveled but explored , lived the local life out there. I experienced ferry rides but I soon get sea-sick.
Oh no, sorry to know about your sea sickness, Upasna. Even the ride over the calm backwaters caused it? We are so happy that we chose this local approach to experience the Kerala backwater. It would not have been possible, traveling isolated in a houseboat.
I did the Kerala Backwaters in one of the houseboats – with my old father and young children – and have always felt – well, been there, done that, it was great but…After reading your post I’m tempted to try the more adventurous, really backwater experience. Thanks.
Beautiful pictures. Backwaters are amazing indeed.
Thank you, Ami! We loved our time over the backwaters.
Wonderfully captured in pictures and narration! A refreshing Kerala post indeed!
Thank you!
Glad you liked it, Deepak!
Beautiful pictures ! Kerala is breathtaking indeed.
Thank you Ashween!
Yes it is, though we are yet to “properly” travel through Kerala!
Stunning captures! I have stayed close to back waters but never in a boat house.
Must be quite an experience.
Houseboats are good for them who just want to relax. May be we will stay close to backwaters in our next visit and then in houseboat… step by step upgrade 🙂
Lovely! Imagine living here and going to school here. How would you then look at our ugly cities then? Would you be mesmerised by a mall?
Hmm…I hope not! I truly hope not!
Fantastic and amazing.
Thank you, Jyotirmoy!
You have written it so nicely! I remembered our visit to the backwaters in 2005.
Thank you so much! Now you should go back to the Kerala backwaters and travel in these state transport boats, to see which experience you enjoy the most 🙂
Thanks for the virtual tour,enjoyed thoroughly
Thank you Anindita!
lovey post!! Of late posts on kerela have become so monotonous that I somehow lost the interest to visit kerela but your post was so different and so refreshing! Recently saw a malyalam movie called premam which had these raw shots of backwaters and forests of kerela and I fell in love with the place and your post was like that movie, gave the best of the best but with a very rustic touch. 🙂
Thank you so much, for your lovely comment Varsha! We have seen very little of Kerala, but we assume it has way more to offer than what a few blog posts can reflect. Recommend you to not lose your interest in Kerala 🙂 When you try to experience a place inclusive of the people who live there, it makes a whole lot of difference to what you feel about it.
Though we won’t understand the movie, will try to watch some videos for the cinematography of the movie you mention. Thanks! Happy travels!