Kerala’s Backwaters

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
7
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
8
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
7
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
7
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
8
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
75 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
101st/454
Top 30%
continent
Asia
country
India
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$80 ($120-$400 in 2024 prices)
Time of year visited
December
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Boat trip Local villages River Experience
All Tags
Christian site
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐

Summary

Boating Kerala’s backwaters is often on most people’s highlights reel for India.  You’ve got 900km of waterways that snake their way through the jungle and villages and are the equivalents of the historical roads here, with palm fringed shores ranging from super narrow alleys with tiny bridges spanning them to one of the biggest lakes in India. 

It’s super peaceful, it feels like getting close to a bit of “real India” and the captain will invariably bend over backwards to make you have a good trip. 

But . . . I’m going to be controversial . . . it’s more cute and relaxing than wow and I wouldn’t put it as one of the highlights of India.  The real wow factor experiences in India are to be found in the north, in particular Jodphur (see  Jodphur’s Blue City for tips), Udaipur (Udaipur Lake Palace) and the Taj Mahal (The Taj Mahal).  Kerala is more like a 3rd visit to India, with boating the backwaters as its highlight.

Kerala's backwaters - green jungle and canals linking small villages

Highlights

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#1 Lazing away, just watching the 900km of backwaters and houses drift by

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#2 The food! It becomes a focus when sat on a boat for 3 days! Its incredible as you watch them rustle up so many ingredients and shove onto banana leaves they've just that minute pulled from the nearby bank

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#3 Heading into some of the narrower backwaters for super close views into the local lives

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#4 Sailing over Vembanad Lake, India's largest lake by area

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#5 Kerala churches - a unique blend of European Christian architecture with traditional South Indian styles, such as the Kadamattom Church, and as old as from 52AD

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#6 Wandering in the alleyways by the backwaters. Nice walks, especially in December when the weather is perfect

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#7 River life!

Top tips

You’ve got multiple options of where to start and journey to – Alleppey, Kollam, Kottayam and, to a lesser extent, Valiyaparamba in the north.  They seem to be fairly similar.  We went with Alleppey as it gave access to Vembanad Lake, was a bit closer to Kochi and had itineraries that could span 4 days.

 

Take your time selecting the operator – they can be a bit sneaky with fake reviews, and often see their reviews overly influenced by the Indian domestic market.  I found trip advisor comments (in addition to the score) quite helpful as it gave a better insight into what to actually expect.  I contacted 3 and them  and, via the WhatsApp conversations, made a decision from there.  We went with Kalappura Housebaots & Tours, with Anthony and his brother (+91 98951 33528) and would very much recommend.

 

Go private – I’m sure that there’s a good chance if you went with a shared boat that you would find a nice group, but the problem is that you may well end up sharing with a large Indian family, which we saw several times, and a large Indian family has a very, very different idea of what relaxing looks like!!  The difference in price is marginal as you tend to get a slightly smaller boat.

 

What to expect on the boat  – on a private for one couple boat, it was one story – we had a chill out area at the front of the boat, a bedroom with AC and en suite, and then the back of the boat was for the staff and the kitchen.  3 very good local meals each day.  Chill out area perfect for watching the waterfront world go by.  All very basic, so don’t expect luxury.

 

How much?  We got a private boat, with AC, all meals and activities included,  and best reviews for 14,000 Rupees (US$160) per day.  You could easily push to reduce that to half, but you’ll lose AC / quality etc, or push up to 35,000 for the more luxury end.

 

The itinerary – I wouldn’t worry too much about the specifics.  The general relaxation and drifting through the waterways is what you are after, rather than the specific waterways or churches (which were average).  The main question is if you want to spend any time on Vembanad Lake, which will drive how much time you have and where to start from.

 

3 days / 2 nights is about right – we did 4 days and 3 nights, which felt like one too many.  2 nights would be about perfect.  1 night would also be ok but you’ll feel a tad rushed and no have that relaxed feeling of a full day on the boat.

 

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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