The Backwaters of Kerala Tour: Our Experience
By Two World Backpackers
When you think about India, the first thing that comes to your mind may be chaos and the Taj Mahal, but it is much more than that. Usually, people tend to visit the North and forget about the South of India, especially on their first trip to this enormous country. However, we decided to do it the other way around and start with the South after hearing many recommendations and praise about this part of the country. In particular, there was one place that was mentioned repeatedly: the backwaters of Kerala. So we did some research and soon we were sure that we wanted to see it with our own eyes.
You may wonder, “What are the backwaters, Laura?” Don’t worry, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about them and our experience in this blog. Join us on this dream journey!
Table of Contents
What are the backwaters?
The backwaters are a network of canals, lakes, and lagoons that run parallel to the coast of the Arabian Sea in the Kerala region covering over 900km with incredible green landscapes.
Additionally, the backwaters are connected by several towns and cities that serve as the starting point for cruises. However, Alappuzha or Alleppey, known as the “Venice of the East,” is the most popular for its houseboat cruises.
How to get to Alappuzha?
The nearest airport is Cochin, but in case you decide to travel from the South as we did, we’ll tell you how to get there from Munroe Island.
From Kochi:
- Train: It’s the easiest option. From Ernakulam station to Alappuzha, it’s almost a 2-hour journey, and the best part is that there are many trains regularly, so you won’t need to book in advance.
- Bus: Another easy way to reach Alappuzha. You can book buses through RedBus, or the most economical way is to go to the bus station and board the bus recommended by the locals that goes to your destination.
- Car or Uber: Of course, it’s the most comfortable but also the most expensive option.
From Munroe Island:
- Train: It’s also the simplest option and the one we used. We didn’t even have to book in advance as there are many trains regularly. The train station is called Munroturuttu, and it’s about a 1 hour 30-minute journey.
- Bus: You’ll need to take a taxi to Karunagappalli (about 28km away) and then take the bus to Alappuzha (an hour’s journey).
- Car or Uber: The most expensive option and it’s about a 2 hour 20-minute journey.
Now that we know how to get there, let’s get to the important part… Which company did we do the tour with, and how was our experience?
Tour de Backwaters Company
Being Alappuzha the most popular area with many companies offering these tours, we knew we had to scrutinize them like Inspector Gadget and choose the best one. After comparing several and browsing many websites, we found the right one: Tour de Backwaters, which invited us to do the night tour. But as always, we’ll give you our honest opinion.
This company belongs to Jomy Alexander, a young entrepreneur with over 13 years of experience in the industry who, at just 32 years old, created Tour de Backwaters. The company has 3 boats with 2, 3, and even 4 bedrooms, making it perfect for sharing the experience with friends, family, or everyone at once.
You can choose between 2 types of tours:
- Day tour: from 11am to 5pm
- Night tour: from 11:30am to 09am
We did the night tour, which includes a welcome drink, lunch, snack, dinner, accommodation on the boat, and breakfast.
Regarding the price, it varies depending on the chosen boat and the number of people.
Our Experience
The truth is, after touring the canals of Munroe Island at sunrise and sunset we had high expectations but above all, a lot of excitement… And it didn’t disappoint us!
We arrived the day before in Alappuzha to go more relaxed the next morning to the boat area, but we still woke up super nervous. After a few minutes in a tuk-tuk from the accommodation to the boat, we finally arrived.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by Jomy, who kindly introduced us to the crew and told us his story. And now, let’s start living one of our dreams.
As soon as we set sail, the crew gave us a welcome coconut, and while we sipped it, we couldn’t stop taking photos of each houseboat or kettuvalam, as these boats are called, passing by… and there are many! Although we have to say that at first, we were afraid that we wouldn’t be able to enjoy it because we thought it would be overcrowded, but nothing could be further from the truth, and we enjoyed it a lot.
Our houseboat was called GLORY, and it was amazing. It has 3 bedrooms, although we were the only guests staying, so we had it all to ourselves. The room was perfect, with a very comfortable bed where we slept like a baby, a window, wardrobe, desk, and a clean bathroom with hot water.
Although we spent most of the time in the bow lounge not to miss anything, as the surroundings are very beautiful. You’ll find simple but very nice houses, men fishing, children playing, and even women washing clothes in the canals, all while the boat moves slowly, allowing you to enjoy the moment.
But there was only one thing missing to make us very happy, especially Andrés, the food! And as if they had heard us, we soon stopped at one side of one of the canals to have lunch. And what a feast it was. The food just kept coming!
Here’s a photo of what we tried. It must be said that everything was delicious, and we ate a lot.
They usually provide traditional food from Kerala, but they can accommodate any dietary requirements. We had rice, fish, curries, pappad, and coconut salad, among other things.
Once we finished lunch, we set sail again, where we took the opportunity to read for a while and take more photos. At around 16:00h, they served us coffee and fried banana, and at 18:00h, we docked the boat where we were going to spend the night, so we decided to take a short walk around the area. After walking for a while along the rice fields and taking photos with some very nice locals, we returned to the boat, and around 20:00h, dinner was served. And what a dinner it was! We thought that if we kept eating all that, we would sink the boat due to the weight.
This time we tried fried chicken, chappati, dal, rice, and more curries, among other things.
As expected, we slept so well that we didn’t even notice the alarm, and we woke up straight for breakfast around 8am on our way back to the starting point. We were very happy with breakfast because they gave us toast, coconut-filled crepes, fruit, an omelet, and good coffee.
So when we checked out around 09:00h, we were more than ready and with our stomachs full for the journey ahead to our next destination.
It was definitely an unforgettable experience that we recommend if you want to visit the backwaters in Alappuzha. And of course, we recommend doing it with Tour of Backwaters Company. The staff and Jomy himself were very friendly from the first moment, the food was delicious and in large quantities, and the bed… what can we say, so comfortable that we didn’t even notice the alarm.
If you would like to live this experience, here is Jomy’s contact information:
Whatsapp & Phone: +918907428319
Email: tourdebackwaters@gmail.com
Instagram: @tourdebackwaters
Website: www.tourdebackwaters.com
Address: Pallathuruthy bridge in front of St. Thomas Church, Alleppey (Alappuzha), India 688013
