Itinerary & Budget (Kerala)

This post has a detailed itinerary and the approximate budget separately for a trip to Kerala. Notwithstanding, you may modify anything that you wish accordingly.

itinerary map

Itinerary

An ideal itinerary for Kerala is for 7 days. You need to spend minimum 3 days even if you want to visit only one city in your trip. If you have more time, it is wonderful. Here, we are providing a sample and most common 8 days itinerary in Kerala which is enough to cover most of the places. If you are visiting Kovalam, you may try to cover Kannyakumari (Tamil Nadu) also as it is about 70 km from Kovalam. You may adjust it as per your liking and availability of time. We are also mentioning approximate number of days suitable to spend in one city.

Itinerary: Kochi (1 day) – Munnar (2 full days)- Thekkady (1 full day)- Alleppey (1 day)- Kovalam/Varkala/Tiruvananthapuram (3 days)

(Kochi) Day 1:
  1. Arrive at Kochi
  2. If arriving in the morning, take a trip of Fort Kochi.
  3. If arriving at night, keep the next day for trip to Kochi.
(Munnar) Day2 :
  1. Take off early from Kochi to Munnar. It takes between 4-5 hours to reach Munnar although it is measly 125 km. Also depends on your driver.
  2. Cover the waterfalls on the way. (Choose Athirapally route if you want)
  3. Arrive at Munnar and visit Tea Museum, Anaimudi hill view point and Eravikulam National Park. On the way you will see many photo points and some tea gardens.
  4. In the evening watch Kathakali and martial arts at Kalari Kshetra.
(Munnar) Day 3 :
  1. Visit the Mattupetty Dam and if possible Kundala Dam. Kundala Dam is a bit far. Enjoy some activities like kayaking, boating etc. at the lakes.
  2. Explore the tea estates, Lockhart tea garden and Gap view, Anayirankal Dam and hill-views. Get the list of sightseeing places in this article.
  3. You have the choice of getting ayurvedic spa or relaxing or exploring Munnar on your own.
(Thekkady) Day 4:
  1. Take off early from Munnar to Thekkady. It takes 4 hours to reach Thekkady due to hilly roads. The more time you have the better it is.
  2. Visit the Elephant junction if interested.
  3. Enjoy boating on the Periyar lake and some animal sightseeing. We have shared in details here
  4. Do some spice shopping from the local market.
(Alleppey) Day 5 :
  1. If you are staying in a houseboat arrive Alleppey by 12 Noon. Most boats sail by 12:30-1 PM
  2. Spend the day on the houseboat
  3. If not staying on the houseboat, take a boat trip to the backwaters of Vembanad lake, visit the Alleppey beach and visit the Amman temple.
(Varkala/Kovalam) Day 6 :
  1. Leave Alleppey on your onward journey to Varkala or Kovalam.
  2. On the way visit the Jatayu Earth Centre.
  3. By the evening go to Varkala beach.
  4. Stay over at Varkala or go to Kovalam.
(Tiruvananthapuram) Day 7 :
  1. Visit Sree Padmanabhswamy Temple early in the morning. For reasons check this post.
  2. Explore local sightseeing places.
  3. Visit Lulu Hypermarket.
  4. Visit Kovalam beach. Go to the top of lighthouse.
  5. Stay over at Kovalam
(Poovar) Day 8 :
  1. Set off to Poovar backwaters and golden sand beach in the morning.
  2. Visit Azhimala Shiva temple on the way to Poovar.
  3. Return to Kochi in the evening or take a flight from Tiruvananthapuram.

Budget

The major expenditure of Kerala comes as taxi charges. We are providing an estimated budget per person on a twin sharing basis for a 8 day Kerala itinerary mentioned above. These expenses do not include any extra activity that you may take part in.

  1. Flights : ₹16,500
  2. Stay (including houseboat) : ₹8,500
  3. Food : ₹4,000
  4. Taxi : ₹7,500
  5. Others (tickets etc.) : ₹2,000
  6. Total : ₹38,500

The above is a realistic itinerary and budget for a comfortable trip of 8 days in Kerala where you will have covered almost everything. The budget can be adjusted to come to around ₹32-35,000 but anything under it not feasible, if you are taking a taxi or staying in houseboat.

Have a Great Kerala Trip!!