Tell us your dates, your budget and who you're travelling with. We send back a real itinerary with named hotels — usually within the hour.
Run from Kumarakom by a local team — own houseboats, own vehicles, no middlemen.
Before Keraliam Journey planned a single itinerary, our family was already running houseboats on the Kumarakom backwaters. That business came first — the crew, the routes, the standard of care that comes from actually knowing this water, not just renting a boat and hoping for the best.
Keraliam Journey started from a simple question: if we already do this one part of a Kerala trip properly, why hand the rest of it — the hills, the drive, the hotel, the wildlife park — to someone who doesn't. So we built outward from the houseboat, not away from it. Same insistence on getting the details right, applied to the whole trip instead of just the water.
We're still small. We still answer the phone ourselves. Every recommendation on this site is either something we've checked in person, or something a family that's spent years on these backwaters already knows.
Starting points, not fixed menus. Every one of these gets rebuilt around your dates, your budget and how fast you like to travel.
Two full days in the tea hills, then down to the backwaters for a night on the houseboat. The shortest trip that still feels like a holiday rather than a drive.
The full Kerala route — hills, spice plantations and backwaters — with enough nights in each place that you unpack properly instead of living out of the car.
Later starts, a private candlelight dinner on the houseboat, and rooms chosen for the view rather than the star rating. Built to be slow on purpose.
Want Wayanad, Varkala, Athirappilly or a longer route through more of the state? We build those too — send us the outline.
A family with a six-year-old and a group of friends should not be handed the same Munnar day. So they aren't.
Slower mornings, private dinners, and stays picked for the view. Fewer stops, longer at each one.
Short driving legs, hotels with space to run around, and food that works for grandparents and children alike.
Trekking, kayaking, jeep safaris and late nights on the houseboat sundeck. Built for people who don't want an early night.
Daylight travel legs, verified stays, vetted drivers, and one number you can call at any hour of the trip.
No forms that go nowhere. You talk to the person who builds your trip.
Dates, number of people, rough budget and anything you already know you want to see.
A day-by-day outline on WhatsApp, usually the same day, so you can react before anyone talks money.
Named hotels, named vehicle, everything that's included and everything that isn't. Change what you want.
An advance holds your rooms. We're on call for the whole trip, and we live twenty minutes from the boats.
Each place gets the things it's genuinely good at — not the same three sightseeing stops copied across every itinerary.
Tea estates, cold mornings and the best driving road in the state. Best from September to May; carry a jacket even in April.
Spice plantations on the Periyar reserve edge. Good for an early boat ride on the lake and a bamboo rafting morning.
Our home village and where our own houseboats run. Quieter water than Alleppey, and better for a first backwater night.
Fort Kochi, the Chinese fishing nets and a Kathakali evening. Usually the first or last day, built around your flight time.
The original backwater capital — busier canals than Kumarakom, coir villages along the banks, and the wider Vembanad Lake stretch for a longer cruise.
Kerala's biggest waterfall, dropping through the Sholayar forest edge. An easy day trip if your route passes near Kochi or Thrissur.
Rolling meadows and pine forest, quieter and less commercial than Munnar. Good for a paragliding morning if the season's right.
Kerala's cultural capital. Worth timing your trip around if Thrissur Pooram falls in your dates — otherwise the temple and museums are a solid half-day.
Cooler and wilder than Munnar — wildlife sanctuaries, Edakkal's ancient rock carvings, and a proper trek up Chembra Peak if you have the legs for it.
Malabar biryani country and a historic spice port. The natural stop between the coast and Wayanad if you're heading north.
Far quieter than the southern beaches. Muzhappilangad is one of the only drive-in beaches in the country, and Theyyam performances run in season.
Kerala's northernmost coastal fort, with sweeping sea views from the ramparts. Good for a quiet, uncrowded beach day.
One of India's original beach destinations. The lighthouse, the crescent beach and a livelier evening scene than most of Kerala's coast.
A dramatic cliff running right along the shore, with cafes and Ayurveda centres built into it. More laid-back than Kovalam, better for sunsets.
Kerala's capital, and usually where a South Kerala trip flies in or out of. The Padmanabhaswamy Temple and city museums fill a half-day well.
A quieter entry point into the backwaters, built around Ashtamudi Lake. Canoe rides through the narrow canals here feel more local than a big houseboat.
A small, quiet hill station close to the capital — hairpin roads, viewpoints, and none of the crowds you'd find in Munnar.
Four days covers one hill station and one night on the backwaters. Six days lets you add Thekkady, or swap in a beach town like Varkala, without rushing. Anything under three nights means most of your holiday is spent in the car, so we usually suggest cutting a destination rather than cutting nights.
September to March has the most reliable weather and is peak season. April and May are hot on the plains but pleasant in Munnar and Wayanad. June to August is monsoon — green, quiet and much cheaper, and the backwaters and waterfalls are at their best if you don't mind rain.
It depends on hotel category, vehicle and season far more than on the number of days. We work backwards from the budget you give us and show you exactly what that budget buys, so you can decide where you'd rather spend more.
Yes. Our Kumarakom houseboats are run by our own team with vetted crew and a fixed check-in point. For women-only groups we plan daylight travel legs, verified stays and a contact you can reach at any hour of the trip.
Yes. Our core route is Munnar, Thekkady, Kumarakom and Kochi, but we regularly build in Alleppey, Wayanad, Athirappilly, Vagamon, Kovalam and Varkala depending on how many days you have and what you want to see.
Send your dates and budget on WhatsApp, we send a costed itinerary with hotel names, and once you confirm we hold the rooms with an advance. The balance is due 24 hours before the trip begins.
Fill this in and it opens WhatsApp with your details already written out. Or just message us directly — either works.
WhatsApp & calls
+91 99479 05401
Email
keraliamjourney@gmail.com
Based in
Kumarakom, Kottayam, Kerala 686563
