8-Day Private Kerala Tour from Kochi: Munnar, Wildlife & Houseboat

Free cancellation

1/5

Duration8d

GroupPrivate

PickupAt your hotel

See tea plantations, wildlife and backwaters without arranging transport or bookings yourself.

You travel with a private driver from Kochi Airport through Munnar's tea hills, Periyar's wildlife lake, a two-day houseboat cruise through the backwaters, and two nights at Kovalam beach. All accommodations are 4-star hotels or the houseboat, lunch and dinner are included, and the driver doubles as your guide. No group, no schedule pressure, no separate transport bookings — the driver picks you up at the airport and drops you at Trivandrum Airport eight days later.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Arrival and transfer to Munnar

Arrive at Kochi airport
Meet Travel Saga Holidays representative
Drive to Munnar with waterfall stops
Check into 4-star resort

Day 2 — Munnar sightseeing tour

Visit Eravikulam National Park
Visit Mattupetty Dam
Visit Echo Point
Overnight at 4-star resort

Day 3 — Travel to Thekkady and wildlife cruise

Breakfast and checkout from Munnar resort
Drive to Thekkady
Check into 4-star resort
Boat cruise on Lake Periyar to spot wildlife

Day 4 — Thekkady wildlife and cultural activities

Visit Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary and lake
Free afternoon for spice plantation visit
Optional Kathakali and Kalari Payattu show
Overnight at 4-star resort

Day 5 — Drive to Alleppey and houseboat cruise

Breakfast and checkout from Thekkady resort
Drive to Alleppey
Check into houseboat for overnight cruise
Cruise through backwaters till evening
Overnight stay on houseboat

Day 6 — Travel to Kovalam beach town

Breakfast on houseboat
Leave Alleppey for Kovalam
Check into 4-star resort
Relax and enjoy sunset at beach

Day 7 — Kovalam and Trivandrum sightseeing

Breakfast at hotel
Visit Padmanabhaswami temple area
Tour Thiruvananthapuram city sights
Visit Horse Palace and Napier Museum
Optional boating at Poovar backwaters
Return to hotel

Day 8 — Departure from Trivandrum

Breakfast at hotel
Checkout and transfer to Trivandrum Airport
Depart for return flight

The Experience

Most Kerala tours rush you through the highlights in a week and leave you exhausted. This one slows down instead. You start in the cool hills of Munnar, where tea estates roll under low clouds and the air changes the moment you arrive. The private driver meets you at Kochi Airport and handles all the driving between sites — no negotiating taxis, no navigating yourself, no time wasted figuring out where to go next. The first stop is Eravikulam National Park, Kerala's oldest, spread across 97 square kilometers of Western Ghats forest where wild elephants and gaur still move through the mist.

By day three you're at Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary near Thekkady, where the real shift happens. Instead of watching animals from a distance, you board a boat on Lake Periyar and cruise through the reserve itself — spotted deer, monkeys, Indian gaur, and if you're lucky, the larger cats that give the place its name, all visible from the water. The sanctuary covers 777 square kilometers and the lake sits in the middle of it, which means you're surrounded. That afternoon is yours: spice plantation visits and optional Kathakali performances happen if you want them, but there's no pressure. You stay in a 4-star resort, not a guesthouse.

Then comes the houseboat. You leave Thekkady for Alleppey and board an overnight cruise through the backwaters — the part of Kerala that made it famous. Palm-fringed canals, paddy fields, villages built on stilts, the sound of water against the hull. The boat stops at five in the evening and you stay on board through the night, which means you wake up on the water instead of rushing to the next hotel. Breakfast happens on deck, and the second day of cruising starts at eight in the morning, so you're not watching the backwaters from a schedule — you're living in them.

The final stretch takes you to Kovalam, the beach town on the Arabian Sea where you have two nights to do nothing if that's what you want. White sand, blue water, sunset from the shore. On your last full day, the driver takes you to Trivandrum to see the Padmanabhaswami temple and the city's museums and zoo, then back to the hotel. The whole tour ends with a morning drop at Trivandrum Airport for your flight home. Eight days, four landscapes, one private driver who knows the route and handles the logistics — you just show up and move through it.

What’s included

Your eight days include airport pickup from Kochi and drop at Trivandrum Airport, private transportation with a driver who acts as guide, accommodation in 4-star hotels and an overnight houseboat cruise, lunch and dinner daily, and entry to Eravikulam National Park, Mattupetty Dam, and Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary with a boat cruise on Lake Periyar. Optional activities like spice plantation visits, Kathakali performances, and Poovar backwater boating are available at extra cost.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Travel Saga Holidays

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to cover Kerala's main landscapes — mountains, wildlife, backwaters, and beach — without arranging transport, hotels, or meals yourself. The private driver removes the logistics, which is what makes eight days across four different regions feel unhurried instead of exhausting.