Islands in Kerala: 12 Best Islands to Visit in 2026

Munroe Island is not one island but a cluster of eight small islets where the Ashtamudi Lake meets the Kallada River, about 25 km inland from Kollam town. The draw is the web of narrow canals. You climb into a country canoe and a local rows you past coir-retting yards, under low coconut fronds and across water so still it mirrors the palms. Take the roughly 9 am slot, when the village is at work and the light is soft. Trains stop right on the island at Munroe Thuruthu station, which is the easiest arrival. Munroe Island tour packages usually pair the canoe ride with a homestay lunch of tapioca and fish curry.

Poovar sits where the Neyyar river, the backwaters and the Arabian Sea all meet, about 30 km south of Trivandrum. It is the island for a slow, romantic couple of days. Floating cottages and Ayurvedic resorts line the estuary, and a boat ride takes you across to a golden-sand spit where the river and sea are separated by a thin bar of beach. There is no bridge, so every arrival is by boat from Poovar jetty, which is part of the appeal. Sunset from the water, with the backwater on one side and the surf on the other, is the reason most people come.

Kuruva is the odd one out: a 950-acre river-delta island deep in the Wayanad forest, made of evergreen trees, bamboo and rare orchids rather than coconut and coir. You cross the Kabini river to reach it, historically on a bamboo raft and now often by a small motorboat run by the forest department, and the island itself is a protected eco-tourism zone with a daily visitor cap. This is the one island on this list that closes completely during the monsoon (roughly June to September), when the river runs too high to cross, so plan a dry-season visit and carry cash for the entry and crossing charge. Verify the current fee and opening dates with Wayanad tourism before you go, as they change with river levels.

Willingdon Island is the largest man-made island in India, dredged up from the Kochi backwaters in the 1930s and named after the then Viceroy, Lord Willingdon. It is a working port island, home to the Cochin Port, the Southern Naval Command and a row of colonial-era hotels, so the mood is heritage-city rather than sleepy-backwater. Stay here if you want to be a ferry hop from Fort Kochi with old warehouses, wide harbour views and grand hotels like the Taj Malabar on the waterfront. It is reachable by road across the bridges and by the regular Kochi ferries.

Dharmadam is a five-acre green dot sitting about 100 metres off the coast near Thalassery in Kannur, and its trick is the tide. At low tide a sandbar surfaces and you can simply walk across to it; at high tide the sea closes the path and it becomes a private island again. Coconut palms cover most of it and there is little to do beyond wander the shore, which is exactly the point for anyone wanting a quiet half-day. The island is privately held, so check locally before walking across, and time your visit around the low-tide window.

Ponnumthuruthu, the Golden Island, is a tiny wooded island in the Nadayara backwaters near Anchuthengu, a short drive south of Varkala. You reach it on a country boat, and the whole point of the trip is the century-old Shiva-Parvati temple hidden among the trees at the centre. The name, which means island of gold, comes from a local story that a royal family stored its valuables here. It makes an easy half-day add-on to a Varkala stay, and the boatmen at the Nadayara jetty run the crossing on demand

Vypin Island is the largest island in Kerala by area, a long strip of about 27 km running north from Fort Kochi. It packs in more variety than any single island here: the wide, uncrowded sands of Cherai Beach on one side, the 16th-century Pallipuram Fort (one of the oldest surviving European forts in India) at the northern tip, and Chinese fishing nets along the shore. Rent a cycle or scooter and you can cover beach, fort and fishing villages in a day. Reach it by the Goshree bridges from Ernakulam or the roll-on ferry from Fort Kochi.

Pathiramanal Island is a small, uninhabited island in Vembanad Lake, sitting between Alappuzha and Kumarakom, and it is Kerala’s best island for birdwatching. More than 90 bird species have been recorded here, including migratory visitors that arrive in winter, so carry binoculars and come early. There are no hotels on the island itself, which keeps it peaceful. You visit on a boat from the Alappuzha or Kumarakom jetty, often as a stop on a longer backwater cruise. October to March is both the best weather and the peak migratory season.

Bolgatty is a small island just off Ernakulam, and its headline is the Bolgatty Palace, a Dutch-built mansion from 1744 that is now a heritage hotel run by KTDC, one of the oldest such buildings still standing outside the Netherlands. The island wraps the palace in lawns, a small golf course and harbour views, and because it is minutes from the mainland by boat or road it is the easiest island to fold into a Kochi city break. Come for a sundowner over the harbour even if you are not staying the night.

Kadamakkudy is not one island but a scatter of about 14 tiny islets a short drive north of Ernakulam, laced together by narrow roads and bridges over the backwater. This is farming country: emerald paddy fields, prawn and fish farms, and Chinese nets dipping into the water at dawn. Cyclists and photographers love it because you can ride from islet to islet with water on both sides and barely a vehicle in sight. There is little tourist infrastructure, so treat it as a morning ride or drive rather than an overnight stop.

Up in the far north near Payyanur, Kavvayi Island sits in the Kavvayi backwaters, the third-largest backwater stretch in Kerala after Ashtamudi and Vembanad. It stays well off the standard tourist trail, which is its charm: mangrove-fringed channels, small fishing hamlets and a chain of islets including the long, narrow Valiyaparamba nearby. Local boat operators at Payyanur run backwater trips, and this is the pick for travellers who want the quiet north-Kerala coast rather than the busier Alappuzha circuit.

Sambranikodi is a small island on the edge of Ashtamudi Lake near Kollam, developed as a low-key eco-tourism spot. Mangroves, coir-making demonstrations and quiet backwater walks are the draw, and you reach it by a short boat from Kollam, often as part of an Ashtamudi houseboat cruise. Pair it with Munroe Island, which sits on the same lake system, for a full day on the Kollam backwaters