Kerala Houseboat Packages

How a Kerala Houseboat Package Works

TravelTriangle's Kerala houseboat packages put you on a kettuvallam on the Alleppey (Alappuzha) and Kumarakom backwaters of Vembanad Lake, from a six-hour day cruise to two nights on the water. The cheapest trip on this page is a one-night Alleppey houseboat stay at Rs 7,387 per person, with all meals on board and Cochin airport or railway transfers included.

Overnight boats board around noon and cruise the Kuttanad paddy canals until about 5:30 pm. Then they anchor for the night. You step off by 9 am after breakfast. Couples usually take a 1 bedroom premium or luxury boat, a family of four fits a 2 bedroom, and a group of ten books a 5 bedroom boat. Budget travellers can take a cabin on a sharing houseboat.

Every package is quoted by verified local agents, so you can compare two or three offers, switch the boat category, or add a houseboat night to a Munnar and Thekkady itinerary. Planning more of the state? Browse all Kerala tour packages.

Kerala Houseboat Package Prices 2026: Compare Trips

These are the houseboat packages you can book on TravelTriangle right now. Prices are per person on twin sharing, and every itinerary can be changed before you pay.

Open the full itinerary for the 1-night Alleppey houseboat package, the 2-night Kumarakom Alleppey package, the family trip with a houseboat ride or the houseboat and jungle safari tour. Honeymooners get flower decoration and a candlelight dinner on the Kerala houseboat honeymoon packages.

Kerala Houseboat Price per Night by Boat Type and Bedrooms

A Kerala houseboat is priced per boat, per night, not per person. The rate covers the bedrooms, the crew and all four meals for two adults per bedroom. Four things move the price. The first is the boat category. Then the number of bedrooms, the AC hours, and the date.

Rates rise by 20 to 40 percent between 20 December and 5 January, over Onam and on the Nehru Trophy weekend. Weekends run a little higher than weekdays through the October to February peak. From June to August the same boat often costs 25 to 30 percent less.

Deluxe houseboats are the value choice. You get clean bedrooms with attached baths, a small open deck, and AC that runs only at night. Most Alleppey families book these.

Premium houseboats add a larger lounge and deck, better interiors and, on many boats, longer AC hours. They suit families and small groups who will spend the afternoon on deck.

Luxury houseboats have glass-walled air-conditioned lounges, AC round the clock and a more polished kitchen. A super luxury houseboat with a jacuzzi or a private upper-deck bedroom is the anniversary booking. See all luxury Kerala tour packages if you want the rest of the trip at the same level.

Sharing houseboats sell single cabins on a larger boat. They are the cheapest houseboat in Alleppey, basic but clean, and good for solo travellers and backpackers who want the overnight experience for the price of a hostel bed and a meal.

Day Cruise, One Night or Two Nights?

Most first-timers book one night, and it is enough to see the Kuttanad canals, a sunset on Vembanad and a slow morning on deck. Two nights let the boat reach Kumarakom or cross towards Kollam without rushing. A day cruise works if you are short on time or not keen on sleeping on water.

For shikara and canoe trips as a standalone plan, see our Kerala backwaters tour packages.

Why Choose a Houseboat Tour in Kerala?

Houseboats in Kerala are traditional wooden boats called kettuvallams. They are built in the old style, with jackfruit-wood hulls stitched with coir and a thatched roof of bamboo and palm, but now come with modern comforts. Inside you get AC bedrooms with attached baths, a kitchen with its own cook, and an open deck at the front.

The appeal is the pace. The boat moves at walking speed past coconut groves, paddy fields that sit below the waterline, toddy shops and church spires, and the crew handle the cooking and the route. Nobody needs to drive, and nothing needs planning. On a Kerala backwater houseboat you see village life from a few metres away. Women wash clothes on the ghats, ducks get herded down the canal and schoolchildren ride the ferry.

Where to Board: Alleppey vs Kumarakom vs Kollam

Your boarding point decides the route. Alleppey has the most boats and the busiest canals. Kumarakom is quieter and more resort-led. Kollam is the long-distance option for travellers who want fewer boats around them.

Alleppey Round Trip

This is the classic loop and the one most packages use. Boats leave Finishing Point, cross Punnamada Lake where the Nehru Trophy is raced, and turn into the Kuttanad canals past Kainakary and Chennamkary, where rice grows on land reclaimed from the lake. Children wave from the banks and the boat stops for a toddy-shop fish curry or a chat with the village. Alleppey also has the widest spread of boats, from sharing cabins to glass-walled luxury. Browse the Alleppey houseboat packages for boats that board only here, or read the Alleppey houseboat trip guide before you go.

Alleppey to Kumarakom

Boats head north across the open water of Vembanad Lake, India's longest lake, and moor on the Kumarakom side for the night. It is the best route for birdwatchers. Cormorants, egrets and kingfishers gather along the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary shore, and Pathiramanal island sits in the middle of the lake. Couples like it because the lake is wider and the evening is quieter than in the Alleppey canals.

Kumarakom Backwater Loop

Kumarakom boats cruise a shorter loop around the eastern edge of Vembanad, past fishermen setting nets and small islands. The loop suits a relaxing day cruise or a single night, and many travellers pair it with a lakeside resort stay. More on the area in our Kumarakom backwaters guide.

Kollam to Alleppey

This is the longest Kerala backwater houseboat journey, about 85 km of lake and canal starting on Ashtamudi Lake and running north through narrow village waterways to Alleppey. It needs two nights on a houseboat, and it is the route for travellers who want long stretches without another boat in sight.

Poovar and Bekal

Two smaller houseboat areas are worth knowing. Poovar, near Thiruvananthapuram, has a handful of boats on the estuary where the Neyyar river meets the sea. Bekal, in north Kerala, runs houseboats on the Valiyaparamba backwaters. Both are quieter and priced on request, so ask your agent if you are already in the south or north of the state.

A Day on a Kerala Houseboat

An overnight houseboat runs to a fixed rhythm, because houseboats in Kerala are not allowed to cruise after dark. Here is how a typical Alleppey night goes.

Because boats board at noon and stop at 5:30 pm, avoid booking the houseboat on the day you land in Kerala unless your flight reaches Cochin by 9 am. Put it on day two or three of the trip instead.

What’s Included in Our Kerala Houseboat Tour Packages

At your Kerala boat house you will be greeted with a welcome drink of tender coconut water, followed by meals made from local ingredients by the cook on board. Vegetarian, Jain and seafood menus can all be arranged if you ask when you book, and many boats will buy fresh karimeen (pearl spot) or prawns from the fishermen you pass. An experienced crew, a captain, a cook and a helper, takes care of everything on the boat.

Want the houseboat as one night of a longer trip? Most travellers add it to a hill-station stay on the Munnar Alleppey tour packages.

Private vs Sharing Houseboat: How to Choose the Right Boat

Start with group size, then budget. The bedroom count is the thing most travellers get wrong. Every bedroom sleeps two adults and one child below six, and an extra bed can be added to most rooms.

For couples. A private houseboat with a flower-decorated bed and a candlelight dinner on deck is the most booked romantic option in Kerala. Kumarakom is quieter for this. Compare the Kerala houseboat honeymoon packages, or the wider Kerala honeymoon packages if the houseboat is one night of a longer trip.

For families. Boats have railed decks, life jackets in child sizes on request, and cooks who will make the food less spicy. Ask for a lower-deck bedroom if you are travelling with grandparents. See the Kerala houseboat family packages.

For groups. Multi-bedroom boats of five to ten rooms carry a common dining lounge and can be booked for birthdays or team offsites. Larger conference boats seat 30 or more for the day. Start with the Kerala group tour packages.

For solo travellers and backpackers. A sharing houseboat gives you your own cabin and shared meals with a few other travellers. It is the cheapest way to spend a night on the Alleppey backwaters.

When to Book a Kerala Houseboat: Season and Rates

October to February is the peak houseboat season. Days sit around 23 to 32 degrees and the water is calm. Book four to six weeks ahead for December. The monsoon (June to September) is the discount season. Heavy rain, green paddy and 25 to 30 percent lower rates make it good value if you do not mind a wet afternoon. March to May is hot and humid, so choose a boat with full-day AC.

The Nehru Trophy weekend and Onam (August or September) sell out Alleppey boats weeks in advance. For month-by-month weather across the state, see the best time to visit Kerala guide.

Why Book With Us?

There are hundreds of boats on the Alleppey waterfront, and the photos online do not always match the boat that turns up. Here is what we do about it.

• Only the best agents. Travellers deal only with the top 10% reviewed agents, selected after a 23-step assessment by TravelTriangle.

• The boat is named before you pay. Your agent names the boat, its category and its bedroom count in the quote, so you know exactly what you are paying for. Ask for recent photos of that specific boat before you confirm.

• Registered, classified boats. Partner houseboats hold a Kerala Maritime Board licence and a Kerala Tourism classification, and every boat carries life jackets for all guests.

• Payment protection. TravelTriangle releases payment to the agent only after you receive your booking vouchers.

• Flexible packages. Change the boat category, add a night or add Munnar and Thekkady before you pay. Cancellation terms are shared in writing with every quote.

• 24/7 on-trip support. A local agent is on call for the whole trip, including the night you spend on the water.

Houseboat rates on this page are checked by our Kerala desk against current partner rate cards every season.

Plan Your Kerala Houseboat Trip

Pick a boat above, tell us your dates, group size and the boarding point you prefer, and verified Kerala agents will send you quotes to compare, usually within a few hours. If the houseboat is one night of a bigger holiday, start with our Kerala tour packages or the Kerala travel guide.