Kerala Tour Package: Kochi, Munnar, Alleppey, Kovalam and Kanyakumari 10 Days & 9 Nights

 Overview

This 10 days Kerala tour package runs the full length of the state in one line, north to south, so you never drive back the way you came. It starts at Cochin International Airport, climbs into the tea hills, drops through spice country to the backwaters, follows the coast to Kovalam and ends at Kanyakumari, the southern tip of India, in Tamil Nadu. You fly home from Thiruvananthapuram, about 90 km from Kanyakumari. The same private cab and driver stay with you for all ten days.

What sets this Kerala 10 days tour apart is the pace. Most shorter trips give Munnar one night and skip the coast. Here Munnar, known as the "Kashmir of South India", gets three nights. One is for arriving, one is a full sightseeing day at Eravikulam and Mattupetty, and one is a free day for a tea-estate walk or the pre-dawn Kolukkumalai jeep. Kovalam gets two nights, so the beach is a rest and not a photo stop. Thekkady and the Alleppey houseboat get one night each, which is all they need.

The last night is the one most Kerala packages leave out. You watch the sun set over the sea at Kanyakumari, and wake early for sunrise from the same shore before the first ferry to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. On a full-moon evening you may see the moon rise while the sun is still setting, the rare sight Kanyakumari is known for.

Comparing lengths or prices first? See all our Kerala tour packages, or read the free Kerala itinerary guide if you are still planning the route yourself.

Highlights

• Watch the Chinese fishing nets being hauled in at Fort Kochi on your first evening

• Stop at Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls on the road up to Munnar

• See the Nilgiri tahr at Eravikulam National Park, then the Tea Museum and Mattupetty Dam

• Keep a whole free day in Munnar for a tea-estate walk or the Kolukkumalai sunrise jeep

• Take a spice plantation walk and the Periyar Lake boat ride in the Periyar Tiger Reserve

• Spend a night on a private kettuvallam (houseboat) on Vembanad Lake

• Two slow nights at Kovalam's Lighthouse, Hawah and Samudra beaches, with an Ayurvedic massage if you want one

• Walk the wooden halls of Padmanabhapuram Palace on the road to Kanyakumari

• Sunset and sunrise at Kanyakumari, and the ferry to Vivekananda Rock and the Thiruvalluvar Statue

Kerala Itinerary 10 Days at a Glance

 If Eravikulam is closed on your dates (it usually shuts in February and March for Nilgiri tahr calving, and the Forest Department announces the exact dates each year), Day 4 swaps in Top Station and Kundala Lake. The rest of the plan stays the same.

Day-wise Kerala 9 Nights 10 Days Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival at Kochi and Fort Kochi at Sunset

Our representative meets you at Cochin International Airport and drives you to your hotel in Ernakulam, about an hour away. After check-in and a rest, head across to the old port. Start at Mattancherry Palace, the Dutch Palace with its Ramayana murals, and the Paradesi Synagogue in Jew Town next door, then walk the spice and antique shops along Jew Town Road. Finish at Fort Kochi beach, where the Chinese fishing nets are lowered and hauled in until dusk, a few minutes' walk from St Francis Church and Santa Cruz Basilica.

The palace is closed on Fridays and the synagogue on Fridays and Saturdays, so on those days the driver switches the order and gives you more time in Fort Kochi. If you want a first taste of Kerala culture, book an evening Kathakali show at one of the Fort Kochi cultural centres, where you can watch the actors paint their faces before the performance (tickets paid on the spot).

Day 2: Kochi to Munnar

After breakfast, drive about 130 km (4 hours) into the Western Ghats. The road passes Cheeyappara and Valara waterfalls near Adimali, both right beside the highway, so each photo stop takes ten minutes. Most drivers also pull in at a spice garden on this stretch, where pepper vines, cardamom and cinnamon grow side by side. The tea estates begin after Pallivasal, and you reach your hotel in Chithirapuram by mid-afternoon. The rest of the day is yours. Rest after the drive, or ask the driver to drop you in Munnar town for the market and a cup of estate tea.

Day 3: Explore Munnar at Your Own Pace

With three nights in Munnar, you get a whole day with nothing booked. You can stay in, enjoy the resort and the quiet, or go out on your own. The popular choice is the Kolukkumalai jeep, which leaves before dawn for one of the highest tea estates in the region so you reach the top for sunrise. A guided walk through a working tea estate, the Attukad waterfalls or the Blossom Hydel Park are easier options. All of these are paid locally, and the driver can arrange the jeep the evening before. Back at the hotel by evening.

Day 4: Munnar Sightseeing, Eravikulam and the Tea Museum

Leave straight after breakfast for Eravikulam National Park, since the queue for the park bus grows through the morning. The park protects the Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found only in the Western Ghats, and on a clear day you can see Anamudi, the highest peak in South India. Next is the Tea Museum run by KDHP (Tata Tea), which shows how leaf becomes tea and is closed on Mondays. Continue to Photo Point, Mattupetty Dam, Elephant Point and Echo Point along the same road, and end at the Indo-Swiss dairy project before heading back to the hotel. Eravikulam usually closes in February and March for calving, and on those dates the driver takes you to Top Station and Kundala Lake instead. Entry tickets at every stop are paid on the spot.

Day 5: Munnar to Thekkady and the Periyar Tiger Reserve

After breakfast, check out and drive about 90 km (3 hours) through cardamom estates to Thekkady, the town at the edge of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. You arrive around lunchtime. Start with a guided spice plantation walk, where cardamom, pepper, clove and vanilla grow side by side.

The Periyar Lake boat runs in fixed slots at 7:30 am, 9:30 am, 11:15 am, 1:45 pm and 3:30 pm, and on this day the 3:30 pm boat is the one you can make. The ride lasts about 1.5 to 2 hours. Elephants, gaur and sambar are the usual sightings along the shore. Seats sell out in season, so book on ktdcboating.com (INR 450 per person including GST) as soon as your dates are fixed, and reach the boat landing at least 30 minutes early.

Rather skip the boat? A jeep safari on the forest and plantation tracks around Kumily is the usual alternative, hired locally. In the evening, a Kathakali or Kalaripayattu show in Kumily fills an easy hour before you head back to the hotel.

Day 6: Thekkady to Alleppey Houseboat

After breakfast, drive about 140 km (4 hours) down to Alleppey. You board your houseboat, a converted kettuvallam rice barge, around 12 noon, and the crew serves a Kerala lunch of rice, fish curry, thoran and papadam soon after (vegetarian if you ask at booking). Through the afternoon the boat moves slowly across Punnamada and the edge of Vembanad Lake, past paddy fields that sit below the water level, coir villages and toddy shops. Tea and banana fritters come out on deck around 4 pm. Houseboats must stop cruising by about 5:30 pm under state rules, so the boat anchors for the night, dinner is served on board, and the AC runs through the night.

Day 7: Alleppey to Kovalam, Leisure Day on the Beach

Breakfast is served on the boat, and you disembark at about 9 am. The drive south to Kovalam is about 160 km and takes around 4 hours on NH66. Check in near Lighthouse Beach and spend the rest of the day as you like. The red-and-white lighthouse on the headland opens to visitors in the afternoon, and the view from the top covers all three of Kovalam's beaches. Stay on the sand for the sunset, then pick a seafront café for dinner.

Day 8: Sightseeing at Kovalam

Take the morning at Lighthouse Beach, then walk north to Hawah Beach and on to Samudra Beach, which is quieter and good for watching the fishing boats come in. Water sports and a surfing lesson are available on the main beach (paid locally). In the afternoon you can drive 16 km into Thiruvananthapuram for Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Entry is for Hindus only, with a strict dress code of a dhoti for men and a saree or long skirt for women, available to rent near the gate. Kovalam is also one of the best places in Kerala for an Ayurvedic massage, and most hotels on Lighthouse Beach run their own centre. Back to the hotel for your last night in Kerala.

Day 9: Kovalam to Kanyakumari, Palace and Sunset

After breakfast, check out and drive about 85 km (2.5 hours) south into Tamil Nadu. Stop on the way at Padmanabhapuram Palace, the old seat of the Travancore kings, built almost entirely of teak and rosewood. It is open 9 am to 12:30 pm and 2 pm to 4:30 pm and closed on Mondays, so on a Monday the driver goes straight through. Reach Kanyakumari by afternoon, check in near the seashore, and visit the Kumari Amman Temple. In the evening, walk to Sunset Point, where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean meet. If your dates fall near a full moon, stay a little longer to see the moon rise as the sun goes down.

Day 10: Kanyakumari Sunrise and Departure

Wake up before 6 am for sunrise from the seafront, a short walk from the hotel. After breakfast, take the government ferry run by the Poompuhar Shipping Corporation out to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial. Ferries run from about 8 am to 4 pm, and tickets can be booked on psckfs.tn.gov.in. A glass bridge, opened in December 2024, now links the rock to the 133-foot Thiruvalluvar Statue, so you can see both on one ticket without a second boat. Then check out and drive about 90 km (2.5 hours) to Thiruvananthapuram International Airport for your flight home.

Book a flight after about 3 pm so the ferry and the drive fit comfortably. If the ferry is suspended for weather, you still get the sunrise and the Thiruvalluvar view from the shore.

10 Days Kerala Tour Package Price (2026 to 27)

The 3 star version of this trip costs INR 29,000 per person on twin sharing, which is INR 58,000 for a couple. The route and the ten days stay the same across hotel levels. Only the hotels and the houseboat change.

 Prices are land-only, for September 2026, and do not include flights or trains. October to January is peak season in Kerala, and the Christmas and New Year weeks cost the most. June to August monsoon rates are usually the lowest. Children's prices depend on age and whether they need an extra bed, so the agent quotes a family on your exact dates. Travelling with children? Our Kerala tour packages for family are built around shorter drives, and couples can compare Kerala honeymoon packages.

Hotels and Houseboat on This Package

Our agents book these or similar 3 star stays, depending on availability on your dates.

 Inclusions and Exclusions

 Best Time for a 10-Day Kerala Trip

September to March is the best time for this route. Munnar's views are clearest from October, the Periyar tracks are dry, the backwaters are calm, and Kovalam's sea is safe to swim in from about November. October to January is also peak season, so book the Christmas and New Year weeks early. February and March stay pleasant on the coast and at Kanyakumari, but Eravikulam is closed, so Day 4 runs on the Top Station alternative. June to August is the monsoon, with the cheapest rates and the fullest waterfalls. But Munnar sits in mist, swimming at Kovalam is not safe, and the Vivekananda Rock ferry stops more often in rough seas. The full month-by-month picture is in our best time to visit Kerala guide.

Customise Your Trip

Every day of this itinerary can be changed before you book. Tell the agents what you want when you submit the request, and each quote comes back with the changes priced in. These are the changes travellers ask for most on this route.

• Kumarakom instead of one Munnar night. Swap the free Munnar day for a lake resort on Vembanad and a morning at the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary. See our Kumarakom tour packages for resort options.

• Varkala instead of one Kovalam night. Varkala's cliff-top guesthouses and beach sit about 50 km north of Kovalam, an easy detour on Day 7.

• Families and seniors. Ask for connecting rooms or an SUV, and skip the Kolukkumalai jeep, which runs on a rough, steep track.

• Couples. Upgrade to a 4 star hotel in Munnar and a premium houseboat with a candle-light dinner on deck.

• Add-ons. Kathakali in Kochi or Thekkady, bamboo rafting inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve (a full-day programme, so add a night), or an Ayurvedic treatment package in Kovalam.

Good to Know Before You Go

• Book open-jaw flights, into Kochi (COK) and out of Thiruvananthapuram (TRV). A return from Kochi would add about 300 km of driving on the last day.

• Munnar hotels at this level often have no AC, and do not need it. Nights in December and January can drop close to 10°C, so pack a light jacket.

• The Kochi to Munnar and Munnar to Thekkady roads are ghat roads with many hairpin bends. Carry motion-sickness tablets if you need them.

• On the houseboat, AC runs at night only, from about 9 pm to 6 am. Premium boats with all-day AC are available on request.

• Carry cash for spice gardens, jeep hire and ferry queues. ATMs are easy to find in Munnar town, Kumily, Kovalam and Kanyakumari but not on the highways between them.

• Kanyakumari is in Tamil Nadu, about 85 km from Kovalam. The interstate tax for the cab is already included.

• Dress codes apply at Padmanabhaswamy Temple (dhoti, saree or long skirt) and at the Kumari Amman Temple, where men may be asked to remove shirts.

Booking, Payment and Cancellation

Booking this Kerala package takes three steps, and nothing is charged until you pick a quote.

• Personalise this package. Change hotels, add a night or swap a stop, then submit your request.

• Get multiple quotes. Up to 3 verified Kerala agents send quotes. Compare them and keep adjusting.

• Book the best deal. Pay a booking amount to confirm, then the balance in easy instalments before you travel.

Each quote shows the agent's cancellation and refund terms in writing before you pay anything, so you know exactly what you get back if plans change. Read the full TravelTriangle terms and conditions for how refunds are handled. Travelling between mid-December and early January? Confirm early, because houseboats and Munnar hotels fill first.

How we check this package

Drive times, closures and ticket prices on this page are checked by our Kerala desk against the live booking engine, KTDC's Periyar boating schedule, the Kerala Forest Department's Eravikulam dates and the Poompuhar Shipping Corporation's ferry service. Every trip is run by one of 650+ verified agents under TravelTriangle's quality checks.

Other Kerala Durations

• One night shorter, the 8 nights 9 days Kerala tour. A week, the 6 nights 7 days Kerala tour. A short break, the 4 nights 5 days Kerala package

• Want more time at the tip of India? Browse Kanyakumari tour packages

• All Kerala tour packages · Kerala travel guide · Munnar guide · Thekkady guide · Alleppey guide · Kovalam guide