CLASSIC KERALA Sample Itinerary Speak to an expert today! Call us: 01242 253 073 Email us: [email protected] First-hand Knowledge | Sensible Prices | Honest Opinions CONTENTS Map / Overview Your Itinerary Your Accommodation Price Examples Next Steps About us Gallery 2 MAP AND OVERVIEW Our Classic Kerala itinerary is a wonderful route through Kerala, one of India’s most friendly and beautiful destinations. The state is home to colonial Cochin, luminous tea plantations, the idyllic backwaters, wide sandy beaches and Periyar National Park. This is the perfect laid back introduction to India and so is ideal for first time Munnar visitors. Cochin The Backwaters Marari Beach Periyar National Park This is just a suggested itinerary; you can either book it as it stands, or use it as a starting point and tailor it to fit your exact requirements. Please contact us to discuss the trip in more detail. Speak to an expert: 01242 253 073 [email protected] 3 YOUR SAMPLE ITINERARY Day 1 Depart the UK in the afternoon or evening for your flight to Cochin, via Dubai or Mumbai. International flights included. Day 2 Fishing Boat, Kerala This morning you will arrive into Cochin where you will be met by your private car and driver. You will be driven from the airport to Fort Cochin, the historic part of town, where you will be staying. Spend the remainder of your day relaxing. If you are feeling active, Fort Cochin can be explored on foot. The area is brimming with beautiful old buildings, boutiques and restaurants and has a burgeoning art scene. It's also arguably India's best preserved colonial landscapes home to old tea planters' bungalows, churches and village style greens. Stay: Cochin Rooftops, Cochin Speak to an expert: 01242 253 073 [email protected] 4 YOUR SAMPLE ITINERARY Day 3 Today you will enjoy our Fort Cochin Heritage Walk, a perfect historical introduction into this beautiful town influenced by years of colonial rule. In the evening you may want to watch a traditional Kathakali dance show or alternatively a cookery lesson. Stay: Cochin Day 4 Enjoy a scenic drive to Munnar today, a journey that should Colonial Building, Cochin take you in the region of four hours. Munnar is a stunning region carpeted in tea plantations. This afternoon enjoy a visit to the tea museum. Stay: Munnar Day 5 Explore this luminous region with our Top Station Valley Trek today, passing through the tea plantations, dense shola forests, mountain ridges and shola grasslands. Stay: Munnar Tea Plantation, Munnar Speak to an expert: 01242 253 073 [email protected] 5 YOUR SAMPLE ITINERARY Day 6 Your driver will bring you back over the border into Kerala today, to Periyar National Park. Spend the remainder of your day relaxing in this jungle like environment. Stay: Periyar National Park Day 7 The day in Periyar. You may like to go on an early morning jungle walk or visit a local spice plantation. Lake, Periyar National Park Stay: Periyar National Park Day 8 This morning will be an early start for a drive to Alleppey in the Backwaters, to board your overnight houseboat in time for lunch. The Backwaters is a fantastic collection of magestic lakes, lagoons and waterways that are sandwiched between the Arabian sea and Kerala's forested hills. Spend the remainder of your day cruising around the completely idyllic backwaters on board your traditional boat. Elephants, Periyar National Park Stay: The Backwaters Speak to an expert: 01242 253 073 [email protected] 6 YOUR SAMPLE ITINERARY Day 9 This morning you will disembark from your boat after breakfast and you will be taken to a relaxing hotel on Marari Beach or in the Kerala Backwaters where you can simply relax. Stay: Marari Beach /The Backwaters Day 10 Traditional houseboat, The Backwaters Enjoy today at leisure to relax or explore the local area. Stay: Marari Beach/The Backwaters Day 11 This morning your fantastic journey in Kerala comes to an end. You will be taken back to Cochin airport for your morning flight back to the UK, via Mumbai or Dubai. International flights included. Draught, Marari Beach Speak to an expert: 01242 253 073 [email protected] 7 SAMPLE ACCOMMODATION These are some recommended hotels from a 3* to 5* rating within India to give you a taste of what is on offer….. Three-star options Eighth Bastion, Fort Cochin Windermere Estate, Munnar Vismaya, Th Backwaters Four-star options Tea Bungalow, Cochin Coconut Lagoon, Cochin Spice Village, Periyar National Park Five-star options Brunton’s Boatyard, Cochin Vivanta by Taj, Willingdon Island Kumarakom Lake, The Backwaters Speak to an expert: 01242 253 073 [email protected] 8 PRICE Price Options: Our prices are normally based on 2 people sharing and include international flights. The exact costs for your holiday can vary a lot depending on availability, special offers and airfares, so please contact us to put together an itinerary for your exact dates with an exact price. Price Includes: ✓ International flights return to Cochin ✓ All accommodation as stated in the itinerary ✓ Daily breakfasts & additional meals as indicated in the itinerary ✓ Local English speaking station guide ✓ Private driver and air-conditioned vehicle ✓ Domestic flights as mentioned in your itinerary including taxes ✓ Entrance fees to all sites mentioned ✓ Cold water and refreshing towels on touring days Speak to an expert: 01242 253 073 [email protected] 9 NEXT STEPS Perfecting Your Holiday: We know you want this holiday to be exactly right for you, so nothing in this sample is set in stone. The next step is to get in touch and we can work with you on any tweaks, changes or amendments you’d like to make; this is also a great opportunity for us to answer the many questions you’ll undoubtedly have now that the trip seems a little more real! You can either give us a call on 01242 253 073 or fill out our quick quote form online found here: Booking Your Holiday: Once you’re completely happy with everything we’ll check availability and hold provisional reservations of the flights, hotels and services for your trip. Only at this point, when we know everything is available and being held for you, will we take payment of the deposit (except in rare circumstances). You can pay the deposit for your trip by card over the phone (*), bank transfer or cheque (unless we require cleared funds quickly in order to secure certain services). We’ll also send you a booking form to complete and return at this stage. We can then wrap up your invoices and confirmation documents and get them sent out to you. * There are no card processing fees charged when paying your deposit. When paying the balance of the cost of the holiday, MasterCard and Visa credit cards will attract a 1% processing fee and AMEX cards a 2% processing fee, which is marginally less than the full processing fee we are charged by our card payment system provider. Debit cards never attract any processing fees. Approaching Your Holiday: We require payment of the final balance of the holiday 10 weeks prior to departure. About a month before you leave you’ll get our travel documents through the post; this is the essential stuff like flight e-ticket references, as well as additional information and tips from us to help make the most of your trip. During Your Holiday: At all times before you go, you can call or email us with any questions you might have. Whilst you are away on your holiday, you’ll have office numbers for both us and our local agents, as well as 24hr emergency contact numbers for both us and our local agents: you’re completely covered in any eventuality. Speak to an expert: 01242 253 073 [email protected] 10 ABOUT HOLIDAY ARCHITECTS We’re a company of dedicated and experienced professionals, averaging over ten years each in the industry and with countless trips to India under our belts. We use that experience to give you honest advice and plan your individually-tailored itinerary. We like to push the boundaries a little bit, getting you away from the crowds and enjoying excursions that are crafted to your interests, as well as smaller, more characterful hotels and guest houses. We’re committed to fair pricing, believing tailor-made travel should not be a luxury; all of which means you can experience the true India and not the India most visitors buy off-the-shelf. Meet the team: Joe Crowton – India Specialist Joe’s love for India started with his first, life changing, 6-month trip around the country in 2010 – 2011. On this adventure of discovery Joe travelled by any means possible through the states of Maharasthra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Financial Protection…. Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Delhi. India Every India holiday is fully became Joe’s favourite country and as he will bonded through the ATOL tell you, this still marks the highlight of his life so far. Since then Joe has returned 5 times scheme and the Travel Vault. for a mix of work and pleasure. All our holidays are 100% These days Joe prefers to travel in a little financially protected through more comfort and is totally obsessed with hotels. He loves smaller, more characterful either our ATOL bonding (for all properties such as The Old Harbour in Cochin holidays where we are providing and Dera Mandawa in Jaipur but has also flights to / from the UK) or been lucky enough to stay in some of India’s through the Travel Vault.