Kovalam Beach 5 Days | Starts/Ends: Trivandrum

TRIP NOTES

Kovalam Beach 5 days | Starts/Ends: Trivandrum

BEACH BREAK: Palm fringed • International flights and visa Day 5 : Kovalam to Kovalam Beach in Southern India • Tipping - An entirely personal gesture Trivandrum is a true paradise, Kovalam means Kovalam - Trivandrum. After breakfast we 'a grove of coconut trees' and DETAILED ITINERARY drive to Trivandrum, drop off can be at your of the three crescent shaped Trivandrum hotel or to Trivandrum Airport to Day 1 : Trivandrum to Kovalam meet your onward flight (please let us know beaches that adorn the coastline, Trivandrum - Kovalam. Arrive Trivandrum your flight/hotel details prior to the start of the southernmost ‘Lighthouse’ Airport, where you will be met by a your holiday). (B) Beach is wonderfully picturesque. representative from On The Go. Transfer to Kovalam and check into your hotel. The rest Tipping HIGHLIGHTS AND INCLUSIONS of the today is at leisure. Overnight - Kovalam Tipping is an essential part of the culture. For a job well done, we would suggest for your tour Trip Highlights Days 2-4 : R&R guide: USD$4-7 per traveller, for each day of Of the three crescent shaped beaches sightseeing. • Lighthouse Beach - Most picturesque and that adorn the coastline, the southern- popular beach with a lighthouse at the most ‘Lighthouse’ Beach, is a picturesque For your driver and On The Go Representative end drawcard. The lighthouse on the promontory we'd recommend USD$2-3 per traveller for • Hawah Beach - Calm blue waters, offers a spectacular view across to the each day of service. Tipping is an entirely beautiful colours Vizhinjam Mosque. One can spend days here personal gesture and ultimately the amount is • Samudra Beach - Quiet beach where local lolling around on the sand, retreating under up to you. fishermen ply their trade the awnings of the nearby beach cafes and Accommodation ratings What's Included simply relaxing. If you are a fan of water sports, try your hand at kayaking, surfing or water On our Private trips, you can often choose • Breakfast daily skiing, or for a more relaxing pursuit spend your style of accommodation. The price • 4 nights STANDARD hotels. SUPERIOR a day sailing the Kerala backwaters on a quoted on our website is reflective of the and DELUXE hotel options are also traditional houseboat. For a spot of shopping included accommodation, please see the available upon request. Accommodation and culture, visit the bazaars and historical “included” section on the first page of this rating – See Trip Notes for details sights of Trivandrum, a mere 20kms away. document for details. Should you opt for • Return transfers by air-conditioned Whatever your interests there is plenty to do an alternative hotel category, this will be chauffeur-driven car from Trivandrum and see in and around Kovalam, allowing you confirmed in writing with the respective price Airport to be as active or inactive as you desire! on your invoice. Overnight - Kovalam (B:3) What's Not Included For further details about the indicative hotels, please see the “hotels” tab on our website.

Kovalam Beach - 5 days updated on 23-09-2021 03:30:31 www.onthegotours.com This information has been compiled with care and good faith. They give an accurate illustration of the proposed arrangements for this holiday. Circumstances beyond our control such as changes in local conditions, inclement weather or other reasons could force us to make changes to UK 020 7371 1113 [email protected] this itinerary. Any costs shown are subject to change, though are an accurate reflection of costs at time of writing. Please also note that visa AUS 1300 855 684 [email protected] requirements are subject to change and are the responsibility of the traveller and not that of On The Go Tours. NZ 0800 44 77 69 CAN 1 866 890 7038 - 1 - USA 1 866 606 2960 SA 0800 990 311 TRIP NOTES

Kovalam Beach

Here we rank hotel’s in their respective the emergency contact number as stated on You should also avoid salads which may be country (REGIONAL CATEGORY) - but we also your Tour Voucher. Please do not leave the washed in unhygienic water. tell you how it ranks by Western standards airport or go to the hotel on your own. Call (OUR CATEGORY). our emergency contact number and follow the Essential packing advice given by our local team. Please check local temperatures so STANDARD - Equates to a Western 3-star you can pack accordingly. Visit standard, always featuring en-suite rooms and If travelling on our other India holidays that www.worldclimate.com usually a restaurant. don't arrive into Delhi Airport (with arrival SUPERIOR - Equates to a Western 4- via Kochi, Cochin, Goa, Mumbai, Chennai, • A small daypack for your day-to-day needs star standard, featuring en-suite rooms and Trivandrum, Kolkata and Dimapur Airport), the • Tour Voucher and a copy of your travel usually a restaurant and often a swimming procedure for meeting you at the airport is the insurance policy, spare passport photos and a pool and/or a fitness centre. same as those detailed above. photocopy of your passport DELUXE - Equates to a Western 5-star • Universal travel adaptor standard, usually featuring spacious, en-suite Pre and post tour accommodation can be • Insect repellent to guard against mosquitos rooms, a restaurant, swimming pool and arranged upon request, please contact us for • Spare camera batteries and memory cards fitness centre and an array of amenities, rates. If you are arriving early and book pre • Consider packing some pencils, pens or excellent service and customer care. tour accommodation with us then you will still modest educational supplies that can be LUXURY - Equates to a Western 5-star plus qualify for our complimentary airport arrival given to village schools or street children standard - the creme de la creme. Featuring transfer. • Buy some Indian Rupees at the airport on arrival and keep a supply of small notes for spacious, en-suite rooms, a restaurant, If arriving prior to 9am on day 1 (essentially local transactions swimming pool and fitness centre and an on a flight that arrives very, very early in the array of amenities, this accommodation is a morning) consider purchasing a night of pre- Domestic flights - Baggage cut above the rest. Sheer opulence! tour accommodation to save you waiting until hotel check in time, which is generally 2pm. allowance KNOW BEFORE YOU GO If your holiday includes a domestic flight or Visas & passports you have independently booked domestic India Country Guide Visa requirements are subject to change and flights separate to that of your international visa procurement is the responsibility of the flights, please be mindful that that free Welcome to India - Arrival traveller and not On The Go Tours. Please also baggage allowance for Economy class travel transfer ensure that your passport is valid for at least 6 on flights within India is near always 15kg, If your holiday includes a complimentary months from your planned date of departure with 5-7kg allowance for hand luggage. airport arrival transfer (as indicated in the from India. Additional weight is charged per kilo and is 'Inclusions' section of these Trip Notes payable by you directly to the airline at check- After booking your holiday, please provide us on page 1) from Delhi's Indira Gandhi in. If travelling with more than 15kg on a flight with your passport details as soon as possible International Airport, our arrival procedure is included within your holiday, please contact so that we can proceed to book all services. as follows: us so we can confirm the exact luggage Please be advised visa requirements are allowance for your flight and give you the Arrive to Delhi's Indira Gandhi International subject to change, therefore it is essential that current per kilo cost for additional weight. Airport, where after you have attended to you check current visa requirements with the customs and immigration formalities, please embassy before travel. For information about What to expect proceed to the arrival hall. Please have your visas, head to www.onthegotours.com/India/ Please visit www.onthegotours.com/India/ tour voucher handy and make it available to Visas Travel-tips-and-useful-info for local customs, our representative who will be waiting for you currency, WiFi and other helpful information to in the arrivals hall, holding a prominent On The Health requirements prepare you for an enjoyable holiday. Go Tours logo signboard, ready to escort you You should seek medical advice for to our awaiting transportation and onward to vaccinations and about medications before Train travel in India your start hotel. travelling. Travelling by train in India is an unforgettable local experience where you will get to meet Water If, for any reason you have trouble locating Indian people and experience daily life as they As tap water is not safe to drink in India, only our representative (after waiting 20 minutes do. The Indian Railway system is the world’s drink bottled mineral water which is readily in the arrival hall) or your flight is delayed, second largest, with over 108,706 km of track, available in hotels, shops and restaurants. please call or send a text message (standard connecting more than 7000 stations. Every text message, not Messenger or WhatsApp) to day, more than 7000 trains run, carrying some

Kovalam Beach

14 million passengers, including us. Several be prepared and take your own anti-bacterial Not like home... & begging our holidays include train journeys, some by hand wipes and toilet paper. Travelling to far–flung corners of the earth day and others overnight. If your holiday does often involves encountering lifestyles and 1st AC COACH/ SLEEPER include train travel, we have noted within the conditions that are very different from All Indian trains offer 2nd and 3rd AC coaches, itinerary the coach/class of travel that will be what you are used to back home. As but only a handful of trains offer 1st AC booked. Below is some further information such it is important to come prepared for coaches, which can accommodate a tiny total that may assist you in planning for your unusual situations, local inadequacies and of 18 people. 1st AC coach/ sleepers only have journey. unpredictable events as and when they occur. berths on one side of the train hence making Foreign travel is definitely not suitable for AC CHAIR CAR the cabin more spacious. The cabin may have people who expect or demand everything to If travelling on a daytime journey, you will 2 berths or 4 which seat/sleep 2 or 4 persons. go exactly as planned, as things can and do travel in an air-conditioned seated carriage You can sit up a on bench seat during the change in foreign countries. (called AC chair car), similar to that of a day, which is folded into bunk beds at night. standard city trains in most western countries. The 1st AC coach also has a door making it The people, customs, creed, food and When travelling to loftier destinations where fully closed and lockable for 2 or 4 persons. languages of India are different from one the weather is cooler, air-conditioning may not Beds are a tad wider and mattresses more region to the next. It is as vast as it is be provided. cushioned. Each cabin has a 'bell' switch, crowded, and as opulent as it is squalid. which when pressed summons the attendant India is exciting, intense and diverse - an 2nd AC COACH/SLEEPER of the coach. all-embracing experience, a veritable assault If travelling overnight, we accommodate on the senses. Sometimes the poverty will passengers in the 2nd class sleeper 3rd AC COACH/ SLEEPER get you down, Indian bureaucracy can test air-conditioned category (unless otherwise We do not include 3rd AC coach travel your patience and facing another traffic jam indicated at a higher level). 2nd class sleeper within any of our tours, though if you were will seem almost too much to bear. Yet, it’s air-conditioned cabins consist of 2 upper and considering it for personal arrangements a all worthwhile! While India is far from the 2 lower bunks, plus a double-decker set of description can be given as follows. 3rd AC easiest country in the world to travel around, bunk beds on the opposite side of the cabin coach is very similar to 2nd AC coach with the On The Go will try their upmost to make shared by you and other Indian travellers. You only difference being that there is a middle your holiday as seamless as possible. Our can sit up on your bench seat during the day berth ie not just a 2 bunk bed but a triple bunk holidays combine comfortable transportation, and simply lie down once you are ready to go bed, hence making it possible for 6 people comprehensive sightseeing and good hotels, to sleep. to be accommodated within the space. Like allowing you to concentrate on getting the the 2nd AC coach there is also another set most out of your stay. All cabins are mixed sex. Your cabin is not of bunk beds on the opposite side - running self-contained as such. ‘Cabins’ are separated parallel with the length of the train. Like 2nd India is a country of unparalleled contrasts, from the carriage corridor by curtains, serving AC, there’s no door just curtains and again you a destination where you’ll be afforded plenty as an artificial barrier that can be drawn sit up on your bunk bed during the day and lie of unique encounters, and if you can travel at night. Luggage, including hand luggage down to sleep. with an open mind you will have a wonderful should be locked (as you would do when time here. In return, please remember to travelling on any overnight train anywhere in Travel Operators for Tigers demonstrate sensitivity and respect for local the world) and can be stored underneath the Travel Operators for Tigers (TOFT), is a customs. lower bunks or on the floor. The carriage is UK based campaign, set up to encourage manned by an attendant who will distribute sustainable wildlife tourism in tiger reserves Begging linen, free of charge. Dependent upon the and national parks. Funds generated through With more than 350 million people in India service, a variety of snacks and drinks or full TOFT will be used to fund tiger conservation living on less than USD$2 per day, inevitably dinner service can be ordered at an additional initiatives and local community development, you will come across many people begging cost (except for the Shatabdi Express and through their two partner conservation for money. Begging has a legitimate place Rajdhani Express where meals are included organisations - Global Tiger Patrol and the in Indian society. Even poor people give to within your fare). Food aboard the Shatabdi Environmental Investigation Agency. On The beggars or charities to earn religious merit. Express train is most often exceptionally Go Tours are members of TOFT and we The Indian government, however, would like good, though on many other train services happily pledge a USD$20 contribution to to regulate begging more stringently. Though it is probably best to buy snacks, fresh fruit TOFT for each of our clients that choose to begging is common, you are not under that can be peeled or meals prior to the start travel on a wildlife tour to India with us. obligation to give money. If you choose to of your journey. In addition, there are WC give money to beggars, we advise you to do facilities (European and ‘squat-style’) at each this from the vehicle and not on the street. end of the carriage. Cleanliness varies, so

Kovalam Beach

Alternatively, consider donating pencils, pens or modest educational supplies to village schools.

Shopping India is a virtual Aladdin’s Cave. At the many bazaars known as ‘chowks’, the cardinal rule is to bargain hard. State run craft emporiums that stock the best of what a state has to offer can give you a reasonable idea of what is acceptable in terms of price and quality. You'll find carpets of quality equal to those of Persian origin, Rajasthani pottery and metalwork, embellished slippers known as jootis, jewellery in breathtaking designs. Likewise, leatherwork, silks and saris in spectacularly colourful designs, paintings and clothing make excellent souvenirs.

In the tourism industry it’s common practice for commission to be offered in exchange for recommending particular shops or suppliers. This can become an issue when clients feel obliged to purchase goods. We do our best to avoid this by monitoring all shopping experiences offered.

All shopping experiences on your tour have been noted in the itinerary and they been carefully selected based upon positive feedback from On The Go travellers. You are under no obligation to partake in a listed shopping experience and you are most welcome to wait inside or outside the premises.

Although we only visit reputable retailers, please note that we cannot explicitly guarantee the quality of their products. All purchases made whilst on holiday with us are at your own discretion. Please make sure that you are completely happy with your purchase. On The Go cannot be held responsible for any items that you buy if they fail to meet expectation, or any shipping arrangements. Proceed with caution.