Questions about Tamil Nadu and Kerala (page 4 of 4)

Penelou, Pagal,

You just confirmed my choice 😉 I couldn’t find any accommodation in Kanadukattan that matched what we were looking for. There aren’t many options, and the ones I liked were either fully booked or too expensive—probably because of the Pongal festival? I ended up booking at Chettinad Heritage in Mithilaipatti, about 30 minutes away by car. By that point in the trip, we’ll have a driver, so it’ll be easy to get to Kanadukattan and the other places you mentioned.

Mithilaipatti is also really well located, right in the heart of Chettinad’s countryside.

Maybe a silly question, but we're stuck: To book our train tickets, we're running into a small issue. The company is asking for an Indian phone number. We don’t have an Indian phone number 😕 We want to reserve our trip because it’s right during the Pongal festival. Any ideas? Thanks 🙂

I ran into the same issue during our trip to Rajasthan this summer. The solution we found was to contact one of the hotels (the one we trusted the most) where we had a reservation and ask the manager to make the train bookings for us. Since this hotel required a deposit, we added the cost of the train reservations to that deposit. It worked out really well!

OK, good idea 😉

Hi Kate,

Having done a 17-day road trip exclusively in Kerala in March 2024, I can definitely recommend going to Munroe Island instead of Alleppey. It’s small, very peaceful, and the backwater tours are much more intimate than in Alleppey. We stayed with a really nice family at Munroe Coconut Homestay. In Munnar, the town is quite spread out, but you can do plenty of hikes without agencies—which we did—but we also hired a really nice guide whose details we have if you’re interested. For the beach, we stopped for 2 nights at Marari Beach, between Munroe Island and Cochin, and were able to swim at a lovely beach. We stayed at a great guesthouse called Marari Nest Beach Homestay. We hadn’t booked anything in advance (except the first 2 nights), neither accommodation nor transport, but it’s so easy and enjoyable in Kerala. The people are friendly, they’ll give you directions, and traveling by bus without windows is an unforgettable experience. Even the train is easy—you can take it from Munroe Island to Cochin.

I hope you have a fantastic trip to India!

Mélodie

Hi Melodie,

Thanks for this really practical info. I’m not sure yet if we’ll need a guide, but I’d love to have their contact details. Do you remember the name of the beach where you went swimming?

Hi Kate,

I’m still in touch with Philip, our French-speaking guide for a day in Munnar. His Instagram handle is philipmecy and his phone number is +919446719485. For the beach, it’s Marari Beach—it’s pretty nice, and the village is peaceful, a quiet spot that really captures the vibe of Kerala.

Happy planning!

Melodie