Private Tour of Kerala in South India

 Private Tour of Kerala in South India flying with Emirates from the UK including private chauffeur driven air conditioned car. Cochin 2 nights -  Munnar 3 nights - Periyar 3 nights - Kumarakom Lake Resort 3 nights - Kettuvalam (Houseboat) for 1 night - Cochin 1 night   Hi Simon Just thought I'd report in, as we're safely back home. It was a fabulous trip - thanks so much for facilitating it. Indus were extremely good. We had two drivers, both of them were excellent, pointing out good shops and restaurants. We loved the Old Harbour Hotel in Cochin. Our room was fantastic (the Bastion suite). Staff were pleasant and attentive. Dinner was okay, but a little pricey so eating out is a better option. The half day tour was first class and the Kathakali dancing was terrific. Windermere Estate was beautiful, but our room was disappointing. However we realised that we had a free upgrade of hotel to this at the last moment so were not inclined to complain. It would be worth paying a little more here for a better view if there is availability.  The staff and owner were a delight, though, and we did two nature walks which were excellent. It's out of Munnar and would require use of the driver to go in to town. The Spice Village at Thekkady was outstanding. We had a small villa (but more than adequate). The property walk by the resident naturalist was exceptionally good. Again. The food looked very pricey and we found a wonderful little restaurant in the town called the Spice Garden instead. Breakfast was fine. The Kumarkom Lake Resort is idyllic. Wonderful room, a villa on the Meandering Lake, with outside shower and loo (kind of en-suite - sounds odd but was fantastic). Our houseboat was excellent - it had nine rooms on board and we shared with only one other English couple. We had a brilliant host/captain Joshi and the food on board was very good. The Brunton Boatyard is a lovely hotel, rather smarter than the Old Harbour, but in my view with less character. Our sea-facing room was great, but as warned, there is a lot of noise up and down the river. The tour was well structured, we thought. I have one small regret - hearing others talk about their homestay experiences, I think it would have been great to build this in for a couple of nights. Kind regards Jenny & Robin H Photo: Tea in the hills (Client)  29