Backwaters in Kerala

Ivan, sorry I can't help you out, but I'll be in Kerala in about 3 weeks time and would love to do a backwater cruise as well. A few people have said how quiet Kochi and/or Allepey was, perhaps you could do me a huge favour and let us know how it all worked out at the end.
All the best, 10p

Instead of taking the tours which will be about 8 hours, has anybody had the experience of seeing the Backwaters by taking the local ferries, hop on hop off along the routes ??

I've done it. It was definitely interesting and I ended up making quite a few friends, both local and foriegn, on the trip. I didn't have the chance to do one of the houseboat tours, but I imagine that the drawback of the ferry is that you aren't able to go into such narrow canals as you would be able to otherwise. You also aren't treated to the relaxation and luxury that I know many of my friends experienced on the houseboats! :)

In Allepey, my hotel (which forgive me, I completely forgot the name of), was able to arrange a half-day trip on a teeny rowboat type thing for us and we had a nice day visiting a village. I imagine most hotels in the area would be able to help you do something similar. In our case, our guide was a local villager though, and therefore didn't do much "guiding" on his own. Make sure you specify what you'd like to see (a stop in a village and narrow canals were tops for me). Also, ask lots and lots of questions if you are interested in learning more about life in the backwaters!

Hi, When are you thinking about going on a cruise. I am a solo traveler and am looking for some people that would maybe be interested in renting a housboat for a couple of days:)
Send me an email,
zeldagirl_86@hotmail.com