Hello all,
I’ll be traveling alone in the Kerala area for about 2.5 weeks for the first 2.5 weeks of September 2018. I’m looking for a quiet and beautiful beach homebase where I can make daytrips to the backwaters. I’ve read about Kovalam and Varkala beaches. Thoughts? I prefer an area with as few tourists as possible and I’ve read that Alleppey is beautiful but popular. Any suggestions on particular areas where beach and backwaters are close in proximity? Lodging recommendations are highly appreciated. I prefer a place that has strong enough internet connection to do some work. Thanks in advance!
thewanderlustgypsea
1
lifesupport
@thewanderlustgypsea
I prefer an area with as few tourists as possible
Go to the north of the State.
Beach: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/kerala/kannur-cannanore
https://www.keralatourism.org/destination/kizhunna-beach-kannur/322
Kanwatheertha Beach: https://www.keralatourism.org/destination/kanwatheertha-beach-kasaragod/120
Valiyaparamba Beach:
Backwaters: https://www.keralatourism.org/destination/valiyaparamba-kasaragod/161
2
zauberberg
I second Kannur for a few days at the beach, much quieter than the south e.g. Varkala. Also you can find a few nice homestays with great home cooked food...
4
thewanderlustgypsea
Lifesupport, this was so helpful. Have you been to all of these places before? Which were your favorite? Any lodging recommendations? Thank you!
5
thewanderlustgypsea
Thank you for your input! Which homestay do you recommend? Which beaches in Kannur did you enjoy most?
6
thrive
The beaches near Kannur were lovely and we saw few other tourists. However, we were there in early November and the season was only just starting. Ezhara Beach was our favorite close to Kannur and we stayed at Ezhara Beach House. The owner was friendly and helpful and the Keralan food was delicious. We actually stayed longer than intended. It was much nicer than Varkala and Kovalam. We ended up cutting our time short at Varkala and after seeing Kovalam not staying at all as it was just not our scene. Just a quick ferry ride north from Fort Kochi is Vypeen (Vypin) with a long stretch of lovely beaches and few tourists. We stayed there longer than planned too.
7
thewanderlustgypsea
Hello thrive,
Thanks so much for your valuable input. Were you able to see the backwaters while in Ezhara Beach? If so, where would you recommend? I’d like to make daytrips to the backwaters. And about the Ezhara Beach house, can they help arrange daytrips to local places like the backwaters, wildlife sanctuaries, other beaches, famous sites? I looked at the website and the owner’s story seemed lovely. Thank you!
8
thrive
I don't remember there being much in the way of backwaters. But, we were doing the "beach" thing and happy with that. Be sure to get to a Thayyam ritual while there. It is quite something to see. Hyacinth can hook you up and there is bound to be one somewhere nearby. She can also help book other trips to several interesting temples, weaver cooperatives, forts and a wildlife sanctuary. There are several lovely beaches nearby too, like Meenkunu, Payabalam, Thottada. She can also help with any onward travel arrangements.
We took backwater trips from Allappuzha (Alleppey) and Kollam. Allappuzha has plenty of tourists, but we booked backwater trips on the smaller boats. That way you can get down the narrow canals that the bigger boats and converted rice barges cannot. It was fascinating seeing a very local view of villages along the canal. Our boatman didn't mind when we asked several times to stop so we could wander the paths through the villages. The people living there were very friendly. As we got further into the smaller canals we rarely saw another boat. I quite liked Allappuzha and wandering the streets was fun for us. We stayed at the Venice Castle Homestay (weird name, I know) down a small dirt road that was near the boat hire area and yet quiet and worlds away from any chaos. It is owned by a lovely Christian family and they can help out with boat hire and anything else. There are a couple nice beaches near Allappuzha too. We like Kollam even better for backwater boat trips around Munroe Island. The boat was just a small canoe and the canals and rivers were stunningly beautiful.
9
thewanderlustgypsea
Hello thrive, your input is so helpful. Was Alleppey Beach supercrowded? I guess my question is if the beach is not too crowded, it would be worth it for me to stay there because it's so Beautiful and that way I can also be right in the heart of the backwaters too. I liked the photos of Ezhara beach but if there is no access to backwaters, it would be less appealing than Alleppey. Did you like the Venice castle homestay? And you preferred Kollam over Alleppey for backwaters? Thank you!
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