Small group cycling holiday in Kerala, India

by Responsible Travel

Region

Kerala

Duration

8 days

Guided Status

Guided

Difficulty

Easy

D-Score™

N/A - Unknown

Overview

This relaxing small group cycling holiday in Kerala sets a gentle pace following the stunning but softer roads of the beautiful coastal route, ideal for a first-time bike trip. Cochin Fort Kochi Mattancherry Dutch Palace Muhamma backwaters Rice barge cruise Vambanad Lake Alleppey Kainakary & Chennamkary villages Village homestay Houseboat cruise and overnight stay Valiazheekal ferry crossing Varkala beach town. Slow down and take in the scenery, gently cycling along Kerala’s quiet backroads, passing sweeping coastlines, tranquil waterways and vibrant towns. You'll spend six days in the saddle, covering 25-52km a day, allowing you to explore Kerala’s very best. From the spice port of Cochin with its lime-washed warehouses and melange of colonial influences to the beautiful backwaters of Muhamma and Alleppey, finishing up at the palm-backed beaches of Varkala where beach shacks serve up the freshest seafood. This Kerala cycling adventure incorporates a generous amount of time out of the saddle too. You will explore by foot, bike and boat during the day, unwinding in the evenings with opportunity to take a yoga class, indulge in an Ayurvedic massage, experience a local cooking demonstration during a village homestay, or simply enjoy a relaxing sundowner from the deck of your houseboat home as you watch the floating world descend into dusk.

Daily Ride Schedule

Accommodation & Services

Accommodation

Homestay

What's Included

Catering services

Accommodation arrangements

About the Kerala

A dedicated guide for this region is not available yet.

GBP 1279

per person

Go to Provider

Why Choose This Tour?

Cochin Fort Kochi Mattancherry Dutch Palace Muhamma backwaters Rice barge cruise Vambanad Lake Alleppey Kainakary & Chennamkary villages Village homestay Houseboat cruise and overnight stay Valiazheekal ferry crossing Varkala beach town the stunning but softer roads of the beautiful coastal route, ideal for a first-time bike trip You'll spend six days in the saddle, covering 25-52km a day, allowing you to explore Kerala’s very best.
From the spice port of Cochin with its lime-washed warehouses and melange of colonial influences to the beautiful backwaters of Muhamma and Alleppey, finishing up at the palm-backed beaches of Varkala where beach shacks serve up the freshest seafood.
opportunity to take a yoga class, indulge in an Ayurvedic massage, experience a local cooking demonstration during a village homestay, or simply enjoy a relaxing sundowner from the deck of your houseboat home as you watch the floating world descend into dusk.
Accommodation & Meals: This trip spends 5 nights in hotels with ensuite facilities, one night in a village homestay and one in a traditional houseboat.
You will notice that our hotels employ locally and use local produce from markets in the area wherever possible.
The hotels are waste and energy conscious and have their own policies like asking guests to turn off the power when leaving a room in order to save electricity.
The village homestay is spread across a number of houses owned by different families.
Here you can experience warm Keralan hospitality, alongside cooking demonstrations and dinner with the hosts.
Activity: Few holidays have as little detrimental impact on the environment and local residents as a cycling trip.
Erosion on and adjacent to popular paths is a growing problem in certain places and therefore our trip leaders encourage clients to stick to advised routes in order to minimise this.
We do believe in leaving no more than footprints (or tyre tracks!) although this tour actively encourages guests to talk to local people, visit local cafes and restaurants, use markets to purchase traditional gifts and crafts and get a real impression of India.
Water and waste: Water is a really important issue with cycling trips and whilst we must stay hydrated, it is also vital that we have a system for providing clean water without causing lots of waste with plastic bottles.
Lack of recycling is already a massive problem in India so we suggest that instead of repeatedly buying bottled water, guests should re-fill a singular bottle where possible.
Our local partner supplies 20 ltr containers in the support vehicle, for guests to refill their bottle with drinking water.
Local Craft & Culture: We are keen to encourage guests to engage with the culture of India and to purchase local crafts and services where possible.
Your local guide will be able to recommend the best of the area’s colourful and vibrant markets and small businesses and through our commerce, tourist wealth is more evenly distributed.
Where meals are not supplied, our group leaders always encourage people to try local restaurants and street food vendors.
They can make recommendations which will help boost small businesses and celebrate local specialties.
Lunches are taken at roadside cafes, allowing us to sample typical south Indian dishes such as dosa or poori.
There’ll also be plenty of tea stops along the way.
In the seafood restaurant we visit in Cochin clients can even see how the food is made.
There is an opportunity to receive an Ayurvedic massage whilst staying in the backwaters, and Varkala is home to a number of yoga schools.
There are locally crafted gifts and souvenirs available by most of the landmarks we visit, as well as in the larger towns such as Cochin and Varkala.
Your guides will be able to advise you on which to buy and which to avoid.