Kerala Vacations

Our new website!

As we have grown to include our partners in Europe and North India, we needed to consolidate our web site, as trying to keep so many sites and languages updated was proving to be too time-consuming. We would rather be providing our customers with a better service and expanding the locations we can offer. Er have now launched our new website at

http://www.KVLTC.com

which will make it easier for our customers to find the holidays they want and to book online, and  caters for our European customers who need information in their own language.

Our expertise, attention to detail and high levels of service remain the same!
KVLTC will grow in scope and content, but both websites will remain for some time, so you will be able to find what you need from our websites.
Check out the brochure for descriptions of tours and brief information on all the places we visit.

Boat safety

A recent tragic accident on a wildlife reserve lake did not make the national press in England, but it will have repercussions for all travelling to Kerala. A boat, run by the government, overturned with the loss of about 50 people, most of whom were on the lower deck. It is not clear what caused the accident, and the true story will be hard to come by, but we do know that health and safety precautions are not taken as seriously as they could be where large numbers of people are concerned. We wait to see what extra measures will be put into place to prevent an accident like this happening again, but it is not the first time that a tourist boat has sunk.

Over the last year safety measures on the houseboats have been tightened considerably, but there is no requirement for the crew to be trained for emergencies. This is partly why we run our own boat. In general the safety record of houseboats has been good, but passengers have been lost, usually drunk and falling overboard at night. We make sure that our boat is fully equipped for emrgencies and well maintained and are happy that it is as safe as any boat which spends its time with passengers on board overnight as well as during the day can be. Water can be dangerous, and it is also up to our clients to make sure that they take care of themselves and especially their children. Any concerns should be reported immediately for the well-being of everyone.

The new season has started!

The new season has brought its usual round of things to do, amongst them sorting out the huge number of new hotels which are springing up everywhere, especially in Fort Cochi and the Backwaters. We need to make a short list to visit on our next trip in November.
There have been some changes in ownership, which makes a hotel as good as new in the way we need to take care that standards are good and it comes up to scratch.
The very expensive Radisson is now the Zuri, and just as expensive, the Kayalorum and possibly the Keraleeyam have also changed hands.
Feedback from customers continues to be good. The party from Italy who came to do yoga were happy, as were our latest travellers from the UK.
When asking for feedback, it doesn't make good writing when all the customer says is "It was all fantastic!" but that is what we have got lately. I can add a "Narayan was wonderful, and Mr Kumar looked after us really well" from Ms Lawrenson, a few "the houseboat was really wonderful"s and one "The hotel in Munnar was freezing cold and a bit tatty." We won't be using that one again.

News for Autumn 2009

There is some good news for travellers to Kerala this Autumn, in that the hotels are extending their low and medium rate seasons. This will mean that travel in November and March will be cheaper than in the past.
There are some indicators that hotels are being more realistic in their pricing, many pegging their rates at last year's prices.
As far as we are concerned, the news is exciting! The houseboat has been very successful and we hope to build on this with the changes which were made when it was overhauled to make cruises even more comfortable. Recent feedback has been very good.
Saving the best until last, the company in Cochin has signed a lease on a very small resort in the backwaters, an ideal place to hide away and relax. The building is not quite ready yet - the rain has been unremitting this year- but we hope to open in October, ready for the dry, pleasant season. Combining a few days at the resort with a cruise on the boat is a wonderful way to get the most out of the backwaters.
Until we open, it is all systems go!

Small Hotels and Homestays

The Government of Kerala has made the decision to encourage the development of small home stays and local places to stay rather than allowing the larger chains a free hand. The previously quiet and undeveloped area of Marari Beach is going to be developed and there are plans for some larger resorts along the coast there. This will change the area enormously, but there is little danger at present of a concrete wall going up all along the beach. The Tsunami made people very cautious about beach-front development, and most of the buildings will be well back behind the small palms which front the sand.
During peak times accommodation in the better-known hotels is very difficult   to find, and indeed, for most of the year there is a dearth of rooms in larger hotels.
Travellers often prefer the thought of small, more intimate places to stay, and in these Kerala abounds. Some are famous across the world: PhillipKutty's Farm on the backwaters, Malabar Escapes and Serenity, and others which have only three or four rooms but offer the standards of luxury of a five-star hotel.
We are sometimes asked to book homestays, and where we can we will, but we, as agents, have problems with the smaller businesses which have mushroomed in places like Periyar and the backwaters.
We need to be absolutely sure that bookings don't get lost, that we can make email contact and that payments are acknowledged. Unfortunately, some of the newer business people are not as efficient as we need them to be and "Home Stays" don't live up to expectation.
There are a number of very small places which we can use with confidence, and we do book these for customers who want a getaway, or to get closer to the way in which people live in Kerala. This number is growing all the time and the home stay experience is just one which makes Kerala really special.

A new arrangement for visas

At last the long wait for an Indian Visa is at an end! The lines which snaked up the Aldwych from India house are no more, and we will not miss the occasions when we have been forced to sleep in a grotty hotel because we had failed to get a visa on the day and had to start to queue again at 5.30 the following morning!
The new arrangements for visas can be found on the revamped and well-organised website at
http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/
Visa applications can be downloaded and sent by post, or submitted online and you can also pay online. You can choose how  you want to receive your Visa, and get an appointment to submit your passport and other documents.
The other good news is that there are now several regional centres to submit your application including Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
You will need to give an address in India. If you need any help or advice with your visa application, please let us know.

Swine flu- the latest!

Swineflu pandemic panic seems to be gripping everyone, and although the disease does not seem to be too severe, there is always the danger that the virus will mutate and become more serious.
All visitors to India at present need to fill in a declaration to present to immigration. You can get the form from
http://in.vfsglobal.co.uk/
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has advice for travellers at
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/swine-flu
There is no specific advice on travel to India at present, but it is as well to keep an eye on this site, and, of course, make sure that your insurance is up to date!

A trip on our boat

We were very excited at the thought of spending a few days on the company boat. It has been working well since we launched it in September, and has been successfully trying out routes and ideas the other boats can't do. It is narrow and has a shallow draft, and we were keen to test the idea of going South to Kollam.
Depending who you ask, if it possible to go to Kollam and it is not possible to go to Kollam. The crew are very experienced and if anyone could get to Kollam it was them!
We met the boat South of Alleppey and set off very quietly. The boat is driven by a petrol outboard which is very quiet and the peace was blissful!
After three days we discovered that you can get to Kollam, and you can't get to Kollam. It depends on the position of the shutter which lets the water into the backwaters and regulates the levels in the paddy fields. As you never know when the shutter is to be opened, making it impossible to get further South then Thottapally, planning a trip is hazardous! The official ferries no longer run all the way down the coast, although they are still advertised.
Our trip was  an adventure of wandering around the backwaters meeting various hazards to navigation and backtracking. Our way was blocked by a new bridge under construction, a fallen electricity cable and water hyacinth. Even achieving Thotapally required patience and many "short" cuts!
However, three days of pottering about the narrow canals, cruising the flat lands of the Kuttanad and navigating the waters of Lake Vembanad make a wonderful cruise as part of any holiday. More later.

Visit to Awake Mercy Children's home

One of the most enjoyable parts of our visit to South India this year was the brief time we spent at the Awake Mercy Children's Home. Clients often ask us if we know of a suitable place  to send a donation to help some of the most disadvantaged people they see whilst in India, and whilst we have been able to direct their giving, we had not found a charity which we felt we especially wanted to support. Awake Mercy really showed us what can be achieved here with modest amounts of money to give children the opportunity to lift themselves out of a cycle of poverty through education and the provision of a loving environment.
Full details of the home and what it achieves can be found at http://www.hapsi.com, but the web site alone cannot begin to give a picture of the way in which Krishnamoorthi and Elizi and all of the children act as a loving family. Our visit was dominated by the children, who wanted to tell us all about themselves and to make sure we enjoyed ourselves. We sang songs in English and Tamil; "The Wheels on the Bus" came up more than once, and the chldren danced for us showed their great capacity to entertain themselves with nothing other than their dirt plot to play in.
Keralavacations will be supporting the home with a direct donation for every customer who books a holiday with us, but we hope that others will also be able to help them realise their ambition of providing adequate accommodation for 50 children before the start of the new school year. They have land, a well, the beginning of a garden and a building which has reached roof level- and then stopped.
Donations can be made online via the English Charity, (No: 1122876) which is run by volunteers and makes sure that every penny goes to India.

Just back from South India

We have just returned from three weeks travelling across the South of India from Chennai to Cochin, taking in many fascinating locations en route. We stayed in 14 hotels, visited many others, both famiiar and new to us. The Chettinar country right in the middle of Tamil Nadu looks as though it is going to be a wonderful new place for visitors to explore with good hotel chains developing this forgotten land.
In Kerala we have found some new small resorts, which, although they are classified as homestays, provide accommodation and services to luxury hotel standard, and have explored some of the more remote areas of the backwaters, especially the routes South of Alleppey and the huge watery expanses of the Kuttenad.
One of the most useful parts of the trips were the meetings with our partners in North India, Italy and France, and we are now preparing more packages and tailoring our offerings to the many different nationalities who travel with us.
As usual, our visit was a whirlwind of catching up with our friends, covering as much ground as possible and trying out all the "toursit" things which people ask us about. All this will appear on the blog soon, along with details of our fund-rasing efforts for the Wake Mercy Children's Home in Dindigul.