Goa & Kerala Double Coast: Beaches, Backwaters

Route: Goa airport (GOI) to Benaulim, about 30 km\

Your driver meets you at Goa's airport and takes you south to Benaulim. Most overseas flights land at Dabolim (GOI). If your flight arrives at Mopa in North Goa, tell us and we adjust the transfer, which is much longer.

South Goa is quieter than the north. The beaches are wide and the villages keep their Catholic chapels and old Portuguese houses. Taj Exotica stands by the sea in a coconut garden.

The afternoon is free. Walk on the beach at sunset, when the fishing boats come in.

Experience of the Day

• Airport welcome and check-in

• Sunset walk on Benaulim beach

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the hotel, with Goan and seafood dishes.

Must-Try: Goan fish curry with rice, made with coconut, kokum and red chilli.

Activities to Do

• Rest after the flight

• Swim or walk on the beach

Route: Benaulim – Old Goa – Divar Island – Panjim (Fontainhas) – Benaulim, about 100 km

After breakfast, drive to Old Goa, the Portuguese capital until the 18th century. The churches and convents here have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. The Basilica of Bom Jesus holds the remains of St Francis Xavier, and the Se Cathedral is one of the largest churches in Asia.

From Old Goa, take a short ferry to Divar Island. The island has fields, small villages and old houses with red-tiled roofs, and almost no traffic. Walk through a village lane and visit the hilltop church.

Return by ferry and drive to Panjim for a walk through Fontainhas, the old Latin Quarter, with its painted houses and tiled name plates. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon.

Note on churches: Old Goa's churches are active places of worship. Cover shoulders and knees. Photography rules vary inside, and your guide confirms them at each door. Ferry timings and church hours change on Sundays and feast days.

Experience of the Day

• Basilica of Bom Jesus and Se Cathedral

• Ferry to Divar Island

• Fontainhas walk

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Panjim restaurant serving Goan Catholic food.

Must-Try: Pork vindaloo and bebinca, a layered coconut pudding.

Shopping

Cashew nuts, spices, azulejo-style tiles and local pottery from Panjim's market.

Activities to Do

• Optional spice plantation visit near Ponda (half day; paid separately)

• Evening at the hotel spa

Route: Benaulim – Cabo de Rama – Agonda – Palolem – Benaulim, about 120 km

Drive south through coconut groves and fishing villages to Cabo de Rama, a fort on a headland above the sea. The ruins are plain, but the view down the coast is the point. Agonda, a long open beach with few buildings, is next.

Spend the afternoon at Palolem, a curved bay lined with palms and small boats. Walk to the end of the beach, swim where the guide says the water is calm, and have a seafood lunch at a beach cafe.

Return to the hotel by early evening. The sea in the south is calmer than in the north from November to March.

Note on swimming: Goa's beaches have currents, and lifeguards cover only the main stretches. Swim where your guide says it is safe. From June to September the sea is rough and swimming is not advised.

Experience of the Day

• Cabo de Rama fort

• Agonda beach

• Palolem bay

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Palolem beach cafe.

Must-Try: Grilled fish with recheado masala, a red chilli and vinegar paste.

Activities to Do

• Optional kayaking at Palolem (paid separately)

• Optional private beach dinner at the hotel (paid separately)

Route: Benaulim – Goa airport (GOI) – Kochi airport (COK) – Fort Kochi

The two coasts are 765 km apart by road, a drive of about 17 hours, so you fly. The direct flight to Kochi leaves Goa in the evening, so the day before it is yours. Take a late checkout, swim, or have a last walk on the beach.

Your driver takes you to the airport for the evening flight. In Kochi, a second driver meets you and takes you to Fort Kochi, where Brunton Boatyard stands on the water. You arrive late, so dinner is served on arrival.

Brunton Boatyard stands where the Brunton family built boats more than a century ago, and every room faces the sea.

Note on the flight: The nonstop Goa to Kochi service is operated by one airline, and departure times can change. We book you on the best available flight and confirm timings a few days before. If no nonstop flight suits your date, a one-stop flight through Bengaluru or Mumbai is the alternative.

Experience of the Day

• Late checkout and slow morning

• Short evening flight

• Late arrival at Fort Kochi

Food

Recommended: Late dinner at the hotel.

Must-Try: Kochi-style fish moilee, fish cooked gently in coconut milk.

Activities to Do

• Rest after the journey

Route: Fort Kochi – Mattancherry – Kumarakom, about 80 km

After breakfast, walk through Fort Kochi to the Chinese fishing nets. Each is about 10 metres high, and stones on ropes balance each net so finely that one man walking the beam tips it into the water. Then go with a local guide to Mattancherry, where the Paradesi Synagogue of 1568 and the spice warehouses of Jew Town stand.

After lunch, drive south through the backwater plain to Kumarakom. Coconut Lagoon can only be reached by boat. Leave the car at the jetty, and a launch takes you across the water to the resort. The ride takes you past lines of canals, fishing nets and small houses.

The resort is a set of old Kerala houses and wooden bungalows set among canals and coconut palms. Evening is for the garden and the lake.

Note on opening days: The Paradesi Synagogue is closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays, and Mattancherry Palace is closed on Fridays. If Day 5 falls on one of these days, we swap the walk for the spice warehouses and the waterfront.

Experience of the Day

• Chinese fishing nets

• Mattancherry and Jew Town walk

• Launch ride to the resort

Food

Recommended: Lunch at a Fort Kochi cafe.

Must-Try: Appam with vegetable stew; Kerala prawn curry.

Shopping

Spices, tea and cardamom from Jew Town's warehouses.

Activities to Do

• Visit St Francis Church and Santa Cruz Basilica

• Sunset in the resort garden

Route: Coconut Lagoon – Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary – village canals – Coconut Lagoon

Start at first light on a boat to the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary on Vembanad Lake, the longest lake in Kerala. Egrets, herons, cormorants and darters nest in the trees, and kingfishers fish along the banks. From about November to February, migrating birds join them. Early morning is the best time to see them.

After breakfast, take a small canoe through the village canals. Boatmen pole through channels too narrow for larger boats, past homes, toddy tappers, coconut gardens and rice fields.

In the afternoon, join the resort's cooking class. Learn how Kerala cooks fish in a clay pot, fry the appam, and grind fresh coconut. The rest of the day is free for the pool or an Ayurvedic massage.

Experience of the Day

• Dawn boat to the bird sanctuary

• Canoe ride through village canals

• Kerala cooking class

Food

Recommended: Lunch and dinner at the resort, with Kerala dishes.

Must-Try: Karimeen pollichathu, pearl spot fish baked in a banana leaf, a Kumarakom speciality.

Shopping

Hand-made coir mats, spices and local pottery.

Activities to Do

• Optional Ayurvedic massage (paid separately)

• Optional bicycle ride through village lanes

Route: Kumarakom – Alleppey (Alappuzha) jetty – Vembanad Lake – village canals, about 45 km by road

After a late breakfast, drive to the houseboat jetty in Alleppey. Houseboats usually board at about noon, so you arrive in time for a welcome drink.

Your boat is a modern version of the kettuvallam, the traditional rice barge. Old barges were built of wooden planks tied with coir and sealed with cashew-nut oil. They carried rice across the lake, and the houseboats keep the same long curved hull. You have a captain, a cook and a private bedroom.

The boat cruises on Vembanad Lake and into the narrow canals of Kuttanad, one of the few places in the world where people farm below sea level. Paddy fields lie below the water level of the canals, held by earthen bunds. You pass villages where people wash, fish and travel by boat.

In the evening, the boat moors for the night and the cook serves dinner on deck.

Note on the houseboat: Houseboat rules and cruising hours are set by the district authorities and the operator. Boats usually moor before dusk and do not cruise at night. Check-in is around noon and check-out around 9 am. Rooms are small, and the air conditioning runs only when the boat is moored or by generator. In heavy rain or high winds, the captain may shorten the route.

Experience of the Day

• Houseboat lunch and cruise on Vembanad Lake

• Kuttanad canals and rice fields

• Dinner on deck

Food

Recommended: Lunch and dinner on the houseboat, cooked on board.

Must-Try: Kerala fish curry with red rice, and karimeen fry.

Activities to Do

• Watch village life from the deck

• Optional stop at a village toddy shop (alcohol on shore only, paid separately)

Route: Alleppey jetty – Mararikulam – Marari Beach, about 25 km

Wake on the water and have breakfast on board. The boat returns to the jetty at about 9 am, and your driver takes you north to Marari Beach.

Marari is a quiet stretch of the Kerala coast. The resort stands among coconut palms, with the beach beside it. The fishing village next door still lands its catch by hand in the early morning. A short walk takes you to the shore, where the nets are drawn in.

The afternoon is for the beach and the pool. After the busy Goa coast and the days on the lake, this is the stillest night of the trip.

Note on the sea: The Kerala sea has strong currents, especially from June to September. Swim only where the resort staff say it is safe.

Experience of the Day

• Houseboat breakfast and disembarkation

• Beach walk and fishing village

• Free afternoon

Food

Recommended: Dinner at the resort.

Must-Try: Fresh seafood from the morning catch.

Activities to Do

• Optional Ayurvedic treatment (paid separately)

• Optional yoga class at sunrise

Route: Marari Beach to Kochi airport (COK), about 75 km

Your driver takes you to Kochi airport. Plan to reach it about four hours before an international flight, so leave after an early breakfast. If your flight is late, ask us for a late checkout or a morning on the beach.

Experience of the Day

Airport transfer

Late checkout on request