6 days, 5 nights · Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady, Alleppey

Six-day Kerala tour package: the hills, the spice country and the water

Name: RUTZ.IN
Address: New Delhi, Delhi, IN
Telephone: (877) 860-3388

The sixth day goes to Thekkady, and it changes the trip from a two-landscape circuit into a three-landscape one. Between the tea hills of Munnar and the backwaters of Alleppey sits the Periyar reserve — a lake in a forest with elephants around it, a spice-growing belt on its edges, and a slower, wilder feel than anywhere else on the route. It is the version the desk recommends when a week is available.

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6 days5 nights

~510 kmTotal driving

PeriyarThe wildlife leg

Sep-MarThe main season

RUTZ.IN reservation · fixed fare · card or UPI

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The addition

What Thekkady brings that Munnar does not

Munnar and Thekkady are both in the hills, and people assume they are variations on the same day out. They are not. Munnar is cultivated — tea to the horizon, planned estates, roads built for the industry. Thekkady is forest: the Periyar Tiger Reserve wraps around a reservoir, the boat on the lake is how most visitors see it, and elephants, gaur and sambar come to the water's edge in the early morning.

The second difference is the spice country. Thekkady sits in the middle of Kerala's cardamom, pepper and clove belt, and a plantation walk here is a genuinely interesting hour rather than a shopping stop. The smell of the place is the thing people remember.

The third is simply pace. Adding Thekkady breaks the long Munnar-to-Alleppey run into two shorter legs, so no day on the six-day circuit exceeds about three and a half hours on the road. That is a real gain for families and for anyone who found the five-day version's day four a bit long.

A lake in a forest reserve in the Kerala hills

The four places

How the circuit divides

One night each in Kochi and Thekkady, two in Munnar, one on the water — or the reverse, depending on how you weight hills against backwaters.

Fort Kochi

The harbour town: fishing nets, the Dutch Palace, Jew Town, the spice market, and Kathakali in the evening. One night is enough unless you want a second for the galleries.

Munnar

Two nights in the tea country at about 1,600 metres. Eravikulam for the tahr, the estates, and the Top Station road. Cool enough for a jacket after dark.

Thekkady and Periyar

One night. The early boat on the lake is the reason to be there, followed by a spice plantation walk and, if you want it, a guided forest walk with the reserve's own trackers.

Alleppey

One night on a houseboat or beside the water, with the canals in the afternoon and the light at five that everybody photographs.

The driving

Four legs, none of them long

About 510 kilometres across six days, and the longest single leg is under four hours.

Kochi to Munnar — about 130 km, 3.5 to 4 hours The ghat climb through Neriamangalam, with waterfall and spice-stall stops on the way up.
Munnar to Thekkady — about 90 km, 3 to 3.5 hours Ridge road south through cardamom hills. Short in distance, slow in practice, and one of the prettiest drives in the state.
Thekkady to Alleppey — about 140 km, 3.5 to 4 hours Down out of the hills through Kottayam to the water. The descent is gentler than the Munnar road.
Alleppey to Kochi — about 53 km, 1.5 hours Short and flat up the coast for the departure.

Periyar

What the early boat is actually like, and the alternatives

The reserve runs boats on the Periyar lake through the day, and only the first one really matters. It leaves shortly after the gate opens, the water is still, and animals are at the edge before the heat pushes them back into the forest. Later boats are busier and see less. That is why day four on this circuit is an early start, and why the chauffeur has you at the gate before the queue.

Tickets are sold on the day at the reserve and cannot reliably be pre-booked, which is worth knowing: the desk will not promise you a seat on a specific boat, because nobody honestly can. What it will do is have you there first. The reserve also runs guided forest walks and bamboo-rafting sessions with its own trackers, both of which are better than the boat for anyone who wants the forest rather than the photograph — they are limited in number and go early.

Nobody should book Periyar expecting a tiger. It is a tiger reserve in the technical sense and sightings are rare; elephants, gaur, sambar, langur and a great many birds are the realistic list. Set against that, it is a genuinely beautiful piece of forest and the least crowded stop on the circuit.

Booking

How to book the six-day circuit

Book the transport direct on the booking page with the fare fixed before payment and the chauffeur's details sent the day before. For the all-inclusive version — hotels, the houseboat, the plantation walk and entries — send your dates and the hotel category through the contact page. Cancellation is free beyond 72 hours, then stepped at 10%, 50% and 100% inside 72, 48 and 24 hours.

Day by day

The six-day itinerary, leg by leg

Adding Thekkady breaks the circuit into four short legs instead of three longer ones; nothing here exceeds four hours on the road.

Day	Where	What the day covers	On the road
Day 1	Kochi	Met at Cochin airport and into Fort Kochi. The fishing nets, St Francis Church, the Dutch Palace and Jew Town, then Kathakali in the evening.	Airport to Fort Kochi ~35 km, 1-1.25 hrs
Day 2	Kochi to Munnar	East and then up the ghat through Neriamangalam, stopping at the waterfalls and the spice stalls. Into Munnar by mid-afternoon.	Kochi-Munnar ~130 km, 3.5-4 hrs
Day 3	Munnar	Eravikulam National Park early for the Nilgiri tahr, then Mattupetty, Echo Point and the estates, with the tea museum if the weather closes in.	About 60 km around the estates
Day 4	Munnar to Thekkady	South along the ridge through cardamom country. Into Thekkady by lunch, a spice plantation walk in the afternoon, and an early night for the morning boat.	Munnar-Thekkady ~90 km, 3-3.5 hrs
Day 5	Thekkady to Alleppey	The first boat on the Periyar lake at opening, then down out of the hills through Kottayam. Onto the houseboat or into a lakeside hotel by mid-afternoon.	Thekkady-Alleppey ~140 km, 3.5-4 hrs
Day 6	Alleppey to Kochi	Off the water after breakfast, north up the coast, with time for the spice market before the airport.	Alleppey-Kochi ~53 km, 1.5 hrs; Kochi to airport ~35 km

What it costs

The 6-day Kerala circuit: two ways to buy it

Six charter days at the published rate, for the car rather than per person. Periyar boat tickets are sold at the reserve on the day and are part of the entries line, not the transport.

Transport package — firm, published

Every kilometre of the 6-day circuit in a private chauffeured car: the chauffeur, the vehicle, fuel, and the driver's meals and accommodation on the road. Priced at the published charter-day rate × 6 days, the same figure as the rates page.

From $11,700 - $14,040 per car for the whole circuit
On the international card · Premium MPV · GST extra · tolls, parking and state entry taxes at cost

Book the transport direct

All-inclusive — stays, meals and entries

The same itinerary with hotels, breakfasts, monument entries and a licensed guide arranged for you. Because we contract stays per departure date and per hotel category, this tier is quoted on request rather than published — we will not print a per-person figure we cannot hold.

Send the dates and the hotel category you want (3-star, 4-star, heritage or palace) through the contact page and the desk returns a written quote, itemised, within one working day.

Ask for the all-inclusive quote

Vehicle class	Cars	Per charter day 10 hours / 300 km	6-day circuit International card, USD
Premium MPV 6 passengers, 5 bags	Toyota Innova Hycross & Kia Carnival	$1,950 - $2,340	$11,700 - $14,040
Executive sedan 3 passengers, 2 bags	Mercedes-Benz E-Class & BMW 5 Series	$1,700 - $2,040	$10,200 - $12,240
Luxury SUV 5 passengers, 4 bags	Toyota Fortuner, Land Cruiser & Mercedes-Benz GLS	$2,250 - $2,700	$13,500 - $16,200
Group van 12 passengers, 12 bags	Force Urbania & Tempo Traveller (executive)	$3,200 - $3,840	$19,200 - $23,040
Luxury sedan 3 passengers, 3 bags	Mercedes-Benz S-Class & BMW 7 Series	$2,700 - $3,240	$16,200 - $19,440

What the transport package includes

A private, air-conditioned vehicle of the class you book, held for the whole circuit — the same car from the first pickup to the last drop, never shared and never re-assigned.
One professional chauffeur for the whole circuit, holding a commercial licence and a state transport badge, police-verified and background-checked, in uniform and speaking English and Hindi.
Fuel, the chauffeur's own meals and accommodation on every outstation night, and the vehicle's permits, fitness certificate and insurance.
All airport, railway-station and hotel transfers inside the itinerary, with the flight tracked on the arrival leg and 60 minutes of waiting included after landing.
A named coordinator at the desk for the whole trip, reachable on one number, who holds the run sheet and moves a leg when a day runs long.
A written confirmation before departure carrying the chauffeur's name and licence number and the vehicle registration, so a security office or a hotel can check it against the operator record.

What it does not include

Hotels, meals and anything consumed off the road — those are the all-inclusive tier, quoted on request rather than published.
Monument and museum entry fees, which differ for Indian, SAARC and foreign visitors and change by notification; the desk quotes the current figures with the itinerary.
Licensed local guides, which we arrange city by city on request and bill at cost.
Tolls, parking and state entry taxes, charged at cost against receipts rather than estimated into the fare.
Air and rail tickets into and out of the circuit, which the travel desk books separately.
GST, added to every figure at the applicable rate, and any night allowance where a leg runs between 10 pm and 6 am.

Airport transfers include 60 minutes of waiting after landing and meet-and-greet at the arrivals exit.
The charter day (10 hours, 300 km) includes fuel and the chauffeur's meals and accommodation on outstation nights.
Night driving between 10 pm and 6 am carries the night allowance per night; a second chauffeur is added on days over 12 hours.
Tolls, parking, state entry taxes and permits are charged at cost against receipts; monument and guide fees through the travel desk are itemised.
No gratuity is expected. GST is shown separately on every invoice. Cancellation terms are on the cancellation policy page.
Vintage cars and stretch limousines are quoted per event.
GST at 5% on chauffeured hire (18% where input credit is claimed) is added to every figure. The full international card is on the rates page; the charter builder prices a circuit of any length live, and the booking page takes the payment direct.
Cancellation is free more than 72 hours before the first pickup, then 10% inside 72 hours, 50% inside 48 hours and the full first day inside 24 hours or for a no-show — the schedule on the cancellation policy page.

Questions

The 6-day Kerala circuit: frequently asked

Is Thekkady worth an extra day?

If you want forest and wildlife alongside the tea and the water, yes — it is a completely different landscape from Munnar, and it also breaks the long Munnar-to-Alleppey leg into two short ones.

Will we see a tiger at Periyar?

Almost certainly not, and nobody honest will tell you otherwise. Elephants, gaur, sambar, langur and a great many birds are the realistic list, in a very beautiful piece of forest.

Can Periyar boat tickets be booked in advance?

Not reliably — they are sold at the reserve on the day. What the chauffeur does is have you at the gate before the queue for the first boat, which is the one that actually sees animals.

How cold does Munnar get?

At about 1,600 metres it is cool enough for a jacket after dark most of the year and genuinely cold on winter nights. The coast on the same day can be warm and humid, so pack for both.

Is six days better than five?

For most people, yes: it adds a third landscape and makes every driving leg shorter. Five days is the right answer only if a week is not available.

Can we do this circuit during the monsoon?

Yes, and the hills are at their best. Expect afternoon rain, a slower ghat road and the occasional lost outing; expect also lower rates, green everywhere and very few other visitors.

Same circuit, other lengths

The Kerala backwaters and hills in a different number of days

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On the route

Chauffeur service in the cities this circuit runs through

Limo service in Kochi: the city guide Limo service in Thiruvananthapuram: the city guide

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Book

Book the six-day Kerala circuit direct

Six charter days price live by vehicle class, fare fixed before payment. Hotels, the houseboat and the plantation walk are quoted by the desk.

Weddings, film units, multi-day chauffeur hire, outstation journeys and anything with more than one vehicle are quoted by a person: call (877) 860-3388 or send the outline and a coordinator replies with a written quote.

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Hotels and flights for this itinerary, through BookingWorldwide.net

The stays along this route are on BookingWorldwide.net; reserve them there or ask our desk for the all-inclusive quote, and the chauffeured legs are lined up against whichever you choose.

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Six-day Kerala tour package: the hills, the spice country and the water

What Thekkady brings that Munnar does not