Houseboats in Kerala

How to choose: a night at Alleppey or a day at Kumarakom

The Alleppey houseboat cruise is the full version: about 20 to 22 hours aboard, from boarding around midday to a mid-to-late-morning return, with a cabin, a crew of two or three, and lunch, dinner and breakfast cooked in the boat's galley. Cabins run from a simple fan-cooled room with its own bathroom on a standard boat to a private air-conditioned cabin with better fittings on a deluxe boat.

The Kumarakom backwater day cruise covers the same lake in half a day or a full day on a smaller boat, with no cabin and no night aboard. Kumarakom, which Kerala Tourism describes as a cluster of little islands on Vembanad Lake, is known for its bird sanctuary, and the cruise usually stops at or near it, from the boat or on foot depending on the water level. Meals are not included unless arranged.

Take the night if time on the water is the point of the trip; take the day if your route has no spare night, or as a second look at the lake from a different base. Couples who want the whole boat to themselves can book our Kerala honeymoon houseboat, a private charter, and anyone after a premium boat our luxury houseboat charter.

What to expect

Kerala Tourism describes the kettuvallam as planks of jack-wood joined with coir and coated with a black resin of boiled cashew kernels, under a thatched roof. The boat moves at walking pace through village canals and out onto Vembanad, which Alappuzha's District Tourism Promotion Council calls the largest lake in Kerala. From the deck you pass houses, temples and churches on the banks, coir-making, toddy-tappers and paddy fields lying below the water: in R-Block, one area of land reclaimed from the backwaters and ringed by dikes, the Alappuzha district administration notes farming and homes four to ten feet below sea level.

On the overnight, lunch is typically a Kerala meal of rice, fish or chicken curry, vegetable sides and sambar. The boat usually moors at a quiet spot for the evening rather than cruising after dark, dinner is served on the deck, and it stays moored while you sleep, with sunrise and breakfast before a short cruise back to the jetty. Mobile signal can be patchy, and swimming is not part of either trip.

When to go

October is one of Kerala's wettest months. The India Meteorological Department's normals for Alappuzha give October 349.7 mm of rain, more than September's 301.7 mm and close to August's 356.3 mm, with November still at 188.9 mm; December to March is the dry stretch, under 55 mm a month. Kottayam, about 14 km from Kumarakom, has the same pattern: 329.8 mm in October against 270.9 mm in September. For Kerala as a whole, IMD gives October 303 mm, again more than September's 259.5 mm.

The boats run all year. On the overnight, heavy rain from June to September can cut the time you spend on the open deck; at Kumarakom, the monsoon brings higher water, greener scenery and a greater chance of disruption. For dry weather, travel between December and March, and allow for rain in October and November.

Rules and practical points

• Kerala Tourism lists firefighting equipment and lifebuoys as mandatory on houseboats, and the state grades the boats it inspects (see the questions below).
• On the overnight, tips for the crew and any alcohol beyond what is arranged in advance are not included; vegetarian and other diets are cooked for when you flag them in advance.
• Families generally manage the overnight well, as the rooftop deck gives children room to move; tell us their ages so we can choose a boat with a suitable layout.
• At Kumarakom, bring binoculars if birds are a priority and set out early, when birds are more active and the water calmer; the sanctuary's entry is not included.
• Transfers to and from the jetties are part of your wider Kerala itinerary. For all our trips in the state, see Kerala tours and experiences.