Typical Stay - 1 - 2 nights.

Seasonality : Oct-Mar is the best season to arrive. Getaway nature of experience means guests arrive all around the year.

Access : Cochin (80 kms) is an International Airport and one of the two main arrival points for any travellers visiting Kerala (Trivandrum being other popular arrival point). Alleppey lies on the Coastal / Southern rail route and has connectivity with all major cities in South India / Kerala. 

Types of Houseboats

• Standard - How it all started way back in 1990s. Smaller boat can navigate through small canals but now phased out in favour of bigger boats. Tough to get one to hire.

• Deluxe - Comes in AC and Non AC Variant. Here AC operates only when the boat is stationary (AC Generally is on between 9 PM and 6 AM). Deluxe boats are larger than standard boats. 

• Premium - This comes with an AC thats operational all through the day. Boats are larger and more luxurious than Deluxe Boats. Bathrooms have shower cubicles and more luxurious.

• Elitaire - This is a class that represents best in houseboat hospitality. Here even the bedrooms have a large glass panel through which look outside and enjoy the cruise. Bathrooms have shower cubicles and more luxurious.

• Concept Boats - There are one-off boats that come with some amazing things. There is one that comes with a swimming pool / Jacuzzi on top, comes with a living area thats AC.

• Cruise Liners - Oberoi Vrinda, The Park are two who have large luxury boats that ply in lake Vembanad. These are run on fixed schedules and guests from here take a smaller boats and explore canal interiors. 

• Upper Deck Houseboats - Earlier generation of houseboats used to come with a deck on top where guests enjoy some privacy and better view. There are few older upper deck houseboats in the Deluxe category available.

• Non-Motorised Houseboats - Some guests prefer non-motorised houseboats where navigator manually moves the boat around. Its a tedious task and one does not cover a lot of distance. So one can only do Alleppey round via non-motorised method. Not many houseboat operators are willing to offer non-motorised option.

Circuits

1 night

• Alleppey Round - Most popular 1 night entry level cruise.

• Alleppey - Kumarakom - Alleppey round with drop direct to the resort the next day (9:30 AM).

• Kumarakom - Alleppey - Most undesirable route. Lot of time gets wasted in pick up (12:30 PM)  

2 night

• Alleppey Round - Best to experience interior areas of the backwater circuits. 

• Alleppey - Alumkadavu - This goes along the Cochin - Kollam Waterway. Leaves very little time for other side canals. More expensive than Alleppey round

3 night

• Alleppey Round - Ultimate leisurely houseboat experience. For writers, thinkers or those who just wants to read a book while cruising gently alongside. 

• Alleppey - Alumkadavu - This goes along the Cochin - Kollam Waterway. 3 night trip leaves time to explore side canals enroute and guests can visit less visited backwater canal areas.