Which backwater tour - Cochin

During our day in Cochin, we have been offered two choices of backwater tours: 2 hours on a covered canoe through the backwaters of Cochin or 2.30 hours on a houseboat from Aleppey. This is in combination with other things that we want to see in Cochin. Is there much difference in the two backwater trips or are you seeing the same things but travelling further and cruising in a bit more style?

During our day in Cochin, we have been offered two choices of backwater tours: 2 hours on a covered canoe through the backwaters of Cochin or 2.30 hours on a houseboat from Aleppey. This is in combination with other things that we want to see in Cochin. Is there much difference in the two backwater trips or are you seeing the same things but travelling further and cruising in a bit more style?

We did a tour that included the houseboat and had a nice lunch on the houseboat. Not sure how large the canoe would be, but I would not want to do this in a canoe.

We had a great private tour that is described in my review.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=501167

We are in Cochin for a day in December and have a ship's tour from 9:00 am to about 2:00 pm. The ship does not leave Cochin until 10:00 pm. We want to do a backwater tour in the afternoon but cannot find any that does afternoons, only mornings or all day. Any suggestions? Thanks.

We are in Cochin for a day in December and have a ship's tour from 9:00 am to about 2:00 pm. The ship does not leave Cochin until 10:00 pm. We want to do a backwater tour in the afternoon but cannot find any that does afternoons, only mornings or all day. Any suggestions? Thanks.

The backwater tours are pretty long, also it takes a couple of hours just to get to the houseboat. I think doing such a tour, even if you find one in the PM would be pushing getting back to the ship on time.

What is your ship's tour in Cochin? The backwater tour we took did take us through some of Cochin.

We are on the Regent Seven Seas Voyager and the tour is included. The tour goes to Mattancherry to the Palace and then to Jew town with the spice markets. Then on to fort Cochin and the Chinese fishing nets. the rest of the tour is by boat in the harbor and outlying islands.

How much of this is covered in an all day tour which includes a backwater trip? As much as we would like to do a backwater tour, seeing the basics of Cochin is of higher priority. Thanks again.

We are on the Regent Seven Seas Voyager and the tour is included. The tour goes to Mattancherry to the Palace and then to Jew town with the spice markets. Then on to fort Cochin and the Chinese fishing nets. the rest of the tour is by boat in the harbor and outlying islands.

 

How much of this is covered in an all day tour which includes a backwater trip? As much as we would like to do a backwater tour, seeing the basics of Cochin is of higher priority. Thanks again.

Here is my review of our entire cruise that includes for Indian Ports.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=501167

Here are the details on our tour:

Our tour was the Cochin Backwater Tour that included a peaceful two hour ride on a houseboat. We had a nice Indian lunch on the houseboat. We cruised the waters of Alapuzha, and then drove back to Ft. Cochin. Back in Cochin, we had an opportunity to shop and visit the Paradesi Synagogue. It is the oldest active synagogue in the British Commonwealth of Nations. It was constructed in 1567. The tour was seven hours and cost $75 per person.

http://www.daytoursincochin.com/cochin-backwater-tour/

The two hour road trip out to Alapuzha introduced us to the Indian highways and white knuckle travel. Driving in India was very suspenseful. Many times our small bus would be passing a motor scooter (lots of them) and find ourselves in the middle of the two lane highway. Another vehicle would be approaching us, almost like we were playing “chicken.” At the last second either our bus or the other would slip back from the middle of the road, averting a collision. Not sure how the drivers seem to read each other’s intentions, but we saw no collisions. Still, the drive was a bit stressful. However, just going through the countryside, we were able to observe the state of the area. The road infrastructure in India was very poor and with 1.2 Billion people in the country, the roads always seem full.

However, our two hour houseboat cruise was very peaceful and refreshing. All on our tour very much enjoyed this experience.

Papa: Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I will see what might be available for an afternoon tour once we reach Cochin; I still want to do the ship's tour. We are from Atlanta (Dunwoody).

I can indeed enthusiastically agree with 4774Papa that Muzuris Heritage Tours is a quality operation. The owner, Lijo Jose, is an amiable chap and devoted to providing the best possible experience for his clients.

Our Kerala backwaters tour in Cochin on one of the traditional houseboats easily ranks amongst our most memorable tours in 40 years of traveling on every continent. It was a perfect day, cruising along the backwaters, having an excellent lunch of local specialities prepared on board the boat, and, a special bonus for us, having the company of Lijo the whole time.

Without reservation, I recommend Muzuris Tours and hope fervently to have the occasion to use the agency again one day.

We're just returned from a visit to Cochin and used Muziris tours here and also in Goa and New Mangalore.

Lijo is very helpful and responsive to emails. We were almost an hour late meeting him as Indian immigration was a nightmare and we were some of the last people off the ship. Our tour still went ahead as planned but instead of 2.5 hours on the houseboat we probably had about 1.5 which was fine by us.

Ditto, for using Lijo Jose...:hearteyes:

We used his company in 2015 for 2 days, and are going back next yr.

I wouldnt use anyone else.

Tell him Jann & John sent you...he will treat you well...lol