Planning a Trip | Kerala | India
Here you’ll find all of the information, content and tools you need to plan your holidays in India, including itineraries, accommodation and suggestions to make your holidays come alive.

Kerala

Planning a Trip

By plane[edit]

There are three airports in Kerala, with flights to domestic and international destinations: Kochi (Cochin), Kozhikode (Calicut), and Thiruvananthapuram. The airports have several carriers operating international flights around the world.

  • Cochin International Airport (COK IATA) is the largest airport in the state, as well as the first Indian airport with operations on solar power, with regular flight connections to most parts of India, of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Europe- and U.S.-bound passengers need to transit in the Middle East or Mumbai.
  • Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (TRV IATA) has regular connections to major cities of India, and to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Charter flights for tourism from London, New York and Moscow operate to Thiruvananthapuram.
  • Calicut International Airport (CCJ IATA) is a new airport with limited international connects other than to the Middle East.

There are 20 to 25 international carriers offering flights to Kerala. Apart from international carriers, Air India offers international connections from the three airports. Domestic destinations accessible by direct flights from these airports include Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Agatti, Hyderabad, Mangalore, Goa and Delhi. There are daily, and some bi-daily flights, to most Indian cities from Calicut, Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram. Many of the major Indian low-cost carriers (LCC) such as SpiceJet and IndiGo offer daily flights from major Indian cities.

By train[edit]

Indian Railways operates several trains to, from and within Kerala. Trains into Kerala start from neighbouring states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Long-haul direct train services from cities like Delhi and Mumbai are also available.

Log on to the Indian Railways booking site to book tickets online or you can walk up to any railway station to book tickets between any two destinations in India.

Trains are the most popular method of transport and almost all trains in Kerala originate or terminate in Thiruvananthapuram or Ernakulam, and are usually heavily booked. Buy your tickets as early as possible. Another option is using Tatkal. You need to pay more depending on the class of accommodation, but have a chance of getting a seat. Tatkal is an emergency service, hence its booking is open just 24 hours before departure. The Tatkal booking starts at 10AM on the previous day of travel for AC classes, and 11AM on the previous day of travel for non AC sleeper class. Make sure that you have an Indian railway website login and valid identification card with you during booking. Some travel agents have authorised booking quotas for certain trains.

The luxury tourist train The Golden Chariot offers a South Indian Rail Tour, which includes many parts of Kerala. This is a good option for those who want to visit the South Indian states on a tight schedule. The train starts from Bangalore and covers Chennai, Pondicherry, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Kochi and back to Bangalore. The 7 night/8 day package tour costs US$3,000-7,000 depending upon the class taken.

By bus[edit]

KSRTC Volvo bus at Kochi.

Inter-state private and government buses operates between neighbouring states. Usually the journey is performed in the night so that you can escape the heat of the day. The most common inter-state bus is Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC-Karnataka) with daily bus from most of Major cities of Kerala to Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore. Tamil Nadu State Bus like SETC also operates regularly from Kerala. Kerala's State bus- KRSTC-Kerala do have regular ordinary bus to most of nearby places in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. KRSTC-Kerala also operates a few Volvo AC bus to Bangalore and Coimbatore.

However private bus companies operate more buses than government options. Most of them are well maintained. Kallada, Shama, KPN are the major bus players. Raj National and few others offer pan-India operations. Kallada, KPN and Shama have regular buses to Bangalore, Chennai and many other places in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on various times.

It is recommended that you consider booking long-distance bus tickets on air-conditioned Volvo buses operated by all operators as the quality of the other buses vary significantly.

By road[edit]

Kerala is well connected by national highways:

  • NH 17 (connecting Mumbai to Kochi via Western coastal side of Goa, Karnataka and almost all towns of Malabar like Kannur, and Kozhikode),
  • NH 47 (connecting Salem with Kanyakumari via Coimbatore, Palakkad, Thrissur, Kochi, Alappuzha, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram
  • NH 212 (connecting Kozhikode to Mysore via Wayanad),
  • NH 49 (Connecting Kochi to Ramaeswaram via Munnar, Madurai),
  • NH 220 (connecting Kollam to Theni in Tamil Nadu via Kottayam, Kanjirapally, Kumily and enters into Tamil Nadu at Kumily),
  • NH 208 (connecting Kollam with Madurai via Punalur, Shenkottai, Tenkasi) and
  • NH 213 (connecting Palakkad with Kozhikode)
  • NH 212 is a national highway in Southern India, which connects Kozhikode in Kerala with Kollegal in Karnataka via Mysore

Most of the NH roads are dual carriageways. As vehicle density is very high in Kerala, accidents are common. You must be extra cautious while driving here.

As Kerala receives heavy rainfall throughout the year, road conditions are not always consistent. Therefore, expect delays in your schedule especially in monsoon season and afterwards (June–October) even on the National Highways.

By ferry[edit]

Kochi is a major cruise port and a large international cruise terminal is under construction. Once completed, regular cruises will be operated from Kochi. A regular luxury Cruise between Colombo, Male and Kochi is now operational. All Lakshadweep bound cruises originate in Kochi and make return trips.

Also private yachts and other sea going boats regularly call at Kochi.