Kerala for a honeymoon: the route, the stays and when to go
Kerala works for a honeymoon because it asks so little of you: no long-haul flight, no visa, and quiet places to stay. How to choose the bases, where the houseboat night goes, how many nights you need, and the months that suit a post-wedding trip.
The short answer
Give it five to seven nights and three bases: the tea hills of Munnar, a night on the backwaters on a private houseboat or at a lakeside stay in Kumarakom, and, if you have the time, two nights on the coast at Varkala or Marari to finish slowly. Travel between December and February if you want cool, settled weather, and plan the drives so that no day is spent entirely in a car. Kerala rewards couples who do less, not more.
Why Kerala suits a honeymoon
For couples travelling soon after the wedding, the practical case is strong: no visa, no long-haul flight, and international airports at both Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, so you can fly in at one end of the route and out of the other. Our Kerala guide covers the state as a whole. For a honeymoon, Kerala’s strength is that there is little to queue for and nothing you must see: the days are shaped by tea estates in the morning mist, a boat drifting past paddy fields and a long evening by the sea.
Choosing your bases
Most good Kerala honeymoons combine one base from each of the state’s three landscapes: the hills, the backwaters and the coast. Choose the ones that suit the two of you, rather than trying to fit in everything.
| Base | What it gives a couple | Nights | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Munnar | Tea estates, cool air and hill-station quiet at about 1,600 m | 2 | Eravikulam National Park closes around February–March each year for Nilgiri tahr calving |
| Thekkady | Spice gardens and a boat on the lake inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve | 1 | The first lake boat leaves at 7.30 am; book on the reserve’s own portal |
| Kumarakom | Lakeside stays on Vembanad Lake and a bird sanctuary | 1–2 | The quieter, more resort-like way to see the backwaters |
| Alleppey houseboat | A night afloat on the backwaters, crewed and catered | 1 | Choose a private boat; see the houseboat section below |
| Varkala or Marari | Cliffs above the sea at Varkala; a quiet fishing-village beach at Marari | 2 | Two nights, not one: the point is to stop moving |
The houseboat night, done for two
A houseboat night is often the part of a Kerala trip people remember, and one night is enough. Book a private boat rather than a sharing one, so that the deck and the crew are yours alone. Kerala’s Department of Tourism classifies houseboats as Silver, Gold or Diamond Vessel, with a certificate issued by the Director of Tourism and valid for two years; asking to see it is a simple way to separate an approved boat from an ordinary one. Our Kerala houseboat guide covers the rest: Alleppey or Kumarakom, how the night runs, and what to check before you pay.
If the idea of a night on the water does not appeal, a lakeside stay in Kumarakom gives you the backwaters from the shore of Vembanad Lake, and you can still take a boat out on the lake by day.
Pacing the drives
The one thing that spoils Kerala honeymoons is the car. The distances look short, but the hill roads are slow: Kochi airport to Munnar is about 119 km and takes around four hours, Munnar to Thekkady around three, and Thekkady down to the backwaters around four. Keep each move to one per day, drive in the morning, and arrive with the afternoon free. A route that asks for three long drives in four days is a tour, not a honeymoon.
| Length | Route | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Five nights | Munnar 2 · Thekkady 1 · Kumarakom or a private houseboat 1 · Kochi or Kumarakom 1 | Hills and water, with no drive longer than about four hours |
| Seven nights | Fort Kochi 1 · Munnar 2 · Thekkady 1 · houseboat 1 · Varkala or Marari 2 | An easy first night, then a slow coastal ending; from Varkala, fly home from Thiruvananthapuram |
Where to arrive and where to leave
Fly into Kochi, the natural door to the hills. If you land late or simply want an easy start after the wedding rush, spend the first night in Fort Kochi and drive to Munnar the next morning. If your route ends on the coast at Varkala, fly home from Thiruvananthapuram rather than driving back north; if it ends in Kumarakom or on a houseboat, Kochi is the closer airport, and Fort Kochi, about 53 km from Alleppey, makes an easy last night.
Whichever way you run it, put the most restful stop last. End in the hills and your last day is a mountain road to the airport; end by the water and the trip finishes the way you hoped it would feel.
When to go, around the wedding season
Kerala Tourism describes December to February as usually pleasant and cool, and for most couples that makes them the natural choice. Because so many travellers want the same cool months, a honeymoon planned for the weeks after a November, December or January wedding should be booked as soon as the dates are fixed, particularly for private houseboats and the better lakeside and beach stays. March to May brings high humidity, which the hills handle better than the coast.
The southwest monsoon arrives around June and brings the heaviest rain of the year. Kerala Tourism promotes the monsoon as a season of its own, and in Ayurveda it is considered the best time for rejuvenation therapies. For a couple who want green hills, rain on the backwaters and a few days of treatment, a monsoon honeymoon can be lovely; for a couple who want the beach, it is the wrong time.
Ayurveda, if you want it
If you want a few days of Ayurveda, choose the centre as carefully as the hotel. Kerala’s Department of Tourism classifies Ayurveda centres as Ayur Silver, Ayur Gold or Ayur Diamond, according to their facilities, and lists classified centres on its website. A short programme at a classified centre is a better choice than an unregulated spa menu, and it is worth asking in advance which treatments suit a stay of a few days rather than a full course.
Planning your honeymoon
For the full day-by-day routes, see our Kerala itinerary for 5, 7 and 10 days, and for the wider picture of honeymoons from India, our honeymoon planning guide. Our Kerala Honeymoon Escape is a four-night Munnar, Thekkady and Kumarakom route, and the Kerala Luxury Slow Journey takes six nights over the same ground, with two at Kumarakom. Either can be adjusted around your wedding dates.
Sources
- Munnar — Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala
- Kumarakom — Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala
- Houseboats — Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala
- Classification of houseboats — Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala
- Classification of Ayurveda centres — Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala
- What is the climate of Kerala? — Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala
- Monsoon — Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala
- Varkala Beach — Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala
- Marari Beach — Kerala Tourism, Government of Kerala
- Eravikulam National Park: timings, closure and booking — Anaimudi Forest Development Agency, Eravikulam National Park (online booking portal)
- Periyar Tiger Reserve: eco-tourism programmes and booking — Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department
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