Holiday review by Katharine
Name: Katharine
Date of trip: 27/12/2017
Number of people: 2
Our highlights were the houseboat trip and the tour of Tamil Nadu. The houseboat was so beautiful and calm, it was lovely to watch life on the shores of the backwaters and the tour of Tamil Nadu gave us the opportunity to learn about daily life for local people
Tribes Overall:
This was a great trip, really good variety with some excellent tours included. We felt that we really got to see the diversity of Kerala and gained an appreciation of its people, culture and landscape.
Tribes Service:
Very helpful and knowledgeable, we had all the support we required
Guides:
The guide we had in Tamil Nadu was the best we have ever had, he was excellent, really knowledgable and had really thought out the day to give us the best experience possible.
Our driver was really good, very professional and not at all pushy which was refreshing
The guide in Cochin was good and showed us some interesting and different things however he took us to an awful restaurant for lunch, planned the day badly so that we didn’t get to see the basilica and was very keen to finish at 2.30 which didn’t feel like an all day tour.
Social & Environmental Responsibility:
On the trip to Tamil Nadu we visited a market and the guide gave us money to buy vegetables from the stall holders, it was a great way of interacting with people rather than feeling like an intruder. We also went to a kindergarten and he had purchased sweets and biscuits for us to give to the children.
Aanavilasam was very environmentally conscious
The places you stayed
Waterfront Granary Museum Hotel
India
The staff here were welcoming and friendly, the food is fabulous and very reasonable. The rooms are lovely but we had very noisy rooms (near reception and the kitchen) which I wouldn't recommend. Really nice and different Hotel.
Kerala Houseboat
India
We had a great experience on the houseboat, ours was very comfortable and could be enclosed at night which meant that we avoided getting bitten. The food was freshly cooked and was good but very repetitive if you are doing more than one night (we did two nights), drinks are also very limited, water and tea only.
