The Kerala Houseboat is the perfect way to experience the calm and unique ecology of the Kerala backwaters. Our office in Cochin on the edge of the backwaters works with all the different houseboats and can offer anything from a one day stay to a month long cruise through the whole backwater system. The rhythm on the boat is slow like the pace of life on the backwaters as you navigate through the narrow waterways watching Indian village life in a constant moving panorama before you.

What we know as Kerala houseboats used to be used to transport rice and other heavy agricultural produce from the backwaters and the coastal ports like Allepy or Kollam. In the past twenty years, more and more have been transformed into tourist boats that offer luxurious accommodation as you travel slowly through the Kerala Backwaters.

A typical overnight stay on the houseboat starts at Alleppey around midday. After buying fish from a local fishmonger you leave the 21st century behind and gently motor for an hour before tying up for a lunch of freshly grilled prawns or fish.

Most houseboats are single or double roomed and sleep 2 to 4, tho the most romantic sleeping space is under mosquito nets on the small sundeck waking with the dawn and the distant call of the temples and churches that dot the backwaters.

All your food is cooked for you by the crew and combines local fish such blackspot, tiger prawns and scampi as well as curried dishes, daal and rice.

It is difficult to summarise what it is about the rice boats that makes a stay so exciting and pleasurable