Self-Launched Idyllic Kerala: Mumbai, the Backwaters & Kovalam Beach

Land at Mumbai airport and take the pre-paid taxi or the airport metro plus local train to Colaba (pre-paid taxi ~£5-7, 45-60 min). Dump your bag at a Colaba guesthouse, then do the classic colonial walk on foot and for free: Gateway of India, the Taj Mahal Palace facade, the Gothic High Court, Mumbai University and Rajabai Clock Tower, and the UNESCO-listed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (free to look at from outside; small camera fee inside). Finish with sunset along Marine Drive and a cheap thali or an optional splurge at Leopold Cafe. Do not use the hotel's private driver — everything here is walkable or a £0.30 local train ride away.

🚌Airport pre-paid taxi ~£6; rest on foot and by suburban train

🛏Colaba or Fort guesthouse / budget hotel dorm or twin (e.g. budget rooms around Colaba Causeway), ~£14

• →Gateway of India
• →Colaba Causeway walk
• →Rajabai Clock Tower & Mumbai University (exterior)
• →Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus
• →Marine Drive sunset

Walk to the Gateway of India jetty and buy a return ferry ticket to Elephanta Island (~£3-4 return, ferries roughly 9am-2pm, about an hour each way). Entry to the caves is ~£5 for foreigners. Explore the 6th-century rock-cut Shiva caves in 2-3 hours, then ferry back. In the late afternoon take a local train to Mahalaxmi and view Dhobi Ghat, the open-air laundry, from the bridge for free — no need for a paid guide. Eat street food cautiously but cheaply (vada pav ~£0.30).

🚌Return ferry ~£4; local trains ~£0.60 total

🛏Same Colaba/Fort guesthouse, ~£14

• →Elephanta Island ferry
• →Elephanta Caves
• →Dhobi Ghat viewpoint

Book a low-cost domestic flight (IndiGo, Akasa or SpiceJet) Mumbai–Kochi direct, roughly 1h45; fares booked 3-6 weeks ahead run ~£45-70 one-way. Fly out mid-morning and you'll be in Fort Kochi by afternoon. Check into a Fort Kochi heritage-style guesthouse, wander the colonial lanes, and watch the sunset at the Chinese fishing nets on Vasco da Gama Square. If flights are pricey, the Konkan Railway sleeper from Mumbai (CSMT or Panvel) to Ernakulam takes ~20-24h for ~£12-18 in 3AC — a fine self-launched alternative but it eats a day.

🚌Domestic flight ~£55; airport bus/taxi to Fort Kochi ~£3

🛏Fort Kochi guesthouse, ~£16

• →Flight to Kochi
• →Fort Kochi lanes
• →Chinese fishing nets at sunset

Do Cochin's sights under your own steam. Mattancherry Dutch Palace (~£0.30), the Paradesi Jewish Synagogue (~£0.30, closed Friday/Saturday), St Francis Church (free) and the Santa Cruz Basilica. Use the local ferry between Ernakulam and Fort Kochi/Vypeen (~£0.05-0.10) or share an auto-rickshaw (~£2 for a hop). In the evening, book a Kathakali performance directly at the Kerala Kathakali Centre or See India Foundation in Fort Kochi (~£5-7) — this replaces the tour's guided show with the same experience for a fraction of the price.

🚌Local ferries and autos ~£3

🛏Fort Kochi guesthouse, ~£16

• →Dutch Palace (Mattancherry)
• →Paradesi Jewish Synagogue
• →St Francis Church
• →Kathakali show at a Fort Kochi arts centre

Take a KSRTC bus from Ernakulam (or Aluva) to Munnar — around 4-5 hours, ~£2-3. The road climbs through cardamom and rubber country into the Western Ghats; sit on the right side for views. Arrive in Munnar town and settle into a homestay or budget hotel (Munnar town is far cheaper than the resort strip). Spend the afternoon walking to the tea estates on the edge of town and doing a self-guided visit to a working tea factory (~£2-3).

🚌KSRTC bus Ernakulam–Munnar ~£3

🛏Munnar homestay/budget hotel, ~£15

• →Scenic Western Ghats bus ride
• →Tea estate walk
• →Tea factory visit

Hire a scooter (~£5-7/day) or share an auto-rickshaw for the local loop: Mattupetty Dam, the Indo-Swiss dairy farm, Echo Point and the Top Station viewpoints. Or simply take local buses between Mattupetty and town for pennies. Back in Munnar, explore the Old Munnar bazaar and town market for spices, and walk up to one of the roadside viewpoints above the tea terraces for sunset. Note the tour's 'dairy farm' and 'town market' are free-to-cheap self-guideable stops — no guide needed.

🚌Scooter hire ~£6

🛏Munnar homestay, ~£15

• →Mattupetty Dam
• →Indo-Swiss dairy farm
• →Echo Point
• →Old Munnar town market

Take the local/public bus Munnar–Thekkady (roughly 3.5-4h, often via Kumily, ~£2-3). Kumily is the gateway town for Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary; guesthouses there cost a fraction of the tour's hotel. In the afternoon walk into the sanctuary buffer zone or book a spice plantation tour on arrival (~£3-4, covering cardamom, pepper, tea and coffee — all the plantation visits the tour bundles in). For tomorrow, book your boat safari directly through the Kerala Forest Department counter in Kumily or online (booking opens ~30 days out).

🚌Local bus ~£3

🛏Kumily/Thekkady guesthouse, ~£14

• →Scenic hill bus to Thekkady
• →Spice plantation walk (pepper, cardamom, tea, coffee)

Do the early-morning Periyar Lake boat safari (Forest Department boat, ~£4-5 for 1.5-2h) or a guided nature walk in the sanctuary (~£8-10) — your best chance of elephants, gaur and birds. Then bus Kumily–Kottayam and onward to Alappuzha (roughly 4-5h total, ~£3-4), arriving late afternoon. Check into a guesthouse on the backwaters and arrange tomorrow's houseboat directly with the boat owner if you want to compare operators. If you'd rather not split the day, bus straight through and swap the safari to an early start before departure.

🚌Periyar boat ~£5 included in transport line; buses ~£4

🛏Alappuzha guesthouse near the backwater canals, ~£13

• →Periyar Lake boat safari
• →Kumily town wander

Board a private one-bedroom houseboat around midday (check-in usually 12pm) and cruise the Punnamada and smaller canals until sunset. Book direct with an Alappuzha boat owner or a local operator — a private AC houseboat with full board for two people runs roughly £70-110 total (so ~£40-55 per person), or you can join a shared day cruise instead for ~£10-15. Lunch, evening tea and snacks, and dinner are included on board. Ask your boatman about the smaller village canals away from the main lake; that's where the backwater life is. Disembark next morning.

🚌Included in houseboat; short auto to jetty ~£1

🛏Private AC houseboat (full board), ~£45 per person

• →Alleppey backwater cruise
• →Village canal exploring
• →Sunset on the boat

Take a train from Alappuzha to Trivandrum Central (roughly 3-3.5h on a express/superfast, general or sleeper class ~£1.50-3), or bus for slightly less. From Trivandrum station, local bus #7 or an auto (~£3) reaches Kovalam in 30-40 min. Settle into a beach guesthouse on Lighthouse Beach or Hawa Beach. Afternoon: swim, then in the late afternoon visit Trivandrum's highlights by local bus — Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple (photos outside only; dress code in place), the Napier Museum and the Science & Technology Museum (~£1-2). Finish with a cheap seafood dinner on the beach.

🚌Train Alappuzha–Trivandrum ~£2.50; local bus/auto to Kovalam ~£2

🛏Kovalam beach guesthouse (Lighthouse/Hawa Beach), ~£16

• →Train through Kerala
• →Kovalam Lighthouse Beach
• →Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple
• →Napier Museum

Do the tour's Padmanabhapuram Palace, Suchindram, Kanyakumari day trip by public transport: early bus from Kovalam/Nagercoil to Padmanabhapuram Palace (~£3-4 total in fares, entry ~£1), then onward to Kanyakumari. There, see the Vivekananda Rock Memorial and ferry (or walk at low tide) out to the rock, the Gandhi Memorial and Devi Kanya Kumari Temple, and catch sunset over the confluence of the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. Bus back to Kovalam. Fly out from Trivandrum (TRV) the next morning, or take an overnight sleeper train/bus back to Mumbai if you'd rather end where you started (~£15-20).

🚌Kanyakumari excursion buses ~£6; optional booking; flight home booked separately

🛏Kovalam beach guesthouse, ~£16 (or overnight train)

• →Padmanabhapuram Palace
• →Suchindram Temple
• →Vivekananda Rock Memorial
• →Gandhi Memorial
• →Sunset at Kanyakumari's three-seas confluence