Contiki - Southern Spice (for 18-35 yr old) from Contiki

Highlights:

11 days | 1 country | 'In-Depth Explorer' travel style

Only US$200 deposit to book.
Pay in full 45 days before travel.

Take a sojourn to where the spices grow and the palm trees slope, under the beam of India’s southern sun. We’ll prance the streets of the delightfully French Pondicherry, and drift in a bamboo houseboat through the backwaters of Kerala. Temples, tea plantations and a tiger reserve – the phrase “Incredible India” must have been coined in the south.

- ACCOMMODATION: 10 nights: 10-nights: Plush hotels with twin share rooms will see our tired selves well-rested. One special night will be spent adrift in the arms of a traditional Keralan houseboat, the quintessential South Indian experience.

- TEAM: The complexities of travelling through India will all but disappear with our experienced Contiki Trip Manager & network of local English-speaking Guides. Pair this up with a crew of like-minded travellers and you have a foolproof recipe for travel goodness.

- FOOD: 16 meals: Prepare your taste buds for a fireworks display of spices, fresh seafood, and tropical fruits, dished up in 15 included meals - 10 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 2 dinners - and an array of self made food discoveries. We’ll eat off palm leaves, lap up our curries with parotta bread, and sip coconuts moments after they’ve fallen off the tree.

- NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS: This trip is packed full of inclusions that will set your heart into a flutter. We’ll ride to temples in a rickshaw, roam a spice plantation and tea factory, and take a wildlife boat safari in the territory of elephants and tigers. Excited much?

- FREE TIME ADD-ONS: Beef out your already incredible trip with a suite of handpicked inclusions. The local family cooking demonstration, sunset boat cruise in Cochin, and night of traditional dressing (a chance to saree up, ladies!) are just a few of our personal favourites.

- TRANSPORT: When we’re not hopping from city to village in our private air-conditioned coach, we’ll be floating on boats; not least of all a traditional Keralan houseboat crafted from bamboo and palm leaves.

FREEDOM GUARANTEE: Change travel dates of trip for FREE, if you're more than 45 days out.

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Contiki - Southern Spice (for 18-35 yr old)

From $1636 USD

Arrive Chennai

Chennai
Welcome people of pilgrimage! A hub of South Indian arts & traditions, Chennai will play the perfect host to our trip’s introduction. Unite with the team for a 6pm pow wow before having a free evening to unwind in our hotel or take to the streets to suss out this city.

Chennai to Pondicherry

Chennai
This morning we’ll peel back the layers of Chennai, seeing Kapaleeswarar Temple and St Thomas’s Church, driving along Marina Beach & walking through the markets by the Chennai Fort. Now starting to feel acclimatised to life in India, we kick on to our second destination.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS
- Sightseeing tour of Chennai with local guide
- See Mahabalipuram Shore Temple + Krisna's Butterball

Pondicherry
Our journey through Tamil Nadu will see us stopping at Mahabalipuram Shore Temple & the peculiar boulder of Krishna's Butter-ball. Arriving in ‘Pondy’ we’ll find a delicious fusion of French beauty & Indian soul, and have a free evening to enjoy it how we see fit.

Pondicherry

Today you can jump onto an optional Heritage Walking Tour to go deep into Pondicherry’s unique history. You can then devour cake and coffee at ‘Eat My Cake’, a café run by local widows, and visit the progressive experimental township of Auroville. A vegetarian lunch in a solar powered kitchen will warm us up for some zen vibes by the breathtaking gold dome of Matrimandir.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS
- 'Eat my Cake' visit (coffee + cake included)
- Visit Auroville township includes lunch at a Solar Kitchen

FREE TIME ADD-ONS
- Heritage Walking Tour 1550INR

Pondicherry to Kumbakonam

Pondicherry
Though our affection for charming Pondy will be sky high, our great voyage must continue. Kumbakonam – we’re coming for you.

Kumbakonam
Arriving in Kumbakonam in the bounds of two rivers, we’ll begin uncovering South India’s artisans by visiting a bronze casting & silk weaver’s home. By night you can dress to the inspiration of our Dharasuram temple visit, wearing a Saree or Dhotti to our included dinner.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS
- Visit Silk Weavers home and Bronze casting school
- Visit Dharasuram Temple

FREE TIME ADD-ONS
- Dress up up in Saree (ladies) or Dhotti (men)

Kumbakonam to Madurai via Tanjore

Kumbakonam
Devour a hearty breakfast and throw your worldly possessions back in your bag. A city of mesmerising history is waiting for us, and there’s a locally guided trip to Brihadeeswarah Temple in Tanjore en route.

Madurai
One of the oldest cities in India, Madurai is the pride & soul of Tamil Nadu. Here we’ll see a palace of great pillars, ride a rickshaw, & witness an evening procession at the awe-inspiring Meenakshi Amman Hindu Temple.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS
- Sightseeing tour of Madurai with local guide
- Rickshaw ride
- Experience a night time procession at Meenakshi Temple

Madurai to Periyar

Madurai
Another state hop awaits us this morning, as we journey out of Madurai to Kerala, the West coast state that sways by the Arabian Sea.

Periyar
After our cross of the state of Tamil Nadu we’ll arrive in Kerala, ‘the land of coconuts’. We’ll pull up by the elephant & tiger reserve of Periyar National Park where we can explore a spice plantation & watch an ancient style of Martial Arts called KalaripayattuI.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS
- Visit a spice plantation with a local guide
- Kalaripayattul Martial Arts performance

FREE TIME ADD-ONS
- Local family cooking demonstration and dinner 2155INR

Periyar to Kumarakom

Periyar
After a wildlife boat safari along the Periyar River, we’ll take a leisurely journey to our next destination. En route we’ll frolic through a tea factory & plantation, enjoying one of Kerala’s proudest exports.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS
- Wildlife boat Safari along the Periyar River
- Visit to Connemara Tea factory and Plantation

Kumarakom
Dreamy sighs all round as we arrive in the lake region of Kumarakom. We’ll have a free evening here amidst the fresh country air, trying to contain our excitement for tomorrow’s water adventure.

Kumarakom to Kerala Backwaters

Kumarakom
Waving goodbye to the agricultural lands of Kumarakom, we’ll trade one quaint setting for another. A day of boating on the beautiful backwaters are waiting on the other side of this bus ride.

Kerala Backwaters
Arriving in the tranquil backwaters of Kerala, we’ll board a traditional houseboat made of wood, bamboo & palm leaves. Drifting past slow grazing cows, we’ll see Kingfishers darting through the forests & season our sightings with many spicy fish curries.

Kerala Backwaters to Cochin

Kerala Backwaters
Shed a few tears & snap your last “local climbing coconut tree” pics. Our boat will be sailing back to the shores so we can poke our way through Cochin.

Cochin
Back on solid ground we’ll soon find ourselves amidst the bustling spice markets and fort lands of Cochin. Here we can eat keralan delicacies, marvel at palaces, and watch the golden sun drop behind the Chinese fishing nets known as Cheena vala.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS
- Sightseeing tour of Cochin with local guide

FREE TIME ADD-ONS
- Sunset Boat Cruise 850INR

Cochin

It’s our final full day on tour. Wander through saree filled markets, marvel at monuments, eat your body weight in street food, or simply sit in a bookstore or café and watch the chaos and charm of Indian life passing by.

End Cochin

Cochin
Our time on tour will end in the Southern spice lands of Cochin. Having bonded deeply in these spiritual lands, we’ll say heartfelt goodbyes before going our separate ways.

Agency: Contiki

Contiki - Southern Spice (for 18-35 yr old)

From $1636 USD

Agency: Contiki

Contiki - Southern Spice (for 18-35 yr old)

From $1636 USD

Agency: Contiki