Cruising the Kerala Backwaters is without a doubt one of the best experiences you can have in all of India and the most popular thing to do in Kerala.
Kerala is one of the most beautiful, advanced and relaxing parts of India so it makes a perfect introduction to this incredible country – you could almost call it India for Beginners!
The most iconic image of Kerala is the thatched houseboats but with prices starting from $100 per day upwards this might be too expensive for a budget traveller or backpacker.
But don’t despair – you can still enjoy the beauty of Kerala’s backwaters on a budget and the nature is just as mesmerizing whether you spend $10 or $1000 on a boat.
Read on and I’ll tell you how to see the backwaters on a budget and give you an honest reviews and tips from our Kerala backwater trip.
How to Cruise the Kerala Backwaters on a Budget
Staying on a Kerala Backwater Houseboat is the most expensive way to see the backwaters, but there’s plenty of alternatives and ways you can see the Kerala backwaters on a budget.
The main options are:
Local Ferries: Either cram in with the locals and take the public ferries for pocket change or take the tourist ferry from Alleppey to Kollam which takes 8 hours and costs 300 INR.
Stay at a backwater resort: Relax and stay right on the waterside and soak up the local way of life. Some like Munroe Island Backpackers Homestay are super affordable. Prices start at $20 and they also offer authentic Keralan food and cheap kayaking or canoe tours.
Take a day tour: Enjoy a shared Shikara boat ride or join an affordable small group canoe or kayaking tour. Not only will you save money, you’ll get to explore the smaller, more serene and more interesting canals that the big houseboats can’t.
You can book tours with a local travel agent in Fort Kochi or on Viator or Get Your Guide if you want to read reviews first and book in advance.
We already had our lovely heritage homestay accommodation at in Fort Cochin (the best part of Kochi) and were enjoying wandering around the historic and multicultural town and the public ferries looked too packed for us to be able to enjoy the experience so we went for option 3 and booked this eco friendly budget Kerala backwaters trip which was the highlight of our Kerala trip.
Our Eco Friendly Budget Kerala Backwater Trip
We were driven about a hour out of Kochi on a mini bus with about 10 other westerners through brightly coloured villages until we reached a bridge over a large river.
As we drove out of Kochi it was early morning and buses were packed to the rafters until arms and legs literally spilled out of the open windows.
I learnt that, as the world’s first elected communist government in 1957, the state of Kerala has the highest literacy and life expectancy rates and the lowest infant mortality in India.
It was uplifting to see children on their way to school, laughing and joking in their smart uniforms, the girls all wore their hair in two plaits with ironed v shape white dupattas and salwar kamez uniforms.
Cruising the Kerala Backwaters in a traditional boat
The boat was a large, covered typical Kerala backwaters boat which looks like it has been weaved together. It didn’t have a motor, which made the experience all the more serene. Instead 2 weathered boatmen used long poles to push and steer as they treaded the front boards of the boat.
The men in Kerala often wear turban like head wear and a kind of tucked up skirt called a lungi. The boatman wore this and it seemed quite impractical for manual boat work as his tucked up skirt kept falling out and needed to be refolded but it all added to the magic and charm.
Cruising along the palm tree fringed Kerala backwaters in a traditional reed, thatched boat was the most serene and peaceful experience I found in India and an experience not to be missed when in Kerala.
The palm trees bowed in the breeze and the sun glittered on the water. I watched mesmerised as we passed little colourful houses on the banks of the river and people paddling by in canoe boats loaded with reeds.
There was something else too – the sweet sound of silence, something hard to find in India!
I relaxed in the boat glad that we had opted for the eco friendly option instead of the noisy motor boats, listening to the birds and watching village and backwater life pass by along the side of the waterways as we drifted down the Kerala backwaters.
Witnessing Traditional Life on the Kerala Backwaters
We went into narrower channels where the undergrowth scraped past the boat poking in through the open window arches. There was a government work scheme here where village people get paid to clear the undergrowth from the waterways – a bit like highway maintenance but with machetes, toothless grins and friendly waves as we floated past.
As part of the tour we also got an insight into traditional life on the Kerala backwaters which made the experience more meaningful than just a relaxing boat trip.
We got off the boat at a few different stops to see a spice farm, small factories making lime powders and women making rope coils. The bright colours of their nice houses poked out between the palm trees overlooking the waterways.
It was an amazing feeling to be witnessing a peaceful way of life on the Kerala backwaters that probably hasn’t changed much for hundreds of years.
Also included in the tour was a tasty traditional Keralan lunch of rice, vegetable curries and pickles was served on a banana leaf on a little island.
In the afternoon we explored some more on a smaller, open topped, canoe style boat. It felt a little unstable at first but as we floated through the jungle like smaller channels I caught glimpses through the trees of little houses and waterside life.
I enjoyed the peaceful meandering through the lush Kerala backwaters and glimpses into traditional life as we floated back through the waterways and our budget backwater boat trip was the most relaxed and serene day in our whole India trip!
You can book the same tour we did on Get Your Guide here or on Viator here.
Update – On my next trip to Kerala I was lucky enough to be part of the Kerala Blog Express and loved my luxury Kerala houseboat experience!
If you do have the money it’s worth experiencing both staying in a houseboat and taking the smaller boat and canoe ride through the backwaters. You can now book houseboat stays on Booking.com – check out this post for the best houseboats in Kerala.
This post is part of a series about my first time backpacking India. For more check out my other India travel blogs.
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