Luxury Kerala Holidays & South India Tours

Kerala has drawn travellers to her shores for centuries, when the ancient spice trade first earned her the name the ‘Spice Garden of India’. Today, palm-fringed backwaters, tea-clad hills, tropical beaches and centuries-old Ayurvedic traditions make luxury holidays in Kerala a wonderfully different way to experience India.

Cruise the tranquil backwaters aboard a private houseboat, stay among the tea plantations of the Western Ghats or slow the pace with an authentic Ayurveda and wellness retreat. Kerala’s wildlife reserves, spice plantations and beaches add another dimension, while historic Cochin brings together Portuguese, Dutch, Jewish and Indian influences. Food is integral to any Kerala luxury holiday, from fragrant coastal cuisine to cooking with local families and discovering the spices for which the region has long been famous.

Our private Kerala tours can be enjoyed as a journey in their own right or form part of a longer tour of South India, combining Kerala with the magnificent temples, heritage towns and cultural traditions of neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

At Enriching Journeys, every tour of Southern India is tailor-made around you, combining characterful places to stay, private experiences and expert local guides at a pace that allows you to properly experience the South.

Unique Experiences to Include in Your Kerala Tour

  • Cruise the Kerala Backwaters — Glide by private houseboat past riverside villages, fishing communities and coconut-lined banks, with fresh Keralan cuisine served on board.
  • Experience Kerala’s Living Culture — Watch a Kathakali performance, explore local temples and festivals, and connect with communities keeping these traditions alive.
  • Discover Ayurveda & Wellness — Experience authentic Ayurvedic treatments at their place of origin, rooted in centuries of cultural and philosophical tradition.
  • Explore Tea & Spice Country — Walk through Munnar’s rolling tea plantations and the spice-growing hills that first drew traders to Kerala’s shores.
  • Wildlife in Southern India — Spot wild elephants, leopards and rich birdlife on jungle walks and boat safaris around Periyar National Park.
  • Relax on Kerala’s Coast — Unwind on Marari’s quiet sands, the perfect close to a journey through temples, tea estates and backwaters.
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Discover Kerala on a Bespoke Holiday

Kerala has enchanted travellers since 3000 BCE, when Babylonian and Egyptian traders knew her shores as the ‘Spice Garden of India’. Little has dimmed that magic today, and Kerala tours remain among the most rewarding ways to experience South India’s diversity — from tranquil backwaters to misty tea hills, wildlife-rich jungle and centuries of layered history.

Kerala Backwaters

A private houseboat cruise is the quintessential Kerala experience — drifting silently along palm-fringed waterways, past emerald paddy fields, coconut groves and villages where life moves at its own gentle pace. Staying in Kumarakom or Marari extends this further, with waterside retreats where mornings begin on the water and evenings end on the beach.

Munnar

Rising into the Western Ghats, Munnar’s tea plantations blanket the hills as far as the eye can see, among the highest tea-growing estates in the world. It’s a destination made for walking, with cool mountain air, dramatic viewpoints and a slower pace that makes it a natural retreat within any Kerala luxury holiday.

Thekkady

Bordering Periyar National Park, Thekkady rewards travellers with jungle walks in search of wild elephants, leopards and a small population of tigers, set against a backdrop of aromatic spice plantations growing pepper, cardamom and cinnamon. It’s an ideal pairing of wildlife and wellness, with Ayurvedic traditions rooted deep in the region.

Cochin

Cochin (Kochi) distils centuries of Arab, Portuguese, Dutch, British and Jewish influence into one atmospheric city. Wander Fort Cochin’s lanes past the iconic Chinese fishing nets, explore its Jewish heritage in Mattancherry, and watch Kathakali performers transform through hours of intricate costume and make-up. Cochin’s cuisine — fiery curries built on local spice, fresh seafood and coconut — is reason enough to linger, making it one of the highlights of any luxury Kerala travel itinerary.

Explore Southern India Beyond Kerala

Kerala can be the centrepiece of a South India journey or the starting point for a wider tour of southern India. Tamil Nadu offers Hindu temple culture and traditional architecture at its finest, from Kanchipuram to Chettinad’s heritage mansions and colonial Pondicherry; Karnataka pairs the UNESCO ruins of Hampi with wildlife around the Kabini River; and Goa adds palm-fringed beaches and Portuguese charm. Together, these states make for some of the best cultural tours in India, rich in plantations, cuisine and living tradition.

Where to Go on a South India Tour

Tamil Nadu — Explore India’s finest Hindu temple architecture, from Kanchipuram to Madurai, alongside centuries of heritage, distinctive cuisine and rich cultural traditions.

Karnataka — Discover Mysore’s royal palaces, Coorg’s coffee plantations and misty hills, and historic sites including the UNESCO ruins of Hampi, alongside wildlife-rich landscapes.

Pondicherry — Wander French colonial streets, sample Franco-Tamil cuisine, and enjoy a relaxed coastal atmosphere shaped by centuries of European influence.

Goa — Relax on palm-fringed beaches, explore Portuguese colonial architecture in Old Goa, and discover a laid-back interior known for its Indo-Portuguese cuisine and wellness retreats.

Stay in Characterful Luxury

Where you stay is as much a part of the journey as where you go. Across Kerala and South India, accommodation ranges from luxury beach resorts and converted colonial properties to backwater houseboats, plantation stays, boutique hotels, comfortable homestays, wellness retreats and jungle lodges — each chosen to place you within the landscape itself, not simply beside it.

Here, a stay rarely exists apart from its setting: a night aboard a traditional houseboat drifting through Kerala’s backwaters, a room within a working tea or spice plantation, or a heritage property built in the colonial era and restored with quiet elegance. Along the coast, luxury beach resorts offer a different rhythm entirely, whilst inland, wellness retreats dedicated to Ayurveda provide a more restorative pace, jungle lodges on the fringes of national parks bring travellers closer to the region’s wildlife, and welcoming homestays offer a more intimate, personal glimpse into local life.

Rather than booking a hotel to fit an itinerary, we select each stay as part of the itinerary itself — a plantation stay fragrant with cardamom and pepper, a houseboat gliding past palm-lined waterways, or a homestay where warm hospitality takes centre stage — so where you sleep becomes part of the story of your journey, not simply a place to rest.

Properties can be combined freely according to your itinerary, allowing you to move between culture, nature, wellness and coastal experiences — with each stay chosen to reflect your interests and preferred style, ensuring a personalised journey through South India from beginning to end.

Best Time to Visit Kerala & South India

South India’s climate varies enough by region and interest that timing depends on what your journey prioritises, rather than any single season suiting everyone.

Winter (December to February): The coolest, driest months across most of South India, making this a comfortable period for sightseeing, backwater cruises and temple visits in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka alike.

Monsoon (June to October): Rather than a season to avoid altogether, the monsoon transforms the landscape — hillsides and backwaters turn lush and green, and this period is traditionally considered ideal for Ayurvedic treatments, as the cooler, humid air is believed to open the body’s pores and enhance the absorption of therapeutic oils.

Ayurveda and wellness: Many wellness retreats consider the monsoon months their peak season for this reason, meaning travellers focused on Ayurveda may find June to September more rewarding than the drier winter period preferred for general sightseeing.

Wildlife safaris: Parks such as Periyar and Wayanad offer good sightings from December through May, with the drier, hotter months of March to May often bringing animals closer to dwindling water sources.

Beach travel: Goa and Kerala’s coastline are at their best from November to March, when calm seas and dry weather suit swimming and relaxing by the water, whilst the monsoon brings rough surf and heavy rains unsuitable for beach holidays.

Regional variation: The southern tip of India, including Tamil Nadu, experiences a second monsoon (the northeast monsoon) from October to December, meaning weather patterns don’t move in lockstep across the region.

Tailor-Made Kerala & South India Journeys

South India rewards those who know it well, and our team’s first-hand experience across Kerala’s backwaters, Tamil Nadu’s temples, Karnataka’s ancient ruins and Goa’s coastline shapes every itinerary we design. Trusted local guides and long-standing partners on the ground mean our South India tours offer access and insight you won’t find in a standard package, with support close at hand from the moment you arrive to the day you leave.