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Southern India's Coastal Route: Tamil Nadu to Kerala, a tour by Riviera Travel

Tour · 14 nights · with Riviera Travel

Southern India's Coastal Route: Tamil Nadu to Kerala

Two-week escorted tour with Riviera Travel tracing South India’s coastline from Chennai to Kerala’s backwaters, blending ancient temples, spice plantations, and an overnight houseboat experience.

Duration
14 nights
Departures
11 dates
Choose a month below
Countries
India
Operator
Riviera Travel
From
£2,869
per person

Highlights

What makes this one worth it

  1. Intricately carved 7th-century temples of Mahabalipuram

  2. Brihadeeswara Temple’s towering ochre-coloured facade in Tanjore

  3. Dusk tuk-tuk tour of Madurai’s Meenakshi Amman Temple and markets

  4. Guided nature walk in Periyar Wildlife Reserve’s teak and bamboo forest

  5. Overnight stay on a Kerala houseboat cruising the backwaters

About the trip

This fourteen-night Riviera Travel escorted tour cruises the southern Indian coast from Chennai through Tamil Nadu to Kerala’s famed backwaters. It begins in Chennai, where Victorian architecture contrasts with a lively fish market and the early Anglican St Mary’s Church. Mahabalipuram follows, home to 7th-century granite temples carved with remarkable detail, then onto Pondicherry’s former French colonial quarters, distinguished by pastel villas and bougainvillea.

The itinerary features Tanjore’s Brihadeeswara Temple, its ochre-coloured tower rising over 200 feet and dazzling with morning light. Chettinad reveals rural India’s quieter rhythms and a taste of cuisine served on banana leaves. Madurai’s Meenakshi Amman Temple offers a riot of brightly painted sculptures; here a tuk-tuk tour at dusk provides an intimate view of traditional markets and busy tailors. The route then ascends to the Western Ghats and Periyar Wildlife Reserve, where birdlife abounds among teak and bamboo.

Afterward, the tour shifts to Kerala’s backwaters with an overnight stay on a traditional houseboat amid paddy fields and village life. Kumarakom allows birdwatching and lake cruises, before Cochin’s historic port with its Chinese fishing nets rounds off the journey. It’s a thoughtful pace through historic cities, rural landscapes, and waterscapes.

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The route in outline: places are joined in the order visited, not by the roads or sea lanes taken.
  1. 1 Chennai
  2. 2 Mahabalipuram
  3. 3 Pondicherry
  4. 4 Tanjore
  5. 5 Madurai
  6. 6 Kumily
  7. 7 Alleppey
  8. 8 Kumarakom
  9. 9 Cochin

Itinerary

The route

  1. Chennai

  2. Mahabalipuram

  3. Pondicherry

  4. Tanjore

  5. Madurai

  6. Kumily

  7. Alleppey

  8. Kumarakom

  9. Cochin

These are the places the trip visits, in order. Riviera Travel publishes the day-by-day itinerary on its own site.

When to go

Departures and prices

Lowest price each month, per person.

Riviera Travel confirms exact dates, availability and prices when you book.

Need to know

Before you book

Price based on
Per personThe operator confirms the exact basis when you book.
Travelling alone
Check with Riviera Travel
Flights
Check with Riviera Travel
What’s included
Check with Riviera Travel
Accessibility
Check with Riviera Travel

For full details of what’s included, check with Riviera Travel. See the full details on their site

Questions people ask

How long is Southern India's Coastal Route: Tamil Nadu to Kerala?
Southern India's Coastal Route: Tamil Nadu to Kerala is a 14 nights tour holiday.
Who operates Southern India's Coastal Route: Tamil Nadu to Kerala?
Southern India's Coastal Route: Tamil Nadu to Kerala is operated by Riviera Travel.
How much does Southern India's Coastal Route: Tamil Nadu to Kerala cost?
Prices for Southern India's Coastal Route: Tamil Nadu to Kerala start from £2,869, subject to availability.

The operator

Riviera Travel

River cruises and escorted tours

A British operator that began in 1984 with a handful of tents in the south of France. Its tours and river cruises travel with a Riviera tour manager or cruise director looking after the group.

You book with Riviera Travel directly. They confirm your place, take payment, and look after you from the moment you leave home; Atlas & Passage’s part ends when you click through.

New to India? Our India guide has the practical essentials: money, plugs, visas and when to go.

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