- Check-in
- Around 12 noon
- Cabins
- 1 to 5 or more bedrooms
- Meals
- Lunch, tea, dinner and breakfast included on overnight cruises
- Ideal time needed
- One night (about 22 hours on board)
What the boats are like
A houseboat is a long wooden barge, once used to carry rice and spices, now fitted out as a small floating hotel. Standard boats have air-conditioned bedrooms with attached bathrooms, a kitchen and an open sitting deck at the front. Bigger boats may have two decks, five or more cabins and even a small meeting room, which suits reunions and office groups.
Couples usually take a one-bedroom boat for privacy; families and groups of friends pick two to four bedrooms so everyone travels together.
What you see on the cruise
The route winds through lagoons and narrow canals lined with coconut palms, green rice fields lying below water level and small villages where daily life happens at the water's edge. You may pass families washing clothes, ducks being herded along the banks and small units where coconut husk is turned into coir rope, an industry that still employs many people around the backwaters.
Meals on board
Food is part of the package on an overnight cruise and is cooked fresh by the crew. A typical day runs like this:
- Around 12 noon: boarding with tender coconut or a cool drink
- 1 to 2 PM: Kerala lunch with rice, sambar, thoran, fish fry, pappad, pickle, curd and payasam or fruit
- 3:30 to 4:30 PM: tea or coffee with banana fritters, pakoda or similar snacks
- 8 to 9 PM: dinner such as chapati, rice, dal and chicken or vegetable curry; the cook checks the menu with you first
- 7:45 to 8:30 AM: breakfast of appam with egg curry, puttu with kadala curry or idli, or a simple bread-and-omelette option
Safety and comfort
Licensed boats carry life jackets and life rings for every guest, and the kitchen is kept separate from the cabins. Tell us about food preferences, vegetarian needs or allergies when booking so the cook can plan. Pre-booking also means your boat, cabin count and crew are confirmed before you reach the jetty, which avoids bargaining on arrival.
We can arrange houseboats in Alappuzha as part of a Kerala tour, including premium and luxury boats with seafood menus.
Plan it with us
Tell us your dates and who is travelling. We will build the route, book the car, driver and hotels, and send you a clear quote.
