Kerala is a very laid back state. The clothes you mentioned would be perfectly acceptable.

Cool thanks - the more I read about it on the internet, the more I want to go - oh well only 7 months to go.... (after I've persuaded hubbie to let me book)

Now that we have decided on Kerala for our winter hols I need some advice on which resort. Have been looking Goamike's website and lots of people have been slating Kovalam as being like Blackpool...

I was thinking that Kovalam would be like Calungute in Goa? True or not?

Has anyone been to both resorts? Can you give me your opinions please?

Hi Pippanda,

I have to say that that particular website is nothing to do with me and i only reccomend it has i got a lot of information off it.

In my view its slightly exagarrated when they compare kavolam to blackpool and i take the view that the people saying this are probably people who remember that particular resort say about twenty years ago and we found it a very relaxing place and really chilled out as there is hardly any entertainment on offer and basically kavolam consists of is a line of restuarants and hotels, believe me if it was like blackpool then one visit would have been egnouth <nothing against blackpool every one to thier own> also just remembering the busy part is actually lighthouse beach but when i say busy its not noisy or brassy at all.
Kavalom beach is the next two beaches up as you have hawa beach with two restuarants on it.
The actual kavalom beach has two medium size hotels and then a fair stretch of sand to the next hotel as the hotel right in the corner is the best for swimming and had no problems swimming wise in that spot as it is quite strong waves on the other beaches i went on.

Varkala beach was nice but a trek down from the cliffs and obviously a trek up but please bear in mind we was only there after finishing one of the trips and i reckon there was a better way to get down to the beach, at the top of the cliffs there was plenty of restuarants & few shops but as i say i was only there for a couple of hours also whilst we were there we had lunch in one of the hotels in which in which looked very impressive with lovely views and gardens but unfortunately the name escapes me.

If you need to know anymore please get in touch has i would say kerala is a lot quieter than most parts of goa and often it is said this was the goa of so many years ago.

If your looking for a complete chill out and the best food i have ever tasted < i work at a college of food> then this is the place.

Oops sorry GoaMike - cos the website is Indiamike I thought it was something to do with you, please accept my apologies.

Yeah I think the people who are slating Kovalam are "proper" travellers and not like us "tourists". I thought that it was a bit odd because you replied to my of my earlier posts about Kerala and you said then how it was like Goa 15-20 years ago.

If I think of anything else, I'll shout

No problem about the misunderstanding pippanda, please tell me how you get on.

I noticed on another heading that wou was enquiring about travel companies as we flew with manos in which they was ok but not the best due to a mix up over the new years gala dinner in which we dident attend and the hotel still wanted us to pay for it needless to say manos communications were very bad and slating the hotel manager but on our last day we actually got to speak to him and he came across as a very nice guy, the trouble with manos as well is that they use monarch and they are the smallest of planes i have used for such a long flight.

Whilst we were there people seemed to get a better service with jewel in the crown company but im sure they use monarch as well.

Please tell me how you get on as we was intending to go back either to goa or kerala with probably kerala being the favourite but some of our friends are going to brazil for xmas and the thought of a new place was too much resistance for me.

We've been to Calangute and Kerala staying near Lighthouse Beach. We went to Calangute two years running and went to Kerala the third time because Calangute had gone far too 'Red Lion', 'English Breakfasts' etc for us.

Kerala is much quieter than Goa and Kovalem is much much smaller than Calangute/Candolim and whereas Calangute is flat Kovalem is built around cliffs so everywhere from the beach is up very steep hills - the tut tuts really struggle to get up them when fully loaded!

We flew with Airtours to Kerala and paid for the upgrade which was the best £150 we've ever spent! The seating is 2-3-2 rather than 3-3-3 so you get plenty of room. Monarch give you 2-4-2 seating when you upgrade which is the standard seating pattern on scheduled airlines using the Airbus A330 and offers not much extra than 3-3-3.

Has anyone been to Kerela, looking to go there in Jan 06 need advice where to stay

I was in Kerala over Christmas/new year last year we stayed at the Abad Palmshore in Kovalam, for 3 weeks & I would definitely recommend the hotel and the resort. The rooms (in fact all parts of the hotel) are kept spotless, they have all mod cons, fridges, tv, aircon etc, and nice big balconies which are fairly secluded. The staff at the Palmshore were without exception friendly & helpful, we had absolutely no complaints at all (although found the Manos rep less than helpful especially in the aftermath of the Tsunami)..... The hotel has its own restaurant with a terrace looking out to sea but it has little ambience in the evening and no liquor licence (although there's no objection to having your own booze in your fridge, its easy enough to get beer wine etc in the resort once you get your bearings). Down the hill there are plenty of restaurants and lots of atmosphere (and its a lot easier to get a drink). The Palmshore is up some steps above a small beach which it more or less has to itself, and its about 10 minutes walk downhill (and 20 back up, or you can get a rickshaw for a very small sum, we're talking pence) to Lighthouse then Hawah Beaches. We went with Manos, but if I went again I would book the hotel myself from here, and flights with Qatar Airways. We met quite a few people who had done just that and it had worked out cheaper with the benefit of travelling scheduled. We went out for a few excursions whilst there (although not the backwaters one) that we organised ourselves, if there's any other questions you think I might be able to answer about these, or Kovalam, or the Palmshore, do let me know.

sue
I have requested that Abad Palmshore by added to our hotel reviews. When it is, would you be able to post a review for us please?

Fiona
Yes of course, I'll be glad to.
Sue

Thanks Sue- will let you know when it is added. It may take a few days as we are several people short in the mod/admin team just now!

ps - while in Kerala we did a 2 day trip to Periyar. On the recommendation of Paula & Stewart on this Forum, (isn't Holidaytruths great ?) we stayed at the Cardamom County in Thekkady which was lovely, our luxurious suite had kingsize bed, bathrobes, jacuzzi, coffee maker, fridge, you name it, I could easily have stayed there for a month.
So would be happy to add a review for that hotel too.

have requested that one as well Sue!
Fiona

Abad Palmshore hotel review page now added here

Cardamom County here

Thank you Fiona, have now added my reviews, hope they're ok, will be glad to provide any further info to anyone interested.
Sue

thanks Sue- I had a look- very detailed!
Fiona

Hi Sue thanks for that,I notice that you went for 3 weeks, every travel agent we spoke to said there was not enough to do for 3 weeks hence we were looking to stay at Goa for a week but reading some of the comments on here Goa is very touristy now like being on the costa Brava

Goa has become more popular over the last few years, but there is no comparison to the Costa's, you will find it a fair bit quieter than europian destinations, and far more laid back.

Lin

kft, maybe I have a high boredom threshold, but I could easily have spent a month in Kerala and not got bored.
We spent the first couple of days getting our bearings and acclimatising to the heat not to mention the time change and cultural changes.
I might have been bored if I had stayed in Kovalam the whole time, but there are lots of interesting trips you can take. We missed the backwater trip because I didn't fancy it (had heard there are lots of mozzies and we didn't bother with anti-malarial precautions) but lots of people do go on that one and have a good time. We spent two days around Periyar, another day at the Neyyar dam, and another day in Trivandrum the state capital where there are lots of sights worth seeing. There were other places I would like to have gone to if we had been there longer. I would have liked to see Cochin and the area round it, and visited some of the other beach resorts but our holiday was interrupted a bit by the tsunami - the local authorities were a bit nervous and the beaches were closed for a few days.
I was certainly in no rush to get back to a chilly dark damp London winter.

Regards Sue

Like sue.c. i could have easily stayed longer in kerala and it is definatly a slower way of life compared to goa but wouldent hesitate in going back either to goa or kerala.

Entertainment is mainly sitting in restuarants & bars and the main drag is on lighthouse beach and takes around ten minutes to walk from one end to the other.

Also like sue we went with manos and have to agree that manos basically dident want to know when there was a mix up with the hotel over the new years eve party has we had to sort it out on our day of departure has the rep told a few lies to us.

We stayed at the uday samudra beach hotel in which there is a newish side and the old side and they was just completing another block of rooms whilst we was there and you can guess we ended up in the old block and first thought of getting a upgrade but after thinking well were only need it for sleeping decided to stay in the origanol room and apart from the old fashioned bathroom everything was fine, the highlight for us was the high standard of food and there are two excellent restuarants just outside the hotel as the waters edge is on the beach and you have to try thier butter balti fish as its excellent as all of the food was and also on the road outside the hotel is mollys run by a english lady the food is also of a high quality anymore information dont hesitate to get in touch.