Alleppey: A Day With the Engine Off
Alleppey, Kerala
Highlights
- A private houseboat for your group for the full day
- Kerala lunch cooked on board — karimeen fry, rice, thoran
- Narrow village canals the big boats cannot enter
- The engine cut for an hour so you hear the backwaters
- Coir-making and toddy tapping in a canal village
The story
A kettuvallam is a rice barge — a hull of jackwood planks stitched together with coir rope, no nails, roofed in palm thatch. They carried grain before they carried people.
You get one to yourself for the day. It moves at walking pace through channels narrower than the boat looks, past villages where the water is the road, and at some point the crew cuts the engine so you can hear the place. Lunch is cooked on board: karimeen, rice, thoran, appam.
Itinerary
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Board at Alleppey around eleven, out into the Vembanad channels, lunch on board, an afternoon of villages and paddy bunds, back before sunset.
We'll WhatsApp you the full day-by-day itinerary — free, no calls unless you ask.
Inclusions
- Private houseboat with crew for the day
- Kerala lunch and afternoon tea on board
- A village stop with coir and toddy demonstrations
- All boat permits
Exclusions
- Transfers to Alleppey jetty
- Alcohol
- Overnight stay on the boat, which we can add
Know before you go
- Day boats stop by sunset — houseboats are not permitted to move on the backwaters after dark
- The best canals are narrow and only smaller boats reach them; we book accordingly
- It is hot and humid on the water even in winter — the shaded deck matters
- Monsoon runs June to September; the backwaters are at their fullest and greenest then
Policies
Payment policy
30% deposit locks your seat the moment you book.
Balance is due 21 days before departure.
UPI, cards and net-banking accepted; EMI available on major cards.
Every rupee is receipted and the balance date is written on your confirmation.
Confirmation policy
Confirmation lands on WhatsApp and email as soon as your deposit clears.
A trip captain is assigned to you by name before you travel.
If we ever cancel a departure ourselves, you choose a full refund or a free date move.
Refund policy
Full refund (minus payment-gateway fees) if you cancel within 48 hours of booking and 30+ days before departure.
Refunds are processed to the original payment method within 7 working days.
Third-party charges already paid on your behalf (visas, permits, non-refundable air) are deducted at cost and shown to you.
Cancellation policy
30+ days before departure: lose only the deposit.
15–29 days: 50% of the package cost.
7–14 days: 75% of the package cost.
Under 7 days or no-show: no refund.
One free date change up to 15 days before departure.
Why book with Travelers Clan
- Fully personalised. This itinerary is a starting point — we tailor every day to you.
- Visas & TCS handled. Flat 2% TCS on overseas trips, paperwork on us.
- Secure deposits. Protected until you travel, cancel windows in writing.
- A dedicated captain. One trained trip captain, on call your whole journey.
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