Alleppey, India
A converted rice barge taken privately for one night, with a crew, a cook and one to three bedrooms.
A houseboat is taken as a whole, not by the room: you have the boat, a crew of two or three and a cook, from around midday until the following morning. Meals are prepared on board and are included.
The cruising is gentle and the channels are the point. Be clear on one thing before booking: boats must moor by sunset, so the itinerary is an afternoon of cruising, a night moored, and a short run back. An operator promising more than that is overselling it.
| Room | Sleeps | Beds | Size | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One-bedroom boat | 2 | One double | Whole boat | All meals and the crew are included. |
| Two-bedroom boat | 4 | Two doubles | Whole boat | Suits two couples or a family of four. |
| Three-bedroom boat | 6 | Three doubles | Whole boat | Fewer of these; book early in season. |
On a channel outside Alleppey town
A small property of four to eight rooms on the water, with a garden running down to a channel.
from ₹5,400indicative · per room per night, two sharing, breakfast included
View detailsAlleppey is the usual starting point for the Kerala backwaters, and the backwaters are the whole reason to be here. The town itself is ordinary; the network of channels behind it is not.
The standard arrangement is a night on a houseboat and a night or two in a property on the water. We generally advise against two consecutive nights afloat: the novelty is strong on the first evening and thinner on the second, and houseboats moor at dusk by law, so the second day is shorter than people expect.
Send the destination and the dates. We will come back with what is available, what it costs and what the terms are — before anything is charged.