All Alleppey Houseboats

How to choose an Alleppey houseboat

Almost every boat on the Alleppey backwaters follows the same day. You board at noon, lunch is served as the boat moves out through the Punnamada canals, the afternoon is spent crossing open lake and narrow village channels, and at 5:00 PM the boat anchors for the night — a state rule, and the part most guests end up rating highest. Dinner is cooked aboard, the boat is still, and cruising resumes at 7:00 AM before a 9:00 AM check-out. The route, the crew and the food barely change between a budget boat and the most expensive one in the fleet.

So the choice comes down to three things: how many bedrooms you need, whether you want the whole boat, and when the air conditioning runs.

Bedrooms

Count two guests per bedroom. A one-bedroom boat suits a couple, two bedrooms suits a family of four, and the larger configurations exist for groups who would rather travel together than split across boats. Bedrooms are en-suite on every boat here. For day cruises the bedroom count barely matters, because nobody sleeps — a boat that sleeps eight overnight will comfortably take a day group of thirty.

Private or shared

A private booking gives you the entire boat, and the boat runs to your schedule. On a shared boat you book one lockable en-suite bedroom and share the deck, lounge and dining table with two or three other couples, on a fixed departure. Shared is the cheapest way to spend a night on the water; private is the only way to eat when you like or mark an occasion without an audience.

Air conditioning, and why it is the real decision

Standard boats are non-AC, naturally ventilated with ceiling fans. Deluxe boats run the air conditioning from 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM only, because the generator that powers it is shut down while cruising. Premium and Luxury boats run it on demand, including through the afternoon.

Which of those you need is mostly a question of month. From June to September the monsoon keeps the air cool, and December and January are the most comfortable weeks of the year — a Standard or Deluxe boat is genuinely pleasant in both windows. February to May is the hot season, and daytime air conditioning stops being a luxury. If you are booking for March or April with older parents or small children, spend the difference.

What every rate on this page includes

All meals cooked aboard, a three-person crew, mineral water, and boarding at the Nehru Trophy Finishing Point in Punnamada. Rates are per boat per night and exclude GST. Alcohol is not included, though you may bring your own and the crew will serve it. Prices move with the season, so a December weekend will not match the same boat in July.