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Southern Spice

COUNTRIES

DAYS

FROM

$2,175

In-Depth Explorer

5.0

(2 total reviews)

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COUNTRIES

DAYS

FROM

$2,175

SEE AVAILABLE DATES

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WHAT YOU GET

10 nights accommodation
16 Meals
10 Breakfast, 4 Lunch, 2 Dinner
Transport
Get from A to B in style and comfort
No Regrets Inclusions
All the experiences you want
Team
Experienced Trip Manager and Local Guides
Free Time
to DIY your adventure
18-35 year olds only
Travel with new friends just like you
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Take a sojourn to where the spices grow and the palm trees slope, under the beam of India’s southern sun. We’ll prance the streets of the delightfully French Pondicherry, and drift in a bamboo houseboat through the backwaters of Kerala. Temples, tea plantations and a tiger reserve – the phrase “Incredible India” must have been coined in the south.

step 1

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October 2018

Oct

Thursday 18th October
Sunday 28th October

Definite departure $2,175

$2,175

December 2018

Dec

Thursday 13th December
Sunday 23rd December

Definite departure $2,175

$2,175

January 2019

Jan

Thursday 10th January
Sunday 20th January

Definite departure $2,215

$2,215

Jan

Thursday 24th January
Sunday 3rd February

$2,215

Jan

Thursday 31st January
Sunday 10th February

Full

February 2019

Feb

Thursday 7th February
Sunday 17th February

$2,215

Feb

Thursday 14th February
Sunday 24th February

Full

Feb

Thursday 21st February
Sunday 3rd March

$2,215

Feb

Thursday 28th February
Sunday 10th March

Full

March 2019

Mar

Thursday 7th March
Sunday 17th March

$2,215

Mar

Thursday 14th March
Sunday 24th March

$2,215

Mar

Sunday 24th March
Wednesday 3rd April

Full

Mar

Thursday 28th March
Sunday 7th April

$2,215

April 2019

Apr

Thursday 4th April
Sunday 14th April

$2,215

Apr

Thursday 18th April
Sunday 28th April

$2,215

October 2019

Oct

Thursday 17th October
Sunday 27th October

$2,215

Oct

Thursday 31st October
Sunday 10th November

$2,215

November 2019

Nov

Thursday 21st November
Sunday 1st December

$2,215

December 2019

Dec

Monday 23rd December
Thursday 2nd January

$2,395

January 2020

Jan

Thursday 16th January
Sunday 26th January

$2,215

February 2020

Feb

Thursday 6th February
Sunday 16th February

$2,215

Feb

Thursday 20th February
Sunday 1st March

$2,215

March 2020

Mar

Thursday 12th March
Sunday 22nd March

$2,215

Mar

Thursday 19th March
Sunday 29th March

$2,215

April 2020

Apr

Thursday 2nd April
Sunday 12th April

$2,215

Your Options

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Trip Options

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Your trip summary

SOUTHERN SPICE

Only $200 deposit to book.
Pay in full 45 days before travel.

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Price breakdown:

(Adult Port Tax)

All prices in

India India , and 5 more

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Via

Time spent in each place (in days)

approx time spent

Via

Chennai

1 day

Pondicherry

2 days

Kumbakonam

1 day

Tanjore

Madurai

1 day

Periyar

1 day

Kumarakom

1 day

Kerala Backwaters

1 day

Cochin

2 days

Via

Chennai

Welcome people of pilgrimage! A hub of South Indian arts & traditions, Chennai will play the perfect host to our trip’s introduction. Unite with the team for a 6pm pow wow before having a free evening to unwind in our hotel or take to the streets to suss out this city.

Chennai

This morning we’ll peel back the layers of Chennai, seeing Kapaleeswarar Temple and St Thomas’s Church, driving along Marina Beach & walking through the markets by the Chennai Fort. Now starting to feel acclimatised to life in India, we kick on to our second destination.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS

Sightseeing tour of Chennai with local guide

See Mahabalipuram Shore Temple + Krisna's Butterball

Pondicherry

Our journey through Tamil Nadu will see us stopping at Mahabalipuram Shore Temple & the peculiar boulder of Krishna's Butter-ball. Arriving in ‘Pondy’ we’ll find a delicious fusion of French beauty & Indian soul, and have a free evening to enjoy it how we see fit.

Pondicherry

Today you can jump onto an optional Heritage Walking Tour to go deep into Pondicherry’s unique history. You can then devour cake and coffee at ‘Eat My Cake’, a café run by local widows, and visit the progressive experimental township of Auroville. A vegetarian lunch in a solar powered kitchen will warm us up for some zen vibes by the breathtaking gold dome of Matrimandir.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS

'Eat my Cake' visit (coffee + cake included)

Visit Auroville township includes lunch at a Solar Kitchen

FREE TIME ADD-ONS

Heritage Walking Tour

1550INR

Pondicherry

Though our affection for charming Pondy will be sky high, our great voyage must continue. Kumbakonam – we’re coming for you.

Kumbakonam

Arriving in Kumbakonam in the bounds of two rivers, we’ll begin uncovering South India’s artisans by visiting a bronze casting & silk weaver’s home. By night you can dress to the inspiration of our Dharasuram temple visit, wearing a Saree or Dhotti to our included dinner.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS

Visit Silk Weavers home and Bronze casting school

Visit Dharasuram Temple

FREE TIME ADD-ONS

Dress up up in Saree (ladies) or Dhotti (men)

Kumbakonam

Devour a hearty breakfast and throw your worldly possessions back in your bag. A city of mesmerising history is waiting for us, and there’s a locally guided trip to Brihadeeswarah Temple in Tanjore en route.

Tanjore

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS

Visit to Brihadeeswarah Temple

Madurai

One of the oldest cities in India, Madurai is the pride & soul of Tamil Nadu. Here we’ll see a palace of great pillars, ride a rickshaw, & witness an evening procession at the awe-inspiring Meenakshi Amman Hindu Temple.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS

Sightseeing tour of Madurai with local guide

Rickshaw ride

Experience a night time procession at Meenakshi Temple

Madurai

Another state hop awaits us this morning, as we journey out of Madurai to Kerala, the West coast state that sways by the Arabian Sea.

Periyar

After our cross of the state of Tamil Nadu we’ll arrive in Kerala, ‘the land of coconuts’. We’ll pull up by the elephant & tiger reserve of Periyar National Park where we can explore a spice plantation & watch an ancient style of Martial Arts called KalaripayattuI.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS

Visit a spice plantation with a local guide

Kalaripayattul Martial Arts performance

FREE TIME ADD-ONS

Local family cooking demonstration and dinner

2155INR

Periyar

After a wildlife boat safari along the Periyar River, we’ll take a leisurely journey to our next destination. En route we’ll frolic through a tea factory & plantation, enjoying one of Kerala’s proudest exports.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS

Wildlife boat Safari along the Periyar River

Visit to Connemara Tea factory and Plantation

Kumarakom

Dreamy sighs all round as we arrive in the lake region of Kumarakom. We’ll have a free evening here amidst the fresh country air, trying to contain our excitement for tomorrow’s water adventure.

Kumarakom

Waving goodbye to the agricultural lands of Kumarakom, we’ll trade one quaint setting for another. A day of boating on the beautiful backwaters are waiting on the other side of this bus ride.

Kerala Backwaters

Arriving in the tranquil backwaters of Kerala, we’ll board a traditional houseboat made of wood, bamboo & palm leaves. Drifting past slow grazing cows, we’ll see Kingfishers darting through the forests & season our sightings with many spicy fish curries.

Kerala Backwaters

Shed a few tears & snap your last “local climbing coconut tree” pics. Our boat will be sailing back to the shores so we can poke our way through Cochin.

Cochin

Back on solid ground we’ll soon find ourselves amidst the bustling spice markets and fort lands of Cochin. Here we can eat keralan delicacies, marvel at palaces, and watch the golden sun drop behind the Chinese fishing nets known as Cheena vala.

NO REGRETS INCLUSIONS

Sightseeing tour of Cochin with local guide

FREE TIME ADD-ONS

Sunset Boat Cruise

850INR

Cochin

It’s our final full day on tour. Wander through saree filled markets, marvel at monuments, eat your body weight in street food, or simply sit in a bookstore or café and watch the chaos and charm of Indian life passing by.

Cochin

Our time on tour will end in the Southern spice lands of Cochin. Having bonded deeply in these spiritual lands, we’ll say heartfelt goodbyes before going our separate ways.

Cochin

Accommodation included
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Authentic foodie experiences
No Regrets Inclusions
An army of new friends

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10 nights: 10-nights: Plush hotels with twin share rooms will see our tired selves well-rested. One special night will be spent adrift in the arms of a traditional Keralan houseboat, the quintessential South Indian experience.

The complexities of travelling through India will all but disappear with our experienced Contiki Trip Manager & network of local English-speaking Guides. Pair this up with a crew of like-minded travellers and you have a foolproof recipe for travel goodness.

16 meals: Prepare your taste buds for a fireworks display of spices, fresh seafood, and tropical fruits, dished up in 15 included meals - 10 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 2 dinners - and an array of self made food discoveries. We’ll eat off palm leaves, lap up our curries with parotta bread, and sip coconuts moments after they’ve fallen off the tree.

This trip is packed full of inclusions that will set your heart into a flutter. We’ll ride to temples in a rickshaw, roam a spice plantation and tea factory, and take a wildlife boat safari in the territory of elephants and tigers. Excited much?

Beef out your already incredible trip with a suite of handpicked inclusions. The local family cooking demonstration, sunset boat cruise in Cochin, and night of traditional dressing (a chance to saree up, ladies!) are just a few of our personal favourites.

When we’re not hopping from city to village in our private air-conditioned coach, we’ll be floating on boats; not least of all a traditional Keralan houseboat crafted from bamboo and palm leaves.

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Classify yourself as a full time foodie/culturally curious wanderer/lover of everything foreign and wonderful? We call that In-Depth Explorer. Spend less time travelling and more time unearthing every last little secret about a destination. More About Travel Styles

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Southern Spice

2 independent reviews

feefo

Anonymous

Awesome Trip

Best trip I've done so far. The Southern Spice tour was good value for money, with a lot of cool experiences. The tour guide and the group were awesome.

Traveled Mar 2018