Hike, Kayak and Cycle in Kerala

This was a superb and well thought out introduction to Southern India. Whilst it’s cheap to travel/eat in this part of the world we really felt the standard of accommodation made it a luxury trip and well worth the price. From the start our guide Saby worked tirelessly to ensure we had a varied, interesting, fun, and safe trip. He made sure that if we expressed an interest in something that was built upon and so introduced us to local drinks/delicacies, wildlife, games, and impromptu rubber tree tours! His knowledge and enthusiasm was boundless and he was always fully engaged and making sure we had everything we needed, The food was superb and plentiful. The activities were all well planned and executed. It was my birthday during the trip and Saby went out of his way to ensure it was a very special celebration. All of the places we visited exceeded expectations and our concerns about the long driving distances were unfounded as the minibus was comfy and there were plenty of opportunities to stop whenever we passed something of interest. I can’t fault the trip at all and would definitely recommend it.

Loved every minute of our Kerala adventure. Firstly, Thilip is an incredible guide. He's extremely knowledgeable, patient with questions, goes above and beyond to make everyone comfortable and has a great sense of humour. We spent our days chatting and laughing like a group of friends who'd known each other for years! The activities were paced well, my group found them challenging but most importantly fun! The guides are happy & flexible to adapt to the group's abilities. This was my first visit to India and Kerala was the perfect intro. It is beautiful, the people are ridiculously friendly and the food delicious, I will certainly be back! If I'm honest, I was unsure about booking a tour because I know how cheap India can be doing it yourself. However I am so glad I booked through MBA, the trip was worth every penny!

Overall this was a great trip enhanced better by our local guide Thilip who was kind, always helpful, full of knowledge on Kerala and India which he shared. All the organisation was smooth with the various helpers at each activity. Walks were good, bumpy jeep ride at 4am was tough but the extended walk was great and made it all worthwhile. Timings and distance on website need updating. House boat was fab and the kayaks. New bike route worked, was quiet and included plenty of towpaths. Accommodation was all good, hotels with character except maybe Govalum.

An excellent trip and we can’t rate our guide Thilip highly enough. A great variety of activities and scenery although be prepared for some very early starts! We were glad we arrived in Kochi early enough to wander around as the itinerary doesn’t include much time there. The landscape of the tea plantations is particularly stunning.

I will start by saying that Kerala is a beautiful part of India to visit and the itinerary gives you a good introduction. I loved that there were multiple different activities and the accommodation for the most part was excellent - especially the houseboat which was a unique experience and just a stunning setting. I would say however that I did come away from this trip feeling a little disappointed. The final hotel/resort we stayed in really needs reconsidering. It is a huge property with a 'nice' area and a more budget area for families/groups. It easily takes 10 mins plus to get from some of the further rooms to reception. The beach is also quite impractical as it is a long way from the hotel rooms and to be honest isn't very nice, not really what you expect when you read the itinerary. Activities wise - at times it felt like we were covering the distance just to ensure that we'd hit the correct mileage. I felt these could have had more care taken in actually planning a route and distance that reflects what's described in the itinerary. Our guide, Maddy, made sure everything was always in place so that we didn't have to worry. However he did always appear to be staying somewhere else which seemed a bit bizarre. Although I really enjoyed the trip and would certainly recommend to friends to visit this part of India, I'm not sure I would recommend this MBA trip in its current state. I think it is a little oversold in the itinerary and not good value for money. I do think it has the potential to be an excellent trip but needs a few adjustments and bit more care taken to ensure the experience reflects the usual high standard of other MBA trips I've been on.

I was incredibly pleased with the overall experience of this trip. It covers Kerala in a manner that covers a wide diversity of locations and locations within Kerala as well as providing a good range of types of activities. The areas around Kerala are stunning and this trip really takes advantage of that. In addition, the selection of food choices were marvelous. Over the entire course of the trip we were never burdened with a bad meal and had ample opportunity to experience local Keralan dishes and drinks. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, our tour guide (Thilip Vijay) was phenomenal. He consistently took the time to elevate our trip by adding on additional stops or catering the meal choices to give us variety and new dishes to try. He never missed a beat in being helpful in making sure we were well taken care of and that we had everything we needed. Also, on every bus journey we had, he took the time to give us background around the local area, the culture and wider Indian history and culture which was incredibly insightful and interesting. His attitude and energy elevated the experience and kept us all upbeat and positive. It is abundantly clear that we were very fortunate to have Thilip as a tour guide and that the trip was better off for it.

My husband and I had an incredible time on our Kerala trip. Our guide, Thilip, made travelling from place to place incredibly smooth and stress-free. The activities were loads of fun and our guide was incredibly well informed about the local area and added a lot of valuable context to the things we were seeing and experiencing. I am not the fittest person, but found the activities to be very accessible. I asked to sit out of one of the activities last minute, and Thilip was incredible at accommodating this change, making a number of last minute arrangements to ensure I could check in early to our next destination and take advantage of some of the amenities at the hotel. The food on the trip was wonderful throughout as well. It was a real highlight to be able to try so many different dishes and to experience some local delicacies. It also takes a huge amount of stress out, having MBA ensure that there is always plenty of drinking water available. I would not hesitate to do another MBA trip and, as someone who has visited India many times, I cannot think of a better way to get the most out of a visit to the country. I am very grateful to Thilip for taking such good care of us throughout the trip and for organising such a fun and varied itinerary.

Brilliant trip, which exposes the traveller to many aspects of Keralan culture, whilst also taking in the varied landscapes of the region, from the cool, lofty mountains to the languid backwaters and the beautiful palm-fringed coastline. The guides were fantastic, as was the accommodation. Highlights for me were watching the sunrise at the summit of Mount Meesapulimala and cycling through the small villages dotted along the coast road. Great fun!

Really great trip. We were very well looked after by our guide Thillip. This trip gives you a real taste of the region. Activities were very moderate though the unusual hot weather during our trip brought it's own challenges. Overall a thoroughly enjoyable holiday and would definitely recommend it.

I will start out by saying that generally the trip was okay and nothing was majorly bad but also did not come away thinking it was amazing and unlikely to recommend. So here are my topics - Thilip the guide was great and very knowledgable about the culture of the country. He was good at organising the group and plans for each day were clear. He was attentive and chatted with everyone from the group and looked after us all. I only wish he had been a little better at taking photos of the group and also didn’t swear as much (the word bullshit was frequently used) Accomodation - the longboat was a great experience and felt well looked after here. also the hotel in acceppey where we only stayed 1 night was very very nice and wish we were able to stay here longer to make most of its facilities. Again the hotel in the mountains in munnar very good. However quite a few of the group found the first hotel in kochi very dated and also had a few questions on cleanliness of it. I understand if has character but equally feel maybe need to consider a slightly nicer hotel in this city. And finally the last hotel/resort I feel needs reconsidering! It is a massive property and takes ages to get around ie easily 10mins from room to reception/restaurant. The beach is also not the cleanest or safest to swim in the sea and not even that pretty to walk along with all the plastic. It is also miles from the main beach and so nothing much to do apart from use hotel facilities. Activities- the kayaking certainly was a challenge and we covered at the distance stated on the itinerary if not further but again maybe not the prettiest of locations The other two activities , hiking and cycling were certainly no way near as challenging as was meant to be. We did not cover close to the stated distances and felt missed out a lot due to this as was hoping to get especially a lot more walking done on the mountain which was a big disappointment. So either the itinerary needs changing or the activity should be completed as stated in guide. Food - again this was on the whole good and thilip was good at explaining the dishes to us. As the week though progressed the meals became a little repetitive and some other dishes may have been appreciated. I was also a little disappointed that as we were taken to a seafood restaurant on the beach on our last night that we didn’t get some better fish dishes such as a whole fish or prawns My main feeling is that the trip was NOT good value for money at all compared to other trips I have done It won’t put me off booking but to research some aspects of the trips further before booking