Things to do in Kochi
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Kochi
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months, late October to early March: post monsoon green, highs near 30C, calm backwaters, everything running.
Worst for most trips: hot, still and very humid, walking becomes endurance and Athirappilly thins.
Peak monsoon: torrential rain, waterlogged lanes and cancellations in heavy weather, a connoisseur trip not a first one.
September to early October is the shoulder compromise, late monsoon with lower prices.
What's on
- Kochi-Muziris Biennale December to March in edition years, roughly every two years; check dates for the next edition
The single biggest reason to choose Kochi dates deliberately, fuller and pricier but far more interesting.
- Cochin Carnival Last week of December to 1 January
Street processions, beach games, races and New Year burning festivities at Vasco da Gama Square.
- Onam Late August or early September, with public holidays around Thiruvonam
Kerala harvest festival of flower carpets, boat races and the Onasadya banana leaf feast in hotels and restaurants.
- Thrissur Pooram April or May, on Pooram day in the Malayalam month of Medam
Kerala's grandest temple festival at Thrissur, massed elephants and percussion, a long crowded day trip from Kochi.
Best things to do in Kochi
Chinese Fishing Nets
Start at dawn when crews work the Chinese fishing nets, then walk to St Francis Church, the basilica and Princess Street.
Kochi-Muziris Biennale
India's largest contemporary art festival fills Fort Kochi warehouses and bungalows, with Aspinwall House as fixture.
Mattancherry Palace
Plain outside, extraordinary inside with Kerala murals, then the Paradesi Synagogue and spice lanes of Jew Town nearby.
Kerala Kathakali Centre
Arrive for the make up hour, then watch Kathakali stories told through painted faces, eye movements and hand gestures.
Kerala Folklore Museum
Private museum built from salvaged Kerala architecture, packed with masks, costumes, sculptures and manuscripts.
Kochi Water Metro
Air conditioned electric catamarans cross the harbour in 20 minutes, the cheapest and most pleasant sightseeing ride in town.
Fort Kochi and Mattancherry Private Heritage Tour
A private historian guide explains Fort Kochi and Mattancherry layers that plaques miss, at your pace with a car.
Marine Drive
Ernakulam's backwater promenade at sunset, with locals out in force and harbour cruises leaving from its jetties.
Where to stay in Kochi
Fort Kochi
first trip, all-round base
Walk to the nets, Kathakali centres, Kashi and most restaurants, low rise and village paced.
Mattancherry / Jew Town
quiet, character and Biennale immersion
Exceptional small hotels in converted spice godowns, with the most atmospheric mornings in the city and quiet evenings.
Willingdon Island
one resort-style luxury night
Taj Malabar sits amid port infrastructure, lawns and harbour views, self contained and about 15 minutes from Fort Kochi.
Bolgatty Island
resort facilities with a city address
Grand Hyatt hardware with pools and spa, plus short drives or Water Metro to Ernakulam and Fort Kochi.
Ernakulam / MG Road & Marine Drive
business, trains and value
Practical and connected by rail and metro, full of solid hotels and real restaurants, but 20 to 40 minutes from Fort Kochi.
Kadamakkudy / Kumbalangi
a slow backwater night
Small stays among the northern islands and Kumbalangi for dawn kayaking and village quiet, as a one night add on.
Think twice about
- Ernakulam station / MG Road core as a holiday base
Heavy traffic, construction dust and no walkable sights. You will spend a holiday commuting to Fort Kochi through it.
- Edappally / Kakkanad / airport corridor
Mall and IT park Kochi and highway hotels, 45 to 90 minutes from everything. Fine for flights or conferences only.
- Fort Kochi Beach / nets frontage for light sleepers
Festival crowds, early fishing activity, hawker pressure and litter around the beach. Two or three streets back is quieter.
- Fort Kochi Beach as a beach
A working fishing shore that is not clean and where swimming is not advised. Swim at Cherai or in a hotel pool.
Best restaurants in Kochi
The Rice Boat
Fine dining seafood room at Taj Malabar for karimeen pollichathu and Malabar prawn curry at sunset.
History Restaurant
Brunton Boatyard dining room tracing Kochi food history across Portuguese, Dutch, Jewish and Malabar dishes.
Malabar Junction
Upscale Kerala cooking by Parade Ground, with karimeen pollichathu as the benchmark dish and a lunch thali when offered.
Oceanos
Most consistently recommended proper seafood restaurant in Fort Kochi, for fish mango curry, moilee and squid roast.
Seagull Restaurant
Waterfront Fort Kochi institution on Calvathy Road for prawn roast, crab curry and grilled fish as light fades.
Kashi Art Cafe
Gallery courtyard cafe for breakfast, filter coffee and a chocolate cake with a genuine local following.
Kayees Rahmathulla Cafe
No frills heritage biryani house serving fragrant Kochi style chicken, mutton and beef biryani until it sells out.
Paragon Restaurant
Kochi branch of the Calicut Malabar institution, worth the Edappally trip for its biryani and seafood.
Outdoor things to do in Kochi
Alleppey Houseboat Cruise
Drift Vembanad Lake and canals past paddy fields and villages on a kettuvallam, with crew cooked Kerala meals aboard.
Kumbalangi
Canoe narrow canals past Chinese nets and crab farms, watch coir spinning, then eat a banana leaf lunch in the village.
Kadamakkudy Islands
Sunrise kayaking among fourteen quiet islands of paddy, fish farms and mangrove channels, suitable for beginners.
Athirappilly Falls
Kerala's biggest waterfall drops about 80 feet at the Sholayar forest edge, best June to January when the river is full.
Cherai Beach
Long swimmable beach where lagoon meets sea on Vypin Island, calmer on weekdays and good for lagoon side cycling.
CIAL Golf Course
Kerala's only 18 hole course beside the airport, tree lined with water on the back nine and a near island 18th green.
Fort Kochi and Mattancherry Cycling
Flat compact peninsula made for cycling, from the nets and basilica to Mattancherry palace and Jew Town godowns.
Kumbalangi Bioluminescence Kayaking
On dark moonless nights paddling can trigger blue green bioluminescent sparkles in Kumbalangi backwater, never guaranteed.
Best hotels in Kochi
Brunton Boatyard
Restored Victorian shipyard on the harbour, every room facing water, with acclaimed breakfast, pool and Ayurvedic spa.
Taj Malabar Resort & Spa
Grand resort on Willingdon Island with heritage wing, infinity pool over the harbour, serious spa and Rice Boat.
Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty
Biggest newest luxury hardware in Kochi, with two pools, spa, tennis and two strong hotel restaurants on Bolgatty.
Old Harbour Hotel
300 year old Dutch Portuguese building around a garden courtyard and large pool, a short stroll from the nets.
The Postcard Mandalay Hall
Five star boutique in a former synagogue lane property in Jew Town, each room an artist led installation.
Eighth Bastion
Dutch nautical boutique on Napier Street with pool, garden and East Indies restaurant in CGH eco house style.
Forte Kochi
27 room heritage boutique behind a yellow colonial facade on Princess Street, with pool and well liked kitchen.
Koder House
Red Portuguese era merchant mansion turned small heritage hotel, a minute from Vasco da Gama Square, with small pool.
Is Kochi expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₹2,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₹5,000 a person |
| Splurge | ₹13,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Alleppey Houseboat Cruise: weeks ahead
- Kumbalangi: a few days ahead
- Kadamakkudy Islands: a few days ahead
- CIAL Golf Course: a few days ahead
- Kumbalangi Bioluminescence Kayaking: a few days ahead
- The Rice Boat: a few days ahead
- History Restaurant: a few days ahead
- Brunton Boatyard: weeks ahead
- Biennale season Fort Kochi hotels book weeks ahead in December to March and prices spike.
- Reserve a named Alleppey houseboat operator in advance for December, January and holiday weekends.
- Reserve Rice Boat and other hotel fine dining dinners, especially at weekends.
- Phone or email CIAL Golf ahead for a tee time and rental clubs. Kayak and Kumbalangi tours need a day or two.
Is Kochi safe?
- Fort Kochi lanes are comfortable on foot into the evening, with normal city awareness in crowds.
- Heat and humidity are the main risk. Walk early, hydrate and take noon hours indoors from February to May.
- Use mosquito repellent at dawn and dusk by the backwaters, as dengue occurs in Kerala.
- Do not swim at Fort Kochi Beach. Low lying lanes can waterlog in heavy June to September rain.
Kochi travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Netside fish stalls without a pre agreed all in price for weight, cooking and extras are the classic overcharge.
- Spice shops on the main Jew Town tourist strip. Walk deeper into Mattancherry godown lanes and compare two shops.
- Auto and taxi touts steering you to a different Kathakali show or shopping stop are working on commission.
- A Fort Kochi beach day and a Munnar day trip are the two most over sold formats.
Getting around Kochi: public transport and more
- Walk Fort Kochi and Mattancherry. Autos cover hops, agree fare first or insist on the meter.
- Water Metro at 20 to 40 rupees and old ferries are the best Fort Kochi to Ernakulam link, beating the road.
- Kochi Metro is useful within Ernakulam. Rent a bicycle in Fort Kochi, do not self drive unless used to Indian traffic.
- Cochin Airport is 35 to 45 km away, allow 1 to 1.5 hours to Fort Kochi by prepaid taxi or app cab.
Who Kochi suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Kochi your trip
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