Things to do in Thiruvananthapuram
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Thiruvananthapuram
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months. Driest, clearest weather and calmest seas, with the January festival calendar at Kanakakkunnu.
Improving shoulder season. Post monsoon green with some rain and thinner crowds.
Warm but workable, with Attukal Pongala and the Painkuni temple festival in the March window.
Hot and humid build up with pre monsoon showers. Sightsee early and rest indoors at midday.
South west monsoon and the worst months for a first trip, with rough seas, though Onam falls in late August to September.
What's on
- Nishagandhi Festival January, week long
Classical dance and music outdoors at Kanakakkunnu Palace, organised by Kerala Tourism.
- Swathi Sangeethotsavam January
Carnatic concerts in the Kuthiramalika palace courtyard honouring composer king Swathi Thirunal.
- Attukal Pongala February or March, by the Malayalam calendar; check dates
The largest gathering of women in the world, cooking pongala offerings on streets around Attukal temple.
- Painkuni Festival March to April, ten days
Padmanabhaswamy Temple festival with processions toward Shanghumugham for the ritual sea bath.
- Vishu Mid April, around 14 to 15 April
Kerala new year of the vishukkani first sight, dawn firecrackers and a sadhya lunch.
- Onam August or September, ten days ending on Thiruvonam
Kerala's harvest festival of flower carpets and Onasadya feasts, with state public holidays around Thiruvonam.
- Alpasi Festival October to November, ten days
Padmanabhaswamy Temple festival with processions from East Fort toward the sea at Shanghumugham.
Best things to do in Thiruvananthapuram
Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
The temple at the heart of old Trivandrum, with a seven storey gopuram, a sacred tank and strict Hindu only entry.
Puthen Malika Palace Museum
Swathi Thirunal's palace by the temple, named for 122 carved wooden horses and filled with Travancore court treasures.
Napier Museum
An 1880 Indo Saracenic landmark holding bronzes, sculpture and carving that ground you in South Indian art in an hour.
Shri Chitra Art Gallery
Raja Ravi Varma originals in his patron's capital, alongside Roerich works and Mughal and Rajput miniatures.
Thiruvananthapuram Zoo
One of India's oldest zoos, wooded and green in the Museum Grounds, and the city's easiest family half day.
Kanakakkunnu Palace
A red brick palace whose lawns host the city's festivals and evening concerts, best at dusk or during an event.
Priyadarshini Planetarium
Sky shows and hands on science galleries that save a monsoon afternoon or give families a break from temples.
Attukal Bhagavathy Temple
Temple of Attukal Amma and centre of Pongala, when millions of women cook offerings on streets around the shrine.
Where to stay in Thiruvananthapuram
Museum Quarter / Vellayambalam / Kowdiar
best all round city base
Green and walkable around the museums and Kanakakkunnu, with a short auto ride to East Fort and the temples.
Palayam / Vazhuthacaud
central and practical
Close to the Secretariat and MG Road middle, with good eating in every direction and easy autos everywhere.
Kovalam
beach base
Clifftop resorts and beach guesthouses 16 km south, for mornings in the sea over mornings in museums.
Anayara / Bypass
short stay and early flights
Modern bypass hotels near the airport, Technopark and Lulu Mall, efficient for one night or a conference.
Think twice about
- Thampanoor / East Fort station and bus stand blocks
The loudest, most congested and most tout pressured streets in the city. Use them for transport, sleep 1 to 2 km north instead.
- Lighthouse Beach front strip, Kovalam, as a city base
The most commercial and seasonally overpriced rooms in Kovalam, with a taxi negotiation for every city sight.
Best restaurants in Thiruvananthapuram
Villa Maya
The splurge dinner in a restored Dutch era manor with gardens, antiques and the city's most praised service.
Mynt
The Vivanta flagship restaurant that locals use for celebrations, with Chinese, Indian and continental kitchens.
Malabar Cafe
Kerala cooking with five star polish at the Hyatt, the gentle first regional meal for a new arrival in the city.
Zam Zam Restaurant
Palayam's 1979 institution for coconut oil chicken fry, biryani, shawarma counters and its famous ice fruit desserts.
Paragon Restaurant
The Trivandrum branch of the Calicut legend, chosen for Malabar biryani and seafood in a calmer dining room.
Garden Grille & Bar
The city's most consistent grill and bar dinner, for western food and a licensed drink in the centre.
Mothers Veg Plaza
A full Kerala sadhya on a banana leaf served every day, ending with payasam, at a price visitors ask to hear twice.
Ariya Nivaas
A pay first banana leaf meals institution where waiters circulate with refills, plus a crisp masala dosa at breakfast.
Outdoor things to do in Thiruvananthapuram
Ponmudi
A hill station reached by 22 hairpin bends, with mist, tea gardens, the Kallar River and trails to Meenmutty Falls.
Lion Safari Park
A boat across Neyyar lake to an island safari for close lion viewing, plus deer park and crocodile centre on shore.
Agasthyakoodam
Kerala's second highest peak, a permit only biosphere trek run in a short January to March Forest Department season.
Kovalam Beach
Three crescent beaches south of the city for flagged swimming and beginner surf lessons in the winter season.
Vizhinjam Lighthouse
A 36 metre lighthouse at Lighthouse Beach whose climb gives the definitive view of the Kovalam crescents.
Poovar Island
A boat through the Neyyar estuary and mangroves to the narrow spit where the backwater meets the Arabian Sea.
Varkala Beach
Kerala's only cliff beach, with Papanasam below, a cafe lined cliff path above and a guarded swimming area.
Kanyakumari
The tip of India where three seas meet, reached as a long day for the Vivekananda Rock ferry and sunset over water.
Best hotels in Thiruvananthapuram
The Leela Kovalam, A Raviz Hotel
The city's one destination resort, on the Kovalam cliff with infinity pools, a serious spa and sea views throughout.
Taj Green Cove Resort & Spa Kovalam
A terraced Taj resort in Kovalam gardens, part beach and part backwater retreat, softer and greener than the Leela.
Hyatt Regency Trivandrum
The best city luxury, a garden flagship at Vazhuthacaud with a good pool and food worth travelling for.
Vivanta Thiruvananthapuram
A smart central Taj city hotel whose real advantage is housing Mynt, one of the city's best restaurants.
O by Tamara, Trivandrum
A modern bypass hotel near the airport with large rooms, pool and spa at rates below the central five stars.
Hycinth Hotels
A well run independent hotel minutes from the station but off its strip, with spacious rooms and a capable desk.
Hotel Chaithram KTDC
The state run budget base at Thampanoor, basic and honest, for spending on food and day trips instead of the room.
Is Thiruvananthapuram expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | ₹2,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | ₹6,000 a person |
| Splurge | ₹18,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Ponmudi: a few days ahead
- Agasthyakoodam: months ahead
- Poovar Island: a few days ahead
- Varkala Beach: a few days ahead
- Kanyakumari: a few days ahead
- SAI Trivandrum Golf Club: weeks ahead
- The Leela Kovalam, A Raviz Hotel: weeks ahead
- Taj Green Cove Resort & Spa Kovalam: weeks ahead
- Agasthyakoodam permits for the January to March season are released online in early January and go fast.
- Book Kovalam and top city hotels weeks ahead for Christmas, New Year and Onam weeks.
- Reserve Villa Maya for any weekend dinner and hotel restaurants on Friday and Saturday nights.
- The museum cluster, zoo and Padmanabhapuram Palace are closed on Mondays, so put a beach or hill day on a Monday.
Is Thiruvananthapuram safe?
- Swim only in lifeguard flagged water at Kovalam and Varkala, never after drinking, and respect monsoon red flags.
- Keep phones and bags secure in station, bus stand and Pongala crowds, where pickpocketing is the realistic risk.
- Obey Kallar river closures at Ponmudi and carry leech protection on wet season trails.
- Emergency number across India is 112.
Thiruvananthapuram travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- On Lighthouse Beach, Kovalam, agree every price in advance for chairs, massage and taxis, and book Ayurveda through a hotel or named centre.
- Do not buy the five stop Kanyakumari day with Poovar, Padmanabhapuram and Suchindram all included. Pick two stops.
- Shanghumugham is a sunset beach, not a swimming beach. The swimming beach is Kovalam, inside the flags.
- A hotel sadhya costs several times Mothers Veg Plaza or Ariya Nivaas and is not several times as good.
Getting around Thiruvananthapuram: public transport and more
- Autos are the city transport. Insist on the meter or agree the fare before you sit down.
- Use Uber and Ola for Kovalam, the airport and pre dawn temple starts, and hire a car and driver for day trips.
- Trains beat the highway to Varkala, about an hour from Thiruvananthapuram Central.
- The airport is about 6 km from the centre, 20 to 30 minutes to most city hotels outside peak traffic.
Who Thiruvananthapuram suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Thiruvananthapuram your trip
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