A punted canoe into the narrow canals that houseboats are too big to enter, past coir-spinning yards and duck farms.
Genuinely better than the houseboat for seeing how people live here, and much cheaper. Half-day tours usually include a home-cooked lunch.
Must visit
A three-hour state ferry across Vembanad Lake and up the canals, through exactly the same landscape as…
Must visit
A converted rice barge with a bedroom, a cook and a deck, cruising Vembanad's canals and mooring…
A wide beach with the remains of a 137-year-old sea pier, a lighthouse behind and the usual Kerala…
A fishing-village beach 15 km north, quieter and cleaner than the town beach, with palm groves behind…