2 Weeks in South India: Private Itinerary for Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka

Two weeks is the sweet spot for a first trip to the south. It is long enough to see the great temple towns of Tamil Nadu, the tea hills and backwaters of Kerala, and the royal city of Mysore in Karnataka without spending every day in the car. It is also short enough to fit into the annual leave most travelers from Europe, North America and Australia can take.

This itinerary covers 14 days and 13 nights with a private car and driver. It starts in Chennai and ends in Bengaluru, with one short flight between Kochi and Bengaluru to save a full day of driving. For each stop you get:

• the drive time and the order of sights
• opening hours and foreigner ticket prices
• the hotels that work best
• what the day costs in US dollars, on the higher side, so a real quote should land at or below these figures

Read it as a working schedule. Each day has been tested against real road conditions, temple timings and the hours of daylight you actually get between October and March.

How This 2 Weeks in South India Route Is Built

The biggest mistake on a first 14-day South India tour is trying to see everything. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka together cover an area larger than the United Kingdom. Distances look short on a map, but hill roads, town traffic and temple timings slow everything down. This route works because it follows a one-way loop rather than doubling back, and because it uses one domestic flight where the road would waste a whole day.

Route and nights

Stop	State	Nights
Chennai	Tamil Nadu	1
Mahabalipuram (via Kanchipuram)	Tamil Nadu	1
Pondicherry	Tamil Nadu	1
Thanjavur	Tamil Nadu	1
Madurai	Tamil Nadu	2
Munnar	Kerala	2
Thekkady	Kerala	1
Alleppey houseboat	Kerala	1
Fort Kochi	Kerala	1
Mysore (after a flight to Bengaluru)	Karnataka	2

The trip ends with a drive to Bengaluru airport for the international departure. That gives 13 nights and covers all three states.

Why start in Chennai and finish in Bengaluru

Both cities have strong international connections. Chennai has direct or one-stop flights from London, Frankfurt, Paris, Singapore and the Gulf hubs. Bengaluru is served by direct flights from London, Frankfurt, San Francisco and Sydney, plus all the major Gulf carriers.

Starting in Chennai puts the flatter, hotter temple country at the beginning, when you have the most energy. The cooler hills and calm backwaters fall in the middle. Mysore makes a gentle, regal finish.

Cars and the one flight

The car and driver stay with you from Chennai to Kochi, a run of about 11 days. In Bengaluru, a fresh Karnataka vehicle meets you at the airport. This avoids a long empty return for the first car and costs less than driving it across.

The flight from Kochi to Bengaluru takes about 1 hour 10 minutes. It costs $80 to $140 one way in economy, including a checked bag. Driving the same stretch would take 9 to 10 hours.

Pacing

The longest drive is from Madurai to Munnar, at about 5 hours on a winding hill road. Every other driving day is between 1.5 and 4 hours. There are two-night stops in Madurai, Munnar and Mysore, so the trip includes full days with no packing. A free afternoon in Pondicherry, a slow evening on the houseboat and an unhurried morning in Fort Kochi break up the sightseeing.

Shorter or longer versions

If you have only 12 days, drop Mysore and fly home from Kochi. If you have 16 or 17 days, add two nights in Coorg between Mysore and Bengaluru, or add Hampi with a flight into Hubballi.

This South India private tour itinerary is a framework, not a fixed product. Any day can be lengthened, shortened or swapped before booking.

Days 1 to 4: Chennai, Kanchipuram, Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry and Thanjavur

Day 1: Chennai

Most long-haul flights land in Chennai late at night or early in the morning, so the first day is kept light. After hotel check-in and rest, an afternoon city drive covers the main sights:

Sight	Timings and notes
Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Mylapore	5:00 am to 12:30 pm and 4:00 pm to 9:30 pm. Free entry. A colorful carved gateway tower and a busy evening atmosphere.
San Thome Basilica	Free. Built over the tomb traditionally linked to St Thomas the Apostle.
Marina Beach	Best at sunset, when families come out to walk along the shore.
Government Museum, Egmore	9:30 am to 5:00 pm, closed Fridays. Foreigner ticket around $3. Its gallery of Chola bronzes is the finest introduction to South Indian art you will find anywhere.

Good premium hotels include the Taj Coromandel and ITC Grand Chola, at around $220 to $380 per room per night.

Day 2: Kanchipuram and Mahabalipuram

The day runs south via Kanchipuram, about 2 hours from Chennai and known for both its temples and its silk weaving. The Kailasanathar Temple, built in sandstone in the early 8th century, is quiet, elegant and free to enter. It is open from about 6:00 am to 12:00 noon and 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. A visit to a family weaving workshop shows how heavy silk is woven by hand on pit looms. Buying is entirely optional.

From Kanchipuram it is about 1.5 hours to Mahabalipuram. Late afternoon is the best time for the rock-cut monuments:

Sight	Entry and timings
Shore Temple and the Five Rathas	One foreigner ticket of about $8, open 6:00 am to 6:00 pm.
Arjuna’s Penance (a huge carved rock face)	Free.

Beach resorts here run about $180 to $350 per room per night.

Day 3: Pondicherry

Pondicherry is about 2.5 hours down the coast. This former French colony is one of the most relaxed towns in the south, and the afternoon is deliberately left open:

• Walk the yellow-walled streets of the French Quarter.
• Visit the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, open roughly 8:00 am to 11:00 am and 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm, free entry.
• Have coffee along the seafront promenade.

The Auroville Visitor Centre, 25 minutes away, is open from about 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The Matrimandir viewing point is a short walk from it. Entry inside the Matrimandir must be booked in person at least two days ahead, so most travelers settle for the outside view.

Heritage stays such as Palais de Mahe cost $190 to $280 per night.

Day 4: Thanjavur

The drive to Thanjavur takes about 4 hours. Two UNESCO-listed Chola temples sit almost on the way, and both are free and open from early morning to evening:

• Gangaikondacholapuram, with its great sculpted tower.
• Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram, with some of the finest stone carving in India.

In Thanjavur, the Brihadeeswarar Temple is open from 6:00 am to 12:30 pm and 4:00 pm to 8:30 pm, and is free. Its granite tower rises about 216 feet and glows gold in the late afternoon. This first half of the trip is the core of any Tamil Nadu temple tour.

Days 5 and 6: Madurai and the Meenakshi Temple

Day 5: Thanjavur to Madurai

The drive takes about 3.5 hours. Travelers with an interest in architecture can make a detour through Chettinad, adding about 1.5 hours. The region is known for its mansions built by wealthy merchant families, with Burmese teak pillars, Italian marble and Japanese tiles. Lunch is the famously spicy Chettinad cuisine.

Madurai is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in India. Everything here revolves around the Meenakshi Amman Temple:

Detail	Information
Timings	5:00 am to 12:30 pm and 4:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Entry	Free
Phones and cameras	Deposited at the counter for a small fee of about $1
Dress code	Shoulders and knees covered. Shoes are left outside.

The complex covers about 14 acres and has 14 carved gateway towers, the tallest reaching around 170 feet. They are covered in thousands of painted figures of gods, demons and animals.

The evening visit is the reason this itinerary gives Madurai two nights. Around 9:00 pm each night, the image of the god Sundareswarar is carried in a silver palanquin to the goddess’s chamber. The procession is accompanied by drums, pipes and oil lamps. Non-Hindus can watch from the corridors, and it is one of the most memorable hours of the whole trip.

Day 6: Madurai at an easier pace

The second day starts early. The flower market near the temple is busiest from about 5:30 am to 8:00 am, when jasmine and marigold arrive by the sackload for temple offerings and hair garlands. After breakfast, the sights are:

Sight	Timings and entry
Thirumalai Nayak Palace (17th-century, giant white columns)	9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Foreigner ticket about $3.
Sound and light show at the palace	Usually 6:45 pm in English, about $2.
Gandhi Memorial Museum (houses the cloth Gandhi wore when he was shot)	Free.

The afternoon is kept free for rest, a walk through the textile streets, or a return to the temple to see its 1,000-pillared hall and small art museum. Hiring a licensed guide for the morning, at about $35 to $50, makes a real difference here. The guide explains the legends carved on the towers and shows how the temple works as a living place of worship.

Hotels

Hotel	Per room per night
Heritage Madurai (resort-style stay on landscaped grounds)	$120 to $200
Taj on Pasumalai Hill (views over the city)	$150 to $260

Both are much more pleasant than city-center hotels after a long, hot day.

Practical tips for Madurai

• Carry a light scarf or shawl to cover your shoulders inside temples.
• Wear sandals that slip off easily.
• Keep small notes for footwear deposits and donations.
• Midday temperatures can pass 90°F even in winter, so do the sightseeing early and late, and rest in between.

These two days complete the Tamil Nadu section of the trip. The next morning the road climbs into the Western Ghats towards Kerala.

Days 7 to 9: Munnar Tea Hills and Thekkady

Day 7: Madurai to Munnar

This is the most scenic drive of the trip and also the longest, at about 4.5 to 5 hours. The road crosses the plains past coconut groves and rice fields, then climbs through the Bodimettu pass into Kerala. The air turns noticeably cooler and the hills become covered in tea. Drivers stop at viewpoints along the way. Arrival in Munnar is usually by mid-afternoon, at around 5,200 feet above sea level, where evenings can drop to the 50s °F between December and February.

Day 8: a full day in Munnar

The Munnar and Thekkady tour section starts early.

Eravikulam National Park

Detail	Information
Timings	7:30 am to 4:00 pm
Foreigner ticket	About $7, including the park shuttle bus
Closed	Usually February and March, for the Nilgiri tahr calving season
What you see	The rare Nilgiri tahr, a mountain goat found only in these hills, and the grasslands below Anamudi, the highest peak in South India

Arrive by 8:00 am to avoid the long queues that build by mid-morning.

Rest of the day

Sight	Timings and cost
Tata Tea Museum	9:00 am to 4:00 pm, closed Mondays. About $3. Shows the full process from leaf to cup, with a tasting at the end.
Mattupetty Dam and Echo Point	Afternoon drive through tea estates. Small boats on the lake about $5 to $10 per person.

Optional sunrise at Kolukkumalai

A sunrise jeep ride to Kolukkumalai, among the highest tea estates in the world, costs about $35 to $50 per jeep. It leaves around 4:30 am.

Hotels in Munnar

Hotel	Per room per night
Windermere Estate (on a working cardamom and tea plantation)	$180 to $280
The Fog or Blanket Hotel (valley views)	$150 to $260

Day 9: Munnar to Thekkady

The drive takes about 3 to 3.5 hours, through cardamom and pepper country. Thekkady sits beside the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

The afternoon is for a guided spice plantation walk, which costs around $10 to $15. You see pepper vines, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla growing side by side.

In the evening, a Kalaripayattu show, Kerala’s ancient martial art, runs at about 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm for around $6.

Periyar the next morning

The next morning, before leaving, take the Periyar Lake boat ride:

Detail	Information
Ticket	About $6 per person
Departures	Around 7:30 am, 9:30 am, 11:15 am, 1:45 pm and 3:30 pm
Best time	The first boat. Elephants, wild bison and sambar deer come to the water’s edge in the cool morning.

For travelers who want more time in the forest:

Activity	Cost
Guided nature walk with a forest department tracker	$15 to $25
Full-day bamboo rafting trip	$35 to $45

Both must be booked a day ahead, as numbers are limited.

Hotels in Thekkady

Spice Village, with thatched cottages and a very good naturalist program, costs $240 to $350 per night. It is one of the best eco-resorts in the country.

Days 10 to 12: Alleppey Houseboat and Fort Kochi Sightseeing

Day 10: Thekkady to Alleppey and the houseboat

From Thekkady, the road drops out of the hills for about 4 hours to Alleppey. This is the heart of the Kerala backwaters houseboat country, a network of canals, rivers and lakes stretching for hundreds of miles.

Boarding is at about 12:00 noon. Lunch is served on board as the boat moves out across Vembanad Lake and into narrower channels. The afternoon passes through scenes that have changed little in decades:

• women washing clothes on stone steps
• children rowing to school
• ducks herded across the water
• paddy fields lying below the level of the canal

Cruising stops by about 5:30 pm, as required by local regulations. The boat ties up near a village, and the crew serves tea and fried banana before dinner.

Houseboat categories

Category	Per night for two	Notes
Deluxe	$150 to $200	Air conditioning usually runs only from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am
Premium	$220 to $300	Larger bedroom, open upper deck
Luxury	$350 to $600	Glass-fronted lounge, round-the-clock AC

All meals from lunch to breakfast are included. Boats do not sell alcohol, so bring your own if you want a drink at sunset.

Day 11: Alleppey to Fort Kochi

After breakfast on board, check-out is around 9:00 am. The drive to Fort Kochi takes about 1.5 hours.

For Fort Kochi sightseeing, start with the old port area:

Sight	Timings and entry
Chinese fishing nets on the shoreline	Best seen in the early morning or late afternoon, when they are being worked
St Francis Church (where Vasco da Gama was first buried)	About 9:30 am to 5:00 pm, free
Mattancherry Palace (Dutch Palace), with fine mural paintings	9:30 am to 5:00 pm, closed Fridays, about $1 to $2
Paradesi Synagogue, dating from 1568 (hand-painted Chinese floor tiles, Belgian glass lamps)	Roughly 10:00 am to 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Closed Fridays, Saturdays and Jewish holidays. Small entry fee.
Jew Town spice and antique shops	Around the synagogue

In the evening, attend a Kathakali performance at about $8. Make-up begins around 5:00 pm and the show at 6:00 pm, and watching the actors paint their faces is worth arriving early for.

Dinner is fresh seafood, such as grilled fish, prawns or crab, at a waterfront restaurant. It costs around $25 to $45 per person.

Heritage hotels such as Brunton Boatyard cost $250 to $380 per night. Smaller boutique stays in restored colonial bungalows cost around $150 to $250.

Day 12: morning in Kochi, flight to Bengaluru, drive to Mysore

The morning is free. Options include:

• A walk through the quieter lanes of Fort Kochi.
• A home cooking class, at about $35 to $55 per person.
• A 60-minute Ayurveda massage, at around $35 to $60.

After an early lunch, transfer to Kochi airport, about 1 hour from Fort Kochi, for the afternoon flight to Bengaluru. A new driver and vehicle meet you on arrival for the 3.5 to 4-hour drive to Mysore. You arrive in time for a late dinner.

Days 12 to 14: Mysore Palace Tour and Departure from Bengaluru

Mysore is the calmest of the larger cities in the south. It was ruled for centuries by the Wodeyar dynasty, and its clean, tree-lined avenues still reflect that royal past. It makes a gentle and fitting end to two weeks of travel.

Day 13: a full day in Mysore

The day starts with the Mysore Palace tour:

Detail	Information
Timings	10:00 am to 5:30 pm
Foreigner ticket	About $12, including an audio guide
Inside	The Durbar Hall with its carved columns, the Kalyana Mantapa wedding hall with its stained-glass ceiling made in Glasgow, and galleries of royal portraits
Photography	Allowed in the grounds but not inside the main halls

Evening illumination

On Sundays and public holidays, the palace is lit with nearly 100,000 bulbs from 7:00 pm to 7:45 pm. This itinerary can be shifted by a day to catch it.

Rest of the day

Sight	Timings and notes
Chamundi Hill, about 20 minutes from the city	Hilltop temple and a large stone statue of Nandi, the bull, carved in the 17th century
Devaraja Market	Open from early morning to late evening. Piles of flowers, fruit, incense and colored powder, and one of the most photogenic markets in South India. Mysore is also known for sandalwood oil, incense and silk, sold at government emporiums with fixed prices.

Day 14: Somnathpur, Srirangapatna and departure

On departure day, there are two good stops along the way. They depend on your flight time.

Sight	Timings and entry
Keshava Temple at Somnathpur, about 1 hour from Mysore (13th-century, star-shaped, finely carved)	About 9:00 am to 5:30 pm. Foreigner ticket around $3 to $4.
Srirangapatna, on the road to Bengaluru (the island fortress of Tipu Sultan)	Daria Daulat Bagh, his summer palace with painted walls, charges foreigners about $3 and is closed Fridays.

From Mysore it is about 4 to 4.5 hours to Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport, depending on traffic. Travelers on evening or late-night flights can fit in both stops comfortably. Those on afternoon flights should leave Mysore by 9:00 am and skip Somnathpur.

Hotels in Mysore

Hotel	Per room per night
Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel (former royal guest palace, white domes)	$150 to $250
Radisson Blu Plaza	$120 to $200

Alternative endings

For travelers who would rather end with nature than palaces, Mysore can be swapped for two nights in Coorg. It is about 3 hours from Mysore, with coffee estates, misty hills and plantation resorts. Evolve Back Coorg costs $600 to $1,000 per night with meals.

A longer version of this 2 week South India itinerary can add both Mysore and Coorg, which stretches the trip to 16 nights.

Cost, Hotels and Transport for This 14-Day South India Tour

The figures below are per person sharing a double room for the full 13-night route. They are on the higher side, so a real quote should come in at or below them.

What the price includes

• hotels with daily breakfast
• one night on a houseboat with all meals
• a private Toyota Innova Crysta with driver from Chennai to Kochi
• a second private vehicle in Karnataka
• fuel, tolls, parking, interstate permits and driver allowances
• licensed English-speaking guides in Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Thanjavur, Madurai, Fort Kochi and Mysore
• monument entry tickets
• the economy flight from Kochi to Bengaluru

Price by level

Level	Price per person	Hotels used
Comfort	$3,300 to $4,100	Well-run 4-star hotels, a deluxe houseboat
Premium	$5,300 to $6,900	Heritage and eco-resorts: ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, Palais de Mahe in Pondicherry, Spice Village in Thekkady, Brunton Boatyard in Kochi, Lalitha Mahal Palace in Mysore, a premium houseboat
Luxury	$9,200 to $13,800	The finest stays at each stop, a luxury houseboat, a premium vehicle for city days, and private guiding in a European language if needed

Main cost blocks per couple

Item	Cost
Innova Crysta for 11 days (all inclusive)	About $950 to $1,100
Karnataka vehicle for 3 days	About $250 to $320
Guides across the trip	$250 to $400
Entry tickets for two (excluding free temples)	Around $120 to $160
Kochi to Bengaluru flight for two	$160 to $280
Hotels and houseboat	The rest

What is not included

• international flights
• the India e-Tourist Visa, at roughly $25 to $80
• travel insurance, at $100 to $250
• lunches and dinners, at $40 to $70 per person per day at comfort level
• tips: about $8 to $12 per day for the driver and $8 to $15 per day for guides
• alcohol and shopping

Seasonal changes

• Christmas and New Year: add about $800 to $1,500 per person at premium level, for peak surcharges and compulsory gala dinners.
• April to September: comfort and premium prices fall by 20 to 40 percent.

Vehicle choice

The Toyota Innova Crysta is the standard choice for couples on this South India road trip with driver. Its luggage space and reclining rear seats make a real difference on the hill roads into Munnar.

Group size	Vehicle	Daily rate
Two travelers with light luggage	Sedan	$50 to $60
Families or groups of five to nine	Tempo Traveller or Force Urbania	$110 to $140

Your driver normally works from about 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. Night driving on hill roads is avoided for safety.

Best Season and Practical Tips for a First Trip to South India

The best months for this route are October to March, when temperatures in Chennai and Madurai sit in the high 70s to high 80s °F and the hills are cool and clear.

Period	What to expect
Mid-December to early January	Peak season. Prices are highest and good rooms in Kumarakom, Fort Kochi and Munnar sell out months ahead.
Late January to mid-March	Same weather at lower prices. The best-value window for a first trip to South India.
April and May	Very hot on the plains; Munnar and Mysore stay pleasant.
June to September	Monsoon brings heavy rain to Kerala. The hills are at their greenest and hotels are cheapest.
October to November	Possible heavy rain in Chennai and Pondicherry as the northeast monsoon arrives. Keep the Tamil Nadu days flexible.

Temple etiquette

Temple rules matter on this route. Shoulders and knees must be covered. Shoes are removed at the entrance, and the stone floors can get very hot by midday. At several temples, including Meenakshi in Madurai, non-Hindus can enter the outer areas but not the innermost shrine.

Photography rules change from temple to temple:

• Meenakshi Temple: phones and cameras must be deposited.
• Brihadeeswarar Temple: photography is allowed in the courtyard.

Pack a light scarf, socks for hot stone floors, and sandals that slip off easily.

Health and comfort

• Drink only bottled or filtered water. Drivers usually keep a supply in the car.
• Restaurants recommended by your driver or hotel are generally safe.
• South Indian food can be very spicy, but hotel kitchens adjust easily if asked.
• A breakfast of crisp rice pancakes, steamed rice cakes and coconut chutney is one of the great pleasures of the trip.
• Lunch is often served on a banana leaf in local restaurants, and eating with your right hand is normal.

Money and connectivity

Item	Information
Card acceptance	Widely accepted in hotels and larger restaurants
Cash	Carry some for temples, small shops, tips and parking
ATMs	Easy to find in all the cities on this route, but scarce in parts of Munnar and around the backwaters
Local SIM card	About $8 to $15 with a month of data. Useful for messaging your driver and checking maps.

Pace

Two weeks of temples, drives and early starts can be tiring. The free afternoons in Pondicherry and Madurai, the slow houseboat evening and the open morning in Fort Kochi are there on purpose, so try not to fill them. Most guests say the hours they remember best are the unscheduled ones:

• coffee on a tea estate balcony
• a long lunch in Fort Kochi
• an evening sitting on the houseboat deck as the light fades over the water

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