Goa and Kerala Honeymoon Tour

Welcome to Goa. Goa has two airports, Mopa in the north and Dabolim near Vasco, and at either one our representative is waiting outside the terminal doors with a cool towel and the car keys in the driver's hand. The road to your beach resort in North Goa passes paddy fields, Hindu temples with tall lamp towers and old Catholic chapels, often within a few hundred meters of each other, which is the first hint of how mixed Goan culture is. Most international routes connect through the Gulf or Mumbai, so the arrival day stays empty, and a morning landing can be matched with an early room if you tell us your flight times.

Once you have unpacked, the beach is a short walk from the resort. The northern shore runs as a chain of sandy bays and rocky headlands, from Candolim and Calangute up to Anjuna and Vagator, and each has its own character. Candolim is relatively calm and suits a first swim, while Anjuna and Vagator are livelier and known for their cafés and red laterite cliffs. Lifeguards watch the main beaches during the season and post flags showing where it is safe to swim; on red-flag days, stay out of the water, as currents can be strong even when the sea looks gentle.

For your first evening, a beach shack with tables set on the sand is the most Goan way to eat. Order a fish recheado, where the catch is stuffed with a red chili and vinegar paste, a plate of prawn balchão or a pork vindaloo that tastes very different from the British curry-house version. Goa has relaxed alcohol laws compared with much of India, and a glass of local feni, distilled from cashew fruit or coconut sap, is worth trying at least once. Your driver gives you his number in case you would like a ride back after dark. Overnight in North Goa.

About forty minutes inland lies Old Goa, seat of the Portuguese viceroys, which travelers of the 1500s compared in size and wealth to Lisbon itself. Disease and the silting of the river emptied the city long ago, leaving a group of churches and convents standing in green lawns that UNESCO has listed as a World Heritage Site. First comes the Basilica of Bom Jesus, with a red laterite front left bare of plaster, where the remains of St. Francis Xavier rest in a silver casket inside a marble side chapel gifted by a Medici duke; the body is shown to the public only during rare expositions held roughly once a decade.

Facing it across the lawns is the vast white Se Cathedral, whose gilded altar honors St. Catherine, on whose feast day in 1510 the Portuguese captured the city, and whose lone surviving tower houses the famous Golden Bell. Next door, the old Franciscan church hides painted panels and carved woodwork behind a plain front, and the ruined tower of St. Augustine rises from the hill behind. Masses are still said here, so cover up to the elbows and below the knee and keep your voices down, above all on Sunday mornings. The morning light falls well on the laterite and limestone façades, so photographers should keep their cameras ready.

After lunch, Panjim. On foot you enter Fontainhas, the Latin Quarter that grew up along a freshwater spring, where ochre, blue and green houses crowd narrow lanes and stepped alleys. Look for the names of families on ceramic tiles beside the doors, the oyster-shell windows in some older homes and the small bakeries selling bebinca, a layered coconut pudding. You finish below Panjim's white main church, whose criss-crossing double staircase is where half the newlyweds of Goa pose for photographs. In the evening you can take a Mandovi River sunset cruise with live Goan music, or return to the beach. Overnight in North Goa.

Start the day at Fort Aguada, a seventeenth-century bastion raised to guard the mouth of the Mandovi River and to supply passing ships with fresh water from its springs. The lighthouse on the upper fort is one of the oldest of its kind in Asia, and from the walls you can see the coast curving away toward Candolim and the hazy outline of Panjim. Arrive before ten to avoid the heat and the tour groups. Your driver then heads inland for about an hour to the forested hills around Ponda, where several organic spice farms open their gardens to visitors.

At the spice farm, a guide leads you through plantations of pepper vines, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla, crushing leaves and seeds so you can smell each one fresh. Many farms finish the tour with a buffet lunch of Goan Hindu dishes served on banana leaves, a reminder that the cooking of Goa's interior differs from the Catholic coast. Ponda also has several Hindu temples that were rebuilt inland during the Portuguese period, such as Shri Manguesh and Shri Shantadurga, and you can stop at one on the way back if you are not too tired.

Late in the afternoon you reach Chapora Fort, a ruined laterite fortress on a hill above the Chapora River, made famous among Indian travelers by a well-known Bollywood film. The climb takes about ten minutes over loose stones, so wear proper shoes rather than flip-flops. From the top you look south over Vagator Beach and north across the river toward Morjim, and when the sun dips into the sea the whole sky turns orange. Take a bottle of water and something to sit on, and stay until the light fades. Dinner tonight is at a cliff-side restaurant in Vagator. Overnight in North Goa.

Today you trade the energy of the north for the slower pace of South Goa. After breakfast you drive through Panjim and Margao to the village of Chandor, where some of the grandest Portuguese-era mansions in Goa still stand. The best known, Braganza House, has been kept by the same family for generations, with a ballroom of Belgian glass chandeliers, Chinese porcelain and rosewood furniture. Visits are usually guided by family members, and a donation is expected rather than a fixed ticket. It is a rare chance to see how Goa's Catholic landed families lived during the colonial era.

Continuing south, you stop at Cabo de Rama, an old fort on a headland high above the sea, whose name links it to Lord Rama and a local legend that he sheltered here while in exile. Little remains of the walls today, but a small whitewashed church still stands inside, and paths lead along the cliff to viewpoints over empty coves. Bring sunscreen and a hat, because there is little shade. From here it is a short drive to your beach resort near Palolem or Agonda, where the sand is softer, the water usually calmer and the evenings much quieter than in the north.

Palolem Beach forms a half-moon of sand fringed by coconut palms, with a small island at its northern end that you can walk to at low tide. Agonda, a little further north, is longer and emptier, and parts of it are protected during the turtle nesting season. Toward evening a fisherman can row you out past the headland in search of dolphins, though many couples are content to sit on the sand and watch the cricket games of the village boys. If you asked for it when booking, tonight a table for two waits at the water's edge, lit by lamps, with the day's catch grilled over coconut husks. Overnight in South Goa.

After a last morning swim, your driver takes you to the airport for the flight south to Kochi, which takes roughly an hour and a quarter on a direct service. The coastline below changes as you fly, from the red cliffs of Goa to the dark green of the Kerala coast. At Cochin International Airport a new driver and our Kerala coordinator take over for the ninety-minute run to your heritage hotel in Fort Kochi. If you notice the cooking and the language change as soon as you land, you are right: Goa and Kerala share a sea, but little else beyond fish and palm trees.

Fort Kochi is ideal for a slow late-afternoon stroll. The Portuguese arrived here even before they reached Goa, then the Dutch and the British took control in turn, and each left houses, churches and warehouses along the waterfront. Walk along the beach promenade to the Chinese fishing nets, where the evening catch is weighed and auctioned right on the sand. The best moment is just before sunset, when the teak frames stand out against the orange sky and the fishermen chant as they haul the nets up. Buy a fish or some prawns at the stalls and have them cooked at a stall nearby.

Tonight you can attend a Kathakali performance at one of the cultural centers in Fort Kochi. Unlike the Goan music of the previous evenings, Kathakali is a slow and stylized dance-drama, with dancers wearing towering headdresses and wide skirts, telling stories from the epics through eye movements and hand signs. Come early to watch the actors paint their faces, which is a show in itself. Before the curtain, a host decodes the main mudras, the hand signs, so the plot makes sense to visitors. Afterward, dinner can be at a garden restaurant serving Kerala seafood. Overnight in Kochi.

With a local guide, today's walk connects the threads between Goa and Kerala. In Fort Kochi the first stop is St. Francis Church, the resting place, for some fourteen years, of Vasco da Gama, the very navigator whose voyages opened the road to Portuguese Goa. Your guide shows you the Dutch cemetery, the Santa Cruz Basilica and the old colonial bungalows along the parade ground, now mostly hotels and cafés. Compared with Old Goa, the churches here are smaller and more homely, and the story is one of several European powers rather than just one.

In Mattancherry, the Mattancherry Palace displays some of Kerala's finest murals, including large scenes from the Ramayana painted on the walls of the royal bedchambers, along with portraits of the Rajas of Kochi. Five minutes on foot from the palace, the Paradesi Synagogue tells the story of the Jewish community that settled on this coast many centuries ago, though few members remain today. The palace closes on Fridays and the synagogue closes on Fridays and Saturdays, as well as on Jewish holidays, so this guided day is fixed according to your travel dates.

Lunch can be in Jew Town, where old godowns have become cafés, galleries and antique shops, and spice merchants still sell pepper, cardamom and cloves by weight. Whole spices travel better than ground ones, so a few vacuum-packed bags of pepper or green cardamom make light presents for family back home. Spend the afternoon resting or by the hotel pool. In the evening, you might take an Ayurvedic foot massage in town or simply walk back to the waterfront to see the nets again in the fading light. Tomorrow's drive is short, so stay out as late as you like. Overnight in Kochi.

A short drive south brings you to Alleppey, the main port of the houseboat fleet on the Kerala backwaters. You board your private houseboat around noon, when guests change over. Compared with the beach shacks and boutique resorts of Goa, the boat is a different kind of luxury: one bedroom with air conditioning, a small bathroom, an upper or front deck with cane chairs and a crew of three who cook and steer for you. Ask for a boat with a single bedroom, which keeps it private, and tell the crew if you prefer less spice or a vegetarian menu.

Once the boat leaves the jetty, lunch is served: rice, a fish curry made with kudampuli (a sour fruit used instead of tamarind), vegetables cooked with grated coconut and crisp poppadoms. Through the afternoon the boat slips between wide lakes and slim canals in Kuttanad, a district of rice fields that sit lower than the sea and are held dry by banks of mud. The scenery changes every few minutes: churches, temples and mosques on the banks, children rowing to school, women washing clothes and ducks moving in large flocks. It is a quiet afternoon, best spent with a book, a camera and a fresh coconut.

By early evening the law requires the engine to go off, so the crew moors on a peaceful stretch of bank. Climb to the upper deck for the sunset over the paddies, and if the captain offers, follow him for a stroll along the dyke. Dinner is prepared fresh on board and served on the deck under the stars, with the lights of village houses across the water. The night is silent apart from the odd splash of a fish or the sound of a passing canoe, and many couples remember this evening as the calmest of their trip. Overnight on the houseboat.

Early risers are rewarded with the best light of the day on the backwaters, when mist rises from the water and the first canoes paddle past. After breakfast on board, the houseboat returns to the jetty around 9 am and your driver collects you. The drive to Kumarakom follows the eastern shore of Vembanad Lake and takes about an hour. Your lake-facing resort here is set among coconut groves and canals, with rooms or cottages looking over the water. Check-in is normally in the early afternoon, but on request we try to have your room ready earlier.

Nothing else is planned for today. Most resorts in Kumarakom have a pool, a spa and a jetty with a view over the widest part of Vembanad Lake, which stretches more than ninety kilometers from north to south. In the afternoon you have a couple massage included at the resort spa. The Kerala style relies on generous amounts of warmed, herb-infused oil, and after a week of flights and sightseeing it is exactly what tired shoulders need. Tell your therapists about any injuries, and keep the evening light, as the massage tends to make you sleepy and relaxed.

As the sun begins to set, a private canoe or a small country boat takes you out on the lake and into the narrow side channels around the resort, a quieter alternative to the large houseboats. The boatman paddles slowly past fishing nets, water lilies and herons, and you may see kingfishers diving near the banks. Back at the resort, dinner is at your own pace; try karimeen, the pearl spot fish that is a local favorite, cooked in banana leaf, or a duck roast with appam. Kumarakom is quiet after dark, which suits a honeymoon well. Overnight in Kumarakom.

For couples who enjoy nature, an early visit to the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is worth setting an alarm for. The sanctuary covers a stretch of mangroves and wetlands on the lake shore, and the first hours after sunrise are best for herons, egrets, cormorants, kingfishers and, in the winter months, migrant birds from colder regions. A local naturalist guide can point out nests and calls you might otherwise miss. Walking paths run through the trees, so bring insect repellent and good shoes. Breakfast waits for you back at the resort.

After that, the hours are yours. You can spend the hours at the pool, take a cycling tour through the nearby villages to see coir-making, toddy tapping and duck farming, or join a short cooking demonstration at the resort to learn a Kerala fish curry. Some couples choose an extra spa treatment, while others simply read in a hammock by the lake. If you would like a more active option, the resort can arrange a kayak or a stand-up paddleboard session on the calmer channels; ask the front desk the evening before so they can book the equipment.

On your last evening, find a quiet place by the water to watch the sunset over Vembanad Lake, when the sky reflects pink and gold on the surface and fishing boats return home. It is a good moment to compare notes: the surf at Palolem, the gilded altars at Bom Jesus, the spice smell of Jew Town and the hush of the houseboat night. Dinner can be served at a table on the lawn or on the jetty on request, a simple but memorable way to end the honeymoon. Remember to settle any extra bills at the resort tonight to save time in the morning. Overnight in Kumarakom.

Enjoy a final breakfast by the lake before checking out. Budget roughly two and a half hours of driving from Kumarakom to Cochin International Airport, passing rubber estates, church spires and small market towns. We set the pickup time with a good margin before your flight, because international check-in usually opens three hours before departure. For a night departure we can hold your room longer or book a rest room close to the terminal, at extra cost. Your driver helps you with your luggage up to the departure gate.

In ten days you have moved from Portuguese churches and beach shacks to spice lanes, rice-field canals and a quiet lake, which gives a good idea of how different two neighboring coastal states in India can be. If you would like to return, Munnar's tea hills, Hampi's ruins or the islands of the Andaman Sea are easy to combine with either coast. Thank you for planning your honeymoon with us, and we wish you both a safe trip home.