Excellent tour in Kerala Excellent tour organized by 5 senses! We flew from Bengaluru to Kochi where we met our driver, Mohan, at the airport, who took care safely and efficiently of our transportation during our 5 day tour. In Kochi, we stay at the Ginger house, very nice hotel with excellent restaurant with backwater view. We then spent a day and night in a house boat in the backwaters of Alleppey. Again, very nice crew members and excellent food with fresh prawns from the lake. The scenery was amazing. Finally, we spent a day and night at Varkala in IndaHotel which has a lovely atmosphere and good restaurant. We flew back from Trivandrum with nice memories from the places we visited and people we met.

Give this a try, even if you are not a great cook We love doing the occasional interesting thing on a trip, and as we were in Kerala, of course it had to be cooking. Neither of us are particularly great cooks, but hey! We were introduced to a charming couple (who both ARE great cooks) in their lovely apartment. First we went shopping at a local supermarket for a couple of ingredients and then the cooking started in earnest. They were totally gracious hosts, put us at ease immediately, and we started prepping. Lots of laughing and joking, while they were effortlessly explaining a method or process or ingredient. In a surprisingly short time, this produced an 7-course feast, which we then had the pleasure of consuming. Flavourful, light, with grated coconut featuring in virtually every dish. If you want to add a couple of interesting hours to your trip, I would highly recommend the cooking experience.

The ultimate chill holiday Whenever you mention Kerala, everyone gets a dreamy expression and say - it's on may people's bucket list. Well, if it's on yours, do it. NOW! As I have a horror of group tours, my sister and I did a 8-day private tour with a driver with 5 Senses Tours. It was everything we'd hoped for, and more. A small, curated trip is absolutely the way to go. We expected beauty, history, great food, but what really took us by surprise was how totally lovely everyone was - from the tour operator to the driver, to every family we met on the way. We started in the very photogenic Kochi (stayed in the sumptuous Ginger House Museum Hotel) for a couple of days while exploring the area, shopping up a storm, of course! Then drove to Kovalam for a beach chill out at the Leela Kovalam. It is situated on a large piece of land overlooking the bay. Awesome service, fabulous food. We managed to fit in a cooking course with a lovely couple, to try our hand at authentic Kerala style cooking. Lots of laughs, awesome meal, and we learnt so much! And of course, you have to end in the backwaters. We We boarded a houseboat from the Kumarakom Lake Resort (which is spectacular, by the way) and spent 2 days and 2 nights on board. Loved every minute. It is an amazing way to see village life up-close, drifting down canals, watching the sun go down over the rice fields. The trip was impeccably organised. The pick-ups were on-time, clean, comfortable transport, and our driver Mohan was a delight. 5 Senses really made an effort to curate engagements for us that made it personal. Having people who live in an area tell you it's history and quirks, makes for a completely different travel experience. We would absolutely do it again.

Magnificent India and Kerala Mt first visit to India turned out to be a magnificent tour of Kerala. Our guide was amazing as he made sure we had a wonderful cultural experience. Five senses tours had chosen wonderful hotels and the car provided was also excellent. The full day stay in a Houseboat was memorable. Overal, it was an incredible experience.

Home cooking experience My family had a great afternoon with a local family. We called into the local shopping center to pick up a few supplies. Sandhya was waiting at home with most of the preparation done. We watched a few different curries being prepared & Haridas showed us how to safely crack open a coconut and remove coconut water. We enjoyed eating the curries on banana leafs which had been picked just this morning from their families garden. We had a fun afternoon of playing simple games with our hosts. Lots of laughter & my daughters played the keyboard so we all enjoyed the music.

Authentic Kerala In my previous visits to India, I had used services of 5 Senses tours in Chennai and Bangalore. On my latest visit to Bangalore took the Kerala tour specially designed by 5 Senses tour. Again tour exceeded my expectations. Stayed at an Authentic Kerala house right on the backwaters, went on canal boat rides and importantly had Ayurvedic treatment delivered by well trained traditional doctor. I have promised Narayanan to get my family to Kerela for a longer holiday break.

Fabulous Ecology tour of Munnar I went on the ecology tour to Munnar. It was absolutely fantastic and loved the nature trails. Highly recommended

Rustic Kerala My previous tour to Chennai with this company was a memorable one so I thought of trying them out again this Christmas on my visit to Kerala. While the backwater experience was fantastic but what made this experience different was to see life in the villages of Kerala up-close interacting with people there. While the planning was meticulous but the arrangements were also up to the mark making it a memorable trip with my Family.

trip to vaikom dec '16 "it was a great experience in the backwaters of vaikom. 5 senses tours made impeccable arrangements. The food was amazing local cuisine and we enjoyed meeting with the fishermen and farmers. We highly recommend this tour for people looking to experience Kerala culture.