South India Tour

After traveling to places like England, Egypt and Israel, I have a deep appreciation for countries that have a long, diverse history and rich culture. The world is an amazing place! And, now we will have the opportunity to visit many places in South India to further enrich us. When I stated out on the internet to search for a tour, I selected 5 different companies that looked interesting and seemed to have something that would suit what we were looking for. Within that group - one company stood out above the rest. That was India Panorama and their representative - Prince. Prince provided a map of India outlining our journey and that little extra helped us to visualize where we would be going. He has been more than accommodating with changes we requested to the tour and very eager to make our trip the best it can be. We had asked Prince for references from the U.S. who had received his assistance in the past and when we contacted them - they gave a glowing report of their experience. So now, we have secured our South India Tour with India Panorama. Below is an outline of our plans.


We leave Kansas City on April 26th at 1:45pm and arrive in Chennai, India on April 27th at 11:30pm. Ramiah is making all the arrangements for our first 2 days in Chennai and setting up our train travel from Chennai to Karaikudi where his wedding will take place on April 30th. After the wedding dinner that night, the driver for Indian Panorama will pick us up at Ramiah's home and take us over to Madurai where our South India tour will begin the next day.

Itinerary prepared exclusively for you and your family:

30th April 2010
Karaikudi – Madurai (120Kms / 3.5Hrs drive)
Our vehicle will report at your place of convenience and drive to Madurai & check in at Hotel for over night stay.

01st May 2010
Madurai
After breakfast you can visit Meenakshi Amman Temple, Thirumalai Nayak Palace & Gandhi Museum.

02nd May 2010
Madurai – Thekkady (150Kms / 4.5Hrs drive)
Drive to Thekkady & check in at Hotel. You can go for the Spice Plantation tour and optional you can take an Elephant Safari.

03rd May 2010
Thekkady – Alleppey (160Kms / 4.5Hrs drive)
Alleppey Round (By Deluxe Houseboat) Drive to Alleppey and embark in the deluxe houseboat. You will be cruises through the backwaters. You will be provided with delicious food on board.

04th May 2010
Alleppey – Cochin (65Kms / 90Mins drive)
After disembark from the houseboat and drive to the Heritage Town ( Cochin ) and check in at Hotel. Later you can go for the sightseeing tour of Cochin . Evening you can attend the Kerala Traditional Dance.

05th May 2010
Cochin – Munnar (145Kms / 4.5Hrs drive)
Drive to Munnar & check in at Hotel. Later you can go for the sightseeing tour of Munnar – visit Mattupetty Dam & Tea Museum.

06th May 2010
Munnar – Kodaikannal (190Kms / 4.5Hrs drive)
Drive to Kodaikannal & check in at Hotel. Later you can visit Coacker’s walk, Green Valley View, Pillar Rock & Bryant Park . In the evening you can go for the Boating in the Kodai Lake.

07th May 2010
Kodaikannal – Tanjore (260Kms / 5.5Hrs drive)
Drive to Tanjore and check in at Hotel. In the evening you can visit Brigadeswarar Temple & Tanjore Palace.

08th May 2010
Tanjore – Pondicherry (225Kms / 4.5Hrs drive)
Enroute visit Kumbakonam Temples, Darasuram ( World Heritage Monument ) & Chidambaram Nataraja Temple .Visit Handmade Paper Factory.

09th May 2010
Pondicherry – Mahabalipuram (100Kms / 2.5Hrs drive)
Morning you can visit Aurobindo Ashram, Auroville, Gandhi Statue and later drive to Mahabalipuram and check in at Hotel. Later you can visit World Heritage Monument (Arjuna Penance, Five Rathas, Krishna Butter ball & Shore Temple).

10th May 2010
Mahabalipuram – Chennai
Enroute visit Kanchipuram Temples & Silk Weaving Center and check in at Hotel. Later you can do the sightseeing tour of Chennai.

11th - 14th May 2010
Chennai (No Transport)
Ramiah is returning to Chennai this week to spend the last few days with us where he will take us for more sightseeing and shopping.

13th May 2010
Farewell Dinner
We will check out of the hotel around 7:30pm. Prince is taking us for a Farewell Dinner at 8pm and Ramiah will join us. Then, Prince will take us to the airport around 10pm to catch our 1am flight back home.

So, we leave Chennai at 1am on May 14th and arrive back in Kansas City at 4:32pm on May 14th. We gain a day coming home which we lost traveling to India. This is sure to be a truly amazing trip that I will always remember.