This content serves as a comprehensive travel guide to Kochi, Kerala, offering practical advice on attractions, food, accommodation, transportation, and budget planning for a fulfilling visit.
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Hi, I am Ismile and this video is going
to be a crash course for you in visiting Kochi
Keral. Grab a pen and paper because I'm
going to answer every question a
traveler might have about visiting Kochi
like what are the best places to visit,
food and cafes that you need to try and
some FAQs like budget properties, luxury
stays, bike rentals, taxi services and
an entire budget breakdown of this trip.
Kochi often referred to as Arnakulum is
a vibrant bustling city of Kerala with a
rich history, culture and equally unique
geography. It is often ranked in one of
the best cities of the world to visit
and I truly felt that it is welld
deserved. Now there are 20 plus
interesting things to do for a traveler
just in Kochi. So I have divided these
places into three clusters based on
their locations in the city to give you
a better orientation on map when I show
you these places. So the first cluster
is the Fort Kochi and the Matan Cherry
area. Now, most of your travel favorite
spots are in this cluster. It is a tiny
part of the city right on the edge of
the Arabian Sea. It's also the part
where the old Dutch, Portuguese, and
English settlements were made about 400
years ago. It is a very small area about
1 to2 km square, which has about 11 to
12 interesting places and a lot of great
cafes, galleries, shops, and museums to
explore. With that, let me take you to
the first spot in Fort Kochi. These are
the Chinese fishing nets in Fort Kochi.
These are canty livered fishing nets on
the shoreline of Kochi. They were
introduced by Chinese traders in 14th
century. Best viewed at sunrise or
sunset. It's a great spot for photos and
local fish market experiences. For a few
rupees, you can also get a demo on how
it works. This is your next spot, the
Wasco Dagama Square and the beach
walkway. A beautiful breezy prominard
near the seaine lined with food vendors
and colonial remnants. Ideal for evening
strolls. And you can also see a lot of
ships passing right in front of you from
here. Behind me is the food Kochi beach.
One of the most popularly visited spots
in Kochi and rightly so. A small beach
with a few food stalls and a local
favorite spot. It's best enjoyed in the
early morning or evening. Swimming is
not allowed here. This is the next spot.
It's called the Princess Street and it's
one of the oldest streets of Fort Kochi.
It's full of European style buildings,
cafes, and shops with a heritage touch.
It's great for shopping and visiting art
galleries. The next spot is the St.
Francis Church which is one of the
oldest European churches across all of
India. It is also here where Vasco
Duggama was originally buried. It's a
simple structure but historically rich.
Behind me is the Santa Cruz Cathedral
Basilica, one of the oldest churches in
India. It's a stunning Gothic style
church with vibrant interiors and a lot
of historic value. Next is the
Indo-Portuguese Museum. A humble museum
showcasing the Portuguese influence on
Kerala's art, architecture and culture.
It has artifacts and history of the war
which is documented well here. Right now
I am in the next spot, the Naval
Maritime Museum. So Kochi is one of the
oldest ports of India and also a very
important naval base. This museum covers
India's naval history with ship models,
weapons and interactive displays. This
is the next spot, the Mutanerry Palace,
also known as the Dutch Palace. It's
included in UNESCO's world heritage site
lists. This palace was gifted by the
Portuguese to the king of Kochin. This
ancient structure has beautiful murals
of Ramayana and Hindu mythology inside
and a collection of displays from the
time of kings. The next spot is the Jew
town. This is an area with antique
shops, spice markets and a bustling vibe
with colorful architecture all around.
The next spot is the Jewish synagogue
also known as the Paresi Synagogue. It
is a place of worship for Jews and this
one is the oldest active synagogue in
the Commonwealth of Nations. It is
decorated with Belgian chandeliers and
hand painted tiles. And number 12 in
this list is the great KV Katakali
Center. You can witness cultural
performances of Katakali and Kaleri
Payetu at this center which are Kerala's
native dance and martial arts styles.
They also host yoga and culinary
workshops. Now every 2 years in the
winters around December to Feb. This
area of Kochi hosts the largest
contemporary art festival across Asia.
It's called the Kochi Merus Banal and
the upcoming one is set to be in
December 2025. Now the next few spots
that I will show you are all the places
that you can visit in the Arnakulum
town. This next spot is called the
Marine Drive. A beautiful walkway right
by the waterfront with a great cityscape
views and snack stalls. You can also go
on boat rides and sunset cruises from
here. You will find tons of vendors
offering these at the walkway. The
famous water metro of Kochi also has a
station here. You can take the boat to
reach Fort Kochi, but I will tell you
more about the water metro and commuting
inside Kochi later in the video. The
next spot is the Mangalwanam bird
sanctuary. A small protected area right
near the backwaters of the city. It
attracts migratory birds and you can
take a stroll in this area on a
designated trail. If you're lucky, you
may spot some birds on your walk. I'm
now at the next spot which is called the
Kerala Folklore Museum. It's an
impressive private collection of
traditional arts, masks, architectural
pieces from across Kerala's regions and
eras. A very unique museum and a great
experience navigating this structure.
This is the next spot, the Hill Palace
Museum. It is the largest archaeological
museum across Kerala. It is built in the
former royal residence and now turned
into a museum with artifacts, paintings
and multiple displays about history and
culture. Number 17 is the Lulu mall. It
is one of the largest malls across
India. It has global brands, eeries and
entertainment zones. And number 18 on
this list is Wonderam, a major amusement
and water park with thrill rides, water
slides and kid-friendly zones. You at
least need a full day to enjoy this
place. Now before I show you more places
from around Kochi, if you're feeling
that you should have noted all this
information down, don't worry. We have
made your job easier, we have created an
offline digital ebook of this entire
video in which we have mentioned all
these places, descriptions, timing,
contact details and additional sections
like custom maps and pre-built day wise
itinaries that you could follow directly
on your trip. You can buy this from our
website. The link is right here or in
the description. So now some spots from
the third cluster which are places
around the Kochi. The next spot is the
Cherai Beach. A local favorite spot to
enjoy the sand, the shore, and the
ocean. A beautiful beach right between
the ocean and the backwaters. The road
to reach this beach is also quite
scenic. The beach has a lot of food
vendors and is a favorite spot of locals
for a weekend picnic. It's not very safe
for swimming and there are lifeguards on
duty. Next is the Kuzipuli beach. Just a
few kilometers from Chai Beach, this is
a less crowded alternative to it. Ideal
for peaceful beach time and sunsets. It
also has this floating walkway that you
can try as an activity here. This spot
is the Kumbalangi model village which is
India's first model tourism village. It
offers a glimpse into rural life,
fishing and local cuisine of Kerala.
Several operators offer village tours
that take you through a guided
experience here. Contact details of one
such operator are on the screen. It's a
beautiful spot for kayaking and in
months of March and April you can also
witness bioluminescence in the
backwaters here. The next spot is the
Kadamkuri Islands. A cluster of islands
in the backwaters near Kochi with
mangroves and patty fields. You can
experience canoe boat rides and kayaking
here to explore these parts. There are
also a lot of yoga and massage centers
in Kochi and a lot of the properties
that you might be staying at will offer
that. And the Ford Kochi area is full of
art galleries and most of them will have
a cafe with the gallery. So I will list
down all that in the food section in
this video. For now, let me recommend
some hotels, home stays, host and
resorts in Kochi. I have picked options
which are in or around Fort Kochi area
itself. And then I have divided these
into four buckets. budget stays, luxury
stays, comfort stays, which are between
luxury and budget, and some very cool
and unique Airbnbs. I will quickly show
you pictures of these stays as I list
them all down. But to make your job
easier, I have left a link in the
description or from this box where you
will find this entire list with direct
booking links to all of these
properties. And there is a custom Google
map of this entire video with all the
places to visit along with the
properties which I mentioned and the
food places that I will recommend all
pinned particularly on a map. And that
should help you chart your travel plan
of Kochi. And on that note, if you're
feeling lazy in making your own travel
plan, just get our guide book. It has
three custom itenaries that you can
choose from with all the relevant
details, pictures, custom maps, and the
contact details you need to sort your
travels. So, let's get started with the
budget options to stay in Kochi. On this
list in no particular order we have
Bastion homeay, Saj home Fort Kochi,
Annie's in homeay, Seahut homeay, I1's
homeay, coconut grove for bridge view,
Calvin, good karma in Pakriti homeay,
Gerard's homeay, ghosttops hostel, the
hosteller, zostel, tamara wellness stay.
Next is the luxury stays and resorts of
Kochi. Here we have Old Harbor Hotel,
Nimrana's Towerhouse, Brentton Boatyard,
Amritara, the Puad Beachfront Heritage,
Lake Colonial 1506, 8th Bastion Fort
Kochi, The Old Courthouse by Abad, My
House Heritage Hotel, 976 Panang. Now
the comfort stays which are between
budget and luxury. In no particular
order, we have the Fern Presidency Art
Hotel, the Lily Stories, Walton's
Homeay, the Sunset Bay, Hotel Arches,
Rosita Wood Castle, The Killian's
Boutique Hotel, Sarada Mandaram, Nati
Boutique, and lastly, some very cool and
unique Airbnbs that you can check out.
The Lake Manor, Seab Breeze, Peel Home,
Living Waters. Now, with your food and
travel plans sorted, the next section is
about food, restaurants, and cafes that
you should definitely experience and
enjoy when in Kochi. First on this list
is Pandal Cafe. Check out Pandal Cafe
for amazing pizzas and coffees. They
also have beautiful bakery and an art
gallery too with beautiful ambience.
Then we have Leela Cafe which is great
with a boutique and art gallery in a
heritage building. Then Kashi Art Cafe
which is a very popular cafe for its
brunch and breakfast menu and the
gallery displays. Fourth is Seagull
Restaurant which is a great spot to
enjoy delicious seafood and local meals
sitting right by the water. Next is
Tibetan Kitchen, a tiny spot to try
authentic Tibetan and Nepalese dishes.
Sixth is Two Wheel Cafe. Great coffees,
sandwiches, bakery items with great
ambience. Then Los Angeles Cafe, which
is a small spot with nice views in a
heritage building. Next is Ginger House,
which is a cafe inside a antique shop,
which is overlooking the backwaters.
Ninth is the Canvas restaurant, which is
a great spot to have pizzas and other
multisuine items. All these spots which
I mentioned are in the fort Kochi area.
The next three spots I'm about to
mention are in the Arnakulum town. Here
we have the Shri Muruga Cafe which is a
old local favorite joint famous for
local cuisines like beef roast and kala
curry curry curry curry curry curry
curry curry curry curry curry and then
we have kai restaurant for some kerala
style biryani and we have gul utapura
it's great for trying out the sadya a
traditional feast of multiple items
served on a banana leaf in our guide
book all these places are plugged in the
itonary section itself it will help you
save some time in figuring out the
distances and the best choice for that
day so with that sorted what remains is
your internal commute and transfers
within kochi so for commuting within the
fort kochi and madener area walking and
auto rickshawas are the best. There are
bicycle rentals also available in Fort
Kochi which is also a great option. The
streets are narrow and parking is
limited here. Auto rickshawas will also
offer you a combined package to all the
popular spots of Fort Kochi in a day. To
commute between Arnakulum town and Fort
Kochi, you can use the water metro that
connects the marine drive and Fort Kochi
from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. To commute
to all other spots in Arnakulum town and
around Kochi, you can hire a ricka or a
taxi. A few reliable cab providers are
listed here for your reference. Ola and
Uber also work in Kochi. Now the other
option is renting a two-heer or a
four-wheeler that will give you freedom
to drive to spots at your convenience.
Some providers for these services and
the rates are mentioned on the screen.
Public transport like buses and the
metro rail is available to all major
spots. However, you will need to use the
Google maps to find the exact route you
need to be on and you will have to rely
a little on local help to figure out
which buses to take exactly. Now, let's
break down the budget of this trip. An
ideal trip to Kochi could be of 3 days
covering the best of food experiences
and places. So let me give you a rough
budget breakdown for one person staying
for two nights and 3 days in Kochi. I'll
try to not compromise on any comforts
but also not go overboard. So stay for
two nights in a good host will be about
1,000 per night. Food for 3 days about
1,000 per day. Bike rental or auto
rickshas for two remaining days will be
about 700 per day. activities and
tickets and experiences like kayaking
might be about 500 and other
miscellaneous expenses like water metro
entry tickets will total up to another
300. So about 800. Now that will bring
your total to about 7,200 and let's
round it up to almost 8,000 for a 3-day
trip. Now with all of that covered, let
me quickly clear up some of the FAQs
that every traveler might have before
visiting Kochi. Like what is the best
time to visit Kochi? Ideally, November
to Feb is great. It is cooler, pleasant,
and less humid. Summers might be a
little hot and it might rain frequently
in monsoons but still you can completely
enjoy all the places of Kochi any time
of the year. Next question. Best way to
reach Kochi. Kochi has an international
airport and fun fact it is completely
run by solar power. Kochi also has a
major railway station and all buses are
connected well from major cities from
South India to Kochi. Next question can
be how safe is Kochi? Overall tourism is
very well organized and structured. Lot
of international and domestic travelers
come here. So people are friendly, warm
and welcoming. Infrastructure like host
exist making it safe even for solo
female travelers because you can find
good company of like-minded people to
share some activities with or make plans
together. Now when you go to Kochi,
please don't litter anywhere, throw
plastics or do any stupid irresponsible
behavior that ruins the place. Respect
the locals and say none to say thank you
in Malalum. You can also buy our cool
minimal t-shirts from our website and
join our community of responsible
travelers. And reminding you again if
you forgot to note down all these
details, our travel guide book is
available on the website. It has custom
maps, lists, booking links, phone
numbers, itinaries, and all the info
that a traveler might need in just 10 to
12 pages. If you have queries about
visiting Kochi, join our Discord server
where I will answer all your questions.
And you can also talk to others in the
community to join groups traveling to
Kochi on your dates. Follow Explore the
Earth on Instagram to see live updates
and stories from all these places. Do
subscribe and like this video. It helps
a lot in growing this channel and I will
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