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Cochin Shore Excursions from Cruise Terminal
Badge of ExcellenceKochi, India
Likely to Sell Out
From $27.50
Select Date and Travelers
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
- 4 to 7 hours
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
While docked in the Cochin cruise port, explore the city from your ship on this worry-free shore excursion. Depending on the date you book, follow one of three itineraries. Either, make a stop in Fort Kochi to see St. Francis Church, go on an adventure through the backwaters of Kerala during this houseboat tour, or cruise down a river in a houseboat, and visit the giant Chinese fishing nets.
- Houseboat cruise in Aleppey
- Take a houseboat cruise down a river in Kerala
- Eat a traditional Keralan lunch onboard the boat (selected tours)
- Stop in the Fort Kochi region to go exploring
- See St. Francis Church and the Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica
- Catch sight of the Chinese fishing nets near Fort Kochi Beach
- Round-trip transport is included
What's Included
- Port pickup and drop-off
- Buffet lunch (For Houseboat & Canoe Tour -Morning Cruise Only)
- Driver/local guide
- Drinks
- Gratuities
- Lunch/Snacks (For City tour)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Sagarika Cochin International Cruise TerminalX789+HFM, Willingdon Island, Kochi, Kerala 682003, India
Cochin Port (Ernakulam Wharf Berth /Pier) ,BTP Berth /Pier ,Cochin Port Cruise Terminal Directions: Our staff will be waiting at Cochin Port - ships berth/pier holding a "VIATOR" sign board with Blue Umbrella
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Your shore excursion from Cochin begins with pickup from the cruise boat, where you board a tour vehicle for the drive to Alleppey (also known as Alapuzha). Depending on the date you travel, experience one of three itineraries.
Step aboard a houseboat for a leisurely sail through the inland waterways of Kerala. Relax as you glide past scenes of riverfront life, such as paddy fields, coconut palms, and traditional wooden houseboats. Enjoy attention from the onboard staff, who serve a traditional Keralan lunch of rice, fish, chicken, and vegetable dishes should you travel on the first itinerary.
At the end of your houseboat tour, go ashore near Fort Kochi to tour the area with a guide. See St. Francis Church, the Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica, and the Chinese fishing nets near Fort Kochi Beach before drop-off back at the cruise port.
The second itinerary you could follow encompasses the houseboat tour in the itinerary above, however, lunch is replaced by traditional snacks and tea and coffee. Fort Kochi is not visited on this itinerary.
Finally, if traveling on the third itinerary you receive a comprehensive tour of Cochin and Mattancherry. Visit the Dutch Palace built by Portuguese settlers and famous for its stunning murals depicting tales from Hinduism. Then, visit the Jewish Synagogue and stroll the Jewish quarter. Later, transfer to Fort Kochi for a short walking tour and visit St. Francis Church before being returned to the cruise ship terminal where your tour concludes.
Step aboard a houseboat for a leisurely sail through the inland waterways of Kerala. Relax as you glide past scenes of riverfront life, such as paddy fields, coconut palms, and traditional wooden houseboats. Enjoy attention from the onboard staff, who serve a traditional Keralan lunch of rice, fish, chicken, and vegetable dishes should you travel on the first itinerary.
At the end of your houseboat tour, go ashore near Fort Kochi to tour the area with a guide. See St. Francis Church, the Santa Cruz Cathedral Basilica, and the Chinese fishing nets near Fort Kochi Beach before drop-off back at the cruise port.
The second itinerary you could follow encompasses the houseboat tour in the itinerary above, however, lunch is replaced by traditional snacks and tea and coffee. Fort Kochi is not visited on this itinerary.
Finally, if traveling on the third itinerary you receive a comprehensive tour of Cochin and Mattancherry. Visit the Dutch Palace built by Portuguese settlers and famous for its stunning murals depicting tales from Hinduism. Then, visit the Jewish Synagogue and stroll the Jewish quarter. Later, transfer to Fort Kochi for a short walking tour and visit St. Francis Church before being returned to the cruise ship terminal where your tour concludes.
Kochi (Cochin)
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Chinese Fishing Nets
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
Fort Kochi
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Mattancherry
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
Alleppey Backwaters
2 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 7 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
- At time of booking, cruise ship passengers must provide the following information: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time, and re-boarding time
- Most travelers can participate
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
Reviews
4.5
25 reviews
Cheri, May 2024
This company is great! I made an unintentional mistake by double booking this tour and didn’t realize it until getting to the tour. Although they probably didn't have to, they refunded me the 2 extra tickets. Very honorable of them and wanted to let others know this! As for the tour, the van used for the 2 hour ride there and 2 hours back made for a long, rough ride. The actual houseboat trip was wonderful and so relaxing. The food buffet made on board was excellent.. Thank you, Carnival Tours!
Francesca_J, May 2024
We had a fun day today, so sorry we were late clearing customs but we made it in the end. Met our guide Sebastian who was a wealth of information and happy to answer our questions. Our driver Jodi was amazing, safe and ruthless, zipping through the streets to get us to the backwaters. Once on the boat, we had a lovely leisure ride for almost 2hrs. Then headed to a small restaurant for snacks before driving back to the port. For some reason i thought the snacks would have been served on the boat cos that would have made for a nice tea with the sunset...
Unfortunately we did not get to see the fishing nets on this tour due to time constraints but we saw a few others while passing on the bus.
Debra_p, Apr 2024
The houseboat ride was fun and the food provided was good. Our guide, ,however, had a lot to be desired when we weren’t actually at a site. When we got on the bus for a 2 hour drive each way he welcomed us and then told us that we were on vacation and he didn’t want to bother us with details or history of the city. Despite gasps well the attached picture says it all. Oops no place to post picture of our sleeping guide
Jacqueline_W, Apr 2024
The guide Babu was really informative and he worked hard to make the trip great for all of us. The houseboat experience was great and we might come back to India and stay for a couple of nights on the houseboat. The Chinese Nets were interesting and I bought some gifts from the shop that we visited. We had a great day and it was well worth the money. Thank you Babu for giving us a great experience.
Moon_L, Feb 2024
Enjoyable and very relaxing. The local lunch was excellent. Highly recommended. Tour operator was excellent. Professional on time services
John_R, Feb 2024
The only downside for this excursion was an approx 2 hour ride each way, through tortuous traffic, due to road construction work getting to the Backwater start point. The backwater motorised canoe was excellent, sailing along the canals. Lunch was included.
TimR_C, Feb 2024
The houseboat tour was wonderful.
Very relaxing and worth doing. Our
guides were excellent and the lunch was very good.
Nicola_W, Feb 2024
This was a great way to experience life in the backwaters of Kochi. It was a small group of 12 people and we travelled by minibus from the port. Although the journey was around 2 hours, the guide made the time pass quickly by sharing lots of information about the local culture.
The backwater experience was super and again, the guide went out of his way to ensure the experience was maximised.
Lunch was provided at a super local restaurant with a sharing platter of Indian dishes which were delicious. We stopped off at Fort Kochi on the way back to the port to see the Chinese fishing nets in action.
A really great trip with a fantastic guide (I just wish I could remember his name!).
C_S, Jan 2024
Guide was pleasant and knowledgeable and provided a great tour and accommodated our wishes. We were very pleased with the experience and highly recommend the service
John_m, Jan 2024
Very boring tour. The houseboat was unimpressive. We went up the lake past many exact same boats. The worst part of the tour was a 2 hour ride each way in the most uncomfortable small bus we have ever ridden in. The seats seemed made for children and I’m not a big guy, a/c was minimal. On the brighter side, our guide Tommy was excellent and tried to make the trip more tolerable.
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Cochin Shore Excursions from Cruise Terminal
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