By now, everyone in India must have visited Kerala. But very few may have enjoyed it. Your usual destinations of Aleppey, Kochi, Moonnar, Thekkady and a host of temples are the most you have gone to. In this series, I am trying to take you to destinations you may have never heard of or haven't passed through. A journey is worth a remember than the destination is the key to this approach. If you are used to the tour operator driven itinerary, then go ahead and good luck with it.

Here are some basics. Kerala is ideally be divided into four parts for a tourist from outside Kerala looking at the airports. North Kerala where ideally you should land in Bangalore or Mangalore or Kannur and return to same place. The second is Cochin which is a familiar place but there are much more to do here than what has been informed to you. The third is South Kerala wherein your entry point should be Trivandrum. The fourth is central Kerala where you can either use Cochin or Trivandrum as the base. If you try to mix up all these in one trip, then you are sure to get stranded only in your vehicle day in and day out or in hotels with nothing to see other than fellow tourists.

In Kerala, distances should not be calculated in kilometers, but on your watch. So if you are travelling 50 kilometers, consider 2 hours. And if it is a hilly terrain, escalate it to 3. Avoid touch and go tourism. 90% of tourists in Kerala do not spend more than 30 minutes at one place. Their guides are busy showing them the maximum places in minimum time. They consider you as a pack of sheep that can be herded at their will. Do not waste your time and money on these shepherds. Make your own plan and any place you like, stay for long even if you have nothing to do there.

Stop mixing pilgrimage with holidaying. If you are more interested in temples and churches, better plan it accordingly. Most holiday planners in north India and west India showcase temples to attract elderly and god fearing tourists. When you grow older and have spare time, do make visits as many temples as you want to. But during holidays enjoy the nature with your kids.

Most people fly to Kerala. Train travel is not only for the poor, but even for those who like to enjoy the nature. Konkan route from Mumbai (or from Delhi) to Kerala is a treat to watch even from your tinted windows of the train. It can not only be rejuvenating but a great refreshing experience for your kids. Since the route is passing through high mountains and tunnels, during monsoon, you may get delayed. But it still is an enchanting experience.
Travelling is experiencing the place, its people, culture and most importantly the food. There is a myth that Kerala provides only rice and that too with coconut oil. With the price of coconut oil touching roof, hotels have stopped it long back. With inundated tourist inflow, rice is replaced with wheat. The state is now filled with North Indian food looking at the demand of the tourists. But try tasting Kerala food. You have a lot of variety – vegetarian or otherwise.

The taxi drivers in Kerala are decent, well versed with Hindi and English and are well educated. Most they are post graduates and chances are the vehicles they drive are their own. The vehicle is well maintained and don't get into your usual habit of spit your beetel nuts through the window. If you are decent to them, they will also be highly decent. But do not treat them as slaves as you do in other parts of India. They are your guide right through your journey. Treat them with respect and arrange for their stay and food, if the hotel doesn't give one. A good sleep for your driver will be safe journey for you. If you like your hard drinks, try booking at hotels with bars or ask your driver to find premium Beverages stores on the way. The normal Beverages Corporation shops have long queues while the premium ones are super markets at a small price. But Kerala can be enjoyed without drinks for sure.

So have a look at these routes and see let me know your feedback by putting comments here. I have tried to add day wise itinerary to each places that includes wayside joints to eat your meals, resorts or hotels in the area where you can book your stay and also activities for extra day in case you want to stay a day or two longer. Each itinerary will cost you Rs.50 which will go into the fine tuning of the planning. Trust me, it is worth that investment.