Sacred South India with Keralas Backwaters Extension - Private Tour

Use discount code TOUR200 at the checkout to save £200 per person on selected tours departing in June 2026, July 2026, August 2026, September 2026, October 2026, November 2026, December 2026, January 2027, February 2027, March 2027, April 2027, May 2027, June 2027, July 2027, August 2027, September 2027, October 2027, November 2027 and December 2027

The order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions or for operational purposes. For this reason, we have indicated approximate times only. Your local guide will inform you of any schedule changes as they are informed of them. The driving times listed are point to point and do not include the duration of excursions or stops en route. Some road construction and/or weather conditions may lengthen the driving times. Our intention is to adhere to the day to day itinerary as printed; however, order of events and sightseeing may vary according to local conditions.

If booking more than 12 weeks before departure a deposit of £295.00pp will need to be paid at the time of booking with the full amount payable at 12 weeks prior to departure. The deposit applies to adults and children. If you are within 12 weeks of travel then the full balance of the holiday will be payable.

A visa is required for entry into India. British Citizen Passport Holders will need to obtain a tourist visa. You can apply for an E-visa no more than 30 days in advance. Your E-visa must be valid for your whole trip so please ensure the expiry date is for the whole duration of your stay. Alternatively you can visit The Indian Visa Application Centre in London: 142-148 Goswell Road, London, EC1B 7DU. We also work closely with The Travel Visa Company who will be able to arrange your visa on your behalf. Please call them on 01270 250 590 and quote 'Mercury Holidays'. Additionally, you will need to complete an e-Arrival Card within 72 hours before your arrival. This can be done on the Indian visa website: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/earrival/. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months before you enter India. Visa requirements are subject to change and obtaining a visa is the responsibility of the traveller and not Mercury Holidays. We recommend you check with your destinations' Tourist Board or Embassy prior to departure for the most up to date guidelines regarding visas and passport validity.

We strongly recommend that you and all members of your party are suitably insured as soon as you book your holiday. It is a condition of booking that you must have suitable travel insurance. It is important that you purchase travel insurance that suitably covers your participation in whatever activities you may undertake at the time that you make your booking. To assist you with this, we have arranged travel insurance in partnership with Holiday Extras, including up to a 20% discount, which is given to all Mercury Holidays customers. To arrange your insurance with Holiday Extras, please visit https://www.mercuryholidays.co.uk/info/insurance for more details. Please ensure you provide us with the name of your insurer, policy number and their 24 hour emergency contact number as soon as possible. Mercury Holidays will not be liable for any costs incurred by you due to your failure to take out suitable travel insurance from the date of booking.

It is your responsibility to check any health and vaccination requirements applicable to your booked arrangements. We can only provide general information about this. Health and hygiene facilities and disease risks vary from country to country. You should take health advice about your own needs as early as possible and in good time before your departure. Sources of information include; www.fco.gov.uk, www.travelhealthpro.org.uk, www.hpa.org.uk, your General Practitioner or a specialist clinic.

All our tours feature a “Tour Pace” to help find the right holiday for you. To travel on any of our tours requires unaided mobility and the ability to stroll around the sights, climb stairs and get on and off coaches and boats. The tour pace of Sacred South India is rated Intermediate. A good level of fitness is required as you may be on your feet for approximately four hours in a day, though this will be interspersed with regular breaks and will vary from day to day. You will be walking around the sights, and you will be getting on and off coaches, trains and boats and climbing steps which may be irregular. You will stay in variety of hotels throughout the tour. Our guides will always endeavour to provide the highest level of service and assistance; however, they cannot be expected to cater for customers who are unfit to complete the itinerary. Early morning trains and flights depending upon the schedule and some early morning sightseeing’s are also in this tour.

The currency in India is the Rupee or Rs. The Rupee is a closed currency and officially you are not allowed to take any cash out of India. US Dollars and GBP are also widely accepted in India should you wish to keep an alternative currency on you. There are restrictions on taking Indian rupees into India. Visitors, including tourists, are not permitted to take any amount of Indian currency into the country. You can take cash or travellers' cheques (in pounds sterling or another foreign currency) and/or a bank card with you and exchange or withdraw rupees once in India. Cash machines will also be available throughout the tour in order to withdraw money in your local currency. It is important that you budget carefully and ensure you have the right form of currency before you arrive in the country.

As normal practice you may be asked for your credit card details on check-in at the hotel in order to cover any extras incurred during your stay. If you do not have a credit card, you may be asked for a cash deposit. MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted in hotels as well as American Express.

You will need to take some extra money with you to cover any personal purchases, such as souvenirs, laundry and extra drinks and snacks. Approximately £400 per person will be sufficient for the duration of the tour.

It is customary to tip your guide and driver. This is at your discretion, but we recommend you allow approximately £4-£5 for each guide and £2-£3 for each driver per person per day. It is asked that you tip in pounds and not local currency, please do not give coins as these are difficult to exchange. This will total to approx £85 per person. If you want to additionally tip your Bell boy, porter etc this is up to your discretion, We would estimate general tipping to cost approx £20 per person. All tips will be collected by your guide at the beginning of your tour for your convenience. Tips are accepted in the local currency, however, it is asked that if you do not tip in the local currency that you only pay with notes, as coins cannot be exchanged

This is a fully escorted tour. A national guide will meet you on arrival and accompany you throughout your trip. In certain cities, local guides will join you to provide expert insight based on the sites visited.

For private tours, you will travel with either a Driver Guide or a Driver plus local guides. They will accompany all sightseeing. Private tours can depart any day of the week, subject to transport schedules and attraction opening times. These tours follow the brochure itinerary unless otherwise advised and include all listed meals, sightseeing, and excursions.

There is no accompanying Tour Escort for this extension, however, you will be met by a local guide in Kochi for sightseeing. Your houseboat is part of a shared service.

Your accommodation is selected for convenience, location, comfort or character. Hotel accommodation is generally rated as local three to four-star standard, but please note there is no international classification system for hotels, and differences in facilities and quality do exist between the UK and India. All group tours hotels have private bathroom facilities and air-conditioning, where needed. Rest assured that all accommodation used by Mercury Holidays is regularly inspected by our staff and partners to ensure that standards meet your needs.

A triple room is available but please note that this will be a twin room with a fold away bed for the 3rd passenger.

House Boats

During this tour you will have a night’s stay on board a traditional houseboat as the best way to experience the backwaters of Kerala. The houseboats are built using traditional methods and there is no standardised design or layout. Your group will be split across a range of houseboats each one with between one and six bedrooms. Some will have a single deck consisting of bedrooms and a seated dining area, others may have an upper deck as well. The simple bedrooms feature en-suite and air conditioning but of necessity do not have the same comfort/facilities of a hotel room.

The crew on the ship will prepare your meals in a traditional Keralan style and are employed from the local villages so their English is basic. The guide will be available but as the group is split he will not be on your houseboat at all times.

There will be some activities arranged in the evenings but there is little to do after dark so we would recommend bringing board games, cards, books, etc… to take advantage of this time for relaxation.

Breakfast is always a combination of Indian and western style and served in the hotel each morning (sometimes a packed breakfast depending on train journey). Lunch and dinner where applicable will be taken in hotel/wayside restaurants. A variety of restaurants are visited giving you the chance to experience a range of dishes and flavours.

Please contact Customer Experience for questions about other dietary requirements or allergy information. Vegan, vegetarian and non-spicy meal options are available, all meal requests need to be sent over to our suppliers before travel.

It is not recommended to drink the tap water, even in developed countries water may contain unfamiliar elements that can cause upset stomachs. In less developed countries water is not filtered in the same way, so to ensure your comfort and well-being, two bottles of drinking water will be provided on touring days.

There are some dry hotels in India, and some hotels where alcohol can be consumed on the premise but must be brought in from outside. Your guide will pre-warn you of this and if anyone in the group would like to purchase drinks before getting then he will arrange for you to visit a local shop and get what you need wherever possible.

Please note that Kerala has strict laws regarding the governance of the sale of alcohol in public places including hotels and restaurants. The sale and consumption of alcohol is therefore often restricted in hotels, varying from one establishment to another. You may however bring your own alcohol with you for private consumption in your room.

Dry days are when the sale of alcohol is not allowed. Most of the Indian states observe these days on major national festivals/occasions such as Republic Day in January, Independence Day in August and Gandhi Jayanti in October. Dry days are also observed during elections in India. Tiruvannamalai being a religious city, alcohol is generally not available locally. In Kerala the liquor shops are closed on the 1st of every month and public holidays.

During visits to Churches/Temples please note long trousers or skirts should be worn to cover knees, Long sleeved tops should be worn to cover shoulders and ladies should bring a scarf to cover your head.

On your arrival in Chennai you will be met by a representative from our local agent, Earthen Experiences, holding a sign displaying: “Mercury Holidays”. The Mercury Holidays/Earthen Experiences representative will show you to your transfer vehicle. Your guide will be able to answer any queries.

If you need to contact Earthen Experiences during your stay the details are:

Earthen Experiences, 2 DDA Commercial Complex, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi, 110017

Telephone Number: 0091 11 4921 1000 (09:30 – 18:00)

Monday to Fridays E-mail: info@earthenexperiences.com

Please find below the emergency contact details for Earthen Experiences:

Mr. Mohammad Kaushar – General Manager: 24 hour number: 0091 98 9974 0800

E-mail Address: mohammad.kaushar@earthenexperiences.com

Mr. Anuj Negi – Director: 24-hour number: 0091 9910859004

E-mail Address: anuj.negi@earthenexperiences.com

• Sunglasses, Sunscreen and hat in summer
• Warm clothing and thermals in winter
• Long trousers or skirt, a top with sleeves and a head covering (required when entering any religious sites)
• Comfortable walking shoes
• Camera and charger
• Mosquito Repellent
• Loo paper for public WCs
• Antibacterial hand gel
• Binoculars
• Personal first aid kit containing travel pills, rehydration powder, plasters, stomach settlers, antiseptic creams, aspirin etc
• Small day pack for excursions
• Waterproof, lightweight jacket
• Lightweight clothing
• An electric plug converter – The voltage in India is 220 Volts with plugs and sockets having either grounded 3 pin connections or ungrounded 2 pin connections