Cultural Tour To Vaikom Village

Beware, the tour operator did not show up to pick us up.

Tour operator did not show up to pick us up. We were told that we would be "welcomed by your representative and private guide at the port". We were outside waiting at 8:15am for a 8:30am pickup. We kept walking outside looking for the sign. Finally at 8:45am another tour operator asked us if we needed help. He called this tour operator who finally called back after the 3rd call. He denied our reservation. The tour operator helping us took a photo of our Viator ticker voucher and this tour operator was caught. He finally sent a taxi driver for us with no sign or identification for this tour. Way late. We only went with the taxi driver because the helpful tour operator told us it was legitimate. We did not get the open country boat back water cruise, the canoe ride or seeing the local potter. Very disappointing. This tour operator did not offer a refund for the parts we missed due to his failure.

Response from the operator: Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We sincerely apologize for the confusion and the stressful start to your day at the port. It was never our intention for you to feel unattended. Due to a misunderstanding regarding the exact pickup point, we had to arrange a vehicle from the port at the last minute, and we truly regret the delay this caused. Regarding the itinerary, because your cruise departure time was earlier than anticipated which we came to know lately, we had to adjust the program slightly to ensure you returned safely and on time to the ship. For this reason, the 30-minute canoe ride was cut and shortened for safety and timing considerations. This decision was made purely to ensure you reached the shore comfortably and did not risk missing your cruise. However, we understand from our local vendor that you really enjoyed your time with local guide and activities like temple visits, coir making (traditional and modern methods), mat weaving, coconut fiber processing, coconut leaf weaving, village walk, coconut products display, toddy tasting, traditional lunch, and a special welcome with tender coconut. We truly regret if the adjustments made the experience feel incomplete. We have been operating both internal and international custom made holidays , local experiances for cruise shiips in asian countries since 2003 and we always strive to provide authentic and memorable experiences. As you may notice from our previous reviews, service issues like this are extremely rare for us may be 1-3. Nevertheless, your feedback is very important and helps us improve our coordination procedures further. If you or anyone you know plans to visit Cochin in the future, we would be happy to personally assist and extend a special courtesy.Once again, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused and thank you for your valuable feedback. Warm regards,

via Viator

Great Experience

This tour is fabulous if you like a local cultural experience. It was a private tour in an air conditioned car. Our very skilled driver, Saradh, spoke English and was easy to converse with during the hour drive to Viakom village. We picked up our delightful guide, Meera, just outside of the town. Her English was great. She was personable and passionate while introducing us to women sustainable in Kerala, the historic temple, and especially the walking tour of the village. The local families demonstrated all the ways they process coconut - fascinating! Then we were treated to some samples, a boat ride, followed by a tuk tuk ride to a local home stay, Orchid Villa, for a delicious traditional Kerala meal on banana leaves. The driver did a great job getting us back to Port timely for boarding our ship. Highly recommend.

Response from the operator: Thank you for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear you enjoyed the local cultural experience, the village tour, and the traditional Kerala meal. Your positive feedback means a lot to us. Highly appreciated!

via Tripadvisor

Best boat tour in Kerala

This is absolutely the best tour in Kerala! If you want to see the backwaters up close, you have to get in a small canoe. This is where Viator's Eco-tour to Vaikom really excels. From the beginning of our booking online, the communication was quick and easy. They picked us up promptly at our hotel in Ft Kochi and brought us to the dock in Viakom. We were met by Shiva, our wonderful guide for the day. We and about 20 other tourists boarded a medium-sized canoe that was covered with a cane roof and pole-powered by 2 men. There were comfortable chairs in this boat and they also had a bathroom on board. We set off into the tiny backwaters as Shiva gave us interesting commentary on what we were seeing. Shiva was very knowledgeable about flora, fauna and village life, we really appreciated having him on the tour. We saw many beautiful birds too. We landed on a small island where the company has arranged with a local family to provide a few demonstrations. The lady of the house demonstrated the traditional way to make coir rope from coconut shells while Shiva explained what she was doing. This demo was really cool! She also demonstrated how she could make palm leaf shingles for her roof. She did this quickly with her fingers and toes and amazed us all. After the demo on the island, we got back on the boat and were taken to a private home in Vaikom for a traditional Kerala lunch on a banana leaf. It was superb and not too spicy for us gringos. After lunch we boarded small canoes that held only about 6 people each and were again powered by pole drivers. We were treated to a beautiful, quiet glide down tiny canals, right past all sorts of homes, both rich and poor, children swimming in the river, and sunlight dappling through the thick forest leaves all around us. It was magical! Finally, we landed again and were taken back to our various hotels. This tour was so well thought out and so well executed. There wasn't anything that could've been done any better. We really came away with a sense of Kerala cultural heritage, we helped the local village by bringing our tourist dollars out of the city, and we learned so much thanks to Shiva, our excellent guide. If you are limited on time and have to choose between houseboat and Vaikom Eco-tour, skip the houseboat and take this tour. Most tourists who come to Ft Kochi do the houseboat tours because they are so heavily promoted. We did that too and while that was certainly nice and relaxing, be advised that the houseboats are too big for the small backwaters, they can only go on the big canals, and they are powered by diesel fuel, which ultimately pollutes the river because there are hundreds and hundreds of houseboats. In a houseboat, you are literally sitting on the boat all day watching the sidelines float by from a fair distance. This Vaikom Ecc-tour gets you up close and personal and gives you a sense of what it's really like in the backwaters. Best of all, you get to meet some of the wonderful people of Kerala.

via Viator

Beautiful Eco tourist village

Kumbalangi village is surrounded by backwaters and the village is particularly famous for its eco-tourism activities such as Coir Making, Crab Farming, Fishing, Chinese Nets and many more. This village is blessed with many natural wonders and the people who visits are treated very well by the locals , there are few home stay options too in the village.

Response from the operator: Thanks for your valuable feedback

via Tripadvisor

A Great tout to a great heritage place

We were thinking about to visit a heritage and then decide to travel Kochin. When reached at the port, we were welcomed by the representative of the Globe Travel. After the with the help of their guide we visited Vaikom village and I can say Mahadev Temple was just an art of beauty and faith. Materials made by villagers was also one of a kind of beauty, the ropes made of dried coconut was so good. Also we got a chance to interact with local villagers and they invited us inside to their house and we have a lunch with them. Vaikom village was full of diversity and traditions.

Response from the operator: Thanks for your valuable feedback

via Tripadvisor