Kochi is the cultural capital of Kerala, a port city where Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial layers meet a centuries-old Jewish quarter, Chinese fishing nets, and India's biggest contemporary art biennale. It's the natural launching point for backwater cruises in Alleppey and the tea hills of Munnar.
✈️ Get deal alerts for Eindhoven → Kochi — free
- 🏠 Deals from your home airport, first
- 🆓 Free to start — no credit card needed
- ⚡ Plus & Pro unlock all deals & features
How FairFares works
Not search results — real price drops, verified before they reach you.
Scan daily
3,000+ routes checked multiple times a day
Compare history
Each fare measured against months of price data
Score & rank
Only genuine drops surface — no fake "deals"
Alert you
Instant notification when your route drops
Quick facts
Timezone
Asia/Kolkata
Currency
₹ INR
Language
Hindi / English
City transfer
~60 min
Metro + Feeder Bus / Taxi / Uber/Ola
Best time to visit
best weatherdeals available
Don't miss
Watch (or help operate) the Chinese fishing nets on Fort Kochi's waterfront at sunset — the fishermen welcome tourists to grab the ropes for a small tip. Then walk 50 metres to the fish stalls where they'll cook your catch on the spot for ₹100–200.
Visit Fort Kochi's galleries on Burgher Street and the Aspinwall House warehouses — during the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (December–April) these become one of the world's largest public art festivals. Even off-season the contemporary Kerala art scene here is remarkable.
Take the public ferry from Fort Kochi Jetty to Vypeen Island (₹4 each way) rather than a tourist backwater cruise — 10 minutes across the harbour with fishermen on every side and no other tourists. Walk the quiet backroads of Vypeen for a genuine Kerala island experience.
Eat the lunchtime biryani at Kayees Rahmathulla Café in Mattancherry — open since 1948, the Kochi-style biryani is lightly spiced, fragrant, and completely different from Hyderabadi or Lucknowi styles. Under ₹200 per person, gone by 2 pm.
Weekend itinerary · 3 days
Day 1
Chinese Fishing Nets at Sunset
Head straight to the waterfront on arrival. The cantilevered nets are at their most photogenic when the afternoon light turns golden — arrive by 4:30 pm. The fishermen at the last net on the north end are most welcoming to visitors who want to help haul.
Mattancherry Palace (Dutch Palace)
A 10-minute walk from the nets — the Mattancherry Palace contains extraordinary 17th-century Hindu murals depicting the Ramayana in incredible detail. Often overlooked, rarely crowded, and ₹5 entry.
Jew Town & Paradesi Synagogue
Continue east through the antique shop street of Jew Town to the Paradesi Synagogue — one of the oldest active synagogues in the Commonwealth. The antique shops nearby sell genuine Kerala bronzes and Dutch-era furniture.
Kashi Art Café
The social centre of Fort Kochi's art scene — mismatched furniture, rotating gallery exhibitions, and excellent Kerala filter coffee. Open from 8:30 am.
Day 2
Vypeen Island Ferry
Take the 7 am public ferry from Fort Kochi Jetty to Vypeen Island (₹4). Walk or take a tuktuk to Cherai Beach — a long, clean beach on the island's north tip where the backwaters and sea almost meet. Almost no foreign tourists.
Cherai Beach & Backwater Walk
The narrow spit of land at Cherai's south end allows you to walk with the Arabian Sea on one side and the still backwater lagoon on the other — one of Kerala's most unusual landscapes.
Fort Kochi Heritage Walk
Return by afternoon ferry and walk Fort Kochi's heritage streets — the 1503 Church of St Francis where Vasco da Gama was originally buried, the British cemetery, and Bastion Bungalow are within a 20-minute walk of each other.
Fort House Restaurant
A waterfront restaurant where a banyan tree grows through the dining room — the Kerala fish curry, prawn fry, and karimeen (pearl spot fish) are the things to order. Eat outside on the jetty at dusk.
Day 3
Alleppey Backwaters Day Trip
Take the 7:30 am KSRTC bus from Ernakulam to Alleppey (1.5 hrs, ₹60). Hire a small shikara boat (₹400 per hour) rather than a tourist houseboat — the narrower canals inaccessible to large boats are where village life actually happens.
Alleppey Backwater Canal Walk
Walk the canal paths north of Alleppey town through the web of waterways and paddy fields. The village women washing clothes and the coconut coir workshops along the banks make for a slow, rewarding morning.
Return to Kochi
Take the afternoon bus back and spend the final evening on the Fort Kochi waterfront watching the fishing nets silhouette against the last light over the harbour.
Varambu, Kumbalangi
A backwater-side restaurant in the model tourism village of Kumbalangi, 20 minutes by tuktuk from Fort Kochi — super-fresh local fish cooked simply in Kerala style. Call ahead as they run limited covers.
Travel tips
- →Stay in Fort Kochi rather than the modern Ernakulam side to be within walking distance of the historic sights
- →Catch an evening Kathakali performance to see the elaborate makeup applied before the show
- →Book a houseboat in Alleppey at least a day in advance, ideally an overnight trip
More Weekend deals in India
Planning a trip to Kochi?
Kochi travel guide →