🇮🇳

Kochi

India

📷 Pexels — Pexels

Route info

Timezone

GMT+5:30

Currency₹ INR

LanguageHindi / English

Airport transfer~60 minMetro + Feeder Bus / Taxi / Uber/Ola

About Kochi

Kochi is Kerala's cultural and commercial heart — a city of layered histories where Syrian Christian churches, Jewish synagogues, Dutch palaces, and Chinese fishing nets all occupy the same colonial waterfront peninsula. Fort Kochi rewards slow exploration: colourful 500-year-old streets, the best contemporary art scene in South India, and the kind of seafood that gets cooked minutes after it's caught. The backwaters begin right at the doorstep.

Visa requirements

Visa Required

Visa requirements depend on your passport — check your government's travel advice before booking.

Good to know

✓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

Popular airlines on this route

Etihad

Lufthansa

Get deal alerts for Kochi

✈️ Getting there

COKCochin International Airport

📍 30 km⏱ 60 min🚌 Metro + Feeder Bus🚕 Taxi🚌 Uber/Ola

The cheapest option is the KMRL feeder bus to Aluva Metro Station (₹60, 25 minutes) then metro into the city centre (₹50, 30 minutes) — total under ₹120; Uber and Ola offer door-to-door rides for around ₹500–700 depending on destination.

India's fourth busiest international airport by international passenger traffic, Cochin International is modern and well-organised with direct flights from the Gulf, UK, and European connections — notably the world's first fully solar-powered commercial airport, which gives it a quietly progressive character.

Don't Miss

Hidden gems and local experiences in Kochi — beyond the tourist trail.

🎣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.

🚢Book an overnight houseboat from Alleppey (90 minutes by bus from Kochi) rather than a day cruise — the early morning on the backwater canals, when mist hangs over the paddy fields and there are no other boats, is a profoundly different experience from the afternoon tourist traffic.