Iris Holidays were simply fabulous from start to finish! We’re two female friends from London on our first (and definitely not last) trip to India and Iris made our introduction to this incredible country so spectacular. We did the 8 day Kerala tour, which covered a lot of ground visiting many beautiful locations in Kerala.
Our flight was delayed by nearly 24 hours and Iris were really flexible pushing back the itinerary and collecting us from the airport at an unsocial hour.
We had requested The Leaf Hotel in Munnar (which we would highly recommend) and Iris were really helpful arranging that, with us making the extra payment given it was a 4 star. Mr Manoj our driver was absolutely brilliant throughout, a really lovely man who looked out for us every step of the way and made lots of suggestions for additional things too do at each location, in addition to the full and very well thought through itinerary.
Additional activities we did included a fantastic jeep safari in Munnar, Poovar Backwaters on our way to Kanyakumari and a kathakali/ martial arts performance. Allow a budget of around 6000 rupees (roughly £65) per person for the extras.
We were so awed by the Temple Festival decorations adorning the roadside, and Mr Manoj even did an impromptu visit to a local festival on a drive back from one of the excursions, which was an amazing experience! We really enjoyed getting to know him over the 8 days and had some good laughs. He also kept us supplied with ample bottled water, which was a nice bonus in the heat.
Although we packed a lot in, the itinerary was well paced, so that we could grab rest time at intervals and on the drives. All the accommodation was of a great standard, with helpful and friendly staff and fabulous authentic Keralan food. We would give Iris and Mr Manoj 10 stars if we could :-)
