Kannan

We had a great experience in our seven nights trip in Kerala beginning with Kumarakom to Trivandrum. We visited Athirapalli falls, Munnar, Thekady, Guruvayur, Trivandrum and others. It was a delightful mix of spiritual experiences at Guruvayurappan temple, Padmanabhaswamy temple, and lush green in Munnar, waterfalls at Athirapalli, boating in lakes/backwaters, nature walk in Periyar Tiger Reserve. Kerala cuisine, well developed hotels arranged by Iris holidays, a resort wedding, boat house stays make this trip memorable. It was made possible by Iris(Kannan), our driver (who became a friend) Shijo Kurian, who tried his best to accommodate all our wishes. His careful road manners, guidance and selection of shoes such as Raga martial arts/dance programs have made this an experience that will be lasting in our memories.

From my initial contact with Iris Holidays, to which I was attracted by the exceptional reviews here at Tripadvisor, I came in contact with Saranya who became our trip adviser. We immediately knew that we were in professional and safe hands, all of our queries were answered in a timely and friendly manner, and our trip customised to enable us to start from our hotel in Kochi and be dropped off at another hotel in Kovalam at the end of the tour. The package that was put together was Munnar (2 nights), Thekkady (2 nights), Alleppey (1 night), Alleppey Private Houseboat (1 night) and Marari (1 night). I was a bit apprehensive about paying 50% deposit in advance, but this worry was not necessary at all. We opted for 4* accommodation which was just perfect, with very well selected hotels throughout the trip. Our driver Mr Kannan was just amazing, he drove very safely in some challenging situations, took care of us and we felt secure in the knowledge that he was keeping an eye on our luggage whenever we left the car to visit attractions. We were two people and the Innova car was a perfect size for us to be comfortable, and to accommodate all of our luggage for 3 weeks of travelling.

Kannan was my travel agent and he organised a perfect customised itinerary. Gave honest advice and made adjustments to itinerary when requested. Excellent choice of hotels. Akash was my driver and tour guide. Honestly I don’t think I would have got a better tour guide- he was like a friend and gave sincere suggestions about the places to find the best activities and where to eat, buy snacks and souvenirs.

We had a fantastic one week vacation in Kerala in December. Kannan had planned the 7 days in Munnar and Alapuzha perfectly taking into account all of our desires. The holiday began with sightings of wild elephants at Anakulam and then just got better and better. Our driver, Afsal, was extremely knowledgeable and helped us experience all of the local culture and cuisine. If we do another Kerala trip, we will definitely reach out to Iris Holidays and Afsal.