South India Tours

A tour of southern India takes you to a fascinating and diverse region. Renowned for its friendly people, lush landscapes, divine cuisine and distinctive grand temples with towering pyramidal towers, the southern part of the subcontinent is the perfect option if you're looking for a relaxing yet culturally stimulating holiday. Unlike the north, the pace of southern India is slow and soothing. From the palm-fringed beaches of Goa to the immense white-sand beaches of Kerala, the west coast of the country, wedged between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, offers travellers an ideal place to relax and meditate. Some are home to incredible spas and resorts offering the best Ayurvedic medicine in the country. On the east coast, along the Bay of Bengal, the former Madras is now prosperous, and the temples of Mahabalipuram and Kanchipuram bear witness to the opulence of the former dynasties. Pondicherry retains the 'French touch' of its colonial past and offers a multitude of churches, as does Goa with its legacy of over 400 years of Portuguese occupation. The interior of South India has nothing to envy from the coast. The enchanting illuminations of Mysore Palace enchant the visitor just as much as the unchanging splendour of the extravagant palaces of the Chettinad; the temples of Madurai and Tanjore feature on every tour of South India and attract travellers by the thousands; the tea and spice plantations of Kerala offer a varied choice to all those who, eager for tastes and flavours, wish to bring some back in their suitcases. The most intrepid will dare to go as far as Cape Comorin, the mythical southernmost point of the sub-continent, to watch the most beautiful of sunrises. While many South India tours include a night on a traditional boat in the tranquillity of the backwaters or a fitness break in Kerala, the site of Hampi in Karnataka, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, just three years after the much-visited Taj Mahal in the north, rarely features on a South India tour. And yet it continues to stimulate the imagination, so chaotic, wild and sumptuous is the landscape in which it is set. The same applies to the Hoysala temples of Belur and Halebid and those of Pattadakal, which are rarely visited. The trick to a successful trip to South India is to do less rather than too much. So it's best to plan to go back! You'll find some of our ideas below, but don't forget that all our tours can be customised to meet your every need.