Southern India Coast to Coast Ride

Traveler Reviews

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  Simon

  November 5th, 2013
  Fantastic people, fantastic scenery and fantastic food. Guides were happy to adapt so that we could ride more and...
  Fantastic people, fantastic scenery and fantastic food. Guides were happy to adapt so that we could ride more and transfer less.The route ws great with plenty of chai and dosa stopsto keep the legs going. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Dropping down through the mountains to Vanilla County with mist over the rainforest and waterfalls everywhere. Simply magic - so much so I had to start singing! What did you think of your group leader? Very flexible to the needs of the group, great knowledge of the country and culture.Show more
  Traveled in October 2013
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  Angela

  April 17th, 2013
  A Brilliant holiday , well organised and with good accomodation. We stayed in two really amazing places and the rest...
  A Brilliant holiday , well organised and with good accomodation. We stayed in two really amazing places and the rest of the accomodation was good. The holiday has a lot of riding and is low on bus transfers. We visited lots of temples, a tea factory and wild life park and all added to the experience. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? The most amazing day was the ride through the tea plantations, the sun was shining , the women were out picking the tea and the whole area looked perfectley manicured. There were also some numerous undulations which made a great ride.   What did you think of your group leader? Peter the leader was absolutely great. Our trip was the second one run and he was continually tweeking and asking for feedback. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? It Can be very hot for the April/May departure, a camelbak is usefiul to keep hydrated. If you feel you might be suffering from het exhaustion don't be afraid to use the airconditioned bus.Using hand gel before eating and for after loo stops wise. We had no serious stomach problems despite all the roadside snacks we sampled.Lots to photograph on the way so a camera that fits in the pocket is much more useful than a SLR ATM,s were a bit haphazard and sometimes it was necessary to try three before getting any money. Probably useful to have some hard currency just in case. In Kochi the palace and symague are closed Friday /Saturday so if you want to visit go Thursday, when you arrive. Is there anything else you would like to add? Good to use so many local places for lunch and tea stops.Cold towels from an iceboox would be very welcome in the temperatures we were cycling  35 centigrade + some of the time.Show more
  Traveled in March 2013
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  David

  March 27th, 2013
  Great route, but cycling in India for me is about pedalling between points of interest, rather than pedalling for its...
  Great route, but cycling in India for me is about pedalling between points of interest, rather than pedalling for its own sake - and this tended towards the latter. That said, this was the first time the trip had been run - and I did have a damned good time. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? The Brihadishwara Temple in Thanjavur - for the astonishing buildings and unexpected sense of calm.  And by way of almost complete contrast, the village temple festival on the road to Kumarakom, which was a riot of music and gold-caparisoned elephants.  The Chettiar town of Karaikudi had a special atmosphere too. What did you think of your group leader? Peter doesn't take sugar in his chai, which is almost unforgivable (!).  He did plan a superb route though. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? Don't worry about the distances - the terrain in Tamil Nadu is extremely flat, and apart from a couple of hilly days in the Ghats, the cycling is not as intimidating as the distances imply;  The books on Chola bronzes in the museum at Thanjavur are poor quality, but you may be able to pick up a reasonably-priced copy of the excellent "The Sensuous and the Sacred" from one of the bookshops in Kochi instead.  This covers much of the same material, but with much better photography; The gentle hike around the Periyar / Kumily National Park seemed to be much better value that the boat trips - we saw plenty of birdlife and monkeys whilst on foot that would not have been visible from the lake;  Handmade soap is much cheaper to buy in Kumily than Kochi; If you have an early start for the flight home, there is a cafe on the roof of Kochi airport that serves a reasonable veg biryani and a very decent coffee (but no chai); Don't forget to pack your trunks - several of the hotels have excellent pools. Is there anything else you would like to add? Perhaps it was because I went on the first of these trips, perhaps it was the dynamic of the group - or perhaps it was just me, but I was hoping for a more integrated cycling / cultural experience than I got.  Whilst appreciating that not everyone is interested in temples (although I have to recommend Michael Wood's "A South Indian Journey", which gives a great flavour of the vibrant living classical civilisation that can be experienced in Tamil Nadu), some of us are - and make the trip to India specifically to see these things and learn more about the country that is hosting us.  We did have a local guide on one day (who gave us an excellent tour of the Meenakshi-Sundareshwarar temple in Madurai), and I would have appreciated more of this level of local engagement.  Having said all of which - I'm sure I'll be back in India in the not too distant future.Show more
  Traveled in February 2013
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  Julie

  March 27th, 2013
  A fantastic trip taking in an array of sights, sounds, smells, tastes and terrain. As a first flavour of a cycling...
  A fantastic trip taking in an array of sights, sounds, smells, tastes and terrain. As a first flavour of a cycling holiday it gave me an enjoyable experience of life in the saddle for a few days. The culinary and cultural stops also made for a memorable holiday. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Reaching the top of the 13k hill, struggling up hairpin bends whilst monkeys looked on leisurely chewing branches.   Watching the sun go down over the tranquil back waters, then waking up on such a millpond with the fishermen quietly going about their business. Banana Jam!!!!!  What did you think of your group leader? Peter our leader was a good judge of character and tended to any needs, the back up support was also superb. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? Make the booking :) Is there anything else you would like to add? You will love it Show more
  Traveled in February 2013
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  Lucy

  March 18th, 2013
  another great trip organised by Peter Bluck going through parts of south india hardly visited by tourists. Lots of...
  another great trip organised by Peter Bluck going through parts of south india hardly visited by tourists. Lots of variety in terms of scenery and accommodation. What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? Pedalling up to Periyar, not as big a climb as the one up to Ooty but still a challenge. Realising we had indeed pedalled from coast to coast. What did you think of your group leader? Peter....great and never flustered. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? It can be very very hot in the lowlands and I would aim for December/January departure for maximum comfort.look out for random speedbumps, I didn't see one as I was too busy looking at  village life and had a spectacular fall. Luckily no major damage and my gashed/grazed arm healed remarkably quickly....I was paranoid about cleaning it and it didn't get infected, which I think is quite unusual for India! Is there anything else you would like to add? Take a comfy saddle as there are some long days and my posterior suffered! Get used to the idea of being photographed by locals incessantly, they clearly were intrigued by us!Take long sleeves and trousers for evenings as there are quite a few mosquitoes.Show more
  Traveled in February 2013
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  Alastair

  March 6th, 2013
  A great new trip from Peter Bluck who created the Kerala and Sri Lankan trips. It was the first time the trip had...
  A great new trip from Peter Bluck who created the Kerala and Sri Lankan trips. It was the first time the trip had been run so there will be some tweaking for future trips but its another winner! What was the most inspirational moment of your trip? The amazing people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. There cheers, waving and welcome. We attracted a lot of attention. Tea stops could cause minor traffic jams as crowds came to greet us. It was funny having our picture taken!The ride through the tea plantations and down hill to the home stay was probably my favourite day but every day was great, diverse in scenery and interest. Chettinad is almost like being on a film set. The Sri Meenakshi-Sundareshwara temple is amazing.Coming across a spectacular festival in a temple just by hearing the music as we cycled. What did you think of your group leader? The reason why I booked this trip was because of Peter. Having cycled around Sri Lanka with him I knew the trip would be good. He is a great group leader. The support staff were also great. There local knowledge steered us through some stunning back streets. We were well looked after. Do you have any advice for potential travellers? Again, this was the first time the trip had been run so the itinerary might be tweaked slightly.Tickets to get inside Auroville should be booked in advance. When we arrived the next available ticket were two days later.Visit the market at Thanjavur.If you want to visit the Periyar Wildlife sanctuary, book tickets in advance if the day of arrival doesn't change.You will see more wildlife in a few minutes on the house boat than an hour in the bird sanctuary but it was worth getting up early for the sunrise! Completely cover yourself with mosquito repellent on the boat. They were biting through clothing! In Fort Cochin the Synagogue is closed Friday and Saturday. The Palace is also closed on Friday, so if arriving on Thursday visit these first. If you want to see the Katharkali dancing I would also suggest booking the tickets early so you can get a seat nearer the front. For those who like a cold beer after a hot day in the saddle be advised that a lot of the hotels do not have a liquor liscense. It might be an idea for exodus to get a cool box (not just for beer) and pick some up on the way. You might have to ask for "special tea or coffee"!  Odomos is a local mosquito repellent, widely available and very cheap. Money - £250 covered everything including tips at the end. There are ATMs if you plan to do a lot of shopping.Camelbaks or something similar I suggest are better than bottles. I would also suggest getting/bringing a handlebar bag. There are so many photo oppurtunities. It would make life easier.  Is there anything else you would like to add? Get on it!Show more
  Traveled in February 2013