7 Days South India Tour Package

Arrive in Chennai, where you will be met at the airport and transferred privately to your hotel. The sightseeing plan is kept flexible around your international or domestic arrival time.

If time permits, begin in Mylapore, one of the city's oldest neighbourhoods. Visit Kapaleeshwarar Temple to see its colourful gateway tower, active shrines and surrounding flower stalls. It is a useful first introduction to the temple culture you will encounter later in Tamil Nadu.

Continue to San Thome Basilica and, depending on the time available, take a drive along Marina Beach or through selected colonial-era parts of the city.

The evening is intentionally relaxed. After a long flight, it is better to settle into the journey rather than begin the week with an overloaded sightseeing schedule.

Day Highlights:

• Private Chennai airport transfer.
• Kapaleeshwarar Temple and Mylapore.
• San Thome Basilica.
• Relaxed first evening in South India.

Overnight stay in Chennai.

After breakfast, leave Chennai and travel south along the Coromandel Coast to Mahabalipuram, also known as Mamallapuram.

Explore its UNESCO-listed Pallava monuments, beginning with the Shore Temple. Continue to the Pancha Rathas, Arjuna's Penance and selected rock-cut caves. The compact archaeological area makes it possible to see the principal monuments without spending the entire day in transit.

After lunch, continue along the coast to Pondicherry. Check in and spend the late afternoon walking through the French Quarter, with its tree-lined streets, colonial-era buildings and quieter residential lanes.

Finish near the seafront promenade. Pondicherry provides an enjoyable contrast to the monumental heritage of Mahabalipuram and gives the itinerary a more relaxed coastal evening.

Day Highlights:

• Coastal drive from Chennai.
• Shore Temple and Pancha Rathas.
• Arjuna's Penance and Pallava heritage.
• Evening walk in Pondicherry's French Quarter.

Overnight stay in Pondicherry.

Begin with a little more time in Pondicherry. Depending on your interests, visit Sri Aurobindo Ashram, browse the Tamil Quarter, stop at a local market or simply enjoy the distinctive streets around the old French settlement.

Later, drive inland through Tamil Nadu towards Thanjavur. This is one of the longer transfers of the week, so unnecessary sightseeing stops are avoided.

On arrival, visit the magnificent Brihadeeswarar Temple, built during the Chola period and included among the UNESCO-listed Great Living Chola Temples.

Walk through the large temple courtyard with your guide and take time to notice the soaring vimana, monumental Nandi, inscriptions and stone sculpture. Unlike an archaeological ruin, the complex remains an active place of worship.

Day Highlights:

• Morning in historic Pondicherry.
• Drive into Tamil Nadu's Chola heartland.
• UNESCO-listed Brihadeeswarar Temple.
• Introduction to Chola architecture and history.

Overnight stay in Thanjavur.

After breakfast, you may visit the Thanjavur Palace complex or a local workshop associated with traditional Thanjavur painting before continuing south to Madurai.

Arrive in Madurai and check in at your hotel. Later, visit Thirumalai Nayak Palace, known for its huge columns and grand central courtyard.

Continue into the old city for the Meenakshi Amman Temple. Its towering gateways, sculpted halls and active shrines make the visit very different from the earlier monuments at Mahabalipuram and Thanjavur.

Spend some time on foot in the surrounding lanes, where flower sellers, religious shops, textiles and everyday city life remain closely connected with the temple.

If opening schedules and your energy level permit, the evening is an atmospheric time to experience the temple district. Access to some inner sacred areas may be limited under local religious rules.

Day Highlights:

• Optional Thanjavur Palace or traditional art visit.
• Thirumalai Nayak Palace.
• Meenakshi Amman Temple.
• Walk through Madurai's old city.

Overnight stay in Madurai.

After breakfast, leave Madurai and begin the scenic road journey towards Thekkady in Kerala. The landscape gradually changes as the route climbs towards the Western Ghats.

On arrival, check in and visit a spice plantation with a local guide where available. Learn how pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and other tropical crops are grown in the region.

Depending on current schedules and your interests, the afternoon may include a nature activity around the Periyar area, a guided walk, or time to explore the small town and spice shops.

Wildlife sightings should never be treated as guaranteed. The value of Thekkady is also in its forested setting, plantation landscape and the slower pace after several heritage-focused days.

In the evening, an optional cultural performance such as Kalaripayattu or Kathakali can be arranged subject to availability.

Day Highlights:

• Cross the Western Ghats from Tamil Nadu into Kerala.
• Guided spice plantation experience.
• Periyar landscape and nature activities.
• Optional Kerala cultural performance.

Overnight stay in Thekkady.

After breakfast, descend from the hills towards Alleppey (Alappuzha), passing through Kerala's increasingly tropical lowland scenery.

Around midday, board a private or shared traditional-style houseboat according to your confirmed package. Cruise slowly through the backwaters past canals, coconut palms, paddy fields and small waterside communities.

Lunch and dinner are generally served on board according to the houseboat plan. The exact menu and cruising route vary with the boat category, local navigation conditions and season.

Rather than treating the houseboat simply as accommodation, use the afternoon to watch daily life along the waterways. Smaller village canals may require a canoe or separate excursion because larger houseboats cannot enter every channel.

For more context on this part of the journey, see our Kerala backwaters and beaches guide.

Day Highlights:

• Scenic drive from the Western Ghats to the coast.
• Board an Alleppey houseboat.
• Backwater cruise through Kerala's rural landscape.
• Meals and overnight stay on the houseboat.

Overnight stay on an Alleppey houseboat.

Enjoy breakfast on board before the houseboat returns to its finishing point. Disembark and drive north towards Kochi.

If your flight departs later in the day, spend time in Fort Kochi. Depending on opening hours, visit St. Francis Church, the waterfront near the Chinese fishing nets and the old streets shaped by centuries of maritime trade.

If time allows, continue to the Mattancherry area for the palace, spice-trading quarter and nearby heritage streets. The exact sightseeing plan should be adjusted around your confirmed departure time rather than risking a rushed airport transfer.

Later, transfer privately to Cochin International Airport for your onward flight. If you prefer to spend a night in Kochi, the trip can easily be extended to eight days.

Your seven-day journey finishes after combining two distinct parts of South India: Tamil Nadu's temple and coastal heritage with Kerala's spice country and backwaters.

Day Highlights:

• Breakfast and disembarkation from the houseboat.
• Fort Kochi sightseeing when flight timing permits.
• Historic waterfront and colonial-era streets.
• Private transfer to Cochin International Airport.

Tour concludes in Kochi.