Kerala, india

hi looking for the stw massive help,

me and the gf are off to kerala in india next week and have only booked the flights. looking for the STW massives help to find us some accomodation, not looking for flashy more good location and clean.

Also things to do over there and places we should visit, might also see if i can get a day mtbing in if there are any companies offering bike hire and guide i know there are some mountains close by and looking at getting up there for a few days.

Any ideas much appriciated

for biking it might be worth contacting these fellas[/url]

Depends where you are going in Kerala really. If you go to Cochin (most people do, its pretty interesting) then I recommend the Arches Hotel. Its clean and very well kept and cheap. Nice rooftop restaurant where they serve brekky.
http://www.hotelarches.com/

In terms of acttivities the houseboat cruise is a must of course. Your hotel will be able to sort it all (the Arches sorted us). You can pick a variety of routes and times. We did 2 days from Allepey to Kollam. Truly amazing.

Not sure about MTB. You would have to head up into the hills but I bet someone will run them, perhaps not the most advanced though! The hill stations are a great place to visit too. There is trekking, wildlife sanctuaries, cooking courses etc.

And then in the south of course you have the beaches, primarily around Kovalam. There are a couple of high end luxury hotels (I stayed at the Taj Green Grove for a few nights £££) but for a budget clean and tidy option I have also stayed at a place called Molly's across the road
http://www.mollyskovalam.com/
Its away from the beach though but charming and with good food. There a dozens of options down by the public beach.

Can't really comment on accommodation – we booked a cut-price package to Kovalam because it was cheaper than flight only, then left our room locked for 8 days while we explored the region, using the provided accommodation to unwind at the start and end of the holiday. Defo recommend an overnight house boat – we arranged our own for around 25% of the price of the trip our rep was promoting – great experience, cost us peanuts. Cochin and Madurai are both worth visiting, and Kodaikanal is weird but interesting up in the mountains – took a taxi from Cochin to save time, 8 hours around £50, great views, mountain scenery and an interesting journey/stay. And if you've not done one before, do a train journey somewhere. Nice part of the world – enjoy your trip.

We stayed at the Blue Sea in Kovalam, up on a hill, and interesting 'cos it is, if I recall, completely cylindrical.
A good roof for having a wee toke and playing backgammon, and clean rooms.

Try a houseboat trip as well for a coupla nights, as that's a good experience.

One tip, though. If you like your sleep unbroken, take some earplugs with you. Seriously, there's no end of dogs-a-barking, cocks-a-crowing, holy men calling folk to prayer, festivals-a-celebrating and so on.

Have a great time and take something to settle your stomachs. Things will happen.

+1 on the house boat. Amazing.

cheers for the advice

good to here about other people experiences rather than reading from a guide book