Grand Tour of South India... Our Signature Family-friendly Holiday

20 days from £11,580 for 2025 per person

• Chennai
• Pondicherry
• Tanjore
• Chettinad
• Madurai
• Periyar
• Vazhoor
• Kumarakom
• Mararikulam
• Cochin

This itinerary features in our Top 10 Family Holidays.

This fabulous journey around South India cherry-picks the region's highlights including the colonial charm of Cochin, the buzzing temple-town of Madurai and the fabulous architecture of Tanjore and Pondicherry.

Start your South India family adventure with the colonial city of Chennai; the noisy jostle of the Tamil Nadu capital will encapsulate your senses as you wander through the eclectic Anglo-Indian architecture and soak up the sights. The next stop of your adventure will take you to the old French town of Pondicherry. Mediterranean in feel, there is plenty to keep you occupied, including papermaking, silk weaving, doll making and excellent shopping. After two nights in ‘Pondi’ continue your journey to Tanjore, where you will spend two nights at Svatma Tanjavur. Fill your time learning local craft skills such as painting, weaving and bronze casting, as well as local dance and culinary classes. Continuing on from Tanjore you will spend two nights at the Art Deco mansion Visalam in Chettinad, followed by two nights in the colourful and extrovert town of Madurai. Come to Periyar next where you will be truly submersed by the South Indian jungle. Elephant, samba, bison, wild boar and occasionally tigers and leopards can be seen in this vast reserve, an exciting thrill for all the family. Vazhoor will be your next stop where you can wander the fertile cocoa, pepper, coffee, pineapple, papaya and banana plantations. A stay at the charming Serenity will be sure to steal your heart, especially once you meet their resident elephant! Onwards with your journey and you will reach tropical Kumarakom, fringed by the Keralan Backwaters, where you will stay at the charming Coconut Lagoon. The final phase of your adventure will reward you with some much needed R&R in the sleepy fishing village of Mararikulam at the Marari Beach Resort, before heading to Cochin to explore the winding canals of the Backwaters.

This luxury holiday is purely a suggested itinerary. It can be booked as it is, or alternatively used as a starting point for creating your own perfect tailor-made tour of India. If you'd like to see similar trips, take a look at our Epic Journeys and Family Holidays collections; as well as our favourite Honeymoon, Beach and Culinary Tour itineraries.

I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad.
George Bernard Shaw