Kerala Tour Itineraries by Tempo Traveller — 5, 7 & 10-Day Loops

A Kerala tour by Tempo Traveller from Trivandrum typically runs as one of three loops — a 5-day Kovalam-Alleppey-Munnar circuit, a 7-day expansion that adds Thekkady and Wayanad, or a 10-day inter-state loop that crosses into Tamil Nadu for Madurai and Kanyakumari. Mango Cabs has run these loops out of Trivandrum since 2005, and the day-by-day pacing below is how our drivers actually run them — leave times, drive durations, stop notes, and which Tempo Traveller size is the right call for each.

For the full Tempo Traveller hire menu including 12, 14, 17 and 26-seater configurations, start at the full Tempo Traveller hire menu. For multi-vehicle Kerala tour packages from Trivandrum that aren't Tempo-Traveller-specific, see our Kerala tour packages from Trivandrum. WhatsApp the trip details — dates, group size, which itinerary shape — and our Trivandrum office confirms the vehicle, driver and transparent quote in 10 minutes.

Three loops cover roughly 90% of the Kerala tour Tempo Traveller bookings we take out of Trivandrum. Each is a real itinerary our drivers run weekly — not a brochure list of destinations.

• 5-day loop: Trivandrum → Kovalam → Alleppey → Munnar → Trivandrum. ~700 km of driving. Best for first-time Kerala visitors and parties of 8–12.
• 7-day loop: the 5-day loop expanded with Thekkady (Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary) on day five and Wayanad (northern hill station) on days six and seven. ~1,400 km. Best for joint families and corporate offsites of 13–17 pax.
• 10-day inter-state: the 7-day loop plus Madurai (Meenakshi Amman temple) and Kanyakumari. ~1,900 km, crosses into Tamil Nadu, needs an inter-state tourist-vehicle permit which we sort 48 hours before the trip. Best for travellers with the time and the budget to do Kerala plus southern Tamil Nadu in one Tempo Traveller booking.

All three start from Trivandrum (the Sreekariyam garage or your hotel pickup) and return to Trivandrum. If you're landing at Kochi (COK) airport instead, mention it on the WhatsApp brief and we'll restructure the day-one pickup; we run COK pickups from Trivandrum every day.

The 5-day Kerala Tempo Traveller loop runs Trivandrum → Kovalam → Alleppey → Munnar → Trivandrum, covering ~700 km of driving over five days for a single vehicle and one driver. It's the loop we run most weeks of the year for parties of 8–12, and it's the trip that teaches families the boot fills before the seats do.

Which Tempo Traveller for this 5-day loop? The 12-seater is the default for parties of 8–12 with one bag each. For 10–12 pax with multi-day luggage and hotel changes, the 14-seater is the conservative call — the boot fills before the seats do. See the 12-seater hire guide for Kerala for full configuration detail.

The 10-day Kerala + Tamil Nadu itinerary runs the 7-day loop and adds Madurai (Meenakshi Amman temple) and Kanyakumari on days eight to ten — both Tamil Nadu destinations require an inter-state tourist-vehicle permit which we sort 48 hours before the trip. The driver handles the permit paperwork at the Kerala-Tamil Nadu checkpost while passengers stay in the vehicle. Total drive ~1,900 km. Best for 15–22 pax willing to commit ten days for the full south-India loop.

Days 1–7 — same as the 7-day loop

Trivandrum → Kovalam → Alleppey → Munnar → Munnar local → Thekkady → Wayanad. (See the 7-day section above for per-day pacing.)

Day 8 — Wayanad → Madurai (~300 km, ~7 hours, inter-state)

Start: 7 a.m. from Wayanad. Drive: Crosses the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border at the Mananthavady or Sulthan Bathery checkpost (driver presents the inter-state permit; we sorted it 48 hours before the trip). After the border the route picks up via Coimbatore and Dindigul into Madurai. Stops: Coimbatore breakfast halt; Dindigul lunch. Arrival: Madurai by 2 p.m. Afternoon: Meenakshi Amman temple visit (the late-afternoon window is the photo-friendly time). Night stay: Madurai.

Day 9 — Madurai → Kanyakumari (~240 km, ~5 hours)

Start: 8 a.m. from Madurai. Drive: Smooth Tamil Nadu state highway via Tirunelveli; flat run. Arrival: Kanyakumari by 1.30 p.m. Afternoon: Vivekananda Rock Memorial ferry, Thiruvalluvar statue viewpoint, Triveni Sangam (Bay of Bengal–Arabian Sea–Indian Ocean confluence). Evening: Sunset at Sunset View Point. Night stay: Kanyakumari hotel.

Day 10 — Kanyakumari → Trivandrum (~85 km, ~2 hours)

Start: Sunrise viewing first (5.45 a.m. at the eastern viewpoint), breakfast at the hotel, departure 9.30 a.m. Drive: Short hop on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala coastal highway; crosses back into Kerala at the Kaliyikkavila checkpost. Drop: Trivandrum hotel or TRV airport by 12 p.m. — afternoon onward flights work fine.

Which Tempo Traveller for this 10-day loop?

17-seater for 15–17 pax; 26-seater for 18–22 pax. The 26-seater is the right call past 17 not because of seat count alone but because the boot has to swallow ten days of luggage including the post-temple shopping that almost always happens at Madurai. Inter-state permit at ~₹2,500–₹4,500 is billed at actuals on the invoice.

Mango Cabs has been the Trivandrum anchor for Kerala tour Tempo Traveller bookings since 2005. Twenty-one years of verified drivers, serviced vehicles, and a Trivandrum office that picks up the phone at 4 a.m. for the airport pickup that needs the night-before confirmation. Our ~1,000-vehicle fleet is the largest organised cab fleet operating from the Trivandrum end of Kerala, and the Tempo Traveller configurations (12, 14, 17 and 26-seater on Force Traveller and Force Urbania chassis) are the vehicles we book most for Kerala-tour groups.

Driver bata follows the Kerala Motor Transport Workers Welfare Fund (KMTWWF) schedule; inter-state tourist-vehicle permits for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are issued by the Kerala State Transport Authority and we sort them 48 hours before the trip. Our drivers are full-time chauffeurs (not gig-shift drivers) with police-verified backgrounds, working English, and the route knowledge that comes from running these Kerala-tour loops every week for a living. Read more on our 21-year operating history.

WhatsApp the trip details — dates, group size, which itinerary shape (5, 7 or 10-day), pickup point (Trivandrum hotel, TRV airport or COK airport) — and our Trivandrum office confirms a transparent quote in 10 minutes, with driver name, vehicle registration, and ETA on the morning of the trip. Phone +91-9995466066 if you prefer — the line is staffed through the night for early-airport and inter-state runs.

For the full Kerala tour packages menu including multi-vehicle and non-TT loops, start there. For pilgrimage-specific Kerala Tempo Traveller circuits (Sabarimala, Guruvayoor, Velankanni) see our pilgrimage-circuit Tempo Traveller itineraries.