Discover South India

The Real Deal: Round-trip airfare, 11 nights' accommodations, private transportation within Kerala, some meals, and sightseeing from $2,260 per person.

When: Through June 5, 2007; add $250 per person for travel during the high season, June 6-Aug. 21.

Gateways: Los Angeles, San Francisco; add $150 for New York City; $175 for Denver, Phoenix, Seattle; $275 for Dallas, San Antonio; $325 for Chicago, Miami, St. Louis; additional cities available.

The Fine Print: Fuel surcharges of $292 per person and hotel taxes are included in the package rate. Additional airport taxes total about $75 per person. Breakfast daily is included (except in Singapore), as are three meals on the houseboat. Based on double occupancy; single supplement $356. A visa ($60) is required for U.S. citizens and should be obtained in advance; consult your nearest Indian consulate. For general guidelines on evaluating deals, click here.

Book By: No deadline; based on availability.

Contact: Sayang Holidays, 888/472-9264, sayangholidays.com.

Why It's a Deal: In comparison, the lowest fares we found through kayak.com are $997 round trip between Los Angeles and Singapore (All Nippon) and $801 for the flights between Singapore and Cochin and between Trivandrum and Singapore (Jet India), which would bring the cost of airfare alone to $1,798 per person. For about $462 more, Sayang Holidays covers the airfares as well as the 11 nights' accommodations, hotel taxes, private transportation within Kerala, and some meals and sightseeing. The company, which specializes in Southeast Asia, also provides the time-saving convenience of putting together all these pieces.

Trip Details: The package includes round-trip airfare to Singapore on award-winning Singapore Airlines and connecting flights on its subsidiary, Silk Air, between Singapore and Cochin, India, and then between Trivandrum, India, and Singapore. The journey begins with a two-night stay at the modern Orchard Hotel on Singapore's busiest shopping strip, Orchard Road.

Next you'll fly to Cochin for a two-night stay downtown at the 52-room Abad Atrium. You'll take a city tour, with stops at the Jewish synagogue, St. Francis Church, and a spice market, and catch a traditional Kathakali performance, during which dancers with elaborate costumes and bold makeup reenact stories from Hindu epics.

The following stop is in Munnar, known for its wildlife and some of the highest peaks in the region. You'll spend one night at the Abad Copper Castle resort set on a green hillside and then continue on to Periyar, where you'll visit a local plantation and take a guided three-hour walk in the national reserve, home to elephants, wild boars, leopards, and tigers. After two nights at Periyar's Silver Crest hotel, you'll drive to the fishing village Kumarakom for a one-night stay at the Abad Whispering Palms, a series of 42 cottages along the shore of VembanaduLake.

Then comes one of the loveliest parts of the trip: an overnight houseboat ride through backwaters with canals, rice fields, and sleepy villages. Each boat has around six private cabins, each with a private bathroom. (Note, however, that the boats are not air-conditioned.) The last two nights of the trip will be spent at the swanky Uday Samudra Hotel in the beach resort town of Kovalam.

All transportation within Kerala is by private air-conditioned car with a driver.

Weather in the region is consistently warm (think 80s Fahrenheit) year-round. The spring--when this package price is lowest--is actually a better time to visit than the months of June, July, and August, when the rainy monsoon season sets in. For more information on Kerala, visit the official website, keralatourism.org.

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