Kochi to Alleppey Houseboat: Getting to the Jetty
A Kochi to Alleppey houseboat trip usually starts on the morning you board. The distance is short — about 55 km by road — but the houseboats leave from Punnamada Finishing Point, on the far edge of Alleppey town, and an overnight boat sets off at noon. This page works backwards from that time so you know when to leave Kochi city or Cochin airport.
Distances
Kochi to the houseboat jetty
- Kochi city to Alleppey
- About 55 km by road
- Ernakulam Jn to Alappuzha
- About 50 min by direct train
- Cochin airport to Alleppey
- About 70–80 km, around 2 hours
- Alappuzha station to jetty
- About 6.6 km
- KSRTC bus stand to jetty
- About 2.5 km
- Jetty
- Punnamada Finishing Point
When to leave, by trip
Each houseboat trip boards at a fixed time. Work back from it:
- Overnight stay, boards 12:00 PM: leave Cochin airport by about 9:30 AM. From Kochi city, the train gets you to Alappuzha in about 50 minutes.
- Day cruise, boards 11:00 AM: leave the airport by about 8:30 AM.
- Night stay, boards 5:30 PM: leave the airport by early afternoon. This is the trip for guests who land after about 10:00 AM.
If you are running late, message us: the boat waits at the jetty, but houseboats cannot cruise after dark, so a late start means a shorter afternoon on the lake.
By train
Direct trains from Ernakulam Junction reach Alappuzha in about 50 minutes. From Alappuzha railway station, Punnamada Finishing Point is about 6.6 km — a short autorickshaw or taxi ride. The train avoids road traffic altogether.
By road from the city
Kochi to Alleppey is about 55 km. Taxis and app cabs go straight to the jetty; ask the driver for Punnamada Finishing Point, not the boat jetty in town.
From Cochin airport
Cochin International Airport is about 70 to 80 km from Alleppey, around two hours by road. Most guests take a taxi straight to Punnamada.
Not the ferry jetty
Alleppey has a better-known public jetty in town, near the KSRTC bus stand, where the State Water Transport ferries leave. Houseboats and shikaras do not start there. Our boarding point page has the address and what happens when you arrive.
Going back to Kochi
Overnight and night-stay guests are back at the jetty at 9:00 AM, which leaves time to reach Cochin airport by around 11:00 AM or catch a mid-morning train. Day cruise guests are back at 5:00 PM. Check-in and check-out for every trip are on our houseboat timings page.
Fitting a shikara into the same day
If you arrive the evening before your houseboat, a 3-hour shikara ride from 4:00 PM leaves from the same jetty and reaches Vembanad Lake for the sunset. Guests arriving on a morning flight who cannot make a noon boarding often combine a shikara in the afternoon with a night stay from 5:30 PM.
FAQ
Getting there, answered.
How far is Alleppey from Kochi?
About 55 km by road. Direct trains from Ernakulam Junction take about 50 minutes.
How long does it take from Cochin airport to the Alleppey houseboat?
Around two hours by road; the airport is about 70 to 80 km away. For a noon boarding, leave the airport by about 9:30 AM.
Where do Alleppey houseboats leave from?
Punnamada Finishing Point, about 6.6 km from Alappuzha railway station — not the public ferry jetty in town.
I land in Kochi at noon. Can I still take a houseboat?
Yes. The night stay boards at 5:30 PM on a boat already moored on the lake, with dinner, the night and breakfast.
Tell us when you land.
Send your flight or train time on WhatsApp and we will tell you which trip and boarding time fit.