Christmas and New Year Houseboat in Alleppey

How the holiday price is worked out

Each night is priced on its own date. Any night from 20 December to 10 January costs half as much again as a regular-season night. The ordinary 10% weekend charge is not stacked on top, so a Saturday in the holiday window costs the same as a Tuesday. A stay that starts on 18 December and runs for three nights pays the regular rate for the first two nights and the holiday rate for the third.

Only the boat price goes up. The ₹750 charge for each guest beyond the two per bedroom stays the same, and so does the Premium add-on and the ₹1,500 full-time AC upgrade for a Deluxe bedroom. Children up to 5 years stay free, as they do all year.

New Year’s Eve on the water

Houseboats in Kerala are not allowed to cruise after dark, for safety and because fishermen set their nets on the lake at night. On 31 December, as on every night, your boat moors for the evening before it gets dark and stays put until morning. There is no midnight cruise and no fireworks trip across the lake. What you get instead is a quiet night on deck, dinner cooked on board, and a slow run back through the canals on the first morning of the year.

If you want the lake after sunset, the evening before is the time for it: a 3-hour shikara ride from 4:00 PM reaches Vembanad Lake for the sunset and costs ₹3,000 for the whole boat, the same over the holidays as the rest of the year.

Which boat for a holiday group

A group of eight fits a 2-bedroom boat with four extra guests, but at holiday rates that is ₹22,500 a night against ₹36,000 for four bedrooms. The houseboats for groups page works through every group size from 6 to 20. Couples looking at the 1-bedroom boat can compare it with a private room on the sharing houseboat, which is ₹8,250 a night in the holiday window.

Planning around the busiest weeks

• Fix the date first. Every other choice — boat size, Deluxe or Premium, one night or two — is easier once the date is held.
• Come before or after. 18 and 19 December, and from 11 January, are back at regular rates.
• Check your arrival time. Our Kochi to Alleppey page has timings for a noon check-in.
• Read the refund terms before you pay. Our terms and conditions set out what happens if your plans change.

To book, send us your date, the number of adults and children, and the boat size on WhatsApp. We check the date and send the holiday price in writing; a 25% advance then reserves the boat, and the rest is paid when you board at Punnamada.