KOCHI: A joyful bus ride, shaking legs to popular tracks, and then setting sail to explore the captivating beauty of backwaters will be a veritable treat for travel enthusiasts! This Onam, the Budget Tourism Cell (BTC) of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has tied up with the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) to roll out several tour packages, involving a bus-boat combo, on the lines of the successful Nefertiti sea cruise model.
“The BTC has tied up with us to enable visitors arriving on KSRTC special buses to board our luxury vessels for a cruise through the enchanting backwaters,” said Shaji V Nair, director, SWTD. “The tour packages include sailing on luxury vessels ‘Vega-1’ and ‘See Kuttanad’ in Alappuzha, ‘See Ashtamudi’ in Kollam, a luxury tourist vessel with upper deck in Parassinikadavu (Kannur) and the newly-launched ‘Indra’ in Ernakulam.”
The ‘Vega/See Kuttanad’ tour packages have already commenced with the BTC units of Thiruvananthapuram and Parassala already conducting the trips. Similarly, package tours are scheduled to be conducted from Malappuram (September 16), Thiruvananthapuram City Depot (September 17), Chadayamangalam (September 18) and Pappanamcode (September 22).
“We’ve received encouraging responses to the tour packages, which include the cost of the luxury boat trips and food. The initial services were all fully booked. and we are receiving a lot of queries. In the coming days, we’re planning to conduct the tour package from Kannur, Thrissur, Palakkad, Punalur and Attingal. More trips from across the state are being planned as per the demand,” said a senior BTC official.
The SWTD operates the ‘See Kuttanad’ to provide tourists with a captivating view of the greenery and backwaters of Kuttanad. The boat has an upper deck and a snack bar as well. ‘Vega’ is a modern vessel, having a special AC cabin, and is also being operated on the Alappuzha backwaters. ‘See Ashtamudi’ is a tourist boat service, being operated through the backwater in Kollam and the trip includes stops at the enchanting Sambranikkodi, Koivila and Munro Island among others. The 100-seat cruise vessel ‘Indra’ is the country’s largest solar-electric boat operated by the SWTD in Kochi.
The special packages have been designed following the success of the ‘Nefertiti’ sea cruise package for which the BTC has tied up with the Kerala State Inland Navigation Corporation, which owns the cruise ship. In the 2023-24 period alone, the BTC organised nearly 50 trips, involving 1,950 tourists, from across the state.
The 45-metre vessel, having facilities like a banquet hall, sun deck, restaurant and a 3-D theatre, daily conducts a five-hour sailing tour. The BTC budget cruise package covers the vessel charges and food. For instance, the BTC charges `3,560 for adults and `1,250 for children, for a trip from Kottayam. The travellers will be taken to Kochi by KSRTC bus and they can then enjoy the cruise. Once it is over, they return by bus.
250 tour package trips for Onam
Meanwhile, the BTC has planned nearly 250 tour package trips from various depots for the festive season. “Besides the bus-boat combo packages, the corporation is mainly conducting tours to destinations like Wayanad, Munnar, Gavi and Ponmudi,” the official added.
The corporation has deployed a fleet of 45 buses with modern facilities to conduct the trips. “The old Super Deluxe buses were refurbished for this. They have added facilities like push-back seats, charging points and air suspension for a comfortable journey,” the official pointed out.