Romantic Kovalam Beach Is The Second Most Popular Beach In India After Goa, At Least For Those Who Like Sand, Sun And Swimming. It Can’t Be Compared To Those In Goa As Far As Length Is Concerned. The Beach Can Be Divided Up Into Three Sections: The Hotel Beach With A Few Luxury Hotels And Mostly Indian Tourists, Light Beach (Freak Beach) And Vizhinjam Beach.
Related Travel Information
Connections
There Are Direct Buses To Kannyakumari Among Other Places. There Is A Good Service In All Directions From Trivandrum.
To Say That The Beaches In Goa Are Overcrowded And That The Beaches At Kovalam Are Deserted, Is Nonsense. It Is The Opposite. Although The Beach Has Been Patrolled For Several Years In Kovalam, There Are Always Drownings.
I Liked Kovalam Beach Best Of All The Beaches In India. It Has Very Good Waves For Body Surfing (Or Drowning) -Four People Drowned While I Was There. Backpackers Tend To Gather At Lighthouse Beach Which Isfuli Of Hotels And Restaurants. It Doesn't Matter Where
Miscellaneous
There Are Plenty Of Simple, And Mostly Not Too Good, Restaurants At Lighthouse Beach. One Of The Better Ones Is The Seawaves. The Res¬taurants In The Middle Class Hotels On The Road Are Better.
Beer Drinkers! The Right Place To Go Is The Raja Hotel, As The Beer There Is Not Only Cheaper Than In The Other Pubs, It Is Really Cold. Try The Hercules Brand For Around 4ors.
Money
You Can Exchange Travellers Cheques At The Central Bank Of India In The Kovalam Ashok Beach Resort - Open Mon-Fri 10.30am-2.30pm And Sat 10.30-12.30. You Can Also Go To
Connection From Trivandrum
From The City Bus Stand (East Ford), Platform 19, There Is A Service Every 40 Minutes Between 6.15am And 9.15pm To Kovalam (15km-9 Miles) - Cost 4rs. Apart From That, There Are Some Buses From The Ksrtc
Bus Stand, But They Often Only Go To Kovalam Junction 3km From The Beach.
Return Trip: From Kovalam Buses Run Between 5.15am And 9.45pm.
Instead Of Travelling By Bus You Can Also Travel By Collective Scooter Or Taxi - Approximately 8rs Per Person.
Accommodation
Hotels Change Their Names Often In Kovalam, And The Tariff Changes With The Season More So Than In Goa. You Can Pay
The Capital Of Kerala Has A Population Of 500,000, And Not Much Worth Seeing. It Is Rather A Clean And (For India) Prosperous Looking Town. It Is The Jumping Off Point For The Famous Kovalam Beach And There Are Flights From Here To Sri Lanka And To The Maldives.
Budget
These Hotels Can Be Found Near The Bus Terminal At Kovalam Beach, E.G. The Hotel Blue Sea Has Nice Views Of The Ocean, But It Is A Bit Far From The Beach. Doubles 12ors (About Half In The Off Season) And A Good Restaurant.
27ors), 10% Service Charge As Well As 10% Luxury Tax Extra. Operates On The 24 Hour Method. 16 Rooms, Restaurant, Warm Water, Money Exchange For Hotel Guests.
Superior
The Kovalam Ashok Beach Resort, Ph 68 010, Is A Lot More Exclusive Than The Hotel Rockholm. It Is Just At The Start Of Hotel Beach. Doubles In The Hotel Building
