5 Safest and Best Rated Taxi Services in Kerala During the Lockdown

Known to the rest of the world as God’s Own Country, Kerala boasts of an expansive coastline on the South-western side of the Malabar Coast. Its exotic backwaters and rich heritage undoubtedly make Kerala a dreamy escape for travelers across the world. Its scenic beauty along with the umpteen number of activities to indulge in make it hard to not fall in love with this slice of paradise on earth.

With some of the best places in Kerala scattered around, one of the ideal ways to get around is by renting a safe and convenient taxi service. Call for a convenient door to door pick up and go sightseeing with your friends and family. These hassle-free experiences save you the inconvenience of an uncomfortable commute - every traveller’s nightmare. Most of these car rental companies offer drivers who are well-versed with the roads, know a lot about local history, and can give a nice tour of all the good places, including hidden gems in their state.

Kerala is well-connected via roads. Its amazing network of roads allows commuters to get to any part of Kerala in just a few hours. While there are a ton of options out there, we bring to you only the best so you can make a safe choice in the post-COVID world.

Some of the safest and best-rated taxi services in Kerala that you can trust during the lockdown are:

1.  Savaari Car Rentals

Founded in 2006, Savaari Car Rentals is known to offer its services in 130+ cities in India. Rated 4.4 on Google with over 2000 reviews, Savaari takes the extra mile to give its customers a great travel experience. From offering travel kits to real-time food-breaks suggestions during the trip, Savaari prides itself on being the real road trip expert and their blogs surely speak volumes for this testimony. They cover a wide range of services such as intercity, one-way, airport pick and drop as well as local rentals. Their cab offerings vary from hatchbacks, sedans, luxury cars, SUVs to 16 seater tempo travelers. But what makes Savaari one of the best car rentals in India is that they offer COVID digit insurance to its driver-partners as well as customers during the pandemic, thus redefining safe travel in the post-COVID world. Get a taste of Savaari’s excellent service with a car on rent in Thrissur with an experienced driver.

2. Kerala Taxis

Boasting an amazing team of car rental and tourism professionals, Kerala Taxis assures a hassle-free experience and all the positive feedback left by people on their website will only strengthen your faith in them. Their taxis are well-maintained and they take immense pride in offering only their best vehicles to the customers. Being a Kochi based taxi company, they sure know some of the best places in and around, so be rest assured of a great and comfortable time with them. Their drivers are well trained and have a record of being on time.

3. Grandeur Car and Coach Hire

Whether it is a business trip or a leisure holiday, Grandeur Car and Coach Hire will have you covered regardless. Their mantra is “Safety, Sincerity, Good faith, and Genuineness”. Located in surfer’s paradise, this car rental company ensures each of its drivers are thoroughly screened and carefully selected through interviews. They are well versed in English and Hindi. This car rental takes its customers very seriously. Their round the clock customer support only shows their dedication in ensuring a comfortable time to each of their customers, making it one of the most trusted taxi services in Kerala. For all their airport pickups, they ensure the guests are graciously received with a placard bearing the names and other details.

4.  Avis India

AVIS India offers premium cars for rent. They offer cars with or without a driver. Their mobile app makes booking a car an effortless experience. The company is recognized world over as a strong, iconic and truly global brand, catering to the expectations of all business, corporate & leisure travelers. Founded in 1946, Avis was launched as a company to rent cars from airport locations.

5. Le-Cabz

Le Cabz has a large fleet of cars, utility vehicles, coaches with all India permits. These folks make renting a car ridiculously simple. They take their visitor experience quite seriously. Not beaten on price for economy car hire in Kerala, they are one of the most affordable car hire companies offering brand new cars. Most of their customers love the price offered by Le-Cabz and have applauded their dedication in providing brand new cars to their clients.

With COVID changing the way people travel, the above-mentioned car rental companies are strictly following all precautions to curb the spread of the contagious disease. Savaari is one such company that has strictly adhered to all precautions recommended by WHO. Keeping in mind the safety of their customers as well as their driver-partners on the road, all cabs are sanitized and disinfected at regular intervals, drivers are trained to practice social distancing and mandatory to wear a face mask. Savaari’s car rentals in Kottayam is quite popular for being a safe and reliable mode of transport in Kerala.

P.S.: This is a sponsored post.

Lover's Confluence

The Lover's view point between Darjeeling and Kalimpong offers a magnificent view of the the confluence of River Tessta and River Rangeet. The hills on the left are a part of Sikkim and the ones on the right fall under the territory of West Bengal. It is easy to discern the rivers with the difference in colour apart from the direction of the flow. Teesta flows from north Sikkim separating Sikkim and West Bengal for a large distance, and Rangeet joins Teesta from the left as seen in the above frame. The white sandy stretch near the confluence is often used as a launch for river rafting on Teesta. 

Mountains are Calling!

It's not just the mountains; even beaches, lakes, roads, forts, islands, waterfalls and wildlife as well are calling every travelling hungry soul out there during these uncertain times. It would take a while before travelling becomes common again, and even when it does post COVID 19, the way we travel is going to be totally different. 

However, until travel sneaks its way back into our life, let's relive our old travels through photographs, videos, experiences, views, adventures and numerous memories that we have collected over the years. Go search your hard discs and phone galleries to run through them for some virtual travels.

Am gazing at the above picture of Kanchenjunga Peak (taken in October 2019 near Darjeeling) today to celebrate the completion of 11 years of Tales of a Nomad.

Islands of Kadamakkudy

Kadamakkudy was half awake as we manoeuvered the car through its narrow alleys sandwiched between marshy lands, mangroves, fish farms and endless paddy fields. There was hardly anyone outside at 6:30 in the morning. Google map wasn’t really helpful as I took a few wrong detours to turn up at dead ends with gorgeous views of the backwaters, fishing nets, slanting coconut trees, paddy fields, numerous birds and a few solo fishermen going about their chores. Most of these islands are still not connected by a road or a bridge and we had to take a couple of make shift ferry services. These are a few small boats tied up together and operated with an engine to help people and vehicles hop on from one island to another. It is an interesting experience to float away with your vehicle on the serene backwaters and enjoy the surroundings.

Kadamakkudy in the suburbs of Ernakulam is a cluster of 14 islands- Valiya Kadamakudy , Pizhala, Cheriya Kadamakudy, Murikkal, Palyam Thuruth, Pulikkapuram, Moolampilly, Kothad, Korambadam, Kandanad, Puthussery, Chariyam Thuruth, Chennur and Karikkad Thuruthu. The islands are majorly known for their large cultivation of Pokkali rice and fish farms.

I wouldn’t say there is a list of places to see or explore in Kadamakkudy. Instead, the place is all about soaking in the surrounding, nature and landscape. The breathtaking landscape and the engulfing tranquility would definitely leave anyone gazing in oblivion. This is a great place for nature lovers and photography enthusiasts who love landscapes and avian fauna. There are more than 70 species of birds around these islands.  With beautiful narrow alleys running through the country side, Kadamakkudy islands offer lovely trails for cyclists as well. The islands are known for its sunrises and sunsets, and it is well recommended to visit Kadamakkudy during either of these times.

Travel Tips:

• There aren’t any good restaurants except for a couple of toddy shops.
• Visit early in the morning or in the evening. 
• If you would like to cover multiple islands, it is ideal to come in own vehicle

Where to Stay near Kadamakkudy Islands:

You could either stay in Cochin and travel to the islands, or check out home stays nearby. It's not always easy to find a place to stay in offbeat places like Kadamakkudy islands. While planning to visit such locations, I suggest you check out the platform, Cozycozy that brings all  hotels, homestays, backpacker hostels, villas, etc. in one place. What I like about this website is that the results are displayed on a map, which makes it easy to find a place to stay based on your itinerary.

How to reach Kadamakkudy islands:

Kadamakkudy islands are 18 Kms away from Ernakulam. If travelling by own vehicle, cross over the islands of Bolghatty, Mulavukad and Moolampilly to reach Pizhala, the main island in Kadammakudy. Alternately you can take a bus from Ernakalum to Varappuzha and then take another bus to Kadamkkudy. There are also boat services from Ernakulam, but the frequency and timing needs to be checked prior to the visit.