3 x One Month South India Itinerary | Best Places to Visit in South India!

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1 Month in South India is a good amount of time if you are travelling around India. South India is very diverse with many different places to visit so how do you know where to visit on a South India itinerary and which are the best places to visit in South India?

Here are my 3 recommendations for a South India itinerary with the best places to visit in South India. These are based on you spending 1 month in South India but you can adapt them if you will be spending 2 weeks in South India or 3 weeks in South India for example.

All 3 South India itineraries offer something slightly different because there are so many places to go in South India for tourists, from the beaches of Goa, the famous Backwaters of Kerala, tea plantations in Kerala, a former French side of India in Pondicherry, and big cities like Chennai, Mysore and Bangalore!

South India Itinerary

Best time to visit India

Before we get into this India travel blog, it’s worth thinking about the best time to visit India as the country get’s very hot and wet in the middle of the year. November to March are the best times to visit both North & South India.

South India will be warmer than North India in the winter months of December and January, Delhi and further North actually get cold in these months but are still enjoyable to visit with the right clothing.

Outside these months, you can still visit but you’ll find that the heat and humidity will be much higher, especially as you go further South.

Map of South India Itinerary

1) Goa to Kerala Itinerary – Goa Beaches, inland Karnataka & Kerala!

• Beaches of Goa – 10 Nights 
• Goa to Hampi Day Train
• Hampi – 2 Nights
• Hampi to Bangalore Day Train
• Bangalore – 2 Nights
• Bangalore to Ooty Overnight Bus
• Ooty – 3 Nights
• Ooty to Munnar Day Bus
• Munnar – 3 Nights
• Munnar to Kochi Day Bus
• Kochi – 3 Nights
• Kochi to Alleppey Day Train
• Alleppey – 2 Nights
• Alleppey to Varkala Day Train
• Varkala – 3 Nights
• Varkala to Trivandrum Day Train
• Trivandrum – 1/2 Nights
• = 30/31 Nights
  

Good things about this South India itinerary:

If you’re visiting South India to visit the holiday destinations in South India or need to relax after travelling North India it will be nice to spend a good amount of time to start with in Goa either on the same beach or a few different beaches.

Despite staying mainly on the West Coast you’ll still be visiting 4 different states – Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu all states are very different which will be good to see.

You’ll see beaches but also a nice bit of inland Southern India like the Hill Stations of Ooty and Munnar, a big city like Bangalore and unique places in South India like Hampi.

Trivandrum isn’t that popular for tourism but it has an International Airport so you can get flights out of India from there, or make your way back to Kochi after Varkala or to Madurai as they have main airports too.

Not so good things about this South India itinerary:

I have listed a lot of places here with just 3 or 2 nights, this means you’ll be moving on fast but that’s because these places do have minimal tourism and after 2 or 3 days there is not much else to do in them.

A couple of buses are needed in this South India travel itinerary including local day buses which do make travel days longer but South India lacks in train lines so this is the only option apart from getting a taxi / private driver.

2) Goa to Bangalore Itinerary – Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu & Karnataka!

• Goa – 7 Nights
• Goa to Alleppey Overnight Train
• Alleppey – 2 Nights
• Alleppey to Kochi Day Train
• Kochi – 3 Nights
• Kochi to Munnar Day Bus
• Munnar – 2 Nights
• Munnar to Thekkady Day Bus
• Thekkady – 3 Nights
• Thekkady to Madurai Day Bus
• Madurai – 2 Nights
• Madurai to Pondicherry Day Train
• Pondicherry – 3 Nights
• Pondicherry to Chennai Day Bus
• Chennai – 2 Nights
• Chennai to Mysore Day Train
• Mysore – 3 Nights
• Mysore to Bangalore Day Train
• Bangalore – 2 Nights
• = 30 Days
  

Good things about this South India itinerary:

All 4 major states in South India will be seen Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu & Karnataka showing a huge part of the Country and lots of different areas including beaches, the backwaters, a hill station, a national park and some big cities.

You’ll get a really good feel of South India travel after seeing all of these places and each place is very different.

Not so good things about this South India itinerary:

The itinerary ends very city heavy. If you would rather start with the cities and end on the beaches of Goa reversing this itinerary would work well so you can see the best tourist places in South India.

I have listed a lot of places here with just 3 or 2 nights, this means you’ll be moving on fast but that’s because these places do have minimal tourism and after 2 or 3 days there is not much else to do in them.

A couple of buses are needed in this itinerary including local day buses which do make travel days longer but South India lacks in train lines so this is the only option apart from getting a taxi / private driver.

3) Chennai to Bangalore Itinerary – Off the Path in Tamil Nadu & Karnataka!

• Chennai – 3 Nights
• Chennai to Kanchipuram Day Bus
• Kanchipuram – 2 Nights
• Kanchipuram to Pondicherry Day Bus
• Pondicherry – 2 Nights
• Pondicherry to Auroville Tuk Tuk 
• Auroville – 2 Nights
• Auroville to Chidambaram Day Bus
• Chidambaram – 2 Nights
• Chidambaran to Madurai Day Train
• Madurai – 3 Nights
• Madurai to Coimbatore Day Train
• Coimbatore – 3 Nights
• Coimbatore to Ooty to Day Bus
• Ooty – 4 Nights
• Ooty to Mysore Day Bus or Taxi
• Mysore – 3 Nights
• Mysore to Mangalore Day Train
• Mangalore – 3 Nights
• Mangalore to Bangalore Day Train
• Bangalore – 3 Nights
• = 30 Nights
  

Good things about this South India itinerary:

This itinerary features some really unique and different places in South India that not as many tourists visits. You’ll really get a feel for the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Not so good things about this South India itinerary:

Many of these places are not for everyone, I have not been to a number of these locations including Kanchipuram, Chidambaram, Coimbatore and Mangalore as they did not take my fancy but if you really want to see a unique and different side of South India especially if you have been to Goa and Kerala before, this would be great.

I have listed a lot of places here with just 3 or 2 nights, this means you’ll be moving on fast but that’s because these places do have minimal tourism and after 2 or 3 days there is not much else to do in them.

A couple of buses are needed in this itinerary including local day buses which do make travel days longer but South India lacks in train lines so this is the only option apart from getting a taxi / private driver.

My Related South India Blog Posts

Here are my blog posts from the places I have mentioned above in India to help you plan backpacking India trip and know what to do in each place in India:

• 8 Things you need to know before travelling to South India.
• How to Book a Train in India as a Foreigner.
• How to Take a Local Bus in India and What they are like.
• Alleppey – Cruising the Backwaters of Kerala from Alleppey! 
• Auroville – Visiting Auroville on a Day Trip from Pondicherry.
• Goa – A Guide to Palolem Beach for Backpackers.
• Hampi – Things to know when travelling to Hampi.
• Madurai – What To Do in Madurai, Tamil Nadu in Just One Day!
• Munnar – Hiking in the Tea Plantations of Munnar, Kerala!
• Pondicherry – 10 Things To Do in Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu!
• Varkala – A Guide to Varkala Beach for Backpackers.