How to Take the Alleppey to Kottayam Ferry

Our next backwater trip took in a boat from Alleppey to Kottayam.  Alleppey is the queen of the backwater towns, she’s also known as Alappuzha. And many different spellings abound.  Our trip through the backwaters today was on a ferry.   This is the Alleppey to Kottayam Ferry and it’s a lovely and very cheap way to see Kerala’s Backwaters.  Here’s what you need to know about taking this boat to Kottayam and back.

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The Alleppey to Kottayam ferry is a regular old passenger service. Taken by locals and tourists alike, it shifts you through the heart of the backwaters from the ferry terminus on Boat Jetty Road to close to Kottayam where you can either wait for it to return a few hours later or go onto your next destination.  You can take a bus back to Alleppey if you don’t want to take the ferry back.  We viewed this as a day trip from Alleppey and a chance to see the backwaters in a slightly different way to our houseboat without an engine, and we also used the backwaters to go from Alleppey to Kollam.

Practical Information on the Alleppey to Kottayam Ferry

Here’s all the information that you’ll need to catch this ferry, and what to expect on the boat to Kottayam from Alleppey.

Where to Catch the Alleppey to Kottayam Ferry

You’ll catch the ferry from the main boat jetty in Alleppey, on Boat Jetty Road.   The Alleppey ferry station is just a 5-minute walk from the Alleppey bus station.   I’ve marked the bus station and the ferry jetty on the map later in this article.

What’s the Alleppey to Kottayam Ferry Timetable

The ferry runs 7 days a week and the schedule is the same every day.  The ferry to Kottayam from Alleppey takes about 3 hours and these are the departure times from Alleppey

• 07:15
• 09:35
• 11:30
• 14:30
• 17:15

For the return journey, the ferry is scheduled to depart Kottayam at

• 06:45
• 11:30
• 13:00
• 17:15

As with all transport, it’s always best to confirm with either the captain or the ticket seller what time the return boats will be if you’re planning to come back to Alleppey.  The boat will depart from the same place that it arrives in, which is actually Kanjiram rather than Kottayam.

If you want to go to Kottayam, then you can catch a bus from the bus stand on the road. 

You can check the online timetables for the ferry to Kottayam here. And the timetables for the ferry to return to Alleppey are here.

Buying Tickets for the Alleppey to Kottayam Ferry

You’ll buy tickets for the boat at the small office, or when you get onto the boat.  You’ll need cash for this ticket

How much do Tickets cost for the Alleppey to Kottayam Ferry

The ticket from Alleppey to Kottayam now costs 25 INR per person each way.

How Long Does the Alleppey to Kottayam Ferry Take?

The ferry takes about 3 hours from Alleppey to Kottayam.  Making it entirely feasible to do this as a day trip from Alleppey.  It doesn’t return immediately you have to wait for an hour or so before the boat makes its way back to Alleppey.

Our experiences on the Alleppey to Kottayam Ferry

It seems that we’re once again back to the boats looking barely seaworthy, not, of course, that we’re actually going to sea.  There’s nothing so obvious as a sign on the ferry that indicates this is the one you need to take, So we confirm several times with other folks (there seem to be four other westerners taking this trip too) that this is the right ferry.

That it’s called the Alleppey to Kottayam ferry is a bit of a misnomer, it doesn’t actually go to Kottayam, but it stops some way short of Kottayam itself, at Kanjiram.

Our tickets for this Kerala backwaters ferry cost us a bargain 15 INR each (it’s now 25 INR) and it will take us on the 3-hour trip through the backwaters, stopping at various small villages and what look simply like single dwellings, to Kanjiram – about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from Kottayam.

None of the locals are overly talkative, but they’re inquisitive. In fact, the guy behind me can’t help himself. He seems to shift position all the time to catch my arm or my shoulder. It’s positively creepy and I end up hunched forward trying to avoid his touch. I’m early into my India experience, so I’m trying very hard to be polite, whereas, in fact, I should be very offended and take him to task.

The kids are curious too. We pick up kids on their way to and from school. They’re intrigued enough by the Kindle Nigel is reading to come over and start trying to play with it. It’s a touch screen and is soon covered with grimy fingerprints….but hey-ho that is what wipes are for!

Anyways, back to the backwaters.  The views are quite lovely.

There’s green everywhere. Not just the trees, but also the plants in the water.  These are mainly aquatic weeds, but they’re kind of pretty.

In some places, we’re actually cutting through heavy, heavy growth.  It’s so thick at one point that we have to reverse and take another run at it to get through.

As we pass, the plants close up behind us as if we were never there.

Everywhere, though, is discarded garbage. Polystyrene plates. Cups. Plastic. Presumably, all the biodegradable trash has sunk into the gloop under the greenery. How can people let it get like this I wonder? This isn’t what the tourist board promised. The answer to my question comes as we leave a small stop, where kids and a few parents have joined us.

They’re frantically opening potato chips and candies, and they’re consumed quickly.  The plastic bags just dropped onto the floor of the ferry. At first, I wonder if it’s accidental, but it continues to happen. The ferry crew use their feet to sweep the offending items into the water. At least the ferry is trash-free.

Oh India, how can you do this to yourself?

We finally reach the end, as the canal narrows and then stops.  There’s a school and a couple of shacks selling stationery and drinks and not much else.  This is the Kanjiram ferry stop.  And it’s the terminus of the Alleppey to Kottayam ferry.  Go figure.

Our ferry will begin the return journey in two hours.  Our research was correct.  There’s nothing to do here.  We walk down the dusty road towards civilization for 10 minutes or so and give up.  We return to a small cafe to consume good samosa and cold drinks.  There are now likely to be rickshaws waiting for customers.

Then we head for a walk along the side of the canal.  There are rice fields and goodness knows what hiding in the long grass so we abandon that.  We head back to the ferry to wait out the remaining time until it heads back.

And when it does, it’s a slow meander full of spurts of excitement when we stop to disgorge passengers.  Our tickets cost us 3 INR more each for the return journey.  Perhaps it is surge pricing.  Who knows.  It’s still a bargain cheap way to see the Kerala Backwaters.

When we arrive back at the ferry terminus we hail an auto-rickshaw and head for the beach, where we find cold beer and kite flyers.  It’s been a delightful, and very cheap day trip across Kerala’s backwaters.

Map of Ferry Jetties and Bus Stations in Alleppey and Kottayam

You can see the full map for Alleppey to Kottayam here.

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Final Words on Taking the Ferry from Alleppey to Kottayam

This is the second of our Kerala Backwaters exploration – a fabulous day trip from Alleppey to Kottayam, or rather to Kanjiram, as the boat doesn’t go all the way to Kottayam.  It’s a cheap and cheerful way to see the good and bad side of the backwaters.

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