Home away from Home - - - - - Home stays inKerala is one of the main attractions of Kerala tourism. Right from 2004
onwards, it got approvel from Kerala tourism Dept. Govt of kerala.
Homestays can provide a first hand experience for Tourists to enjoy the rural
life, the ethinic cuisine and local culture of Kerala.
Now it became a reality, One of the many fascinating experiences for Tourists
to Kerala is without any doubt the Home Stays. Category of Tourists who prefers
Homestays increasing tremondusly, Family Tourists , Honeymooners, Senier
Citizens, etc
If you are planning to travel abroad, consider
staying with hosts and experience the places you visit on a deeper level,
through participation in the daily lives of local people, infact Homestays are
the best way to learn a different culture
Kerala is a land of Festivals. Actually
festivals are celebrations of life. Onam, a harvest festivel, rather national
festivel of Kerala. Festivals are a reflection of the varied terrain of the
land and the exuberant people, these festivals are connected with a temple or a
church. Vibrant and packed with centuries of unbroken tradition, the festivals
of Kerala seem within the realm of magic with a thousand colors, mesmerizing
music, fireworks and procession of elephants.
Staying on at the Homestays is indeed an
excellent opportunity to partake in the cultural extravaganza of this vast
region – a chance to freely mingle with the people, closer understandings of
the ethos and traditions that culminate in festivals and not least, a genuine
overview of life in the rural areas, which otherwise is almost untouched by
modernity
Accomodation
Tropical weather of the land creates a natural
green around the household of Ecogreen Coco County! Greenery is abundant all
around and is surrounded by exotic Kerala spice plants like Cocoa, Nutmeg,
Areca nut, Coffee, Pepper etc make your stay with a feel away from the crowd of
metros. With A/c bed rooms, spacious bathrooms, dining rooms, living rooms,
complete with a verandah, a private sit out and homely atmosphere creates a
tension free mood for you.
Dining experience
An array of ethnic delicacies like Kerala
sadya, Malabar fish curry, karimeen pollichathu, konchu curry, Chalakudy duck
curry- appam provide a unique dining experience in a homely way.
We are sure, our services are economical as
well as provide value for money, you need not surf any further, for you have
already found one of the best home-stays in Kerala and on arrival will be
experiencing accommodation in Kerala.
We are proud to present our home an ideal
centre to experience Kerala lifestyle in an independent way; with Kerala
cuisines, morning & evening walks with our friendly neighbors,
Experience Kerala way of life
A private kitchen is ready in one of our
accommodations for tourists prefer self cooking
Bicycle is available as complementary for
those stay with us for more days … to experience our land in a different way
…
Activities
Indoor games
Playing Cards
Snake & Ladder
Chess
Caroms
Out door games & activities
Cycling
Walk & experience of preserving the
natural spice garden in the household of Ecogreen.
Morning & Evening walks through the near
by country roads.
Location & Connectivity
Well, Ecogreen Cocoa County is easily
accessible to all major tourist destinations in Kerala. So, this will be a
convenient accommodation for you during your Kerala Tour!
Cochin Intl. airport – 21 Kms
Chalakudi RLY Stn. – 3 Kms
Chalakudy Bus Station (in NH 47) – 2.5
Kms
Alappuzha (Alleppy) – 105 Kms (2.5 hrs by
train/bus)
Kumarakom/Kottayam – 110 Kms (2.5 hrs by
train/bus)
Munnar – 130 Kms (Bus service is available)
Thekkady – 170 Kms (Bus service is available)
Varkala – 200 Kms (Train/Bus are available)
Kovalam/Thiruvanandapuram – 300 Kms (Train/Bus
are available)
Picnic Spots around Ecogreen Cocoa
County
Ecogreen Cocoa County is sourrounded by picnic
spots – All emerged in one- in 4 directions of Ecogreen Cocoa County.
Ecogreen Cocoa County can offer a lot. -
- the Hill station (18 Kms ) , the Wild Life ( 30 Kms), - - - - the beach (27
Kms), the Backwaters – Chettuva Backwaters with Kandel Forest which is the
natural remedy against Sunami ( 50 Kms),etc
With us, at Ecogreen you will discover a whole
new world. We also offer traditional houseboat tours in Kumarakom and Alleppey
(Alappuzha), car rentals (rent-a-car) and hotel reservations. Complete Kerala
holidays packages are also available on request.
It is well connected to other tourist destinations
in Kerala like Kochi, Munnar, Thekkady, Periyar and Kovalam, by Train/
Buses.Chalakudy Railway stn- CKI , ( 2 Kms ) offers the best connectivity to
places like, Ernakulam, Alleppey , Kottayam/ Kumarakom, Varkala, Kovalam, Goa,
Bombay etc
Homestays are the better option of
accommodation with personalized services and privacy with security rather than
Hotels and Resorts. We feel frisky by treating newly wed couples and we offer
Flower bedding, honeymoon fruit basket, honeymoon cakes, special aroma in their
rooms… etc …
Kerala Homestay Senior Citizen Packages
We are happy to extend our services to the
senior tourists which the same we practice to our grand parents and parents. We
understand the way they would like to be treated with patience and compassion.
This guarantees that guests receive plenty of individual attention. As we got
only few rooms in homestay than in Hotels and resorts, we get more time to give
personal attention to our guests. Staying with an Indian family is the easiest
way of finding out about Indian culture and way of life…
Ecogreen Cocoa County Homstay gives ample
opportunity to roam around at will, in the rural ambience among truly
welcoming people of the villages – enjoying their company, mingling with them
in celebrating their festivals and even joining them at their daily chores like
farming
There are places where they are known as bed
& breakfast,farm house stay, etc, but in India, we just cannot think of
another way to describe this apart from a “Home Stay”. Staying with Indian
hosts is a unique way of getting closer to the psyche of the people and its
culture. These are a group of people who just love looking after visitors and
are proud of their hospitality and traditions. The selection is wide and covers
most parts of Kerala, Coorg, Delhi, Jaipur, quaint hill stations in Uttrakhand
and Himachal, etc . Some of them are really “special places” to say and at
times the hosts may not be present on site but that does not diminish the value
of your stay a bit…
Kerala Home stays are becoming more and
more popular, day by day. It is a relatively new concept introduced in the
state. People are now opening up their houses to welcome the domestic as well
as tourists who visit their city. Different people offer different facilities
in their homes. Some provide only accommodation, while others offer the
facilities of meals, cultural evening etc.
Home stays of India is an excellent option
even from security point of view. Even for a female traveler, home stays are a
better option than any other form of staying. Another positive feature of home
stays is that you get personalized treatment from the family you are residing
with and get to see the real Kerala.
Home stays in Kerala are meant to
suit everyone's needs and pockets. So, next time you visit Kerala, try to get a
taste of the typical Keralite life. Kerala tourism Department classified
homestays as 3 categories – Silver, Gold & Diamond.
Classification of Kerala Homestays by Dept of
Tourism – Govt of Kerala-
http://www.keralatourism.org/classificationofhomestays/Classified_Homestay_main.php
zEcogreen Cocoa County Homstay offers
comparatively the best accommodation which suits Budget travellers as
well as Delux. It is as ideal place for a vacation. Be it Kerala Ayurvedic
massage, Kerala honeymoon trips, cycling, ecotourism, medical tourism, cultural
tourism, etc. Its unique location make it suitable for a complete vacation stay
The Couchsurfing Project: Riding the Waves of
Participatory Travel by Kelly Amabile
The Real Portugal: Experience Tradition and
Preserve the Countryside with Historic Homestays by Volker Poelzl
Homestay Programs: Lay Down Your Head but Not
a Lot of Cash by Tim Leffel
Servas: How to Travel and Build Peace at the
Same Time by Julie Schumacher Cohen
Paris Homestays by Bradwell Jackson
The Experiment in International Living
Experience: Homestays Promote Cross-Cultural Understanding by Leah Cano
Homestays on Lake Titicaca, Peru by David A.
Smith
Homestays in Malaysia by Michele Peterson
Latin American Homestays by Jim Baird
Youth Exchange Programs by Jennifer Viale
Homestays, the Best Way to Learn a Different
Culture by Ayako Hotchi
The Host Family Experience by Shoshanna Sumka
Micronesian Homestays by Joan Huyser-Honig
The Lowdown on Hospitality Stays by Kari J.
Bodnarchuk
Hospitality Exchanges Q & A by Kari J.
Bodnarchuk
Worldwide Hospitality Exchanges and Homestay
Resources and Links
American International Homestays, www.aihtravel.com/homestays.
Specializes in homestays in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and China.
Full-service homestays start at $100 per night for a private single room,
home-cooked breakfast and dinner, 4 hours per day of guiding.
The Couchsurfing Project,
www.couchsurfing.com, offers homestays worldwide and tends to attract a younger
crowd. This organization has over 200,000 members in more than 200 countries,
and 84 percent of them speak English, offering copious opportunities for
connecting with other families
Cultural Homestay International,
www.chinet.org. A non-profit public benefit organization founded in 1980 to
promote international understanding, friendship, and goodwill through cultural
homestays. We believe that the best way to eliminate fear and prejudice among
nations is to experience directly the cultures, languages, and customs of the
peoples by living with them. The emphasis of the program is on the
education of the participating student, the volunteer host family, and the local
community through communication and interaction in the home, the classroom, and
the neighborhood.
Earthfoot. www.earthfoot.org. A virtual
Internet community specializing in eco-sensitive people-to-people travel. Check
their list under “homestays” and contact a limited but growing group of hosts
in Asia, Africa, Central America, and Oceaniay.
Experiment in International Living,
www.usexperiment.org. Each program in 27 countries around the globe immerses
participants in the daily life of another culture. For three to five weeks,
Experimenters focus on themes such as community service, language study,
ecology, travel, or the arts, as they enjoy life with their host families and
participate in activities with their group. The centerpiece of this cutting-edge
exchange program is the homestay—based on the belief that the best way to
understand another culture is to live as a member of one of its families.
Friendship Force International,
www.thefriendshipforce.org. Friendship Force members travel as Ambassadors from
their home country to another country. Local Hosts welcome them into their
homes, providing activities that reflect community life and local culture.
After sharing experiences of friendship, differences of language, race, creed
or politics become less important.
Global Ecovillage Network (GEN),
gen.ecovillage.org/, lists ecovillages from around the world, where volunteers
are welcome at many locations.
Greenheart Travel,
www.greenhearttravel.org. Experience life in a small Turkish village, see
Mt. Fuji when you awake every morning, or hike the northern Spanish mountains
with a family as your guide. Greenheart Travel's Independent Homestay program
focuses exclusively on the short-term homestay experience and is perfect for
teens and adults wanting complete immersion in a new culture.
Homestay Central: Homestays around the World,
www.homestaycentral.com, is another way to avoid expensive homestay agents for
those looking for homestays abroad (Canada, USA, New York, Australia, N.Z.,
U.K., etc) by searching for your host family online. There are dozens of host
families listed and looking for you.
Homestay Finder, www.homestayfinder.com,
offers student accommodations worldwide and is a top student placement guide
based in the UK.
The Hospitality Club, www.hospitalityclub.org,
is a free German-based group dedicated to bringing people from different
countries together. Over 250,000 members in scores of countries—in fact, about
60 countries can boast 100 or more members. Line up visits with locals when you
travel.
The Hospitality Exchange. 406-538-8770;
www.hospex.net. An annual membership gets you access to an online directory of
250 members in 26 countries. Some can offer overnight accommodations; others
can hook you up with local families.
LanguagesAbroad.com, www.languagesabroad.com,
is unique way to learn a language, while studying and living in the home of
your own personal teacher! By living and studying in your own personal
teacher's home, you live in the language and you can't avoid learning. This
program has been running since 1979 and has over 2000 private teachers
worldwide. This personal program is offered in over 34 selected countries.
The Lesbian and Gay Hospitality Exchange
International offers host stays for gay and lesbian travelers in more than 40
countries throughout Africa, Asia, Oceania, and North, Central, and South
America. The annual fee is approximately $45. Contact: info@lghei.org,
www.lghei.org.
US Servas: Homestays for Peace,
www.usservas.org. Servas is an international network of hosts and travelers
building peace by providing opportunities for individual visits between people
of diverse cultures and backgrounds. During a typical homestay- usually 2
nights-, travelers participate in the daily lives of their host: discussing
social concerns, running errands, cooking a meal, visiting a school or lending
a hand in a workplace. Servas encompasses more than 15,000 homes and institutions
in more than 125 countries on six continents. Contact: United States Servas,
Inc., 1125 16th Street, Suite 201, Arcata, CA 95521-5585. Tel: (707) 825-1714.
Fax: (707) 825-1762..; info@usServas.org.
World Homestay. Homestays worldwide for
international students, visitors and interns. Our database contains host family
listings worldwide. Guests can browse ads and contact families directly. $20
yearly membership fee; year round. Contact: support@worldhomestay.com,
www.worldhomestay.com.
WWOOF, (WWOOF International, P.O. Box 2675,
Lewes BN7 1RB, England; wwoofintl@phdcc,www.wwoof.org); connects people
directly to farms around the world interested in having travelers stay and work
for varying lengths of time. After paying a low membership fee, you receive a
book listing all farms that accept volunteers and you can contact the
individual farmers directly to arrange start and end dates. As with organized
camps, you receive room and board in exchange for your work. Like the workcamp
organizations, the farms are not just looking for cheap labor. Your presence
and the culture you represent are just as important as the work you provide.
WWOOF works only with farms devoted to organic production as well as to
cultural exchange. Whether you choose satisfying manual work on a farm or more
varied work at one or more international workcamps, you’ll find that either is
an inexpensive way to have an active, rich overseas travel experience.
Country and City Hospitality and
Homestay Links
Abundance Farm, www.abundancefarm.com, is a
family farm focused on self-sufficiency. Guest stays and volunteer
opportunities are available.
AnnsHomeStay, Kerala, India,
www.annshomestay.org, is an ideal transit point to the major tourist
destinations such as Munnar , Wagamon, Cochin Kumarakom (Backwaters) and
Thekkady /Periyar in Kerala (India).
Bali Homestay Programs,
bali-homestay.tripod.com, is a cultural exchange program and homestay. A chance
to mingle with the Balinese people and learn about their daily life and unique
culture.
Bells' Home Hospitality, 506-225-4752;
www.homestay.thebells.org, is a homestay service with a small network of middle
class families exemplifying the good nature of the Costa Rican people. Vernon
and Marcela Bell will help you develop your itinerary based on their own and
their guests’ experiences over the years.
China Homestay, www.chinahomestay.org, offers
rent-free homestays all over China if you don't mind tutoring or exchanging
culture 4 hours/week.
Costa Rica Homestays,
www.costaricahomestays.com, is the first Homestay Agency offering lodging and
food throughout Costa Rica, and offers optional Spanish language study classes
and volunteer programs.
Friends Overseas. This venerable
Scandinavian-American friendship program run by retired junior high guidance
counselor Larry Eisner is now partnered with an Australian friendship program
run by Ann Whyte. Join and you’ll get names of locals interested in meeting and
entertaining visiting Americans. The rest is up to you
withwww.friendsoverseas.org.
Homestay Ecuador coordinates services for
persons interested to learn about and live in our country, and who want to
share their time benefiting social projects. Having nearly a decade of
experience with over 800 volunteers from all over the world, we saw a great
need to create and provide services to foreign volunteer. Homestay Ecuador
aspires to be the link between volunteers and organizations, projects and
persons, providing you with the best and safest way to realize your desire to
volunteer while living in our country. We contribute a percentage of our fee
towards the benefit and development of social projects. Our Objectives are not
commercial, we are a group of that want to help, to support organizations and
give the best information and orientation for the volunteer. Contact:
homestayecuador@hotmail.com, www.homestay-ecuador.com.
Homestay in Cusco, Peru,
www.homestayincusco.com, is an organization who is dedicated to offer a warm
home with Cusquenian families for people from all over the world.
Host Family in Peru, www.hostfamilyinperu.com,
is an agency which provides accommodations in Cusco, Peru.
I.E.E.A. Homestay in China,
www.insightchina.cn, provides immersion in Chinese culture for an enjoyable
experience in China.
Linguistic stays in Côte d’Azur,
france.homestays.free.fr, a group of french families, in the Riviera (south of
France) welcoming foreigners who want to learn or improve french. They live
with their teacher's family! We offer a full board, daily courses and touristic
visits. A nice way to get to know our culture and make new friends.
Mandore Guest House in India: Homestay and
Volunteer Work. We believe that tourism should be about interacting with other
cultures, not exploiting them. This could mean more working and traveling with
local people on public buses rather than looking at them through the window of
a private tour bus. We bring people together from different regions, states,
countries, cultural heritage, social and political backgrounds. We do have a
priority and positive role in preserving and protecting our cultural and
natural resources which also meets the need for ecologically sensitive travel.
Contact: contact@mandore.com, www.mandore.com.
New Itineraries Cultural Association: Italian
Language and Culture Homestays. Accommodation in your teacher's home in Tuscany
with daily Italian language tuition, all meals, private rooms. Quality homes,
qualified teachers. Individually-planned tuition. Cultural Association of 20
host families. Cultural excursions around Tuscany with your host as your driver
and guide. Contact: info@newitineraries.it, www.newitineraries.it
North Vancouver Homestay,
www.northvancouver-homestay.com, is ideally located for folks who want to be
close to the city, public transit, shops and tourist attractions.
Proyecto MÁS Chile, www.maschile.cl, organizes
cultural integration programs in Chile. Choose a homestay program with a
Spanish teacher or a Chilean family to share face to face interaction with the
culture, the people and their customs.
Sarah Stanley’s Unique Homestays, Lantern
Cottage, Trebudannon, Newquay, Cornwall, England TR8 4LP, 011-440-1637-881942;
enquiries@uniquehomestays.com, www.uniquehomestays.com. A worldwide holiday
accommodations service for independent discerning travelers and single persons
seeking somewhere special to stay. Choose a luxury homestay, self-catered
accommodation, or boutique hotel from a carefully screened catalog which
includes the U.K., France, India, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Portugal, South
Africa, and the U.S.
Sky Homestay Australia,
www.skyhomestayaustralia.com, offers language study programs and homestay
accommodation for students and travelers in Brisbane, Australia.
Tharavadu Heritage Home. Real Budget Heritage
Travellers Inn at the backwater Village. A 120 year old Christian Banglow
converted into a Travellers Inn. We provide homestay, food, ayurveda body
massaging, boat cruise etc. for our Guests. We are located in the backwater
tourist village called Kumarakom in Kerala State in India. Contact:
tharavadu@sancharnet.in, www.tharavaduheritage.com.
Thomasinn Homestay, www.thomasinn.com, is a
beautiful oasis in Cochin City, India to stay, and explore. The rooms are safe,
clean, comfortable and maintained by host family.
Vancouver Central Homestay,
www.vancouvercentralhomestay.com, is a Canadian team with more than 10 years
experience in Vancouver homestays.
Vancouver Homestay House: International
Student Homestay Program,www.vancouverhomestayhouse.com. International student
accommodations, homestay, study in beautiful Vancouver BC, clean comfortable
rooms, good food, friendly host families, premium services at regular rates,
short or long term stays…
Staying on at the Homestays is indeed an
excellent opportunity to partake in the cultural extravaganza of this vbast
region – a chance to freely mingle with the people, closer understandimgs of
the ethos and traditions that culminate in festivels and not least, a genuine
overview of life in the rural areas, which otherwise is almost untouched by
modernity
There are places where they are known as bed
& breakfast, but in India, we just cannot think of another way to describe
this apart from a “Home Stay”. Staying with Indian hosts is a unique way of
getting closer to the psyche of the people and its culture. These are a group
of people who just love looking after visitors and are proud of their
hospitality and traditions. The selection is wide and covers Delhi, Jaipur,
quaint hill stations in Uttrakhand and Himachal, most parts of Kerala and
Coorg, in Karnataka. Some of them are really “special places” to say and at
times the hosts may not be present on site but that does not diminish the value
of your stay a bit…
Home stays in Rajasthan are gaining more and
more popularity day by day. It is a relatively new concept introduced in the
state. People are now opening up their houses to welcome the domestic as well
as tourists who visit their city. Different people offer different facilities
in their homes. Some provide only accommodation, while others offer the
facilities of meals, cultural evening etc.
Home stay in Rajasthan, India is an excellent
option even from security point of view. Even for a female traveler, home stays
are a better option than any other form of lodging. Another positive feature of
home stays is that you get personalized treatment from the family you are
residing with and get to see the real Rajasthan. You can find the tariff
ranging from the lowest to that matching with the hotels. Home stays in
Rajasthan are meant to suit everyone's needs and pockets. So, next time you
visit Rajasthan, try to stay at these homes and get a taste of the real
state.
Here Are Some Benefits Of Home Stay
1. Distinctive And Characterful Accomm n
odatios
There's no better way to experience the
incredibly diversity and charm of India than at a homestay. The options are
almost endless and include plantation bungalows, historic havelis (mansions),
and remote rural cottages.
2. Personalized Service
In contrast to a hotel, a homestay usually
only has a few rooms. The family who resides there runs it, and acts as host.
This guarantees that guests receive plenty of individual attention. You can
spend as little or as much time with the host family as you like. Some guests
choose only to dine with them, while others spend hours chatting to them.
Regardless, staying with an Indian family is the easiest way of finding out
about Indian culture and way of life. Many guests and hosts find that they bond
with each other so much, that they keep in touch long after the vacation is
over.
3. Local Knowledge
The wealth of information that the hosts have
about their local area makes deciding what to see and do a breeze. Such local
knowledge is extremely helpful in getting the most from your visit. Many hosts
are delighted to show their guests around their local area, providing them with
invaluable insights that simply aren't available from a guide book.
4. Home Cooked Food
There's a huge difference between the Indian
food served in restaurants and hotels, and the food that's cooked in an Indian
home. By staying at a homestay, you'll be able to taste authentic Indian home
cooked food, made to order. It's a lot lighter, and has more variation and
flavor than restaurant food. Some homestays even welcome their guests into
their kitchen, and let them watch and participate in the cooking process.
5. Unique Activities
As a guest at a homestay, the focus is on you,
and your likes and preferences. The hosts are usually very accommodating and
will put a great deal of effort into arranging activities that are of interest
to you. These activities will vary depending on location. Exploring a coffee
plantation in Coorg, watching a polo match in Rajasthan, herding animals in
remote northern India, village visits, picnics, and temple tours are just some
of the options. Guests are often invited to attend weddings, or other festivals
that are happening, as well.
There are places where they are known as bed
& breakfast, but in India, we just cannot think of another way to describe
this apart from a “Home Stay”. Staying with Indian hosts is a unique way of
getting closer to the psyche of the people and its culture. These are a group
of people who just love looking after visitors and are proud of their
hospitality and traditions. The selection is wide and covers Delhi, Jaipur, quaint
hill stations in Uttrakhand and Himachal, most parts of Kerala and Coorg, in
Karnataka. Some of them are really “special places” to say and at times the
hosts may not be present on site but that does not diminish the value of your
stay a bit…
