Riverlap Homestay

I booked 3 nights but ended-up spending 5 nights in this relaxing and welcoming homestay. It was a "real" Kerala experience without the crowds. The property is immersed in a community who lives in nice villas surrounded by a lush forest of coconut trees. The area is a long stretch of land between the river and the sea populated by peasants and fishermen. In few minutes, you switch from lush rice fields, to the long sandy beach. You can enjoy a boat-ride in serene backwaters or visit mosques and small hindu temples. The individual bungalows are quite comfortable while not being luxurious (A/C, frifge, good, indiviual terrasse). Mine was in right front of the pond surrounded by coconut trees where local birds nestled. Vinod is a great host who arranged airport pick-ups from Kannur through his brother (2.5 hours drive). He always asked me about my preferred meal time and desired menu. The meals are taken in the dining-room of their modern property next to the bungalows. The wife cooked delicious seafood from the nearby fishermen's pier. I enjoyed king prawns and fishes cooked in a delicious masala mix. For breakfast, you can get local Indian breakfast, fresh fruit (ananas, watermelon) or eggs with delicious homemade masala chai. What sets the River Lap Homestay apart is the hosts. Vinod and the team are very nice and can arrange several experiences. I recommend asking for a sunrise boat ride in the backwaters (ask for the narrow river beyond Maddakara bridge). They have a motorised long-tail boat and the wife prepared a thermos of masala chai and bananas for me. We also went by boat to the nearby fishermen's pier to buy the morning catch. In my view, it is a great alternative to the "touristy" backwaters near Allepey & Kochi where I did not go. It is a more relaxing and authentic way to discover Kerala if you like nature.

Amazing place to stay near the beach and the backwaters of Nileshwar. The location is amazing. Very peaceful and quiet. The beach is stunning, with palmtrees as far as you can look. Vinod is the most amazing host. Very polite and helpful. He bought us traintickets and arranged us a boatride through the backwaters and a visit to the temple to experience the Theyyam ritual. The food at River Lap is the best. The shrimp massala was the best i've ever had. I highly recommend this place.

We spent 8 glorious days at this amazing homestay. First of all, the location is unique and incredible, between the sea and the backwaters and you are able to see both from the property which itself is spacious with 2 beautiful ponds and a paddleboat as well as hammocks and swing chairs. It’s luxurious in a natural, rustic way; it’s heaven on earth. Vinod, the owner, was so kind and helpful, solving any problems we had with ease and offering fantastic suggestions. We took some outings we could never have found on our own and got to really experience Kerala, simply fabulous! The food was great, home cooked by family members who only want you to enjoy. They were responsive to all requests and the seafood was especially delicious! It was a perfect vacation and a perfect place to stay and I certainly hope to return. One word of caution, the wifi is not great and if you need it, request the middle cabin though the other cabins have boosters which do help at times. We were able to accomplish the little necessary work we had and this most definitely did not diminish our enjoyment of the stay. It actually helped us to stay away from the mobiles a bit more and let the magnificent nature penetrate!