Motorcycle trip

Southern India

We run four tours in South India. The Spices Route, 12 days, loops from Kochi up to the tea hills of Munnar, Kodaikanal and Ooty. The Big Crossing, 13 days, links Kerala and Tamil Nadu, from Kochi to Chennai via Madurai and Pondicherry. Goa, Jungle & Ancient Wonders, 10 days, heads inland from Goa to Badami and Hampi. Luxury Tour in Kerala, 10 days and about 388 miles (625 km), is the gentlest, with superior hotels and a night on a houseboat.

From £2,490 (€2,690) to £3,490 (€3,790) per rider and from £1,990 (€2,190) to £2,990 (€3,390) per pillion, with one price for every departure of a tour: The Spices Route and Goa are the most affordable, Luxury Tour in Kerala the most expensive. The price covers the motorcycle, fuel, the tour leader, the support vehicle, accommodation, some of the meals and airport transfers. On top: your flights, the visa, drinks and a £31 (€35) registration fee on your first tour with us.

From November to March, the dry season after the monsoon, with 20 to 32°C by day and cool evenings in the hills. The Spices Route and Goa, Jungle & Ancient Wonders run from November to March, Luxury Tour in Kerala from December to March and The Big Crossing from January to March, once the autumn rains of Tamil Nadu are over. Published departures: January to March 2027, plus December 2027 for Goa; other dates on request. From April to October, heat then monsoon: we do not ride.

Luxury Tour in Kerala is rated Accessible: being at ease on a motorcycle is enough, with short stages. The other three tours are rated Intermediate: ride regularly and be fit, as the riding days follow one another on small winding roads, sometimes damaged by the monsoon, with a little easy track. No off-road experience is needed. If in doubt, your travel advisor will talk it through with you, and one of our training courses can rebuild your confidence before you go.

India requires a visa: for a holiday, most UK and European travellers apply online for an e-Visa on indianvisaonline.gov.in, the Indian government site, before leaving, then fill in the e-Arrival Card in the three days before landing. To ride, bring your full motorcycle licence and an International Driving Permit, sold at the Post Office. Passport validity, timings and the checklist are in Preparing your trip to India, in our help centre.

The Spices Route and Luxury Tour in Kerala start and finish in Kochi. The Big Crossing arrives in Kochi and leaves from Chennai, so book an open-jaw ticket. Goa, Jungle & Ancient Wonders begins and ends in Goa, which has two airports, Dabolim and Mopa: send your flight details to your travel advisor. From the UK, you fly with or without a connection depending on the airline and the season; our transfers meet you on arrival and take you back on the last day.

The main risk is the road: traffic drives on the left, as in the UK, among buses, lorries, tuk-tuks and cows, busy in Kerala and calmer in the countryside. We ride at a steady pace behind an English-speaking tour leader; a mechanic and a support vehicle follow the group, and our team in France answers day and night. Some stages are far from medical help. Before you go, read the FCDO travel advice for India, or your own government’s advice if you live elsewhere in Europe.

The south is India at its gentlest: green Kerala, spices and tea, the backwaters, the temples of Tamil Nadu and the beaches of Goa, on mostly paved roads, from November to March. In the north, our Rajasthan motorcycle tours also run in winter, among desert, forts and maharajas’ palaces, while our Himalaya motorcycle tours ride in summer over passes above 5,000 metres. All our routes are on the motorcycle tours in India page.