Beach

Beach days here are free time, not a programme

Every tour on this tag is private and guided, with a German-speaking guide. The beach part is the exception: it is deliberately unstaffed. The Goa add-on says so in its own itinerary — days 2 to 4 are yours, "no vehicle available, no tour guide." The identical line appears on the Marari day that closes India – from North to South and on the Goa days of The diversity of South India.

So what you actually buy is an airport pickup, a transfer, a hotel on the sand, and nothing scheduled until the transfer out. That is the point of it. If you want a car and driver on call, or excursions arranged from the beach, ask when you enquire — it is not inside the standard price.

The four short beach add-ons

Four of the nine are five-day components, built to bolt onto the end of a longer trip:

• Beach holiday in Goa — 5 days, from EUR 350. Fly into Goa, transfer, three free days, transfer out. It is the cheapest thing in our catalogue.
• Marari — 5 days, from EUR 400. Land at Kochi, transfer to Mararikulam, a working fishing village on the Kerala coast.
• Paradise Andaman & Nicobar Islands — 5 days, from EUR 410. Land at Port Blair, then a ferry past uninhabited islands to Havelock. Clear water, reef, dolphins and sea turtles. Snorkelling is possible; it is not booked for you. See Andaman & Nicobar.
• Paradise island Maldives — 5 days, from EUR 700. Malé, speedboat to the hotel island, three days, speedboat back. See Maldives.

The sensible way to book one is behind a culture route — a Golden Triangle or Rajasthan trip first, then five flat days.

Five longer trips that already end at the sea

• India – from North to South — 14 days, from EUR 1,840. Delhi, Agra, two shared safaris in Ranthambore, Jaipur, then a domestic flight to Kochi that is written into the itinerary, Periyar, a backwater houseboat, and Marari on day 13. One beach night before you fly.
• Sri Lanka's glory — 14 days, from EUR 1,050. Sinharaja jungle, Udawalawe, Ella, Kandy, then four nights on Nilaveli beach across days 7 to 10, then Dambulla and a last night in Negombo. This has the longest single beach block on the tag, and the lowest price of the long trips.
• Breathtaking nature & culture — 14 days, from EUR 1,220. Sigiriya, a beach day at Pasikuda on day 4, Horton Plains, tea at Nuwara Eliya, Yala, and the fort at Galle with the turtle hatchery at Hikkaduwa. Four Maldives nights follow — read that line carefully, because the resort stay is optional and costs extra depending on the category you pick.
• India's facets & Maldives — 15 days, from EUR 3,140. Rajasthan out to Jodhpur, Ranakpur and Udaipur, then Mumbai and the Elephanta caves, then five days in the Maldives from day 11. It is the most expensive tour we sell. Water sports on the hotel island are partly at extra cost.
• The diversity of South India — 25 days, from EUR 2,860. Chennai down through Mahabalipuram, Madurai, Periyar and the backwaters, up through Ooty, Mysore and Hampi. Note the detail: Marari on day 11 is lunch and a few hours, not a stay. The real beach block is Goa, days 21 to 24.

Sri Lanka's beaches here are on the east coast

This one trips people up. Both Sri Lanka tours put their beach on the east coast — Nilaveli, north of Trincomalee, and Pasikuda. Neither uses the south-coast resort strip. Galle appears as a day of colonial fort and turtle hatchery, not as a beach stay, and Negombo is a fishing-town night near the airport rather than a holiday. If a south-coast beach week is what you are picturing, tell us at the enquiry stage — the trip is private, so the route is not fixed in stone, but the standard itineraries do not do it.

The east-coast choice also changes when you should travel. And note that Pigeon Island snorkelling and the Trincomalee day trip from Nilaveli are both listed as not included in the tour price.

When to go, coast by coast

• Goa, Marari in Kerala, and the Andamans: November to March. The monsoon closes down beach weather roughly June to September. Detail in best time to visit India month by month.
• Sri Lanka's east coast, meaning Nilaveli and Pasikuda: May to September. That is the opposite of the island's south-west, and the Nilaveli itinerary says as much. See best time to visit Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka weather month by month.
• Maldives: driest January to April. See best time to visit the Maldives.

Every tour here is private with no fixed departure dates, so you pick the month rather than fitting a group calendar. The single exception in our catalogue is a Holi departure, which is not on this tag.

Rooms, prices and what is not included

Rooms come as Standard, Deluxe, Superior or Executive. There is no five-star or luxury tier. If you want an overwater villa with a butler, we are not the right operator, and it is better you know that now than after booking.

Prices above are per-person "from" figures and run from EUR 350 to EUR 3,140 — the full width of our catalogue. International flights are not included. Domestic flights written into an itinerary, such as Jaipur to Kochi on India – from North to South, are.