Kochi, India
Kerala Backwaters & Spice Hills
Pepper and cardamom from the Western Ghats, loaded here for a thousand years.
Next: Colombo
Coast, Spice & Wellness
Slow Down Where The Spice Ships Sailed
Houseboats in Kerala, tea country in Sri Lanka and the dhow harbours of Zanzibar — journeys paced by the tide.
Now Showing
The Kerala Backwaters
Alleppey, India
01 / 03
Hosts, Not Handlers
The same local host meets you, calls you and waves you off.
Never The Coach
A private car and driver, or the train when the train is better.
About Coastrel
Journeys Paced By The Tide, Not The Clock
Along the coasts of India, Sri Lanka and East Africa, the best days are the ones with nothing planned between breakfast and the evening boat.
We have planned slow journeys since 2008: fewer places, longer stays, and hosts who have fished, farmed or cooked in the same village all their lives. You will not be woken for a 6 a.m. coach, and you will never be taken to a shop you did not ask to see.
The Spice Route
Follow The Pepper Across The Ocean
Four ports on the old monsoon trade, each one a journey of its own. Keep scrolling and the route draws itself from Kerala to Marrakech.
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Kochi, India
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Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Tea Country
Cinnamon from the south coast, tea from the hills above Kandy.
Next: Stone Town -
Stone Town, Zanzibar
Zanzibar & The Spice Coast
Cloves on every breeze, and dhows still sailing on the monsoon.
Next: Marrakech -
Marrakech, Morocco
Marrakech To The Sahara
Where the caravans ended: saffron, cumin and ras el hanout by the scoop.
The End Of The Route
Slow Water
Houseboats, Dhows & The Art Of Doing Nothing
A rice barge on the Kerala backwaters, a dhow off Stone Town at sunset: the days on the water are the ones travellers remember longest.
5
Coastal & Island Journeys
12+
Nights On The Water
38+
Houseboat & Dhow Crews
Ayurveda & Wellness
Six Rituals Worth The Journey
Fourteen days in a Kerala retreat, prescribed by a resident doctor. These are the rituals guests talk about afterwards.
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01
Abhyanga
Warm herbal oil worked in by two therapists moving as one, every morning of the retreat.
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02
Shirodhara
A slow, steady stream of oil across the forehead. Most guests are asleep in minutes.
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03
Sunrise Yoga
On the beach or the temple steps, led by a teacher from the village.
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04
Pranayama
Breathing practice before breakfast: the part guests take home and keep.
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05
A Sattvic Kitchen
Food cooked for your constitution, from a garden you can walk through.
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06
Sound & Silence
Singing bowls at dusk, then an evening without screens by the water.
Fourteen days from $3,290 per person
An Ayurveda Retreat In Kerala
The People Behind The Journeys
Designers In London, Guides On The Road
Every journey has two people behind it: a travel designer who plans it with you, and a guide who has walked it a hundred times.
“My grandfather drove the Jaipur–Agra road for forty years. I still plan every route as if he were at the wheel.”
Founder
Arjun Rathore
- Knows
- India & The Silk Road
- Speaks
- English, Hindi, Marwari
- With Us
- Since 2008
“The best Alhambra visit starts the evening before, with the view from the Mirador de San Nicolás.”
Senior Travel Designer
Claire Whitfield
- Knows
- Europe & The Mediterranean
- Speaks
- English, French, Italian
- With Us
- Since 2012
“If a driver is ten minutes late anywhere in the world, my phone knows before yours does.”
Head Of Operations
Richard Hale
- Knows
- Every Region
- Speaks
- English, German
- With Us
- Since 2010
“Kyoto rewards the early riser. Nanzen-ji at seven is a different temple from Nanzen-ji at ten.”
Travel Designer
Sophie Laurent
- Knows
- Japan & South-East Asia
- Speaks
- English, French, Japanese
- With Us
- Since 2016
“In the Sacred Valley we walk the Inca trail between villages rather than the busy one to the gate.”
Travel Designer
Daniel Moreno
- Knows
- The Americas
- Speaks
- English, Spanish, Portuguese
- With Us
- Since 2018
“An Ayurveda retreat is fourteen days for a reason. By day nine, guests stop checking their watches.”
Wellness Designer
Emma Lindqvist
- Knows
- Kerala & Sri Lanka
- Speaks
- English, Swedish
- With Us
- Since 2019
“A Mughal historian by training who still finds something new in the Taj every single week.”
Lead Guide, Agra & Jaipur
Ayesha Siddiqui
- Knows
- Rajasthan & The North
- Speaks
- English, Hindi, Urdu
- With Us
- Since 2014
“Eighteen years on the Agra road, and a list of chai stalls he will not share with anyone but you.”
Driver & Road Host
Imran Qureshi
- Knows
- Delhi, Agra & Jaipur
- Speaks
- English, Hindi
- With Us
- Since 2011
Guest Letters
Postcards From The People Who Went
4.9
Based on 1,284 reviews
4.9
Based on 882 reviews
Agra · Nov 2026
Priya & Arjun MehtaThe Golden Triangle · Travelled As A Couple
“We saw the Taj at sunrise with almost nobody else there. Our driver, Imran, knew every quiet road and every good chai stall between Agra and Jaipur.”
Priya & Arjun MehtaThe Golden Triangle · Travelled As A Couple
Petra · Oct 2026
“We walked into Petra by candlelight on the first night. Nothing in the brochure prepared us for that, and nothing since has come close.”
Daniel OseiPetra & Wadi Rum · Travelled With Friends
Merzouga · Mar 2026
Tomás HerreraMarrakech To The Sahara · Solo Traveller
“Three nights in the Sahara, and the one I remember is the one where our camp host taught me to bake bread in the sand.”
Tomás HerreraMarrakech To The Sahara · Solo Traveller
Alleppey · Jan 2026
“The houseboat crew cooked a different fish curry every night and refused to tell us which one was their grandmother’s.”
Mei TanakaKerala Backwaters · Travelled As A Couple
Kyoto · Nov 2026
Hannah ClarkeKyoto & The Old Capitals · Family Of Four
“Kyoto in November was busier than we expected, but our guide always had a quieter temple in her pocket. The planning was faultless.”
Hannah ClarkeKyoto & The Old Capitals · Family Of Four
Udaipur · Feb 2026
“Every haveli had a story, and every story came with a rooftop dinner. Udaipur at dusk was the moment we stopped checking our phones.”
Luc & Sophie MartinRoyal Rajasthan · Honeymoon
Start Somewhere
Tell Us Where You Have Always Meant To Go
A travel designer will send back a first sketch of the journey within two working days. No deposit, no obligation.
Find Your Designer
Talk To A Designer
Tell Us Where You Are Going, We Will Match You
London Office
48 Lamb’s Conduit Street
London WC1N 3LH
Mon – Sat, 09:00 – 19:00
Local time —Jaipur Ground Team
C-Scheme, Prithviraj Road
Jaipur, Rajasthan 302001
Every day, 07:00 – 22:00
Local time —Talk To A Designer
+44 20 7946 0183
journeys@coastrel.com
Every email is answered by a person within one working day.
While travelling, your host’s number is in your documents
Your Travel Designer
Start With A Few Lines
- Nearest Tube
- Russell Square (Piccadilly line), six minutes on foot
- Visits
- Come by for tea and maps; a quick call first means your designer is in