How to plan a solo trip to varkala

South Indian girl travelling solo to Varkala

#solotrip #chennaigirl #chennaitovarkala #weekendtrip

So this was literally the first solo trip I ever ventured on from Chennai and so glad I planned it to the coastal town of Varakal. Ok first of all, I am clueless about trains, finding the platforms literally daunt me but I am super glad I planned this short weekend trip to this awesome place all by myself and I cannot be more proud of myself for getting myself to an entirely new place and not freak out (completely)!!!

Varkala is relatively closer to Chennai and considering the fact that this is a really small place, its pretty easy to plan a last minute trip (which is what I did)

The vibe here is so laid back and relaxed, it puts you at ease and makes you feel right at home. Its one of those places where you can get into a conversation with a perfect stranger and enjoy a good time together. Which is sort of what I did, I met this wonderful woman from Germany at this cute cafe called coffee temple and we started talking and got along so well that we decided to hangout for dinner as well!! 
Since this was only a weekend trip and did not want to do too many things, all I did was hang out at the beach and chill at coffee temple for the most part and did a quick temple visit on the next day afternoon.

 Janardanaswamy temple

PS: Do visit the temple in the morning or evening because most temples all over India are closed in the afternoons. Since I could only visit it in the afternoon, I could not see any or the main deities status but only look around the temple.

And finally here is a cost breakdown for the month of November(right before the tourist season started)

During Festive season, the price might shoot up 3 to 5 times more than the price offered during the off season.

Getting There/Transport: 2,076

Since this was a last minute trip, I could not take the direct train from chennai to Varkala, so decided to take the bus from chennai to Trivandrum and a train from there to Varkala, which is a 30 minutes ride.

Bus :Rs 1,106

Chennai to Trivandrum 

I booked it via Goibibo app, Since there were few points from my previous booking, I got a discount of 150Rs for booking through the app.

Train :Rs 510

Trivandrum to varkala Sivagiri station (there are 21 trains that goes in that directions so its pretty hard to miss) just go to the local ticket counter and purchase a ticket worth Rs. 50/70, you can get into one of the 21 trains and get down in the station. 

PS: I used google maps out of paranoia and fear of getting lost and it was pretty accurate and I got down in the right station!

varkala Sivagiri station to Chennai: Rs. 460 for a direct train in sleeper class compartment.

Auto :Rs 100

varkala Sivagiri station to the cliff should cost you Rs 100 by auto. Although it is only a 15-20mins walk at the latest, considering the warm weather through out the year, it might not be a good idea to do so especially after a long train/bus journey.

Renting a scooter :Rs 260 per day

Unless your planning to stay here for more than two days, do not fill up the entire tank really its a waste of money. The cliff cannot be accessed via bike, you can only walk on the cliff and climb down to the beach. Especially if you are on a budget, filling the tank for Rs 100 will be enough for driving around for two days close to the cliff.

Accomodation: Rs 660

I've never really been the life of party and always enjoyed the solitude more than the loud music, so I decided to stay at this beautiful resort that is minutes away from the cliff and right on the beach next to the cliff. 

Be warned, it was a bit creepy to ride on this road alone at night though, since its pitch dark and like any other rural area in Kerala there are houses scattered around, which means there is nothing but the street light and a lots of plantation on most roads but during the day times its absolutely beautiful to ride on these roads and the sheer greenery can put you 
at ease.

But if you are someone who enjoys fine dining and want to be in the heart of some of the most happening places, you can either choose to stay in one of the accommodations on the cliff such as the bamboo village or lost hostel just at the end of the cliff, if you are on a budget like me. 

Food & Drink: Rs 1,550

Varakal is filled with cafes,restaurants & hotels. But funnily, I could not locate even a single authentic Kerala restaurant on the cliff. There are just so many tourists that you will find it hard to spot Indian's on the cliff. Anyway coming to the food, lets not deny the fact that although these places are freakishly expensive, the food here is pretty good. The day I landed in Varkala, I was pretty clueless and considering I was travelling alone and had to find my own way around the place, it was a bit challenging to stop and check location every single time I felt a little lost. 

Anway long story short, I did get lost and randomly parked the bike in front of some random hotel and walked into the kitchen of the famous "Darjeeling cafe" although I was trying to get to this continental restaurant next to this cafe. Since I was a bit embarrassed to sorta walk into this cafe from the back entrance, I ended up sitting there and having a meal, which by the way happened to be a very good decision!! 

The yogurt based milkshake was amazing, especially considering the hot weather and the pasta was good, I had a very cheesy aglio olio. 

What I loved about this place was the ambiance, super adorable and HUGE dreamcatchers hanging from the ceiling and most importantly the VIEW from the restaurant.

In the pic from left to right 1. Soul & Surf cafe 2. Abba restaurant 3.Coffee temple

I only had a drink at Soul & surf, found it a bit pricey actually almost all the places here are quite expensive. I am guessing its because of how touristy this place is. If you ever get a chance to visit coffee temple do try out their Coconut milk latter, it is one of the most amazing coffee's I have ever had!!!

Cost Breakdown:

Transport: Rs 2,076

Food/Drinks: Rs 1,550 (Per meal Rs300-500)

Accommodation: Rs 660

Total: Rs. 4,286

I hope you enjoyed reading my first ever blog post. Till the next post.
Cheers from this chennai Ponnu!