The overnight houseboat (kettuvallam) cruise is the classic Alappuzha experience. These converted rice barges — roofed in palm thatch and fitted with bedrooms, a sitting area, and a kitchen — are crewed by a captain and a cook and move slowly through the canal network south of town. You wake up to stillness broken only by birds and the occasional passing canoe.
Most cruises leave in the afternoon and return the following morning. The cook prepares fresh Kerala meals on board using the day's catch. Choose your operator carefully — the better boats keep the engine off at night and moor in quieter backwaters away from the main tourist routes. If you want a shorter and cheaper option, the public ferry from Alappuzha to Kollam takes eight hours and covers the same backwater scenery for a fraction of the price.