Pick a shikara if you have 1 to 3 hours, want the narrow village canals a houseboat cannot enter, and want to pay per hour: about Rs 700 to Rs 1,500 per hour for a standard private boat. Pick a houseboat if you want to sleep on the water, eat meals on board, and cruise the wide lake routes: from Rs 10,000 for a 1-bedroom deluxe boat for one night.
Last updated: October 2026
A shikara is a slim, covered, canoe-style sightseeing boat. A houseboat, or kettuvallam, is a much larger boat with bedrooms, a kitchen, and a crew. Operator listings put a typical shikara at about 20 to 40 feet, carrying 2 to 15 passengers, while houseboats run about 60 to 100 feet with 1 to 8 or more bedrooms. That size gap explains most other differences.
| Feature | Shikara | Houseboat |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Per boat, per hour | Per boat, per night (or per day cruise) |
| Typical price | Rs 700 to Rs 1,500 per hour for a standard boat | From Rs 10,000 per night for a 1-bedroom deluxe boat |
| Duration | 1 to 3 hours is normal, longer by arrangement | Check in 12 noon, check out 9 am next day |
| Routes | Narrow canals, village channels, and open lake stretches | Wide canals and Vembanad Lake routes only |
| Meals | Not included as standard; stops at shore eateries are common | Welcome drink, lunch, evening tea and snacks, dinner, and breakfast included on overnight rates checked |
| Sleeping and toilet | No bedroom; most standard boats have no toilet | Bedrooms with attached bathrooms |
| Best for | Short visits, sunrise or sunset, photography, tight budgets | Overnight stays, honeymoons, families who want meals and rest on board |
Shikara pricing is hourly and per boat, not per person, which keeps it cheap for a group splitting one boat. One operator guide checked lists the bands below by size, and other operators list standard rides starting between Rs 600 and Rs 850 per hour. Confirm the exact boat size before you pay.
| Shikara size | Hourly rate | 3-hour total at that rate |
|---|---|---|
| Basic, 2 to 4 people | Rs 700 to Rs 1,000 per hour | Rs 2,100 to Rs 3,000 |
| Medium, 4 to 6 people | Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 per hour | Rs 3,600 to Rs 4,500 |
| Larger or luxury, 6 to 10 people | Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000 per hour | Rs 4,500 to Rs 9,000 |
Houseboat pricing is per night and rises with bedrooms and category. The 2026 overnight tariff of one Alleppey operator checked for this guide, for a cruise from 12 noon to 9 am with all meals included, is:
| Houseboat | Deluxe | Premium | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 bedroom, 2 people | Rs 10,000 | Rs 14,000 | Rs 25,000 |
| 2 bedrooms, 4 people | Rs 14,000 | Rs 20,000 | Rs 35,000 |
| 3 bedrooms, 6 people | Rs 18,000 | Rs 26,000 | Rs 42,000 |
A couple taking a 3-hour shikara at Rs 800 per hour pays about Rs 2,400. The same couple on a 1-bedroom deluxe houseboat pays Rs 10,000, but that buys about 21 hours, a bedroom, and four meal services. On that tariff, deluxe air conditioning runs from 9 pm to 6 am only, while premium and luxury offer full-time air conditioning. Holiday houseboat rates can rise by up to 50 percent on festivals and up to double between 20 December and 5 January.
A shikara sits low and can slip into small canals past homes, paddy fields, and village landings. You watch daily life at close range: fishing canoes, washing and cooking by the water, and kingfishers and egrets along the edges. It is best at sunrise or late afternoon, when the light is soft and the heat has dropped.
A houseboat gives you scale and comfort: broad waterways and Vembanad Lake, meals on board, sunset from the deck, and a night at anchor before a morning cruise back. Our guide to Alleppey houseboat check-in and check-out time explains the anchoring and cruising hours. Its size keeps it on main routes, so the village detail from a shikara is the one thing a bigger budget does not buy.
On a shikara you pay for the boat, boatman, and route for the hours booked. Food is normally extra: many rides stop at a shore restaurant where you pay for your own fish or prawns. There is no air conditioning, bedroom, or usually a toilet, so plan around that for children and older parents.
On an overnight houseboat, the tariff checked includes welcome drink, lunch, evening tea and snacks, dinner, and breakfast, plus bedroom and crew. Extras can include special seafood, honeymoon decoration, and extra guests: Rs 1,000 per extra person on deluxe, Rs 1,500 on premium, and Rs 3,000 on luxury, with meals, on that tariff. See our how to book an Alleppey houseboat checklist and houseboat cost for 2 people for 1 night, then get inclusions in writing.
Work through these questions:
1. How much time do you have in Alleppey? Under half a day, take a shikara. A full day and night, a houseboat becomes realistic.
2. Do you need to sleep on the water? Only a houseboat offers that. If you already have a good hotel, a shikara plus your hotel is often the better value.
3. What do you most want to see? Narrow canals and village life point to a shikara. Open lake views, onboard meals, and a slow sunset point to a houseboat.
4. Who is travelling? Couples on a short trip often get more from a sunrise shikara. Families usually use houseboat bedrooms, bathrooms, and shaded seating more.
5. What is the total, not the headline? Compare a 3-hour shikara total with the full houseboat night, including any extra-person and special meal charges, and price the rest of your Kerala trip in the trip budget planner.
Yes, and on a 2-day stay it is often the best use of money. Take a sunrise shikara for the canals, then board your houseboat at noon, or take the shikara the morning after 9 am check-out. On a day visit from Kochi, a relaxed 3-hour shikara shows you more per hour than a rushed day cruise. See the Alleppey destination guide to fit either boat into your day.
1. Confirm whether the price is per boat or per person, and the exact hours or check-in and check-out times.
2. For a shikara, agree the route in advance and ask whether it includes the narrow canals, not just the open lake.
3. For a houseboat, confirm the category, bedroom count, air conditioning timings, and the full meal list in writing.
4. Ask what is extra: seafood specials, extra guests, pickup, and taxes.
5. Book ahead for sunrise and sunset shikara slots and for any houseboat in peak season, and keep the operator phone number saved offline.
Yes. A standard private shikara is about Rs 700 to Rs 1,500 per hour per boat, so 3 hours is roughly Rs 2,100 to Rs 4,500. A private overnight houseboat starts at Rs 10,000 for a 1-bedroom deluxe boat on the 2026 tariff checked, with meals.
Yes. Its small size lets it use narrow canals too small for a 60 to 100 foot houseboat. Houseboats stay on wide canals and the lake, so the two rides show different parts of the backwaters.
No. A shikara has seating only, with no bedroom, kitchen, or standard toilet. It is a sightseeing boat for 1 to 3 hours. For a night on the water you need a houseboat.
Confirm life jackets in your child size before boarding, keep children seated, and keep the ride to 2 to 3 hours so the lack of a toilet does not become a problem. Operators list jackets for adults and children on these slow, private rides.
For a short, private, inexpensive outing, a sunrise or sunset shikara is hard to beat. For dinner, a bedroom, and a night anchored on the lake, the houseboat is the fuller experience.
Yes. Two days lets you take a shikara through the canals and spend a night on a houseboat without rushing. With one day, choose one boat well rather than squeezing both into hot midday hours.
Keralam Travels