A 3-day trip to Kannur | Beach Paradise in South India

It was the first weekend of January 2020, and myself being a thalassophile, I wanted to kickstart the decade by traveling to a beautiful beach destination. We wanted to drive from Bangalore and beach destinations like Chennai, Mahabalipuram, Pondicherry, Goa seemed too cliché. We wanted to go to a less touristy and laid-back beach town and just a day before we decided to go to Kannur! We were lucky to get a reservation at the Manshore Bay guesthouse for two nights. I was so excited as Kannur has been on our list for so long and somehow we never made it. The next day, we started early (around 5.30 AM) from Bangalore to avoid weekend traffic. We stopped for a coffee at the Mayura River View resort in Srirangapatna. I love this place for it's location even though the service is not great. It was a long drive to Kannur but we absolutely enjoyed the scenic drive past many plantations and through a reserve forest at the Karnataka-Kerala state border. We could feel the heat and humidity after entering Kerala and reached Manshore Bay by 2:30 PM.

Coffee by the riverside at Mayura River View.

Drive from Bangalore to Kannur past plantations and a reserve forest

Manshore Bay Guesthouse is a budget accommodation (here), but clean and well maintained. We opted for a AC room which costed about 3000 INR per night including breakfast and taxes. You can reserve your accommodation on booking.com or directly contact the guesthouse. The location of the guesthouse is gorgeous..on a cliff.. and few steps down the cliff, you have your very own private beach!! The dining area at the guesthouse is open roof-top with parallel view of the ocean! Two rooms on the first floor share a common balcony with a view of the picturesque coastline. We were welcomed with a refreshing drink which was nice as I wasn't expecting anything of that sort. The staff are very friendly and polite. We checked into our room, rested for a while, had a coffee and got down to the beach for watching sunset. I'm a huge fan of sunsets and never miss one especially when I'm at a beach. We spent the evening walking on the beach and relaxing. We ordered dinner at the in-house restaurant. Food was simple and good. And it was time to rest and get some sleep.

Our room at the Manshore Bay Guesthouse. We were welcomed with a refreshing drink!

Day 1: Beautiful sunset at the beach. Few steps away from Manshore Bay Guesthouse.

Day 2: I'm usually not a morning person but when I'm on vacation I'm up by 5:30 AM because I don't want to miss the sunrise. Is that weird? I just love waking up to the sound of crashing waves. The calm ocean makes me forget all the worries in my life. My husband and I spent an hour walking on the beach and watching the sun rise. It is moments like these that I crave for. What a beautiful way to start the day!

Day 2: Sunrise from our balcony. And morning walk on the beach!

Around 8:30 AM, we were served breakfast at the dining hall. Our accommodation cost included breakfast. We had appam, stew, toast, omelette, fruit juice and coffee. Very tasty and filling! It was not even 10:00 AM and the sun was really harsh! Today, we decided to go sightseeing. We didn't have much planned and kept it very flexible, depending on the time and how much we could cover in half a day.

Day 2: Breakfast by the sea, at Manshore Bay Guesthouse, Kannur.

Our first stop was the St.Angelo fort, a 20-minute drive from our guesthouse. The historic fort facing the Arabian sea was built in 1500's by the Portuguese and well preserved by the Archeological department. You can buy your tickets at the counter at the fort entry point. We spent some time walking around the fort appreciating the architecture. You can find couple of viewpoints overlooking the ocean. Please carry sunscreen and hats as it was very hot!

Day 2: Walking around St. Angelo Fort, Kannur

Next we had lunch at a restaurant nearby and headed to the Light house, a 15-20 minute drive from the fort. You need to purchase an entrance ticket next to the car parking. The Light house has been operational since 1976. There is a small museum at the entrance which gives you a glimpse of the old lanterns used to signal the ships before the lighthouse was constructed. You can climb on to the top of the light house using the spiral staircase. The view from the top is totally worth the climb! We spent about 15-20 minutes on the top soaking in all the beautiful views of the coastline.

Day 2: Kannur Light house offers stunning views of the coast line.

In the evening, we planned to catch the sunset at the famous Muzhappilangad Beach, one of the longest drive-through beaches in Asia! It was sunday evening and there was heavy traffic jam about 2 km away from the beach entrance. We were slightly disappointed but didn't want to miss the sunset, so we drove to the nearby Ezhara beach instead. And it was the best decision we made! It was a long, white sandy beach and not crowded at all! We were really surprised that it was so quiet on Sunday evening. The sunset was simply magical! We felt like we had the entire beach to ourselves! We spent the evening walking on the beach and spent some time chatting as we sat on the rocks. For dinner, we went to a fancy restaurant in town "Sahib's Grill Kitchen". The ambience was fine but I was not satisfied with the food and service. Felt like an over-rated restaurant. We reached our guesthouse by 9:30 PM, super tired and dozed off to sleep!

Day 2: Magical sunset at the Ezhara Beach, Kannur.

Day 3: The entire coastline is lit up as the sun rises!

Day 3: Today was our last day in Kannur. Our checkout time was 11:00 AM. We wanted to attempt to go to the Muzhappilangad drive-through beach this morning as we couldn't make it the previous day. We woke up by 6:00 AM and headed to the drive-through beach. We were really excited as this was our first-time driving on a beach! It was a thrilling experience and must-do if you are in Kannur. You have to pay 40 INR to drive in your own car at this beach. We were also there at the right time to watch the local fishermen preparing their net for their first catch. We spent an hour on the beach, talking to the fishermen and watching them work. We don't speak Malayalam but language was not a barrier at all! They were really keen to know about us and happily answered many questions I asked them. The best part about traveling is that you get to know about other people. We were getting late but I still wanted to wait and see the fish being caught in their huge net and so were many sea gulls and eagles. As they withdrew the net from the ocean, we saw plenty of fish (all kinds) and even few snakes caught in the net! The fishermen spent quite some time segregating the catch. Overall, it was an amazing experience ! The previous day we were slightly disappointed about not being able to get to this beach, but it all worked out for the good. It was actually better to come here in the morning to avoid the crowd and we got to interact with the local fishermen.

Day 3: Muzhappilangad beach in Kannur, one of Asia's longest drive-through beaches

Day 3: Fishermen at work, Muzhappilangad beach in Kannur.

Our 3-day trip to Kannur was honestly one of the best holidays we had! Our entire trip, including accommodation, food, sightseeing and fuel costed about 10,000 INR. We both agree that Kannur is one of the most under-rated beach destinations in all of south India. If you are based in Bangalore, this is your perfect holiday for the long weekend. Kannur has an international airport and is also well connected by air if you are short of time to drive all the way! I left a piece of my heart in this place and would definitely keep visiting Kannur in the future. With heavy hearts, it was time to say good-bye to this wonderful beach paradise!

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