If you are looking for a beach holiday to spend some quiet time after the New Year revelry then pick any of these four beaches in Kerala, which were voted into the top 25 beaches in India by the users of a travel site, to recharge your cells before taking on another year.
In Tripadvisor's 2017 Travelers' Choice list, Varkala Beach, ranked 8, topped the list of Kerala beaches.
Radhanagar Beach in the Havelock Island, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was ranked No 1 in the list followed by Agonda and Palolem beaches in Goa, in that order.
Muzhappilangad Drive-in beach in Kannur was ranked 12 while Marari Beach in Alappuzha was ranked 15 and as 22 - but by the name Marikulam Beach - in the list. World famous Kovalam's Lighthouse Beach was ranked 18.
Varkala Beach
Varkala is one of those places in Kerala where you can walk down the cliff and onto the beach. You can catch the swell of the surf or go paragliding off the cliff. And explore the cliff and the land beyond.
Muzhappilangad Drive-in Beach
Ideally, when one thinks of beaches, the pictures that rush into the mind will be of sunsets, waves lapping against shores, and fisher-folk drying their nets by the boats. But, Muzhappilangad Beach in Kannur, is all this and much more. It is the only drive in beach in the state and there is just one word to sum up the experience – amazing.
Marari/Marikulam Beach
The quietness of the palm-filled white sandy stretch will leave visitors enchanted for long. The Marari Beach had also featured in National Geographic's world's top 5 Hammock Beach list. Though 11-km away from the main city, the beach is well connected by road and rail and the local people are very friendly.
Lighthouse Beach in Kovalam
If you thought that a lighthouse atop a hill by the sea can only be found in Bahamas or San Francisco Bay or Ireland then you are wrong. Lighthouse Beach in Kovalam has a 35m-long lighthouse built on top of Kurumakal Hill poking the Arabian Sea.