Hi there!
If you’re just arriving to Cochin by train (at the Ernakulam train station) or by bus (at the Ernakulam bus station) from outside of Kerala, it could be fun to take your first ferry ride in Kerala! 😀
In that case… take the ferry to get from Ernakulam to Fort Cochin!
You’re in Kerala, home of the famous Kerala backwaters, so you might as well get the most out of all the public ferry rides in Kerala that you can when you are backpacking Kerala!
And that includes a ferry to Fort Cochin!
You’ll likely want to get to Fort Cochin as this is the main backpacker area of Cochin.
See more backpacker cities in Kerala.
More on taking the ferry to Fort Cochin coming up, but first…
Ernakulam to Fort Cochin taxi?! (Uber!)
Or… if you are exhausted after a day of travel and you want to just get to where you’re staying in Fort Cochin as quick as possible, you can get an Uber.
Ernakulam to Fort Cochin will cost around 200 rupees by Uber.
You can also get a rickshaw to Fort Cochin from the Ernakulam bus station or train station.
In the case that you take an uber or rickshaw, you can instead LEAVE Fort Cochin by ferry to get in part to the Ernakulam bus station or train station when you are off to your next destination, for example if you’re going from Cochin to Alleppey by bus or Cochin to Varkala by train… just so that you can take that ferry! 😉
Another option to take a ferry around Cochin is to take the Fort Cochin to Vypin ferry on your way to Cherai Beach.
Hotels in Fort Cochin
Put in your travel dates below (partner website) and you can see the prices of hotels in Fort Cochin!
Now…
The absolute cheapest way to get to Fort Cochin from Ernakulam
Your journey will look something like this!
Arrive to the Ernakulam bus station or train station!
Walk to the Ernakulam ferry station
You can use google maps to get you to the ferry station.
This will be about a 30 minute walk.
If you really don’t feel like walking that long with your luggage but still want to take the ferry, you can take a rickshaw or uber to get you to the ferry station.
Arrive to the Ernakulam ferry station!
Buy a ticket at the ticket booth
There are some ferries in Kerala in which you’ll pay for the ferry ticket once you board the ferry, like the Alleppey ferries and Kumarakom ferry.
But when taking the ferry around Cochin, you’ll want to buy your ticket before you board the ferry.
How much does a ferry cost from Ernakulam to Fort Cochin?!
A mere 4 rupees! In USD, that’s pennies. Maybe a nickel.
What is the ferry schedule?!
You can have a look at the Kerala state waterways website that may or may not be accurate.
These types of posted schedules (including Kerala bus timings) are good for giving you an idea of what type of frequency in timings to expect, and shouldn’t necessarily be seen as an absolute.
So the most important thing to know is that the ferry timings on this route are frequent enough that you don’t have to do much planning.
You can just show up to the Ernkalulam ferry station and you likely won’t have to wait too long for the next ferry to Fort Cochin.
You don’t have to be that concerned about the exact timings.
How long is the boat ride?
It’ll take about 15 minutes to get from Ernakulam to Fort Cochin by ferry!
Arrive at the Fort Cochin ferry station!
You’ve made it to the Fort Cochin side!
So now the final part of your journey…
Walk to your Fort Cochin guesthouse!
Depending on where you’re staying, this may be a 20-30 minute walk.
Once again, if you don’t feel like walking with your luggage, you can take a rickshaw the rest of the way.
I stayed at Zostel, which is a backpacker hostel chain across India.
In Kerala, there’s a Zostel Kochi and Zostel Alleppey.
Zostel Kochi has bicycles available for rent.
I went cycling around Cochin, and then went for a tourist boat ride too.
Bicycles are also allowed on the ferries around Cochin.
HAPPY ERNAKULAM TO FORT COCHIN FERRY!
Be sure to take a look the Kerala Travel Guide for one week in Kerala so you can plan the PERFECT trip to Kerala!
More ferry travel in Kerala