The five-hour road trip from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi and a further six-hour back-breaking bus journey from Kochi to Kozhikode could now well be a thing of the past, with the arrival of two cruise ships in Kochi on Tuesday.
Expected to become functional in time for the Onam festival, the high-speed hydrofoil ferry service would be the first of its kind in the country.
The service will be launched in two phases with the Kochi Marine Drive being connected to the Beypore port in Kozhikode in the first phase. The second phase will see the cruise facility extended up to the Vizhinjam port in Thiruvananthapuram.
A MoU was signed between the NRK-funded Dubai-based Safe Boat Trip Pvt Ltd which is into Aqua-tourism and the state Department of Ports in Vizhinjam on July 15 in this regard.
Here’s a quick dekko at the mid-size cruise vessels:
The ultimate aim is to provide a hassle-free and leisurely trip to regular commuters as well as tourists through the scenic waterways of the state. A laudable step indeed!
(All photos by Rajesh Kumar)