Set just before Kovalam, the Muttukadu Boat House is located along the backwaters that lead into the Buckingham canal. The boathouse was initially pretty rundown and lacked lustre but in 2009 received a massive facelift. The Boat House was rebuilt, and now holds a restaurant, viewing gallery and clean restrooms. Not only there’s a concrete jetty that extends into the backwaters, offering a great view (especially during sunset), but more importantly, makes it easy to get on and off boats.
Speaking of boats at Muttukadu, there are rowboats, motorboats, pedal boats, speed boats, and even water scooters. The rowboats, pedal boats and regular motorboats are the cheapest with rates per person around. It will cost you INR 120 if you want to go on a self ride in a 2 seater pedal boat for 30 minutes. Speedboats and the water scooters, however, are a little more expensive at INR 550 for 5 minutes in a 2 seater water scooter. Drivers come along with it excelp for pedal boats where you can take it for a self-drive. The pedal boats are the most fun (and most tiring) if you’re in a group as moving forward is a group activity. We recommend going there in the evenings as boating when it’s hot is no fun, they are open from 9 am to 5 pm.
The boat rides themselves are plenty of fun as there’s plenty to see in the surrounding backwaters. There’s plenty of fishermen plying their trade, water birds flying by, fish swimming around the boat and other such sights to look at, all while you feel the wind in your hair. The boat rides themselves last an hour, which is amazing value for money if you ask us. The whole backwaters glow orange during sunsets making evenings a great time to take photos.
At Muttukadu , there’s plenty of snacks and refreshments at their restaurant if you’re hungry (we recommend the sweet lime soda). There’s a huge space for a car park, along with a nicely done up walkway along the canal with park benches. In fact, if you’re on a date, we recommend coming here just to sit along the canal as it's super quiet and peaceful, even when crowded.