Landing at Cochin International Airport

What COK is like

Kochi is the gateway to Kerala, and the arrivals hall mixes travellers heading for a backwater cruise, people going up to the tea country, and workers coming home from the Gulf. The airport is known for running on solar power at a serious scale, and it is ringed by greenery rather than tower blocks. It sits a good distance from Fort Kochi where most visitors stay, so the arrival is a journey you plan rather than a step out of the door. Getting that leg right is most of the work.

On arrival

Turn the line on at touchdown; the arrivals walk is not long and the building is open, so service usually arrives before the desks. Queues are longest when the Gulf flights come in as a group with full cabins, so if you land alongside them, allow extra time. Once you are through reclaim and outside, the coastal heat and humidity are immediate, so arrange transport while you are still in the cooler building. Confirm your arrival time with your accommodation too, because a lot of places in Kerala sit on the water and involve a short boat leg from wherever the car can stop.

How far the airport Wi-Fi gets you

The terminal Wi-Fi works and is usually less contended than at the big-city airports, though there is still a sign-up step and a session limit. What matters more is what lies ahead, because the routes out to the backwaters and up into the tea hills have genuine dead spots. Time spent in the terminal downloading offline maps and saving your host's contact details is worth far more than trying to get real work done on the airport connection. Do that before you walk out.

Getting into town

From the airport to the waterfront tourist districts you travel by road, either the airport taxi queue or a car from an app, and an hour or a little more is typical depending on traffic and route. Plenty of people do not stay in the city at all but continue south to the backwater towns, which is another long stretch in a vehicle. Along the way the map stays open and you may well ring your host to confirm where the boat meets you. Allow 300 to 500MB between the airport and your bed, and more if you are sending photos home from the back seat.

What people ask about this airport

• Cache maps before you leave — The routes into the backwaters and up to the tea estates have real dead spots, and a cached map covers them.
• Confirm where the boat meets you — Many waterside stays involve a small boat from wherever the car stops, so ask for the exact spot before you set out.
• Gulf arrivals lengthen the queue — When the Middle East flights land together the desks slow noticeably, so pad the time you give a driver.