Our visit to Cherai beach and experience with one of the best restaurants in the beach
We have visited Cherai beach many times and it's a lot of fun to spend a few hours, especially in the evenings. Read more about our experience at Cherai beach in the Vypin island and find out how to make the best out of your time there.
Cherai beach is about an hour drive from our home in Ernakulam and is our favourite picnic destination when friends or relatives visit us. Even if it is a few hours drive, we wouldn't mind driving all the way since the beach is so relaxing and enchanting. Also, check out my list of top restaurants in Kochi. About Cherai beach
Cherai is a typical Kerala village located in the Vypin island. This small village is privileged to have one of the best beaches in Kochi. In addition to the beach, serene backwaters surround the village, making it one of the most enchanting tourist destinations in God's Own Country. This beautiful place found its deserving place in the tourism map of Kerala just about a decade ago. Prior to that, this place was known for fishing. Majority of the villagers are still into fishing and related business, with a moderate lifestyle, even though many people have switched to tourism related business like homestays, restaurants, hotels etc. 
The Cherai beach is about 10 km long and it extends to other beaches in the Vypin island. Even though this is not a drive-in beach, there is a road parallel to the beach and you can drive from one end to the other with a peek into the water at some points. There is a narrow strip of land separating the road from the water. There are restaurants and hotels in some parts of this narrow land strip. The rest of the places are open for walking and parking. Best restaurants in Cherai
There are numerous restaurants along the beach and plenty of space for parking. You will get a wide variety of seafood in all the restaurants. Many of the eateries are attached to the houses of locals. I would suggest you drive around for few minutes towards Munambam, park in a calm and quite place and eat food in one of the restaurants that serve homely food. They serve fresh fish, caught from the backwaters at affordable price. 
When you hit the main entrance area of the beach, there are couple of restaurants there, which are usually crowded and I personally do not like the ambiance of that area. I would drive about 1.5km to the right towards Munambam and there are many small eateries attached to the houses. They are cheaper, less crowded and have a lot of time to treat you well.
Also see: Vypeen Island, the beach hub of Kochi
Ocean View, also called "PS Home Food" is our favourite place to eat home made food. With a wide range of sea food varieties, this is a good place to eat at Cherai beach. If you are in a big group and want to make sure you will get your favourite sea food, you may call them in advance and order your choices.
Every time we go to Cherai beach, we will call Ocean View a day in advance and order our favorite prawns fry, crab roast and pearlspot fish masala. Once we reach the beach, kids will play in the beach for a few hours and the parents would relax in the lovely sand. Once we all get tired and the sun sets, we will march to the restaurant and finish off everything waiting for us!What to see in Cherai
This is a beach and there is nothing else to see or do other than enjoying the beach to its best. Most part of the beach is safe to swim. However, lifeguards are available only in the entrance area of the beach and it is strongly recommended to stay in that area.
Related: Best hangout places in Kochi
Kerala government organizes tourism festivals in Cherai during special occasions like Onam. Check with the tourism department regarding the next tourism festival before you plan your trip.Where to stay
Since I live just an hour away from the beach, I never had to stay there. However, every time we visit there, we feel like enjoying the beautiful beach by staying overnight.
I have collected the details of some of the hotels and homestays around the beach. I don't have any personal experience with any of these places, so, please make your decision judiciously.Country Club, Kochi
It's a membership based resort club offering premium accommodation. Even though I have a Country Club membership, I never stayed in this particular resort. However, I have visited the place with family during the day time and I can say the place is really enjoyable with good food and accommodation. The resort is facing the backwaters and they arrange boating for the guests. Read more about Rock Springs - Country Club Resort. I have shared a lot of photos from our previous visit.
Photos at Cherai Beach
last summer we visited Kerela Cochin, Alleppey and Munnar. In Cochin, we heard about this beach and wanted to visit it as we had enough time. thanks for the article.
I will be visiting Cochin again on next October. would u care to tell how to reach this beach and any near by fishing village to experience fishing?