What is an Homestay?
Homestay is a place where you can choose to stay when you are travelling to Kerala instead of staying at a hotel. Kerala Tourism has been planning to open about 1500 homestays in Kerala to help out during the peak season.
What are Homestays in Kerala
Homestays as an alternative to hotels and comes out a lot cheaper than hotels and resorts in a tourist Destination like Kerala. One can accommodate in a full furnished room more comfortable and more homely than a hotel room and also in a healthy friendly atmosphere. These homes being ancient and heritage linked houses, like old Tharavadu's of Kerala, will have a story to tell the guests about the history, for the hosts and other family members of the homestays.
About the homestays in Kerala
Homestay is where you stay with the family, as a member of that household. Most often there are families who stay at the house and you will be like a paying guest in their house. In some of the homestays there will only be caretakers and other staff who do the work around the homestay.
Staying in a homestay is an excellant opportunity to take part in the cultural festivals of that region, a chance to mingle with the people, closer understanding of the tradions and the ethos of a community that culminate in the festivals, get a genuine overview of life in the villages and the rural areas which may not be touched by modernity at all. 
Facilities available at the Homestays in Kerala
Food is by and large ethnic and traditional fare. Most of the vegetables and fruits are home grown or from their estates nearby, even the fish will be caught ffresh from the backwaters and lakes and rivers, ensuring healthy noursishing food.
As for facilities, all the homestays in Kerala have Western Toilets and have running hot and cold water showers, facility for getting the clothes washed and pressed if you are staying more than a day, are available. At most places you will be able to use internet except in some of the remote areas particularly near the wild life santuaries and other tourist places near the jungles etc, you might not be able to get internet, but still, you might still be able to use dial up connections.
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