Yoga in Kerala or Goa: which one suits you?

Ask online where to do yoga in India and you will be told Rishikesh, Goa or Kerala, usually in that order and usually without much explanation. Rishikesh we have compared elsewhere. Goa and Kerala get lumped together because both are on the west coast and both have palms. Beyond that they have little in common.

The short answer

Two different scenes

Goa, particularly the north — Arambol, Mandrem, Assagao, Anjuna — has been an international yoga destination since the 1990s. In season there are dozens of shalas within a few kilometres, classes in six styles before lunch, ecstatic dance in the evening, and a large floating community of travellers and teachers. It is sociable, easy and fun. It is also a market: standards vary hugely, and many teachers are passing through for one season.

Kerala is not organised around visitors in the same way. Yoga here sits inside the culture rather than beside it: schools attached to a lineage, Ayurvedic hospitals that have been treating local families for generations, temples where the tradition is not a lifestyle choice. There are fewer classes to choose from and more continuity in each of them, because the teacher is usually the person who founded the school and has been there for twenty years.

Style of teaching

In Goa you can practise a different style every day for a fortnight, which is genuinely useful if you do not yet know what you like. The classes tend to be movement-led: vinyasa flow, Ashtanga, strong and athletic, often set to music.

In Kerala the default is traditional Hatha: slower, longer holds, breathing practices before the postures, a long relaxation at the end, chanting if the school is traditional. Our own classes run two hours for that reason — what actually happens in them is written up separately. It is less immediately exciting and it changes people more, in our experience, over a fortnight.

If you want to understand the differences before you choose, types of yoga classes compares the main styles.

Season and weather

Goa runs a short, intense season from November to March. April and May are very hot, and from June to September most of the yoga scene closes and many teachers leave.

Kerala is open all year. December to February is the peak: dry, warm, busy. March to May is hot and humid. June to August is the south-west monsoon, which is both the cheapest time and, traditionally, the best season for Ayurvedic treatment and for practice, because the air is cool and the light is soft. We have written about practising through the monsoon and about the best months to come.

Cost

Goa in high season is the most expensive part of coastal India: rooms in Assagao or Mandrem in December can cost several times a comparable room in Fort Kochi, and drop-in classes are priced for an international market. Kerala is cheaper across the board, and the difference between low and high season is much smaller.

For a sense of real numbers in Fort Kochi, see what a month here actually costs and yoga class fees in Kochi.

Daily life off the mat

Goa gives you beaches you can swim from, a large café culture, live music, markets and a social life that requires no effort at all. If you are travelling alone and want company by Tuesday, Goa delivers.

Fort Kochi gives you a small historic town you can walk across in twenty minutes: Portuguese and Dutch buildings, the fishing nets, galleries, Kathakali in the evening, an art biennale, and a working harbour. The sea here is for looking at rather than swimming in. Evenings are quiet and early, which suits a 7:30 am class. Beyond the town, the backwaters and the tea hills are a few hours away — see the 7-day itinerary.

How to choose

Choose Goa if you want to sample many styles, meet a lot of people quickly, swim every day, and combine practice with a holiday — and if you can come between November and March.

Choose Kerala if you want to go deeper into one tradition with the same teacher every day, if Ayurveda interests you, if you would rather be in a working town than a resort, or if you can only travel outside the winter months.

Plenty of people do both: a fortnight of traditional practice in Kerala, then a week on a Goan beach, or the reverse. They are a two-hour flight apart. If you are coming our way, yoga in Fort Kochi has the class times, and where to do yoga in Kerala compares the towns within the state.

Common questions

Is Kerala or Goa better for yoga?

Kerala suits people who want traditional Hatha teaching in one lineage, Ayurveda alongside, and a quieter setting. Goa suits people who want many styles, an international scene and beach life, between November and March.

When is the yoga season in Goa and Kerala?

Goa runs from November to March and largely closes during the monsoon. Kerala has classes all year: December to February is the busiest, and the June to August monsoon is the quietest and cheapest.

Is Goa more expensive than Kerala?

Yes, particularly between December and February, when rooms and classes in north Goa are priced for peak international demand. Kerala is cheaper and its prices vary less across the year.

Which is better for a first trip to India?

Goa is the gentler introduction: more English spoken in tourist areas, an established travellers’ circuit and easy company. Kerala is calmer and more traditional, and Fort Kochi is small and easy to walk.