Question. What would you rather be doing right now?
Your options:
Lying on a beach, under a coconut tree, with waves lapping against your feet somewhere on a remote island on the Pacific Ocean?
Trekking the slopes of the Himalayas?
White river rafting in South America?
Or, scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia?
If you pick any of the above, get those travel brochures out of the drawer where you had stuffed them last year. Then, dust your tote bags, bring out your fluorescent shorts and bright batik t-shirts. It's holiday time!
With airfares hitting rock bottom, and airlines fighting over each other for the pleasure of your company on board, this is as good a time as it gets to plan your annual vacation. And, whether you are an adventure seeker, safe and secure traveller, or student on a shoestring budget, the Internet has all the tools you need to make sure you have a trip planned down to the last detail.
The journey begins.
A great place to start is Lonely Planet, which gives visitors the low-down on popular events happening across the globe and loads of information on all possible holiday destinations. It also offers guidebooks that can be downloaded, and sections like Optic Nerve, On the Road, Postcards and Health.
Then, the print version of the Rough Guide has long been a favourite, and the online version is no different. While you can search its 4000-plus destination database, another highlight is its upcoming section on women travellers.
Travelling in India
There are lots of sites specifically for Indian travellers, like Yatra, which takes you through a superb pictorial journey into the heart of India. It has 35,000 photographs and a wealth of tourist and cultural information (covering festivals, places to see, hotels, etc). For adventure enthusiasts, there is exhaustive coverage of trekking, wildlife, river rafting and other such sports. A must for people coming to India for the first time as well as Indians interested in knowing more about their own country.
Another comprehensive travel portal with attractive packages in India and overseas is Net2Travel, which features packaged deals, flight information and bookings, hotels, destination guides, holidays, cruises, car rentals, travel news, insurance and shopping, weather, exchange calculators, and more. Along the same lines, Enter India calls itself a complete travel guide. It's well designed, gives you guided tours, and takes you to the city or state of your choice. A visitor's fact file, lots of good photographs, and link for enquiries adds to the overall appeal.
Looking for a little adventure and excitement? India Outdoors covers every adventure sport you can think of - caving, canoeing, kayaking, and ballooning. It calls itself India's largest adventure company. You can also become a member of the Club for a fixed fee and enjoy forest trails, moonlight walks, bird watching, and scuba diving, among other activities.
Bookings
Travelling without reservations in trains or not booking a hotel room prior to arriving does add spontaneity to a trip. However, for those who like everything to go smoothly, making reservations well in advance is always a better idea. With flight ticket bookings and hotel reservations now being accepted over the Internet, all you need to do is check the availability of tickets and then get your bookings done immediately.
Though this is convenient, people are still not very comfortable with relying on the Net to make payments and bookings online. Says Madhavi, a 24-year-old communications executive, "We decided to do everything online, since we were planning a 24 day trip all around India. However, one of these sites got my itinerary wrong. As a result, we actually had to turn to the telephone to clarify and confirm the trip. However, we did pick up a lot of ideas for our trip so, on the whole, online planning was a positive experience."
Sites like Travel Jini and ShubhYatra both have facilities to book tickets, make hotel reservations and packages. They also have suggestions about hot deals, holiday destinations, events, a currency converter and travel trivia.
Looking for a good deal on your air tickets? Try Air Tickets India for the best point-to-point net fares from India to any destination in the world. It also offers online fare quotes, flight bookings, and an online booking / enquiry form that can be filled in for offer updates to be sent to you by email. The site also says it offers a ten to 40 per cent discount on travel originating from India.
TicketstoIndia aims at providing fair priced deals to customers seeking flight tickets to and from India, by inviting competitive quotes from a number of agents registered with them. Customers have to fill in a simple form describing their travel details, after which the request gets logged into the database and is forwarded to registered agents. Those who can match customer requirements and wish to make an offer can log on and post their quote.
Customers can come back to the site and view all quotes from different agents or companies. They can also be intimated by email whenever an agent posts a quote, and are free to choose whichever deal seems most suitable. Best of all, they can contact the respective agents directly without any obligations.
Budget travel to exotic holidays
For students and people travelling on a shoestring budget, sites like BudgetTravel provide links to the cheapest deals. The International Youth Hostel Federation is another great place to start as they provide over 31 million overnight stays a year through 4,500 hostels in more than 60 countries. For backpacking, very popular in Europe, US and Australia, check this site for more information.
Ecotravellers? The travel guide from Mining Co has loads of links to exotic places, the business of ecotourism, resources, as well as basics like how to become an ecotourist and where to start exploring.
Still wondering where to take the kids for spring break? Family Traveller has a section dedicated to those with kids. It covers exciting holiday options that are ideal for families, with activities, and lots of interesting things like rainy-day activities, super crafts and more.
If you have the money, and want to holiday in style, PoloHolidays lets you experience the majestic game of polo around the world, from the Pampa in Argentina to the Indian desert. Travelocity has an exhaustive Cruise section, where you can pick any destination or ship. Others may prefer far flung beaches and exotic locations like Bangkok , Phuket , Koh Samui and Pattaya.
Lazy travellers
If you are lazy and prefer to let someone else do the planning, a package tour is your best bet. Says 30-year-old Sameer, an advertising executive who just returned from a two-week trip to Europe: "On the job, I'm planning campaigns. At home, I'm doing the same thing. That's why I prefer my holiday to be planned by someone else. That way I can be tension free and just enjoy the trip."
The Travel Corporation of India is one of India's premier destination management companies, with over 27 offices across the country. No matter how unique your travelling needs, they promise to help you discover India the way you want to. Trans India Holidays organises cultural and heritage tours, adventure and wildlife tours, conferences and lots more. Additional services include corporate travel, a preferential foreign exchange service and even car rentals.
For international and Indian holidays, information on foreign currency, travellers cheques, visa travel money, demand drafts, and wire transfers - Thomas Cook has it all. Special holiday deals, a toolbox with a Location Finder and Distance Calculator, a section for business travellers are added services. The Travelzine makes for interesting reading. Wanderlust and SOTC Tours
also organise inbound and outbound tours.
Road Travel
Planning a drive somewhere in India? Maps Of India to the rescue. National Geographic has downloadable political and physical maps, country facts and other geographical resources, while MapQuest helps users explore millions of towns and cities worldwide. It displays addresses on a map, lets you view nearby businesses, and even get driving directions.
No worries
Holidays overseas mean getting your passports and visas in order, well in advance. VisaOnNet provides a host of information on immigration, travel reservations, airlines, currency converter, weather, ATM Locator, and Passport Forms. Visa forms can also be downloaded in a PDF format. This site is specifically for travel to the US.
That's about it. You have your plans, your hotel reservations, tickets in hand and bags packed. Call your office to say you're off on a holiday. If there are objections, simply forward this article to the boss - we're sure he's looking for a reason to escape too. Bon voyage!
More travel links:
Foreign Exchange Entitlements
Driving Abroad
Travel Tips for Visitors to India
More Travel Tips
India Tourist Office, Europe
Complete Travel Solutions
Online Travel Magazine
Travel Health Information
Health Planning
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