HOW TO WORK OUT A HOLIDAY PLAN

The thumb rule of holidaying or planning for a holiday, is never think it's too early to plan a vacation, especially when you want to extract maximum mileage out of your budgeted money. Considering the ever-increasing volume of domestic holiday makers, last-minute bargains are few, if not all.

The best way to start is to make up your mind on where you would want to go. Unlike in the western world, the Indian travel distribution industry is highly unorganized. There are hardly any web sites to compare fares or the 'consolidators' that function like search engines and provide airfares, hotel room rates and car rentals under one roof, making it much easier for the holiday maker. The Web is, however, jammed with many such travel portals that can lead you to great and previously unseen and unheard destinations.


Do your own reservations instead of relying on any agent. That brings down the travel cost considerably. What has made air travel more interesting is the existence of low-cost carriers in India, like Air Deccan, Indigo Air, GO Air and many more, and the apex fares (advance purchase fares) of other airlines. Find out whether airlines offer low-fare schemes to your destination. It is worth the time spent searching. Besides the online travel agent, do not forget to surf the websites of airlines as well. There are often good deals waiting to be tapped.

For train tickets, Indian railways' website will be your best bet. The rail tickets will be dropped at your doorstep the very next day for an additional nominal service charges per ticket.


The motive here is, Never Stop Bargaining. And, if the hotels are adamant on room tariff, ask for an extra night at the same cost. One could be lucky for if there are no bookings for the very next day the hotel may offer you a free one-night stay as a goodwill gesture and to retain you as its permanent client. If that that doesn't work out, ask for an upgrade to a superior room. Still for further bargaining, try and get breakfast on the house or get the dinner included in the accommodation package.

A lot of Hotels, too, like airlines, offer early bird discounts. But do make it a mental note, that this formula may not work during the peak or high season. There is already big shortage of hotel rooms across India, especially during the winter season. The agents say people have already started making their room reservations for the coming tourist season.

When searching for accommodation facilities, do not forget to search the websites of the Indian state tourism boards. Some sites are a big surprise with their room tariff and the facilities provided.

Also, most of the properties of these state tourism corporations are owned by them. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation's property at Ganpatipule near Ratnagiri is an example.

Freeze sight-seeing plans, book your vehicle in advance: Most hotels offer sight-seeing as a package deal. And it's better to make a deal with the hotels for local sight-seeing instead of searching for a local travel guide. More often than not it works out to be cheaper and also saves valuable time.

Though, in some places like Goa, if you are the adventurous kind, the hotel may arrange a two-wheeler for you on rent which lets you take off on your own at about a less charges per day, petrol is excluded. The current rental for air-conditioned cars is measured on per km, travelled , also depending upon the kind and make of car, while the non air conditioned cars are available for much cheaper rate per km.


Try to make your trips on non-peak season when hotel rooms are available at half the rate. The best thing to do, however, is to scan hotel rate cards and book on off-peak rates on dates just preceding the peak rate dates.

Try to be flexible with travel dates and times. Late-night flights on some international airlines connecting two domestic destinations are often cheaper. For example, when flying to Kerala from Mumbai, take the late night Air-India flight for nearly half the normal rate. Also, choosing to fly on less-travelled days like Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the mid week may be cost-beneficial.