There's a light chill in the air and Christmas and new year holidays are around the corner. So today on the show, we will give you reasons to hang up your working shoes and spend some money on a well deserved vacation.
Spend? Yes, we're saying, take a break. Shake off the worries of the last few months. Chill out - either in the mountains or on the beach ! Because, here are some great holiday packages.
A lot of you watching the show must have made plans to head off somewhere with friends and family; but for those of you who've been working too hard and not yet got down to booking a vacation, we've culled out some delightful holiday packages and no one can say no to them. A three day get away is always possible however hard you might be working.
Vacations are sacrosanct, whatever may be your budget. Some time-out is always possible and a real must. So let’s begin with some chill thrill packages in the hills.
# Travel Guru offers Manali and Matheran with special Christmas eve packages thrown in.
Prices for two people:
- Manali (3 nights): Rs 14,200 plus (Special Christmas Eve event)
- Matheran (2 nights): Rs 24,600 plus (All meals)
# Makemytrip has great ones of the hills in the southern states, like Kodaikanal, OOTY and Coorg
- Kodaikanal (3 nights): Rs 35,000-54,000 (Bottle of wine, special dinner on December 31st, 2008)
- Mysore, Ooty (4 nights): Rs 50,000 plus (Includes airfare, ex-Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad)
- Hassan, Coorg (3 nights): Rs 50,000 plus (Includes airfare, ex-Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad)
# Cox and Kings offers Ooty, Koidaikanal and Shimla, Manali. So whether you live in the south or the north, you have no excuses not to head out for a quick getaway.
- Ooty, Kodaikanal (5 nights):Rs 29,000 (Without airfare)
- Shimla, Manali (6 nights): Rs 40,000 (Without airfare)
Also, this year Goa could be a great holiday destination for you. A number of foreign tourists who used to land up there in hordes are down; places are going cheaper and it’s expected to be manageably crowded.
Three packages for Goa
# MakeMyTrip: Goa (3 nights) - Rs 8,160-12,000
# Thomas Cook: Goa (3 nights) - Rs 26,000+ Rs 40,000 (Includes airfare, ex-Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi)
# Travelguru: Goa (3-4 nights) - Rs 47,000- Rs 61,000
And what do we have in God's own country? Any other year it’s almost impossible to get anything in Kerala in this peak season. This year there's still some available. So grab it before it goes!
Makemytrip is offering to take you there at 20,000 rupees for 4 nights, Thomas Cook has a package that includes airfare at about 50,000 rupees for 2 people and it also has one for Karnataka at the same price!
GO SOUTH !
# MakeMyTrip
Kerela (Cochin/ Munnar/ Kumarakom) for 4 nights - Rs 20,000 (Without Airfare)
# Thomas Cook
Kerela (5-6 nights) - Rs 46,000+ to Rs. 50,000 (Includes airfare, ex-Delhi, Hyderabad )
Karnataka (5 nights) - Rs 50,000+ ( Includes airfare, ex-Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad)
# Cox & Kings
Bangalore/ Mysore/ Coorg/ Mangalore (4 nights) - Rs 27,000 (Without airfare)
Now, what about ones who want a foreign vacation? Maybe not a good idea with the rupee going down?
Not at all. There are enough countries where you won’t go out of pocket. A simple cup of tea or coffee in Europe will cost you more than 200 bucks. But there are destinations where you get a much bigger bang for your buck. Take a look at these destinations, but do check for safety before you book.
Foreign Holidays at Affordable Prices
Rs 100 in India you get value worth:
Ukraine 74
Vietnam 106
Laos 108
Cambodia 114
Bulgaria 118
Macedonia 118
Philippines 127
Thailand 132
Moldova 133
Russia 144
Malaysia 153
China 161
Alright, so let’s make a last minute foreign holiday easier for you. The packages we're bringing up are under 50,000 rupees per person. On a twin sharing accommodation all accommodation is minimum 3 star and above.
In South East Asia, Travel Guru offers Thailand for 5 days, also Malaysia for 4 days, then is Cox and Kings offering Singapore including airfare at Rs 45000 rupees. And finally Makemytrip is ready to take you to both Malaysia and Singapore on a 7 day tour. There are also some attractive getaways in South and West Asia – Sri Lanka at less than Rs45000 from Travel guru, Dubai and Mauritius from Cox and Kings, all under 50,000 rupees.
South-East Asia
# TRAVELGURU
Thailand (Bangkok +Pataya) - 4 Nights / 5 Days: Rs 22,300 to Rs 36, 500 plus
(Not included : Air Ticket and airport taxes)
# TRAVELGURU
Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur + Genting Highlands) - 3 nights / 4 days: Rs 19,400 to Rs 27,400 plus
(Not included : Air Ticket and airport taxes excluded)
# COX & KINGS
Singapore - 4 nights/3 days: Rs 45,000 plus
(Includes - Air Tickets
Not included - Airport taxes & visa fees)
# MAKEMYTRIP
Malaysia and Singapore - 6 nights / 7days: Rs 39,000 plus
(Includes - Air Tickets
Not included - Airport taxes & visa fees)
South and West Asia
# TRAVELGURU
Sri Lanka (Bentota Beach) - 4 Nights /5 Days : Rs 24,900 to Rs 41,400 plus
(Not Included - Ticket & airport taxes)
# COX & KINGS
Dubai - 4 nights/3 days: Rs 33,000 Plus
(Not included - Airport taxes & visa fees)
# COX & KINGS
Mauritius - 4 nights/ 5 days: Rs 39,000 plus
(Included : Air Tickets
Not included : Airport taxes & visa fees)
But before you head out, do remember to ensure travel insurance.
What you need: Health, Personal accident, Trip delays, Baggage lost, Loss of passport, Third party cover. You get this in a standard travel insurance policy for premium of Rs 2,000 for a six month cover.
The best covers come from Iffco Tokio, National Insurance and ICICI Lombard. Between Rs 800 and Rs 1,700 you can get $1 lakh cover for medical, baggage delay/loss, passport loss, personal liability and even hijack distress allowance.
Can’t wait to pull out the suitcases, but what if somebody doesn’t really have the budget for these holidays? Well, a snap poll in office said that most people are heading home or to their in-laws. Free food and stay and loads of pampering!
So pretty much set for your vacations, right? Just one critical thing left - foreign currency.
And don’t forget to plan that Christmas and new year vacation. We've given you enough reasons not to delay that, so get going and head out with friends and family.