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What are the important things to remember before planning a Holiday Break?

We all would like to travel for a break from our routine daily life. It could be a domestic travel within India or an overseas tour. Some people would like to travel alone and explore more on each travel destination which if travelled together with a group or family members may not be conveniently possible. Some people always like to travel with friends, or family members that may give more joy to them. I am a person who would like to travel with family or friends. This gives me a comfort of feeling that there are people around who could help and support in case of any untoward circumstance.

When a desire blossoms in your mind for a travel, first of all you need to identify a suitable destination whether home or abroad. If you are traveling with others, you can check with them about the destination identified or planned and accordingly it can be firmed up. Then it comes to the planning and organizing the tour. There are two ways to do it – one to do it by yourself and the other to assign the job to a reliable travel partner. The latter gives you comfort of less stress and tension. There is a general feeling that if a tour package is procured from a travel agent or a tour operator, it could be costlier as compared to what you would be spending if arranged by ourselves. I would say this is not correct. A travel agent or tour operator can give you a tour package at lesser cost than what you would be spending by doing it yourself. There is a valid reason for it. A tour operator can get the best rates from hotels and transport operators as he is a regular in business with the services providers. If you approach a hotel or a transport guy, you may not be able to get a rate as low as what a tour operator can get and pass on to you. So in totality, when compared, in many cases you would find that the overall cost remains more or less the same or even it could be cheaper if purchased from a tour operator.

Then, the tour is not all about cost only. There are other factors like time and energy, stress and tension. Why are we going for a holiday? To relax, right? One should be free of mental stress and strain and should be able to enjoy his tour thoroughly with a peace of mind. Even after booking a tour program, there are many things coming on way in between while being on tour. The hotel you identified may have issues like room orientation, cleanliness, food, service etc. Similarly, the transport vehicle that you booked may also lack in terms of age of the vehicle, cleanliness, or even brand of the vehicle, driver’s behaviour etc. Since you are availing of services of these service providers for the first time, such issues may crop in. But in the case of a reliable travel agent / tour operator, he will provide you tried and tested services and there is little chance of such issues cropping in, thus giving you mental peace.

There are many things to remember and arrange before undertaking a travel. Here I would list out a few things that you must remember and do before proceeding on a domestic tour. I would, in my next blog, list out travel documents and other things that you need to carry while traveling abroad. For a domestic tour, you need to do the following:

1) Make a check-list of things to do during your travel

2) Ensure that you get your day-wise tour itinerary from the travel agent (if booked through an Agent) and take a print out. It will help you cover all the tourist attractions as offered by the Agent and not miss out on any.

3) Keep your ID proof and a couple of photographs (these are essential when you travel to places like Sikkim. In Sikkim Aadhar Card is not valid and you need to carry either passport or election card).

4) Carry Sanitizer and Masks (these have now become essential with the changed atmosphere)

5) Take a power adaptor / charger / ear phone for your laptop / mobile phone (these are often forgotten by many)

6) Carry Tooth Paste & Tooth Brush

7) Carry basic common medicines for fever, common cold, headache, tummy disorder etc other than the essential medicines that you daily consume, if any.

8) Keep Slippers & a towel (Your hotel may be providing bath towels, though)

9) Take a good book to read as time permits

10) Additional memory card for your mobile phone as you would be taking a lot of photos.

11) Enough cash and one Credit Card at least.

12) More importantly, keep your travel baggage as minimum as possible for easy and convenient movement.

I would suggest, wherever you go, please do not try to cover more places and make your travel hectic and restless. I know people who think on the line ‘value for money’ and they try to travel to as many places as possible within the limited tour duration, and as a result, they end up tired and stressed, instead of being relaxed and freshened up. In a domestic tour in India, road travel consumes a major part of your time – whether it is in Sikkim or Kerala. Most of the time you are on the road trying to catch up with as many tourist spots as possible. A relaxed holiday tour should be in preference that keeps you fresh and rejuvenated.

Wish You A Happy Travel !!!

Mohan Nair

Partner

Aesthetic Tour & Travels, Delhi

Mob : 9999827103 / 9999490313