HOW TO PLAN YOUR HOLIDAY

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PANDANON ISLAND... a click from paradise

 My wife had a verbal pact with me that we will be going to at least two exotic destinations in a year.
Our first was Mauritius, followed by Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore, Thailand and very recently, Philippines.

   Every trip gave me lots of experience and confidence to plan my future vacations.

  Here I share with you my method of holiday planning. This might help other tourists; at the same time your expert comments can help me to improve myself..

 STEP 1 : Work out your budget
                                              For some, travelling is passion, for some its a necessity. But for most of us its a way to relax ourselves. Its very important to know the range that your pocket permits you.

 STEP 2 : Make a wish list : 
                                             Since childhood we dream of visiting several places. Recollect all those dreams. Believe me you would be going to fulfill them sooner or later, if not today. Define yourself what exactly you are as a traveller- a backpacker, a vacationer, adventure seeker, a honeymooner or a lazy sloth.

 STEP 3 : Find out the destinations that fit your budget : 
                                             This can be done in several ways. Talk to your friends who have been to those destinations and try to get an estimate from them. Go to the online tour and travel sites and look at their quotations. Have a thorough look at the advertisements in the newspapers and magazines.

 CONGRATULATIONS MY FRIENDS YOU HAVE GOT YOUR HOLIDAY DESTINATION

 STEP 4 : Collect knowledge about your destination :
                                             My friends this is troublesome and yet the most exciting part. Collect information about the places of interest and their location. This will give you an idea of places you want to visit and where you should stay. Again your friends will be of immense help, but their travel might not suit your type. Here I do some cheating, I ask some of the leading tour and travel companies to provide me there itineraries. From that I get my places of interest. My special mention to TRIPADVISER.COM, GOOGLE EARTH. and  TRAVEL BLOGS  from several bloggers that helps me a lot in my planning and understanding the place.

 YOU HAVE GOT YOUR OWN ITINERARY, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!!

                                            I know my friends still every thing is in air: nothing has been formalized yet. Getting your Air tickets and hotels booked, getting your local tours booked and most importantly getting your Visa.
Few countries like Maldives, Thailand, Mauritius have got visa on arrival for Indian tourists. But for most of the countries you need to have Visa beforehand.

 TWO MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO BEFORE APPLYING FOR VISA FOR MOST COUNTRIES : 
A) A return air ticket from that country
B) A confirmed hotel booking OR and invitation from someone authentic residing in that country

 STEP 5 : Air ticket booking. 
                                          Rates of air tickets are the most variable ones. This can affect the cost of tour to a great extent. Keep an eye on the rate from the very first moment you make up your mind about your destination and grab your ticket as soon as you get the best deal. Few suggestions of the ticket booking sites operating in India that I use are SKYSCANNER, MAKEMYTRIP.COM, EXPEDIA.COM and few others.

 STEP 6 : Hotel booking :
                                           This is also an important decision. Luckily here you get lot of flexibility as far as budget is concerned. I generally book hotels through BOOKING.COM, HOTELS.COM, EXPEDIA.COM or SKYSCANNER

 STEP 7 : Local tours booking:
                                        Each of the holiday destinations have several tours that you will be doing. My experience is that the cost of booking those destinations are always less if you do it after reaching that place. BUT, I don't suggest you take chance. Have a thorough research and authenticate the sites before booking.

 There are many things to share with and learn from you........................

 My next destination in the year 2014 is Greece and Istanbul. Above is the method that I would follow.

 wishing you all the best and happy journey
with love from DELHI. INDIA

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