BUDGET TRAVEL IN INDIA – TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS

The current pandemic situation has taught us many lessons. One of the most important lessons is “Man proposes but God disposes”. Like me, plans or programmes of many other people got postponed or cancelled due to continuous and sporadic lockdowns and faced huge financial losses. As a traveller, many booked tickets, hotels, vehicles etc. either directly or through travel agents or might booked group tours. The persons who have booked group tours are the worst suffers as the chances of refund are bleak. One of my friends lost an amount of Rs.7.00 lakh paid to a reputed travel agent for a group tour to Europe. He neither got back the booking amount nor able to decide when to resume his plans. It is not the fault of the travel agent even. At this stage, the travellers or tourists are in a total dilemma about the resumption of tourism. However, I did not face any financial loss barring refund charges of railway tickets booked through the website, which is very nominal.

Considering the situation, I would like to suggest some tips regarding plans for travelling with minimum budget, especially for middle-class tourists. My suggestions will lead to the incurrence of minimum loss in case the travel plan is cancelled.

Further, my suggestion may help the tourists who book their tickets, hotels, vehicles through travel agents or tourists participating in group tours to become self-reliant in travelling within the country.

Tip-1 – Creating a plan for travel

There is a saying “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. So your planning should be firm and perfect with an alternative plan if the main plan does not get materialized. When you are covering many locations try to prepare a circular route so that your inward journey and outward journey are from the same location. The reason for the same will be informed in Tip-4. This plan will also help to cover new places without returning to previous locations. The plan should be made avoiding peak seasons to avoid increased cost and rush in a particular place.

A proposed plan chart is furnished below:

Day	Date	Day	From	ETD	To	ETA	Mode	Train No	Halt
1	XX-XX-XX	Sun	Howrah	XX	enroute	-	Train	XXXXX	-
2	XX-XX-XX	Mon	enroute	-	New Delhi	XX	Train	-	New Del
3	XX-XX-XX	Tue	Sight Seeing New Delhi				Car/Bus	-	New Del

 Tip-2 – Booking of Tickets

The only source of purchase of railway tickets is the website of IRCTC. The membership of the website is to be obtained through registration. It is not difficult to register which needs a mobile number and e-mail id. The availability and price of tickets in all trains on the route can be ascertained from the website. The payment is to be made through cards. The cancellation process is also easy. The same website can be visited for total or partial cancellation against minimum cancellation charges.

The schedule and price of air tickets can be ascertained from skyscanner.com, momondo.com, IRCTC, makemytrip.com, wego.com but it is suggested to book the tickets from respective airlines directly from the website or personal visit. 

In case there is a bus journey, the tickets for the same can be booked from various websites like redbus.com, makemytrip.com, wego.com etc. There is also provision for cancellation against charges. Further, there is scope for travel in local buses where the cost of tickets is much less than pre-booked tickets.

Train travel in India

Tip-3 - Booking of Hotel

When you are booking the hotel directly, you have to send advance amount either in full or partial amount. In the case of cancellation from your side, it becomes difficult to get a refund. Even if there is a refund, there may be a huge deduction especially for the last minute cancellation.

Booking.com is a useful site for booking of hotels in all locations which has many advantages like booking of hotels without any pre-payment and free cancellation till twenty-four hours before arrival. In case cancellation as per stipulation is not followed, charges for only one day will be deducted irrespective of stay for any number of days.

There are other sites also like makemytrip.com, wego.com, trivago.com etc. which also book hotels as per their own terms and conditions.

Young persons both male and female can become a life member of Youth Hostel Association of India (YHAI) at a very nominal membership and can avail hostel facilities on pan India basis.

 

The travellers either arriving or departing by train can also avail retiring room which is located on the railway station itself, safe and of reasonable cost. The booking can be made with PNR Number of the ticket through IRCTC website. Since demand is high, it is suggested to book just after booking of railway ticket. The passengers may get a refund of booking amount in case of cancellation subject to terms and conditions

Tip-4 - Local Sight Seeing

 In India, bus tours are conducted in almost all major tourist destinations. In the absence of such arrangements, the travellers can avail local transport but the same is time-consuming and the public transports may not reach the exact site. If the numbers of passengers exceed three, arrangement for a hired car can be made subject to reliability. It is preferred to hire vehicle either from the hotel or reputed car hiring agency. The sites to be visited, timings of travel and rate per kilometre or per hour must be clarified while booking the vehicle. Otherwise, there are instances of disagreement and that leads to an unpleasant relationship. It is also suggested to compare the price from a few agencies before placing the final order.

If the vehicle is hired for the entire tour especially in a hilly or difficult region, the rate per kilometre/hour, charges for night halt, stay arrangement and food cost for driver should be clarified while negotiating to avoid mid-way confusion.  

Tip-5 – Other Precautions/Suggestions

 Always keep duplicate copies of tickets, hotel vouchers and other documents with the person(s) other than the main traveller

In the case of hotel booking, confirm booking over phone/mail, a couple of days before the date of arrival along with expected time of arrival

Save contact number(s) of drivers of vehicle, hotel and car hiring agencies to convey any emergency information.

Identity cards of each passenger must be kept handy with respective passenger along with photocopies of the said cards in their custody.

Cash carried by tourists may be distributed among family members or co-passengers to avoid bankruptcy in one go.

So, gain confidence and move

With good planning and confirmed tour programme developed by the traveller/tourist himself, it is possible to travel with minimum cost and that too without hazard. The travel agent or touring agency will charge for each and every item indicated above and thus the cost will go up by another fifty per cent. I agree that your headache will be reduced but it may get doubled in case you have to cancel or postpone your journey.

Just think if a person from Europe or North America can travel in India without any guide or tour operator in the midst of diversified language and culture, why can’t you as a citizen of your own country? Start with small tours and gain experience after which you will find real success in discovery.

Just ponder and go ahead. If others can why can’t I?