Do the names below sound familiar?
MakemyTrip | Bookmyforex | Booking | Cleartrip | SOTC |
Yatra | Thomas Cook | Wikitravel | Agoda | |
IRCTC | Via.com | Holiday IQ | Treebo | Oyorooms |
AirBnb | Redbus | Lonely Planet | Indigo | ITDC |
Skyscanner | VFS Global | Taj Hotels | Thrillophilia | Expedia |
KSRTC | Marriot | HolidayIQ | Trip Advisor | Avis |
I bet frequent travellers in India have used many of the above websites for planning and booking their travels. The list is obviously not exhaustive. There are plenty more online and several more offline. And there lies the dilemma faced by almost all travellers. How do I make my travel bookings without getting lost?
My travel resources are nothing but a collection of websites that cater to all my travel needs. Over the years, I have stuck to the well known names largely. Apart from the already established players, several new travel startups have sprung up, including Thrillophilia, Tripoto, BeyondTravel, TravelTriangle and so on. Travel is certainly a crowded place, and why not, with the growing tribe of tourists. But where does that leave you and me? More confusion?
I prefer DIY (Do it Yourself) model
My first 3 foreign holidays with spouse(all before 2002) and one holiday to USA with extended family(2008) were booked through travel agents. I was sufficiently cheesed off to switch to a DIY model. And it was just as well that several options were opening up that made online travel bookings fairly easily though a bit time consuming.
Today, I do all the research and then the bookings myself. And I enjoy doing it. But this is not for everyone, you need to be genuinely interested in travel and learning more about travel. If not, go for customised or group tours.
List of websites I normally refer
Here is the list of online travel resources I normally use.
1. For basic research on the destination
a) Country/place specific tourism sites with map. Examples – visitnorway.com, visitpetra.jo.
b) Travel guides. Some of the ones I have looked at are:
I only check out one of them, not all.
c) Where available, I also read through the itinerary and list of hotels published by leading tour operators such as Makemytrip or SOTC.
d) Travel blogs/Trip Advisor .….whatever is thrown up when I ‘ask questions’. For example, northern lights in Norway, must see places in Spain, where to stay in Bergen, and so on. At the minimum, I ‘ask’ for ‘must see places’ or ‘top things to do’ and ‘where to stay’. Rest of the ‘questions’ depend on doubts that I may have! Internet never ceases to amaze.
I normally restrict general browsing to about 3-5 sites. That would cover a) and d) above.
For eliminations, I read reviews on TripAdvisor or simply ‘ask questions’ on the browser such as ‘is it worth visiting…’?
Overall, on an average, I take about 10 hours over 3-5 days to firm up a tentative itinerary, with basic details of what to visit, which area to book accommodation in, how to travel from point A to point B to point C, and so on. Some countries like Russia and Canada took more time, while some like Maldives and Bhutan took less time.
2. My research tools for possible travel routing options
a) For air travel, Cleartrip mainly and at times, google flights or Skyscanner or Makemytrip as the second option.
b) World and country map…to check for possible routes from Bengaluru as also travel within a country/between countries.
c) Seat61.com to research for train options, timings and other matters related to booking. This is how I saved ~INR4k per ticket for Tranz Alpine Train journey in New Zealand, by booking after arrival in New Zealand.
For cruises, I search for country specific cruise operators.
d) Finally, a confirmation of chosen options on the websites of actual transport service provider: Airlines, Railways, Ships/cruise operators etc. This is when the timings get firmed up.
This step will require 2-5 hours, depending on number of destinations being covered.
3. For booking air travel
I prefer to book directly with the airline but have used online portals occasionally.
If I have not travelled with a particular airline before, I do a quick check on the following matters before booking:
Safety……..www.airlineratings.com. There are no guarantees but a airline with better safety record provides comfort.
Service quality…..Not always but whenever I do, I refer www.skytraxratings.com
Seat pitch and recline….sometimes, in addition to the airline website, I check www.seatguru.com
4. For booking rail, cruise etc
Again, I prefer booking directly with the service provider. Seat61.com provides all the details on how to buy the tickets.
5. For booking accommodation
a) Trivago is a great site to check which specific website is offering cheaper options. Not always accurate but a good start.
b) I also independently check Booking.com or Agoda.com for international hotels/apartments and Makemytrip.com/Booking.com for India hotels. There are options for almost every budget. These sites normally provide most of the information that I need in order to make the initial shortlist, including customer reviews. But you need to be clear what you are looking for along with the location, and apply filters accordingly.
Airbnb is a great option for only homestays but I have used it only once in India.
c) Create a final shortlist of 2-3 hotels from the initial shortlist. Final check on the hotel website. Many a time, I have noticed ‘member only’ or advance purchase rates or ‘deals’ offered by hotel websites are cheaper but these are often non-refundable rates or require minimum stay for 2-3 nights.
d) If the costs are more or less comparable, I book directly with the hotel if I have membership.
I spend an average of 2 hours over 2 days to make the final shortlist for each location. The time spent is directly proportional to the number of nights stay.
6. For booking local trips/tours/experiences
In most cases, I manage on my own and not book external operators. Normally, the booking channel(accommodation or airline) will also provide offers for local trips. I tend to go with that whenever needed. Two other good sources are www.getyourguide.com and www.tripadvisor.in.
I also do a simple search on the internet. Example – ‘Chernobyl tours from Kiev”. I only make sure I compare 2 offers, and customer reviews.
7. Weather
I check www.accuweather.com twice, once around the time of booking and again a couple of days before departure.
8. Visa
No brainer, I always use official sites. VFS Global does all the visa related legwork for many countries. If not, I visit the respective embassy/High Commission sites in India.
If you are taking connecting flights outside India, do check on the transit visa requirements.
9. Travel Insurance
I prefer to purchase comprehensive Travel Insurance directly from Tata AIA or ICICI Lombard or HDFC Ergo. There are many more insurance companies in India. The cost does not vary too much from one to another and I prefer a coverage of USD100k at the minimum. I know for many travellers, Travel Insurance is treated as something required for visa but the truth is that it is a very valuable document covering specified risks. So do read the terms carefully and choose wisely.
Travel insurance is required only for foreign travel as the normal medical insurance that we all have should cover hospitalisation anywhere in India.
Frequent travellers can also buy longer term policies, as against a policy for each travel.
If you want to read more on travel insurance, check out this link on money.com. It is US centric but there is fair bit of generic information on what to consider before buying a travel insurance.
10. Communication
When travelling overseas, Skype is my preferred option for communication. You call mobile as well as landline phones in India. Quite cheap but requires wi-fi.
I always activate International roaming on my primary phone. For local calls, I have typically used my mobile phone which is expensive but when I foresee a more frequent local usage, I buy a local prepaid SIM and install that in a spare phone. I don’t install it in my primary phone as I need to be alert to important messages such as those from my bank and credit card issuer, especially those that may indicate unauthorised transactions. So carrying a spare phone is very useful.
Another option is Whatsapp but I can only call mobile phones who have installed Whatsapp. Again, wi-fi is required. But so far, the quality of WhatsApp calls has not been good.
For Emails and WA messaging too, wi-fi is a must. Hence I always choose accommodation with free wi-fi facility.
11. Foreign exchange
My preference:
- Cash in local currency or USD/Euros
- Premium Credit cards where mark up is 1% or so.
For cash, I prefer online vendors who deliver at home. I normally check the rates on 2 sites, such as bookmyforex and fxkart, plus my bank.
I have evaluated but not used travel cards so far. More on this another time!
12. Car rentals
I have used Europcar, Thrifty and Hertz so far. I don’t actually have any preference and go by what may be popular in the country I am visiting.
13. Electrical plug
I find it convenient to check on the type of sockets used in the destination, together with the voltage at which electricity is suppled. Either power-plug-sockets.com or wikipedia.
Most of the world works at 220v, like India but US and Canada are at 110v. Check the electronic items you carry on a travel to make sure they work in dual voltage. Today, most travel gadgets do work in dual voltage and you will not need a converter. But carry the necessary plugs or a universal travel adapter plug.
Five Golden rules
Before jumping into DIY travel, here are 5 golden rules you must always keep in mind.
Golden rule no 1 – Avoid needless surfing
Discipline is a must have virtue. The number of travel related websites runs into hundreds and thousands. Based on your requirements, make a shortlist of internet sites that you would visit for all your travel needs. Avoid needless browsing as more browsing is unlikely to lead to your ‘dream deal’ or lower costs significantly.
Golden rule no 2- Tentative itinerary first, booking later
Carry out basic research on the destination and prepare a tentative itinerary. Do not book international air tickets first and then try to fit an itinerary unless you are severely constrained on time.
Golden rule no 3 – Internet can be deceptive also
Earlier this year, I was looking for hotels near T2 terminal in New Delhi and the map on Booking.com showed quite a few within walking distance, one was just outside T2. Bit more of research and it emerged that they were actually 4-5 kms away. Photos of accommodation can also be deceptive. Reviews can ‘manufactured’. Advertised facilities may not be available. And what not.
It is for these reasons I cross check once before making the booking. Normally, there is far greater comfort when booking with a global chain of hotels. For everything else, be on your guard and anything that does not sound right, is probably not!
Golden rule no 4 – Don’t get swayed by discounts, go by total cost
Discounts are deeply etched in human psyche. Gone are the days when discounts were offered during the lean season. Today, you will find discounts throughout the year. But when a hotel room is offered at 50% discount, is it from the rack rate? Or random? Do we know the rack rate? We don’t! Discounts on airfares is even more interesting.
In India, discounts certainly work. But what I have learnt over the years is not to get swayed by discounts. Sure, some of the offers will be genuine but always go by the total overall cost, adding all elements of cost that you will incur but not included in the offered rate.