Planning A Vacation? Go Global

Exploring global options.

- Veena Mohan Adige

Here are a few important tips for any traveller. First and foremost plan your trip. The earlier you book your tickets, the more reasonable a price you will be charged. Airlines also have special fares which they announce from time to time. My group availed of a Mumbai-Mangaluru-Mumbai trip at just Rs 2000 per head because we booked it about 10 months earlier. Hotels too have special fares which can be booked during offseason time and which they increase as the holidays approach. Some tours have special prices which, if you book in advance, are much cheaper than it would be if you booked at the last moment.

Also plan your trips according to the season which gives you most comfort. Some like it hot, others prefer chilly and snowy conditions, and still others love getting wet in the monsoon. Google your destination and plan on seeing the maximum in minimum time but maximum comfort. My family travels together and we are almost five or six couples with children. So we find out from Google and rent villas so that we can stay together, cook whatever we want and have no time limits. We also hire cars so that we travel at our pace and during our time.

New Zealand

If you want to see a whole country, then New Zealand is the best option. The south of New Zealand is more interesting and colourful. Natural beauty is at its highest. The tall mountains, the untouched lakes, rivers and water bodies are so pure that you can literally cup the waters and drink them. New Zealand has no predators, no violence and is one of the safest places to visit. There are pristine snowy mountain tops, volcanoes, earthquakes, geysers, underground lakes with glowworms, Maori tribals who hold shows which entertain you with their food, culture, dress and history.

Australia