KEY QUESTIONS ON TRAVEL ANSWERED

Thank you folks for sparing your precious moments reading this Newsletter. The very first one at that. It fills my heart with pride and happiness to be getting a chance at sharing insights about something that I treasure the most, and love everything that it brings with it. This Newsletter aims to provide you all the required information on travel in a condensed form.

This one circles around the most simple yet hazy questions that we stumbleupon before planning any trip. The following Q&A are the most popular and intriguing ones that pop up in each of our heads. Let me take you through each one of it.

1. What are the best months to travel?

Travel is subjective. It holds a different value, meaning, and purpose for each individual. The decision and timing to travel or not to travel varies proportionally. Broadly, there are three travel periods during which any person plans their outing.

• Shoulder Season – This is the period of time between the peak season and the offseason. This time period has been gaining a lot of traction lately, as the tickets and hotels are relatively cheaper. If you are someone who hates crowds and is impartial to the number of activities you can indulge in, then this is the perfect time for your travel. Not to miss, travelling in this season will save you good bucks.
• Off Season – This is the period when the region is lacking the buzz. The hotels are at their cheapest. The tickets are the lowest. And the sightseeing is literally empty of crowds. If you are big on savings, and just want to experience the country and culture without focusing on the vibe then, this happens to be a good time for your travel.
• Peak Season – The country is at its very best. The weather is perfect, the vibe is intact, and the streets are pouring with tourists. Facts that cannot be ignored, the tickets are at an all time high, the hotels rates are maximized, and few sightseeing options are far fetched due to overbooking. But with pre-planning and pre-bookings, these factors can be ignored. If you are heavy pocketed then, this is your vacation time.

2. What are the best applications to facilitate a smooth travel experience?

With app stores herded with endless options on every genre, it becomes overwhelming to decide which application to use. Not to forget, it should be reliable, simple, fast, hassle-free, and smooth, all at the same time. Here are my top 5 picks that I have been using for the past 10 years and counting.

• Make My Trip
• Booking.com
• Tripadvisor
• Klook
• Lonely Planet

3. How to know the visa requirements of any particular country?

This is one question that sends our vacation plans rolling into the ground. It should from this very moment never be the reason. Firstly, you need to check if the region you intend to visit requires a visa from your country or not. For this you can use the Passport Index app to check for all visa types available or required to enter any particular country.

The next big thing is the documents to be submitted to the embassy for a visa to a country, if the region requires one. You can clarify and check for this on any visa application platform. If you’re using a third-party interface like Atlys or Teleport, for processing your visa application then you can check all the docs required under the respective country’s visa tab. Else you can visit the visa website of that particular country and check the same.

4. Should you take kids along on an adventure vacation?

Adventure vacation is a tourism niche which usually involves exploration or travel with a degree of risk. It might require some special skills or physical exertion too. To answer the above question, it is again subjective. If the trip includes severe hikes or forceful water crossings or facing adverse climatic conditions, then without hesitation, taking a child along is NOT recommended.

But if you are travelling to a country and signing up for a skydiving experience or paragliding down the alps, or any such activity where you can afford to leave your child with a help, it may be at a cost provided by the hotel or a friend or relative travelling with you. Then, there is no reason to not take the child along on this vacation. Kids who travel are the sorted ones. They witness different cultures and grasp it, at their own pace, making them confident and responsible adults. Given any chance, do not skip travel plans with your children. Nor leave them behind in any of yours.

5. One tip that could motivate you to travel without limitations?

In ancient times people used bullock carts and foot to travel. Those modest means were all they had to make ends meet. Even that circumstance did not stop them from exploring new grounds. With modernisation we have the facilities, modes and means to travel freely. Did you know, Curiosity is the sole factor that determines growth and learning. And there is nothing that can stop a curious heart from travelling.

Thank you once again for making it to the end. We will try to answer more of such questions in our future Newsletters. If you have a question that needs to be answered, then send us an email on [email protected] and we will do our best to answer it to your satisfaction.

 ❤

SWATI