JOIN USJourney is the destination
To keep the excitement of life alive, many indulge in a variety of exciting things — while some prefer trekking or bungee jumping, there are those who choose to travel the world and explore an unknown land. For many, travelling provides a sense of pleasure, acts as a stress buster, or merely an excuse to get away from the monotony of routine life.
Making their lives and plans for a trip easier are a number of travel groups and companies. One such travel company is ‘The Backpacker Co.’ which crafts international trips and is a blessing to solo travellers. Though their focus is more on independent travellers, they have equally exciting trips designed for groups too.
“There are many who love to travel. However, the only thing that stops them from taking a step forward is because they don’t find the right kind of people to travel with. We have made trips to Europe, Italy, Spain and Portugal to name a few and make sure that we get together a group of like-minded people who take with them the best of experiences,” says Yogi, one of the co-founders.
He highlights that while travelling in a group, it is a must to have a positive attitude and that one should have the curiosity to explore different places and things. There has been many a time when the co-founders of the company Yogi and Suchna accompany the troupe to wherever the trip is planned for.
“It is not just sight-seeing for us, we try to add something unique and local to every trip we do. Cycling tours and pub crawls are a few things that we include in out itinerary,” adds Yogi.
One of the points that they keep in mind is to see that the chosen place is well connected to India. Yogi says the biggest challenge is to get people to take the first step. “Travelling is a learning experience. A well-travelled person always has a better chance at anything. Travelling opens up perspectives unlike people who are always into their monotonous activities.”
Byond Travel, another travel group, adds a twist to their trips. They focus on ‘only women’, self-drive road trips and also group trips. Till now the group has organised trips to 50 countries. “We make sure that the destinations we select facilitate a shared experience among like-minded people,” says Vikram Ahuja, the founder.
As a part of the ‘only women’ trips. they have been to places like Jordan, Iceland, Greece, Egypt among others, and as a self-driven road trip they recently did a India to Bangkok road trip. “Travel is not just sight-seeing, it is about what and with who you are experiencing the trip with similarly deciding on which place to go to depends on not just the destination but the group too,” he says.
He makes sure to choose a place or country that allows them to build enough local interactions with the communities, art, music and wine. The price package depends on what appeals to a well-travelled person, and that includes the cost of comfort, quality and security. Some of the groups future endeavours include a ride to Jordan, North-East India, Russia, Cuba, and a trip to Antarctica.
Doing a recce by himself and then getting in touch with the international travel groups to know about a particular place is Santosh Nair, the founder of ‘Exotic Expeditions’, a city-based travel group. They indulge in off-beat travel. “Last month we did a trip to Vietnam, there we cruised around the ‘Ha Long Bay’ and covered the entire place. On the recent trip to Bhutan, we visited the central places like Trongsa and Bumthang which are less travelled. We make sure to be around in a place for about 9 to 10 days.”