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When someone says ‘holiday’, you immediately think of pristine beaches, or serene hill stations where you could put your feet up and just forget about the world and all your worries. How many times have you dreamed of packing your bags and just heading out on that dream vacation? But crafting the ‘perfect’ holiday isn’t as easy as you would assume. From finalising your dream destination to figuring out the perfect accommodation to getting the best deals to creating a fulfilling itinerary, there are a lot of things to keep track of.
Fortunately, you won’t have to burn a hole in your pocket or pull out all your hair in agony while planning your perfect vacation. Here’s a secret: there are easy tricks to book the best holiday ever. Whether it’s a family vacay, or a business trip or even a short getaway, you can plan everything quite easily. And here’s another secret: you won’t have to enlist the services of a travel agent, too! So, here’s how you can plan your dream holiday now:
Airfares
Admit it, a major chunk of all our vacation-planning goes into booking the perfect flight. It’s a common myth that flights eat up most of one’s holiday budget. But thankfully, there are plenty of tricks that will help you get the cheapest flight. Here are a few:
Timing is everything: Booking early is the holy grail of getting the best airfares. Plan your holiday well in advance and finalise on a time window to figure out the cheapest airfares. Research suggests that you should book air tickets on Tuesdays and Thursdays as fares are usually cheaper on these days. Ideally, you should book your domestic flights at least 57 days in advance, and international flights 171 days in advance. Never ever choose flights on weekends. For more value for your money, choose odd times such as early morning or midnight as the least expensive flights leave either very early in the morning or late in the night.
Go incognito: This is probably the simplest way of getting the cheapest airfares. Flight prices increase when you search on a particular route repeatedly. The cookies in your browser store all the information and this leads to a dramatic increase in the fares. This is a common tactic applied by websites to scare you into booking your flight immediately before the prices increase even further.
Choose the best flight engines: Always check the fares on different websites before booking your flight. Some of the best websites include Google Flights, Skyscanner, Kayak and Momondo. These websites also offer the feature of tracking your flight and notify you whenever the price changes. Instead of looking for a flight on a particular date, look at the entire month so as to know when the flight is at its cheapest.
Earn some miles: Miles are offered as a part of airline’s frequent flier loyalty programmes and also by credit cards. So, every time you travel by air or use your credit card, you earn loyalty points or miles. For instance, if you own an HDFC Regalia credit card, you earn 4 reward points for every Rs 150 spent. Or, if you own an ICICI Rubyx credit card, you earn up to 6 reward points on every Rs 100 spent. So, use your credit card for every purchase you make. The more you spend, the more rewards you accumulate. To earn miles, choose a co-brand card such as JetPrivilege HDFC Bank Signature. A flight between Bengaluru and Delhi in July 2019 will need only 12,000 miles from you! For those who don’t want to use up all their miles for an air ticket, there’s also the option of using them to upgrade from economy to business class.
Book directly: Many assume that booking a flight directly on the airline’s website is a costly affair. However, many airlines offer fantastic discounts exclusively on their websites and apps.
Keep a lookout: There are plenty of offers around the year from airlines and travel websites. The best way to know about such offers is to sign up for email and SMS alerts. Also, many times, such offers are only valid for a day or two. So, you need to make your decision quickly.
Accommodation
Sure, you want to relax by the infinity pool overlooking a gorgeous valley or the blue ocean with a delicious drink by your side. But searching for the perfect hotel with all the luxuries within a budget certainly seems like a far-fetched dream. But here are some tricks to help you:
Loyalty programmes: Loyalty is highly regarded in travel and hotels will go to great lengths to reward you for your loyalty. So, sign up for any loyalty programme now. The earlier you start, greater the chances of earning points. Some of the best loyalty programmes in the country include: Oberoi Advantage, Club ITC, Starwood Preferred Guest, Marriott Rewards, Taj Inner Circle, and more. The benefits of such loyalty programmes range from free upgrades to free breakfasts and other privileges.
Check prices: Once you finalise on the hotel, check its prices across websites such as Agoda, Booking.com, MakeMyTrip, and more. Most of the times, these websites would be offering crazy deals.
Timing is vital: Timing is one of the most important things while holidaying. While it’s common knowledge that timing is crucial while booking airfares, it’s also important when it comes to accommodation. Research suggests that the best hotel rates are found two to three months ahead of time, way before the best flight prices show up on the radar.
Miles, again: If you thought you can only redeem your precious miles for airfares, you could not be more wrong. Your miles can also be redeemed for hotel stays. For instance, if you are planning to redeem your JetPrivilege miles for a hotel in Bengaluru in June, there are tons of budget hotels and luxury hotels that could cost anywhere between 9,000- 50,000 miles. You also have the option of redeeming only a fraction of your miles, thereby reducing the final cost of the hotel room.
How to save money while on your holiday
Now, employing all the tricks, you have finally planned your dream holiday without breaking a sweat. But, saving money doesn't have to take a break while you are enjoying your holiday. Here are some hacks to save money while you are on your holiday:
* Take advantage of the free breakfast plan. If your hotel offers free breakfast as part of your booking, stock up on dry essentials such as breads, fruits, pastries, yoghurt and more. It should take care of your mid-afternoon hunger pangs easily. Otherwise, check out local restaurants and cafes as they offer cheaper meals.
* Skip the international phone plan. Instead, utilise the free Wi-Fi services provided by most of the hotels and resorts these days.
* Instead of booking the usual planned excursions with travel agents, choose the unconventional experiences. Many locals would be offering unique tours and activities for a fraction of the price of planned excursions. Also, don't miss out on free attractions and activities. Or even better, create your own itinerary!
* In certain countries like Thailand, public transport is your cheapest bet. You can hire tuks-tuks that will take you anywhere you want for cheap fares. But in countries like Seychelles, renting a car is the best option as public transport is not dependable and taxi fares are quite high.
* While shopping, always pay with local currency and in cash. In case you have to use a credit card, use one that doesn't charge you for international expenses.
* Carry your own essentials such as a small water bottle, toiletries and snacks wherever you go. Bottled water is usually very expensive.
* Buy transportation cards or city tourism cards that will allow you to travel seamlessly through cities and towns instead of having to shell out money every now and then.
* Always shop at local stores or duty-free shops at the airport.