You cannot start your journey until you have flight tickets and hotel booking in your hand. According to my experience, if you haven’t done these two bookings, you are not going for that vacation. It is still in the planning stage. So once you have booked these two, I am sure you will go on that vacation you deserve. Why, because the cheap tickets are usually non-refundable and ditto for the hotel reservation. These two factors are the answer to – How to Start A Travel?
Flight tickets though can be easily booked online but do not forget to check with a travel agent as well. The travel agents sometimes buy tickets in bulk for certain sectors. They will give you those tickets at unbelievable prices. However, do not forget to look out for those flash sales which every airline does these days. There are websites that will even give you the lowest airfare by scanning all the airfares on all the other portals. You can pay through credit cards or net banking. The other benefit of booking by yourself is that you get points that get added to your card. You will also accumulate those miles if you have that card.
Look for those `Red Eye’ flights (flights that fly late in the night) or have one stopover. Now they might take a long time but are cheap. Also, do look for flights that fly from B Cities like Kolkata or Cochin, they are dirt cheap, even if you go to let’s say Kolkata from Mumbai it still might be cheaper.
Another good thing you can do is `GET A TRAVEL INSURANCE’, the price you pay is way less than your loss.
In-flight food options are usually limited to 2 or 3. Always advance book your food; this option is available when you are about to finalize your booking. If you are fussy about food like me, (I want a low-carb food option), you should pre-book it. Nowadays even Jain Food options are available. Some airlines have a big menu if you advance to book a meal. The other good thing is, you get served first on the flight. If you have kids, this option makes even more sense.
In-flight food options are usually limited to 2 or 3. Always advance book your food; this option is available when you are about to finalize your booking. If you are fussy about food like me, (I want a low-carb food option), you should pre-book it. Nowadays even Jain Food options are available. Some airlines have a big menu if you advance to book a meal. The other good thing is, you get served first on the flight. If you have kids, this option makes even more sense.
Check the website like agoda.com who provide you with multiple options without giving preference to any. They do have dynamic pricing which helps in getting the lowest prices depending on when you book. On top of that, they also have flash sales where you will get even better bargains. They allow you to book 3 months in advance without any booking charges and you can cancel your booking 10 days before without any charges whatsoever.
Another very important thing, do inform your hotel in advance if you want an early check-in and also if you are checking in late. This is to avoid any cancellation of your room. Things like these usually don’t happen but you never know they might have overbooked and you will be on a back foot for not informing.
Once you see a price that you like at a portal, check the same price at the hotel website also. If there is not much difference, it is better to book directly from the hotel website. Booking directly from the hotel website has many benefits, one being you get preference on upgrades. You will get rooms with the best views. You will get easy, early, and late check-ins and check-outs. I have also seen you get better treated by the hotel. Always book double occupancy rooms even if you are single.
Book those hotels which are Guest Friendly. A charge of 500 to 1000 Baht is charged extra for bringing a guest for the night. Check the link for the list of hotels.
Eccentric Blogger, Traveler and Consultant.
