To Roam, to Shop, to Discover !
We didn't really start of
thinking of doing such a trip unless we could build an appetite for
destruction, destruction of the faith our bankers have in us, that we'll never
decrease our savings account balance.
When I look back now at the
trip that was, our budgeting was SPOT-ON ! In fact this has almost never
happened before, but it did. The maths was arbitrary, but somehow it worked.
It was a combination of many
things, and I could only really arrive at an estimate once our tickets (to
& fro airfare), Airbnb & Intercity travel were booked.
The above three made all the
difference. Now if you remember "The Decision", it stated that we
planned to visit 5 cities & 3 countries. We did not know how much a good Airbnb
should cost; neither did we know if the travel intercity would be better if we
did by Air? Or Train? We did however have an idea about the flight tickets, all
thanks to endless portals online.
How to book your Air Travel? How much is a good price?
We are talking about a trip which is self-planned and self-executed. All the variables out there are radical, so you aren't dependent on a travel agent to do this for you. Keep the following indicators in mind!
1. Look through Skyscanner, but
don't book through it
There are better deals on Indian websites; we booked our flight
from Yatra. Check out current offers on different websites. Remember, flight
options you see on one website may not be available on others.
2. Prefer an International carrier
Even when Jet Airways and Air India will bombard you mailers,
prefer the International Carriers, Our onward flight was Turkish airlines (to Rome), and their service was far superior that our return flight (Air India).
Both are budget airlines, but there is a clear difference.
3. Pre-book your Seats
This is a No-Brainer, but please don't forget to do this, or be
prepared to take the worst seats on the plane (Travel agents do this for us
hence we usually forget to do this when we fly on our own, no need to web
check-in; just pre-book your seats).
4. Look for an option where a website can guide you through the
process
Yatra had an International Flight booking helpdesk which is like a
free travel agent! The person on the other end of the call will do the exact
things which a travel agent would do, but without an added charge.
Our man(from Yatra) suggested us flight options which would be
better, looked up the luggage allowances, checked if connecting terminals were
convenient, and had the capacity to block seats without booking them(just like
an agent does).
5. Plan your booking
We booked our tickets in December for our trip in April. Check the timings of the flight; it’s convenient if your entire trip is around
12-13 hours (one with a connecting flight). We had Stopover at Istanbul airport
after a 7 odd hour flight from Delhi, and 2 odd hours for the stop over (read
duty free shopping). The return flight had a similar schedule.
6. You May Keep your entry and Exit points different
It really didn't matter much on the budget, we flew in to Rome, and
we exited from Amsterdam.
Check different combinations but remember your flight bookings are
the first step in planning the trip, Don't go wrong on this step else you might
regret it. We got our tickets for an astounding Rs.35, 000 per person (return).
7. Check the terminals- then double check
We had a slight confusion at the Paris Airport while returning. We
were supposed to take an in-airport transfer for our flight to Delhi, and the
staff was confused. They asked us to exit the airport to change the terminal,
we however found our way through.
Our return flight was Amsterdam-(KLM)-Paris-(Air India)-Delhi
Note: Never plan to shop on Paris duty free. It's not what Duty
free's are famous* for.
* = The Price
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