There goes a lot of thinking and hard work while planning an exciting international holiday, that includes a tonne of internet research and at times even checking out Lonely Planet books. Thanks to the internet, everything does seem fairly easy today and there is always a temptation to DIY (Do It Yourself). While you can certainly give it a try, there will always be a risk of missing out on a few important points while planning a holiday. We, as an organization with an experience of 20 years, have been designing a hassle-free International Holidays for our Indian guests. We have compiled a few Beginners Guide to First International Holiday.
1. Passport : This is the most essential document for an international holiday. I remember that I had got a passport made for myself when I had turned 18! Didn’t really have the funds to travel to domestic destinations, forget International, but I had a firm belief that I would eventually travel a lot and explore. Happy to say that I am doing so 🙂
Passport is like a licence given to you by your Local Government. It’s like a no-objection-certificate given to you to travel and explore!
All countries in the World would require you to have a passport. When you start planning for the holidays, you MUST check the validity (last date) of it. Almost all the countries require a minimum validity of 6 months from the date of return to India. Normally the validity of a passport is 10 years from the date of issue. Usually, it takes about a week in case of a new/renewal of passport. The process has now become fairly simple and fast.No plans of travel yet? No problem. What’s the harm in getting a Passport made? Who knows when an opportunity comes knocking?! 🙂
Please CLICK HERE to check the requirements to apply for a new/Renew Passport
2. Visa : While a passport is a document given by your local government to travel abroad, Visa is a document approving your travel in their country. The Consulate / Embassy of the country you plan to visit, asks for a set of documents to judge if you are welcome to their country. If your documents are in place, you are more or less, certain to be granted a Tourist Visa. Travel is a source of Foreign Exchange and a strong Pillar in the economy for every country. By this logic, every country would be eager to have you in their country as a Tourist.
There is a general misconception that the Consulates / Embassies grants or rejects Visas on their whims and fancies. This isn’t true. It’s rather the other way round. They want you to travel to their country because it’s actually great for their economy. Usually, the most basic documents required by the Consulates / Embassies are :
- Return Air Tickets
- Hotel Accommodations
- Your financial details
- Travel insurance
Rules of-course vary for each country and you should check the same with your Travel Counselor. Once all background checks are done by the respective Consulate / Embassy to their satisfaction, they will issue you a Visa which would be either stamped on your passport or be electronically sent to you. In rare cases, they might ask you for more documents to assure themselves of your genuine travel intentions. You must allow enough time for processing of your Visa. Pushing it for too late could lead to your Visa not coming in time. You must leave a reasonable time frame for Consulates / Embassies to ask for more documents, as they deem fit before they decide to grant you a Visa. The time taken to process the Visa is again different for each country.
Your Travel Counselor / Visa Executive would be the right person to help you with this. The Visa is valid for the duration that is clearly mentioned on the document. You must come back to your home country before the expiry of the last date.
Do note that there are different types of Visa that you need to apply for, depending on the purpose of your visit. For example, you need to apply for a Work Visa should you wish you to travel the country for work. On a Tourist Visa, one is not allowed to undertake any other activity (like work). You must strictly follow the spirit of the Tourist Visa and explore the country as a Tourist.
As has been mentioned above, every Country wants to have travellers and are doing their best to make their Visa rules simpler. There are many countries that are now offering Visa-free entry / visa on arrival to Indian citizens like Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos to name a few.
If you are a traveler whose work schedules don’t allow you to pre-plan your holiday, well then, plan it at the last moment! Your Travel Counselor will help you to select the Country where the Visa is easier to secure in a short frame of time.
3. Choosing the destination : Whether you are a first time traveller or a frequent one, choosing the right destination based on your interests is very important. Then you need to ask yourself a lot of questions.
- Would you like your holiday destination to be at a Wildlife Destination or at a beach or exploring well-known monuments of a Country or relax on a Cruise?
- Do you like to indulge in some adventure activities?
- Want to get your family to experience Urban destination full of entertainment options?
Further, are you travelling to celebrate an occasion like birthdays or honeymoon? Or would you rather make it a relaxing holiday than the one full of exploration? You also need to know the right season/months to travel to the destination of your choice. For example, if you are a wildlife enthusiast, Kenya could be your destination to experience African Savannah. But “migration season” is around July-August! If you are looking for nightlife in Germany, you should know the dates of Oktoberfest! In short, you need to consider many factors before you can finalize your destination. An experienced travel counsellor will ask you a lot of questions and will always suggest options that best suit your taste and budgets. They could also advise you some experiences/activities or a visit to an offbeat location that you perhaps were not aware of!
4. Duration of the holiday : The duration of your holidays will decide the amount of money you will need for the holiday. Different travellers will have different approaches; a few would like to see many places in a short amount of time while many would like to take it very slowly and thoroughly. Although both the approaches are fine, the duration of the tour will dictate the finances you need to allot to the holiday.
5. Weather : Rain could play a spoilsport during your tour unless of-course your idea is to enjoy the rains! This is just one example. There could be snowfall and extreme heat too in the month that you plan to undertake your journey. It is always wise to take into consideration the climatic conditions of the place you are visiting while planning a Tour. For example, July and August are the peak summer season in Europe while it could be cold if you are visiting the Southern Hemisphere around the same time.
6. Budgeting : Flight tickets, accommodations, three meals a day, sightseeing, entrance tickets and local transportation are some of the basic expenses that you would need to account for. Your travel counsellor can always help you find the best deal and give you hacks to save money. Early planning of your holidays and booking your flight tickets a few months in advance can save your money!
7. Insurance : Getting a travel insurance cover is mandatory for most of the countries. It is also very helpful in case of medical emergencies, lost baggage, loss of passport and many other things. There are various insurance companies that offer different products at affordable premiums. Here to your Travel Counselor will come handy.
8. Forex : Forex companies offer you currency notes and Forex Cards specific to the bills of the particular country you are planning to visit. It is always recommended to carry your money in part cash and part card form. Carrying cash and carrying it on you while exploring is not a great idea. Pickpockets are unfortunately a common phenomenon even in developed countries. But then for places like Burma, the number of ATSs are far and few. So in a situation like this, your best bet is to carry more of cash. For more Tourist friendly countries,
Forex cards are better than Credit Cards as the maximum liability is capped (equal to the amount you have decided to upload on the Card) and losses, if any, will be limited to this amount. Please google for “skimming” or “card trapping” to know the issues that you could face when using any Card. If duped, unfortunately, it’s easier to follow up in your own country than in a foreign land. It makes a practical sense to limit your potential losses in a foreign country.
Summary :Â
- Get the Passport made. Its validity should be at least six months from your arrival date in India (You may do so online or seek assistance from your Travel Counselor)Â
- Plan well in advance. Get in touch with your Travel Counselor and get details about the destination, weather, itinerary, accommodations and the package cost
- Advice your Travel Counselor to book your flights tickets in advance to secure the best possible fares.  Â
- You will also need Travel Insurance and Forex Card / Foreign Currency. Here to your Travel Counselor will come handy.Â
- Compile and submit the documents for Visa. Your Travel Counselor will do that for you.
You are set to go! Pack your bags and have fun! Do you really need a Travel Counselor or should you DIY (Do it Yourself)?
Well, you do need a Travel Counselor to plan well and save your money. He/She is trained for the job and is experienced to guide you well. Your Travel Counselor will literally bring the world to you. And then all you are left with is to pack your bags!
And yes, he/she will be available 24*7 to you when you would be on the Tour! This is important because it’s better to rely on your Travel Counselor than on an unconcerned and incompetent helpline executive of popular Travel Portals!Please CLICK HERE to get in touch with us for all your travel related Queries.
Author : Sachin Deshmukh
More about him on : Click Here
Can Infinite Journeys customize holidays for you?Â
Yes. Infinite Journeys specializes in customizing your holidays. Infinite Journeys has Travel Advisors who are well traveled and experienced. They will be happy to share their expertise with you to make your holidays memorable.
At Infinite Journeys, we believe that you should never buy a product off-the-shelf when you can have one that is customized for you.
We customize the Holidays to any destination in the World
We will need some details from you to customize your holidays. Please Click Here for the same.
