I realized finding the best price meant going through 6 to 7 sites twice a day and rechecking it every now and then, especially when you have to discuss the details between a bunch of fellow travelers. Its like you are repeating the same thing twice or thrice.My husband tends to have amnesia whenever Iam speaking. Its like the man wasn't listening at all. I might be talking for an hour and he wont remember anything I said. I think in the perpetual habit of zoning out when your wife talks....he zones out the minute he sees my face I guess. Because Im repeating the very same thing a hundred different times. Yes...that is married life.
So where were we !
Yes...so some tips when booking tickets for that amazing holiday .
1. YouTube ki Jai ho ! Always check out your holiday spot on YouTube. Everyone is putting everything on YouTube nowadays. From drunken endeavors to flashing themselves to sick stuff to joyous things. Everything is there on YouTube. So take the time to research for your dream destination and watch all videos concerning it. Like the scams to look out for...the stuff you need to pack...the essentials pertaining to that destination which is a must, the things you just dont need to or shouldn't pack, even whats there to see out there...the packages , the tours, the prices....etc etc. I have found out about places by mistake and planned my holiday around it.
2. When searching for cheap flights, go to various flight aggregators.
Farecompare, Flybooking, Kayak, Expedia, Momondo, Wego. These are to name a few but these are legit sites. I came across very cheap tickets....like pop corn price tickets of an exotic location only to find out that it was a scam site. So please do your research. You can type in the site name and check out customer reviews online and know how legit or good they truly are. Also remember, some sites, they give you the base fare price and the luggage prices and small stuff like that are not included. Thats when you ruin your holiday at the airport, when you are told you have to pay an additional cost for this and that. So check if the ticket includes all taxes and fees and baggage details.
3. Fares arent the same everyday. I have seen fares change in a single day. Some say the best time to book is 6 weeks before travel and In my case, I found out 3 weeks before travel was a good time too. I guess it also depends on the destination and the high and low season of that place. So you are basically stuck checking fares everyday, the whole day at times especially if its a group involved.
4. Also, the tickets and hotels and tours are differently priced during the high and low season. You want to check what exactly the low and high season of the place's. Sometimes its just hot throughout the year in a place and high season would just mean , you and your kids are free during Christmas and thats when you will be paying thrice the price because you visited it on a world holiday.
What else?
5. There is something called the red eye flight. These flights are during that time of the night or early morning, when you rather sleep in bed with your butt in the air. These red eye flights are usually cheap as people , the ones with family, wouldnt want to drag their kids at odd times in the night to travel.
6. Always check for package deals as well online. Its better to know that if there is a service that is ready to do all the legwork and give you a all things and tours included trimmed package which includes airport transfers and shuttles and pick ups from your hotel . Some people hate the fact they have to run around during their holidays searching for deals on things abroad and rather pay a small ( No, it isnt small definitely) extra fee to have it done. So check those deals as well. If you like that,opt for it. If tailor made holidays isnt your thing, then prepare to be excited and disappointed and have fun planning every small detail of your trip.
7. Learn the local lingo or language of the place you are travelling to. At least learn basic stuff like greetings, Phrases concerning basic information you would need to travel in a taxi or boat or train or tuk tuk or bus or hotel or shopping. It never hurts to learn the customs and traditions expected of a foreigner. Politeness goes a long way and I for one enjoy learning new stuff and talk in new languages even though people would make fun of me. Doesnt matter, I like trying. I remember when I travelled home, I walked into this shop. I dont know the local language that well but decided to give it a shot. I spoke for a minute or two in broken kannada, explaining I wanted to see earrings which hung like this and pointing out at colors....to which they laughed at me and said, Madamji, Aap hindi me bole. (Mam, you can speak in hindi|). I was so relieved and we had a good but expensive time buying stuff. Not knowing the local lingo meant, Im not from around there and the prices will not be cheap. Can you believe it, they were rajasthani boys who spoke fluent kannada and tulu. Absolutely mind blown.
So knowing the local phrases will just mean you are honoring them by trying to be polite and loving their country.
What else?
8. Take into consideration the flight times and transit hours and the stays in the various airports. When you are in your 20s, staying awake for 2 days doesnt interfere with your body or life. But when you are older, have kids and are travelling, not getting the proper sleep can have a major impact. I could stay awake for 48 hours up to the age of 27 or 34.....but then it was like a landslide of life. If I dont get enough sleep now..besides falling asleep wherever I sit with my damn mouth wide open and drool seeping out , like a toddler I guess, my eyelids swell up,,I get nasty cranky...I get these murderous instincts....You dont need to play night crawler...I become one. And without my caffeine shots in the name of strong black tea...Im unmanageable. You dont want to land at your destination and spend a solid whole day sleeping in , trying to fight off the side effects of age and ruin an entire day. So make sure you sleep wherever you can. Like in Dubai, you have these wonderful chairs where you can sleep in. Use it...dont be ashamed... Make yourself comfortable and sleep when you can if time allows. I never sleep in a plane unless my mind yanks my brain socket out and I just go unconscious. Im distracted by movies and series. Listen to easy music and just sleep.
Hmm........
9. Carry your medications for the duration of your trip. Dont miscalculate the number of tablets. I have too many, so this step is for those few. I would suggest carrying a tummy upset medication as well and panadols handy. What if you ate something in your flight and it went downhill after that. If you have dry eyes , carry eye drops and eye packs. Dont know what exactly they are called...the cooling pads ,travel friendly ones that you just pull over your eyes.I have had dry eyes issues and tummy upset issues and this nasty man who coughed and spewed his germs on the both of us. We literally were severely sick from a never ending cold for 2 weeks. God knows what that man bought in his nostrils from Europe but it was nasty. I had the worst vacation ever.
10. Dont wear makeup and lens while travelling unless its just half an hour to one hour flight. I have seen women decked up from head to toe in a 5 hour long flight. They are massaging their feet coz their heels are killing them....their face looks all caked up....Its hilarious actually. I have seen women pull out their makeup bag just before landing and apply full on makeup over their old makeup....combing their hair to perfection..putting on nail polish and jewelry at the last moment. WTF ! Unless you were meeting your better half or lustful half after a long hiatus at the airport....
11. Converting currency. Check that exchange rate as to where it would be cheaper and better to convert your money into foreign goodness. In some places, they take local currency at the airport. I starved once in Mumbai because I had dinars and they didnt want to accept it. Nightmare during red eye flights.But this was ages and eons ago. But its true....some places they accept most currencies...some places they just dont.
12. Using toilets when you can. Of course in long flights, its unavoidable. But during short journeys, use the good old airport toilets when you can. The toilets on the plane... lets just take a second and not more than that to talk about those. Maybe its the bane of travelling economy flights....so many people just dont know how to use a toilet. How can water be sprayed all over? Why cant you dispose off your pads and tissues properly into the bins? Whats stopping you from pushing your hand a bit further into the bin, than eyeballing it from a distance and hoping it will pop in. What is wrong with you? Why cant you wipe the place dry after you finish? Do you have to act like a neanderthal , as if you dont know how to wash yourself after you do your deeds? Idiots and there is no shortage of them. Its because of nincompoops like them, I literally avoid flight loos and control my soul and pee till I land. Its because of you, I curse the human who went before me...coz Now Im standing there, wiping the place dry, so that I can use it without fearing death from some flesh eating bacteria. Ughhh the memories....
13. If you know the food served on flight wont be good as some economy flights are, eat before you leave home. I dont want to sit in a plane dying of hunger coz they served crap or they served way too little. Eat a light meal or large meal, whatever your body needs before you travel. If you are travelling first class or business...these info is not for you.
So Thats what I can remember right now...I just about covered the main points . If I think of anymore...I will add it here. If you have anything important you think needs mentioning...comment and I will add it.
I hope it was helpful.
