It's already baking hot and beads of perspiration are more due to weather than stress, but this is a good sign because it means summer holidays are coming. Children's examinations are over, and increment time is just round the corner--both good excuses to pack bags and fly away.

This year, Mint Money's holiday special's theme is international travel. Did you say "too expensive"? Did you know that there are international destinations that are cheaper than others without being dangerous or tourism unfriendly? And these aren't necessarily budget or low-cost destinations. Spending smartly can get you a great vacation at bargain prices. It could be a new destination, or an old one that's unexpectedly cheaper this year. Or, it could just be the way you travel once you reach there.

Here are five international travel ideas that will make your rupee go further.

Euro, my friend

Now's the time to go to Europe. Thanks to the fall in euro, your flights, hotels and overall costs are bound to be cheaper than last year. The euro is down 18% in the past one year--so while you had to pay Rs.82.37 for one euro a year ago, now you have to pay about Rs.67.50.

The weaker currency is good for international travellers. "In the first quarter of 2015, we saw a double-digit growth on (Internet) searches for various European destinations by Indian travellers on Hotels.com," said Amit Agarwal, marketing manager, Hotels.com, an accommodation booking portal. According to it, a typical 4-star hotel in London is now available for Rs.9,000-10,000 a night, down from Rs.13,000-15,000 earlier. In Brussels (Belgium), it will be Rs.11,000-13,000 a night, versus Rs.15,000-18,000 earlier.

Apart from the currency dynamics, within Europe, there are good bargains to be had in terms of destinations. For instance, travel experts recommend places in eastern Europe such as Budapest, Prague and Vienna, as overall costs are lesser here than elsewhere. According to www.budapestbylocals.com (an independent local travel guide), a meal in Budapest would cost Rs.300-650 per person in moderately priced restaurants. A similar meal in a Paris mid-range restaurant could cost about Rs.1,500 with wine.

"Places such as Prague and Budapest will not only get you cheaper flight and hotel deals, but are also value for money while dining out. In fact, Budapest, the Hungarian capital, is considered one of the most affordable cities in the region, though one has to go a bit away from the centre to find inexpensive hotels," said Neelu Singh, chief operations officer, Ezeego1.com, a travel portal. "Spain and Portugal will cost a lot less this summer owing to the fall in euro," added Singh.

All the travel companies that we spoke to confirmed a surge of Indians travelling towards Europe this year. "The fluctuating euro has worked in our favour, and we are seeing a significant surge in bookings, upwards of 27%," said Jatinder Paul Singh, senior vice-president and head-sales and distribution, leisure travel (outbound), Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.

Block an apartment

There's no place like home, so there's no reason why you can't have similar comforts when travelling abroad. Many cities, especially in Europe, offer rental apartments that come with a living room, bedrooms and a kitchen. Sure, you may not want to cook when on a holiday but an apartment offers flexibility.

If you are in a big group, such as families with seniors or small children, hotels can become expensive as the number of people goes up. Also, every meal need not be bought at a restaurant. Some basic cooking at an apartment can help you save the Rs.300 or so that you would have otherwise spent on, say, coffee.

Try to look for apartments that are a little away from the city centre. The further away you go, the better will be the deal. Same's true for hotels. For instance, in Switzerland, a standard 3-star accommodation in Zurich will cost about Rs.10,000 a night for two. A similar accommodation in Lucerne, a popular lake town 50km from Zurich (less than an hour's train ride) costs about Rs.11,000 a night. But if you rent an apartment in a small town called Ringgenberg, which is 70km from Lucerne, the cost is about Rs.7,000 a night for two. Ringgenberg is barely 6 minutes away from Interlaken by road (where a 3-star hotel would cost about Rs.7,500 a night for two), a famous tourist site in Switzerland.

What's more, the cost remains the same in an apartment even if you are more than two people, while in hotels, if there is an extra adult or a child, you will have to pay more. "We suggest apartments when a family is travelling as it turns out to be much cheaper. Apartments are also a good way to travel for honeymooners as these are a little away from the city," said Ushma Doshi, founder and partner, Venetian Vacations, a Mumbai-based travel company that customizes holidays. Moreover, such apartments are usually near grocery stores "in case you want to cook something for a child or an elderly person", added Doshi.

Go flashpacking

What do you when you land at a foreign location? Visit a museum, go to a monument, perhaps a visit to the botanical garden? The usual stuff? Pune-based Ayesha Ghandy, her sister Sanaya Ghandy and their friend Arjun Malhotra felt that this tick-box way of travelling does not suit everyone. That's when No Thepla Holidays, their travel firm, was born.

Born out of the urge to experience a place, food and its culture, instead of only monument-hopping, No Thepla Holidays is, quite literally, a party on the road. And along the way, you get to taste of the local cuisine, party every once in a while, visit off-beat locations, do lots of outdoor activities such as scuba diving, or indulge in a wine fight, attend a music concert and many other such activities wherever possible. In other words, it is experiential travelling with like-minded individuals. Every trip (only international destinations as of now), is with a group of 8-10 people; mostly singles, but couples are welcome as well. "We choose off-beat places. When we do go to a touristy place like Paris, we go to an event like a music festival," said Ayesha.

The stay is in hostels, "but not as cheap as those where a typical backpacker stays", added Ayesha. These hostels have private rooms--preferably air-conditioned--with private baths. Or, spacious dormitories. The itineraries are made to coincide with food or wine festivals or music concerts. Ticket prices are included in the overall cost. The firm's first trip was organized in June 2014, to Paris and Spain, and had the Fete De La Musique festival and the San Vino wine fight festival as the highlights.

Trips are economical. An 8-day Vietnam trip in October 2014, for instance, cost about Rs.40,000 per person. Accommodation, outdoor activities and a few meals are included but enough flexibility is offered so people are nudged to try out local cuisine.

Emerging stars

The glitzy and glamourous locales around the world may be on every traveller's bucket list, but these are also costly and often over-crowded. For the discerning and experienced traveller, emerging destinations hold a lot of charm. Cambodia and Vietnam are two examples. Air fares are lesser as they are closer to India; and currency is cheap on account of being developing countries.

Beautiful beaches, exotic cuisine and the famous Angkor Wat temples in Siem Reap (Cambodia) are attractions that are gaining popularity. In fact, TripAdvisor rates Siem Reap and Hanoi (Vietnam) second and fourth, respectively, in its top 25 destinations of the world for 2015.

According to Hotels.com, the highest priced 4-star hotel in Bangkok, in neighbouring Thailand, for 1-8 May stay is about Rs.27,600 per night. For Singapore, it is around Rs.22,200, and for Hong Kong about Rs.24,500. In Siem Reap, the highest priced 4-star resort for a similar stay costs about Rs.14,300 per night.

In Europe, too, there are similar emerging destinations. Singh recommends Cesky Krumlov, a small town in southern Czech Republic. "The town offers low prices and high quality--complete value for money. For example, one can enjoy a filling meal of local favourites for around $4," said Singh.

Politically sensitive or economically perturbed

Some countries that were politically sensitive in the past few years are now returning to normal. Egypt is an example. Prices of hotels in Egypt are about $100 lesser per person than what they were two years back, said Doshi. From the Pyramids and the Sphinx to a river cruise across river Nile, travel experts say that Egypt has a lot to offer. Moreover, the political conflict that was on till recently, led to a fall in prices for tourists. For instance, a trip consisting of a 3-night cruise on river Nile, two nights in Cairo and one night in Luxor, in 5-star hotels, now costs about $465 (Rs.29,000) per person, as opposed to $575 (about Rs.35,836) two years ago, and that too in 4-star hotels. Doshi, in fact, claims that out of every 100 Indian tourists to have gone to Egypt through their travel firm in the past six months, 85 have received free upgrades (to a better-rated hotel or rooms in the same hotel). "Tourism is really needed in countries like Egypt as in the last season, almost all hotels and cruise companies had wafer thin occupancy," she added.

Some travel experts also recommend Greece, on account of the financial troubles that it has been facing, and the resultant drop in prices of hotels and packages. For instance, a 6-day package (to Athens, Santorini and Mykonos) is available at almost the same cost (about Rs.69,000) as it was in 2013 (Rs.70,000).

Cheaper skies

When you are planning an international trip, generally the biggest expense is the flight tickets, especially if you are flying to far off countries or countries that are not well connected. But a recent increase in the number of low-cost airlines on certain routes has brought down cost of travel. "Destinations such as Dubai and Bangkok have seen an increase in the number of low-cost carriers. This has led to impulse travel as well. Introduction of new carriers such as Malindo Air a year ago has also led to fall in cost on these routes," said Samyukth Sridharan, president and chief operations officer, Cleartrip.com. "In the past two years, prices have fallen by 50% in these pockets. Travellers are also benefiting from the intense competition we see in pockets such as Hong Kong," added Sridharan.

A similar trend can be seen in West Asia as well. For instance, said Sridharan, "Abu Dhabi has seen intense competition because of which cost of flights from Delhi to Abu Dhabi has dropped while that for Dubai remains high. We have seen travellers taking advantage of the prices in this region by flying to Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai."

In 2014, direct flights were launched from India to Seychelles, Australia, Vietnam and Paris, which has also brought down cost.

"You should keep a tab on such information. People take advantage of the new direct flights, which reduces the total cost of travel," said Sridharan.

All these examples clearly show that a little bit of careful planning can easily give you a holiday that you remember for the great times you had, and not for how expensive every thing was.

(c)2015 the Mint (New Delhi)

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