RAINS ? NO BIG DEAL

Agreed, it8217;s not the best time of the year to travel. If your life or that of your companions is synchronised to school or college timetables, getting away for any length of time will invite the label 8220;bunker8221;. Even if you can get away, rains8212;and there seems to be so much more of it than usual in so many parts of the country8212;can easily ruin a good holiday.
That notion is a little sweeping. If you try, you can get around schedules, and around the rain8212;and get away. And there are good reasons why you should consider getting away in these monsoon months. Being the travel off-season, tour operators, hotels and airlines are all offering discounts of 10-50 per cent, with a sizeable number leaning towards bigger discounts. Says Hari V. Krishnan, Vice-President, Travelguru, a travel portal: 8220;People prefer to take short breaks in this season. We have negotiated deals with hotels and are offering discounts of 10-40 per cent.8221; Adds Deep Kalra, CEO, MakeMytrip.com: 8220;Discounts of up to 50 per cent are available on air fares.8221; Not only is travel lighter on the wallet, you also avoid the crowds of May, June and December. As for the destinations, surprise, surprise, there are lots to choose from.

The places
There are ample places that are not held hostage to nature8217;s moods, both within and outside India. In India, hills are off the itinerary, but popular destinations like Goa and Kerala are on. Says Kalra: 8220;Goa is popular around this time of the year. It is green and there are intermittent showers, making it a pleasant stay. Plus, package prices drop to about one-third or one-fourth the peak-season price.8221; Adds Dhruv Shringi, cofounder, Yatra.com: 8220;Rajasthan and Ooty are also worth considering.8221;
Even if you can8217;t, or don8217;t want to, take off for a longer holiday, short jaunts are possible. From virtually every metro, there are places that will welcome you even at this time of the year. From Delhi, for instance, there8217;s Jaipur and other places in Rajasthan. Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar and Kihim are a drive of two to three hours from Mumbai. From Bangalore, there8217;s Munnar and Kodaikanal. Tour operators are offering attractive deals to all these places. Abroad, Southeast Asia is a good option. Says Shringi: 8220;Singapore, Bangkok and Australia are popular around this time.8221; They are close and, more importantly, within the budget of many more families than they would be in the busy season.

The prices
All major tour operators have slashed the prices for their popular packages. In terms of absolute price saving, sometimes even on a percentage basis, the biggest deals are in outbound travel. 8220;The best bargains are in hotels these days,8221; reveals Krishnan.
Travelguru is offering two nights in Thailand at Rs 2,000 per person, which includes sightseeing, a tour to Coral island and breakfast. The cost per person for two nights to Malaysia is Rs 3,500, while three nights in Sri Lanka comes for Rs 5,000. 8220;We haven8217;t included flight costs as air fares are dynamic. If you book in advance, you can get a cheaper deal than what a travel operator is offering,8221; says Krishnan.
There are discounts galore even in all-inclusive, customised packages. Sometimes these are tailored in as freebies, as in the case of SOTC packages to Australia and China. On its Australia packages, the duration of which ranges from three to five days, SOTC is offering two nights as complementary and sight seeing worth Rs 25,000. For China, it is upgrading its 10-day package holders Rs 95,550 per person to 14-day packages Rs 1.06 lakh per person at no extra cost.
Then, there are bundled deals. Yatra, for instance, is offering the second person a 50 per cent discount on the package cost for select destinations. 8220;During monsoons, couples make up a majority of travellers. This deal is valid for places like Kerala, Rajasthan, Goa, Ooty, Darjeeling and Shimla,8221; says Shringi. The discount is applicable on the entire package cost, including air fares, hotel stay and sight seeing.
Besides the discounted package costs, some operators are also offering deals with add-ons. Cox and Kings, for instance, is offering a 2 per cent discount on the exchange rate. So, if you purchased 4,000 from Cox and Kings on July 12, a 2 per cent discount would mean an additional 125. It8217;s time you got those bags down.