The other day a friend called. He was travelling to Mangalore from Mumbai
over the May 1 long weekend. He
cribbed that a ONE WAY Mumbai Mangalore air ticket was 10k, and Club Mahindra Resort in Coorg was
charging 15,000 per night. I was astounded...... over the last decade, my experience has been that India has become increasingly pricey, and overseas travel has become increasingly
affordable.
TYPICAL
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY AIRFARES,
RETURN INCLUDING ALL TAXES AND FEES, ONE MONTH PRIOR BOOKING, COMPARE WITH WHAT MANY DOMESTIC LONG HAUL
AIRFARES COST IN HIGH SEASON.
Dubai :- 12k to 18k.
Rest of Middle East,
upto Egypt : - 15k to 25k.
Europe :- 30k - 45k
depending on carrier.
USA :- 40K – 55k depending
on carrier, to New York. Some airlines can get this as low as
32-35k.
South East Asia including Hong Kong :-
15k to 25k, you can get as low
as 6-10k depending on departure city and
advance booking period. For 5k extra,
you can get an additional South East
country, upto Philippines or Bali. 10k extra
will get you to China, Korea and
Japan.
East and South Africa
:- 25k – 35k
Australia :-
25-35k, you can get as low as
15-20k depending on departure city and
advance booking period. Another 15k and you can add New Zealand
or Fiji to your Australia itinerary.
A cruise :- Which is
an all inclusive holiday in that acco,
food, transportation and entertainment is paid for, USD 50/ night in the Caribbean and
Mediterranean, and as low as USD
100/night in other geographies. 3th and 4th passengers in same
cabin pay much less, often only port
taxes and food.
How To Budget for an overseas holiday.
a)
Figure out your airfare from above list and visa
cost (ranges from free to 6-10k for
USA, UK,
Europe, Australia, NZ).
This is a fixed cost irrespective of how long you are travelling.
b)
DAILY BUDGET
: For two or more adults
travelling, a reasonable clean hotel in
city centre location, decent food, internal
travel, sightseeing (but excluding shopping and big ticket adventure items like hot air
ballooning in Masai Mara) can generally be managed for
USA, Canada, Australia,
New Zealand, Japan :-
USD 100/adult, + USD 50/child
Europe : Euro 100/adult, + 50 euro / child, UK would be 20% more pricey due to expensive sights and
strong currency.
Almost all of Asia + Africa : USD 75/adult + USD 25/child. WILDLIFE SAFARIS WILL COST EXTRA.
Shoestring
backpackers and couchsurfers can
do it for half the amount indicated above.