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Old 16th July 2013, 12:46   #1
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Holiday within a budget of Rs. 1 lakh?

Hi guys,

I have to plan a family vacation for 5 adults, for (or before) the month of September. I have kept a budget of INR 1.2 lakh and broadly, there two types of vacation, that I/we would like to do:

1) Spend 50% of the money and more than 50% of the time traveling on the road to and back from a destination. Yeah I do believe, literally, that the journey is more fun than the destination. What is your recommendation for a trip based on such a scenario? (please help with choosing the destination, as well as places to stay)

We are based in Jalandhar, and a limitation is that we don't want to go further south of Goa and further east of West Bengal. Reason being, we did a week long road trip in Coorg earlier this year and W.Bengal (the culture, the people, the language, Calcutta, Bengali sweets etc) is my weakness. If I land there, I stay put there.(I am not a Bengali, though). Also as my mother would be along, I won't compromise on the quality of stay. So, perhaps this would at best be a 9 day trip.

From a planning perspective, Goa would be one extreme if chosen. And these are my rough calculations for the extreme case.
Jal - Goa round trip distance: 4500kms;
Innova kmpl: 12;
Average cost of diesel: INR 55;
Approx nights on the road : 6 (3 drivers between us)
Per night, per room cost on the road : INR 3k. (2 rooms)
Food estimate per day: INR 1500 (not foodies, so this should be good)
Based on above parameters, i expect the traveling part to cost approximately Rs 70k.

This leaves me with 40k. Here the aim would be to stay in the best place possible in the destination. Assuming each room costs on average 6k and we hire 2, we can stay in the destination for 2 nights.


2) The second option is that we go up north to a hill station. Save on the traveling costs and stay there for a longish period, say between 15 - 20 days and just explore, explore and explore. For.e.g I know this great place to stay in Dalhousie. And I always wanted to just live there for 2-3 weeks at a stretch. Do the evening walks, explore Kalatop, cycle to Khajjiar or just be there and stare at the mountains. Problem is everyone in the family is out off sync with Dalhousie as the choice for a destination. And I don't know of any other secluded cottage/homestay offering some amount of luxury and also be at a mountainous height in the whole of HP, J&K & Uttarkhand. So any recommendations that fit the bill?


Probably I am looking to strike a balance between exploring and comfort. I want to get out and see the world, but I want everyone else for company and experience it too. At the same time don't really want them to be out of their comfort zones, just because I would like to be.

Cheers!
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Old 16th July 2013, 16:42   #2
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re: Holiday within a budget of Rs. 1 lakh?

Nice idea!

If I were you I would opt for the Second Option.
After all part of the purpose of the holiday is to just chill and soak in the ambience of the place!
Dalhousie and its immediate environs with all those lovely hill walks sounds just perfect!
A little effort on convincing the rest of the gang on your part...the end justifies the means!
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Originally Posted by rrsteer View Post
Hi guys,

2) The second option is that we go up north to a hill station. Save on the traveling costs and stay there for a longish period, say between 15 - 20 days and just explore, explore and explore. For.e.g I know this great place to stay in Dalhousie. And I always wanted to just live there for 2-3 weeks at a stretch. Do the evening walks, explore Kalatop, cycle to Khajjiar or just be there and stare at the mountains. Problem is everyone in the family is out off sync with Dalhousie as the choice for a destination. And I don't know of any other secluded cottage/homestay offering some amount of luxury and also be at a mountainous height in the whole of HP, J&K & Uttarkhand. So any recommendations that fit the bill?

Last edited by shankar.balan : 16th July 2013 at 16:43.
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Old 16th July 2013, 17:40   #3
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Rajasthan would be a nice place to visit around October. You can even book a nice travel package with advance bookings.you can take your car along for the drive.
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Old 16th July 2013, 21:02   #4
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We did a complete week in Manali and it was the most amazing vacation we ever took ! Morning walks, afternoon mall strolls, sumptuous food, amazing eateries and managers, the place has it all. You can PM me in case you need any details.
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Old 16th July 2013, 21:21   #5
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re: Holiday within a budget of Rs. 1 lakh?

Not sure where you should head to but surely the option A doesn't sound good to me. 6 days out of the 9 you would be on the road and I am sure the tiredness of that long journey would eat into your remaining 2 days in Goa. If you want to drive then choose a destination closer to home, maximum around 1000 kms. If you want to go further away then rather fly or take the train.
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Old 18th July 2013, 06:06   #6
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re: Holiday within a budget of Rs. 1 lakh?

Forget goa, Travel up north and have a leisure stay. If possible, go up till ladakh and spend time at pangong tso, tso mo riri and nubra valley. Beautiful places. You can call them paradise!
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Old 18th July 2013, 16:45   #7
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Re: Holiday within a budget of Rs. 1 lakh?

My vote will also be for option 2. Khajjiar is good place to relax if one can ignore the hawkers. The HPTDC property at Khajjiar is decent and your family might like it. I stayed at the Forrest Rest House in Kalatop. The view that it offers is amazing however, it is not a luxurious place to stay. I went there during the monsoon and the rooms were damp and there were many creepy crawlies outside the room. The stay there is more functional than luxurious. Thus, I checked out after one night and went to Mcleodganj. That place has some good hotels and the food is also great. In nine days you can comfortably manage Khajjiar, Mcleodganj and the surrounding areas.
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