Cost v Flexibility

Stoi · Oct 10th, 2003, 20:32

Hi everyone,

well i have just decided to give up my job and head off to India in January (woo hoo)! I have no exact plan for the length of the trip and am keen to just see how it all pans out. Thing is i dont have a lot of cash, less than 3k for everything incl the flight(s) so obviously need to watch the pennies.

Now i expect to stay in India/Nepal for at least 14 weeks and then am not sure. I may decide to stay longer or i may to decide to move on to Thailand/Cambodia etc or may indeed return to Glasgow.

What is the cheapest way to do this and maintain optimum flexibility? Should i try and get a cheap package deal to Goa, and ignore the return leg, and then just see what happens buying tickets when i want them or should i be a bit more careful in my planning and sort of book a RTW ticket? I am worried if i end up buying tickets ad-hoc i will end up paying a lot more than a RTW ticket. Or rather than the Goa ticket should i get an open return to e.g. Delhi and any further travels i do i would just need to ensure i return to Delhi?

Another possibility is that i borrow some more money and decide definitley to do more of a RTW trip.

I would appreciate all thoughts/suggestions on this.

Cheers!
Stoi

jonnybardo · Oct 11th, 2003, 01:23

Hi Stoi,
I'm currently in Kovalam (in southern India) in the early part of an 8 1/2 month "modified" RTW trip (Thailand for two weeks, India and Nepal for 6 1/2 months, Europe for six weeks). Things are probably a bit different for me as I live in the US, but I'll tell you what I did for tickets and what I'd do differently in the future.

WHAT I DID: I bought two "RTW-esque" tickets for my wife and I from a brokerage in the USA which was very easy and pretty affordable: $1250 each ticket from Seattle to Los Angeles to Bangkok to Mumbai; from Delhi to Frankfurt; from London to New York. With taxes it set us back $2800 for both tickets--not too bad, considering. For RTW tickets, it doesn't get much cheaper than that.

WHAT I'D DO NEXT TIME: Probably just buy one way tickets (if doing a RTW-type trip) to Bangkok and then wing it from there. I was a bit leary about this option before leaving the States as I'm a novice world traveler, but seeing some of the prices of flights from Bangkok makes this option rather appealing. I'd fly into Bangkok (one way from the US for as low as $400) and then go spend a few days on Khao San rd (the "traveller's ghetto" of Bangkok) and book a flight to India from there. It would probably have saved us a few hundred dollars as well as being more flexible.

Now the tricky thing which I haven't figured out is whether it is affordable to book flights within India to Europe or the US, or whether one should try to book the remaining flights from within Bangkok (sort of an abbreviated RTW).

I'm not sure if it is any cheaper to fly to Bangkok from Europe than to India...

bijapuri · Oct 11th, 2003, 01:27

johnnyb- I live in CAl too, where did ya pick up that RTW ticket? it's a very good price, much better than my usual bucket shop price!

Thanx in advance for the info

BiJ

Oct 10th, 2003, 20:32	#1
Stoi Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Glasgow Posts: 30	Cost v Flexibility Hi everyone, well i have just decided to give up my job and head off to India in January (woo hoo)! I have no exact plan for the length of the trip and am keen to just see how it all pans out. Thing is i dont have a lot of cash, less than 3k for everything incl the flight(s) so obviously need to watch the pennies. Now i expect to stay in India/Nepal for at least 14 weeks and then am not sure. I may decide to stay longer or i may to decide to move on to Thailand/Cambodia etc or may indeed return to Glasgow. What is the cheapest way to do this and maintain optimum flexibility? Should i try and get a cheap package deal to Goa, and ignore the return leg, and then just see what happens buying tickets when i want them or should i be a bit more careful in my planning and sort of book a RTW ticket? I am worried if i end up buying tickets ad-hoc i will end up paying a lot more than a RTW ticket. Or rather than the Goa ticket should i get an open return to e.g. Delhi and any further travels i do i would just need to ensure i return to Delhi? Another possibility is that i borrow some more money and decide definitley to do more of a RTW trip. I would appreciate all thoughts/suggestions on this. Cheers! Stoi

Oct 11th, 2003, 01:27	#3
bijapuri Lord of Kalinjar Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: the real surf city Posts: 2,646	johnnyb- I live in CAl too, where did ya pick up that RTW ticket? it's a very good price, much better than my usual bucket shop price! Thanx in advance for the info BiJ __________________ lookit me!!!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bijapuri/ Utube fuzzy logic: http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=bijapuri&p =r

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
cost of living nov-feb	tim_from_oz	Packing Tips for India travel	5	Jul 12th, 2006 02:26
Conveyance cost	babuchand	Trekking and Mountaineering in India	2	May 10th, 2005 19:23
Cost of Living	Gaye	Packing Tips for India travel	2	Oct 12th, 2004 05:31
How much would it cost?	Shakyamuni	Chai and Chat	5	Sep 13th, 2004 04:59

Oct 11th, 2003, 01:23	#2
jonnybardo Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: mysore for now Posts: 78	Hi Stoi, I'm currently in Kovalam (in southern India) in the early part of an 8 1/2 month "modified" RTW trip (Thailand for two weeks, India and Nepal for 6 1/2 months, Europe for six weeks). Things are probably a bit different for me as I live in the US, but I'll tell you what I did for tickets and what I'd do differently in the future. WHAT I DID: I bought two "RTW-esque" tickets for my wife and I from a brokerage in the USA which was very easy and pretty affordable: $1250 each ticket from Seattle to Los Angeles to Bangkok to Mumbai; from Delhi to Frankfurt; from London to New York. With taxes it set us back $2800 for both tickets--not too bad, considering. For RTW tickets, it doesn't get much cheaper than that. WHAT I'D DO NEXT TIME: Probably just buy one way tickets (if doing a RTW-type trip) to Bangkok and then wing it from there. I was a bit leary about this option before leaving the States as I'm a novice world traveler, but seeing some of the prices of flights from Bangkok makes this option rather appealing. I'd fly into Bangkok (one way from the US for as low as $400) and then go spend a few days on Khao San rd (the "traveller's ghetto" of Bangkok) and book a flight to India from there. It would probably have saved us a few hundred dollars as well as being more flexible. Now the tricky thing which I haven't figured out is whether it is affordable to book flights within India to Europe or the US, or whether one should try to book the remaining flights from within Bangkok (sort of an abbreviated RTW). I'm not sure if it is any cheaper to fly to Bangkok from Europe than to India...