Honeymoon trip through tourism or plan by our own?

Preethi

Hello every one,

I am planning to give a surprise to my hubby, by booking a honeymoon trip. Planned to go to Simla and Manali...

Some of my friends asked me to book with either Tamilnadu tourism, himachal tourism or Indian tourism... They are saying it is not safe to plan by our own. They wanted it to be a safe journey that’s why they are suggesting for government authorized travels...

Please help me, what to do?

Thanks in advance
Preethi

arconsaurabh

if it is before 15 june plan corbett nation park.as two gates(out of three) of park will get close by 15 june.from there to nanital..hardly 60 km away... saal forest of corbet,deodar forest ,pine forest..,natural springs,rivers...seasonal waterfall..are main attraction of uttranchal himachal

if u plan in augst sep plan south india beautyful waterfall and wild life,beacheskarnataka,kerala will waiting for u.

Preethi

I am going to travel by last week of August and I am planning to stay for 7 days...

South India, no yar, I belong to South India... It’s my honeymoon trip, want it to be special and in my budget...

Please let me know whether booking through tourism like Indian tourism is good for simla, manali???

abhi182

Both Simla and Manali will be thronging with tourists, and not the ideal spot for a honeymoon
There are tonnes of other places in Himachal that would just perfect though

Chail & Mashobra are a few names off the top of my head...

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Preethi

thanks for the reply... Chail & Mashobra and other places where there in my mind... but my parents will not allow... Even for manali(crowded place) they are thinking thousands of times...

mani

hello Preethi,

Manali & shimla are perfectly safe as long as you are careful as in any other place in India. august would mean rains & that could be a pain i\or a boon depending on how you see it. by the way why are your parents not convinced about your trip to the north.

what is your Budget may be if you can come up with some figures we could help you plan your trip better.

all the best
mani

abhi182

Actually most of Himachal is extremely safe...At least as safe if not more than Chennai

Preethi

Thanks mani and abhi182 for your reply...

Let me be frank, so that I can get better suggestions from you people...
My parents are worried because of the following reasons...

1) I never been there, it is very new for me and my hubby...
2) They are worried because it near to Jammu & Kashmir, u know terrorist... ha ha...
3) Some of our relations said to mom that, in hotel they have hidden camera, using which they shot and sell it to foreign countries... (Hope you understood what I am trying to say)

Mani I have planned to make it by 40,000rs... is that enough or too much???
Rain not an issue, me and he likes it very much... will it be cold at that time???

mani

For me this amount would last atleast a 15 - 20 days. but then thats me.

will post more later.

mani

nayan

Hello Preethy
Congrats on the upcoming wedding.

1. As mentioned by Abhi... the himalayan areas are very very safe other than very few isolated pockets where a normal tourist will not think of going anyway. Manali is like the honeymoon capital of India. you will find a million other honeymooning couples around - quite a few of them will be from the south of India.

2. terrorism is a problem in J&K specifically in the kashmir valley. I dont think anyone cancels a trip to vaishno devi(jammu region) or to leh (ladakh region)due to fear of terrorism. And you are talking here of an entirely different state. It is definitely not an issue in any place in himachal pradesh

3. about peekaboo cameras - just as Mani says you can get that anywhere. Just dont do anything to give them a good recording

you can plan the trip very safely yourself.

book the flight tickets (chennai del return) and volvo tickets(delhi manali return) on the net.

prebook a nice hotel in manali and ask them to pick you up at the bus stand.

once you are in manali you can arrange local siteseeing trips with your hotel or through numerous local travel agencies. this way you have full flexibility over your itiniery.

In a budget of 40000 you will have a very comfortable trip as long as you are not expecting five star facilities.

return airfare - 12000 approx(4 X 3000)
return volvo fare + cab in delhi - 3000 approx
So you have about 25000 to spend on hotel and local sight seeing and food, shopping etc

Should be a nice honeymoon

mani

ditto
thanks nayan was going to post a longer post later

mani

abhi182

English will get you by in most of Himachal if you don't speak Hindi...Delhi is another story altogether though (since you will be transiting via Delhi)

It's like someone getting worried about going to Tamilnadu since it is close to Sri Lanka
Himachal bordes the Leh region of J/K
There are absolutely no terrorism problems in HP

If your budget is 40K, then you can easily afford to avoid the seedy hotels which would put you at a risk to such an incident

I would still strongly recommend avoiding Manali and Shimla
Think of the crowds that throng Ooty / Kodai in the peak of Summer and multiply the commotion X 2

HP has several other relatively less well known but far more recommendable spots , just google around

(If I were you, I'd take upa suite at the Chail palace )

Preethi

Hi, nayan special thanks to you...

Mani thanks once again for your reply... your suggestion are required more...

nayan my question is booking the trip through tourism is worth?

If I am planning to go on our own, i am planning to stay in "Apple resort" is it good? or any other good hotels?

So as per our last discussions,

Schedule:

Day 01: Chennai - Delhi - Manali
Chennai to Delhi Flight
Delhi Airport to Bus Stand
Volvo Semi sleeper A/C Bus at Delhi to Manali.

Preethi

Thanks abhi182...

Now I feel comfortable with place now...so Manali is fixed ha ha ... Language will not be a problem.. Because I can understand, it and my hubby can speak Hindi like north Indians...

nayan

Frankly - I would not book the trip through any travel agency (be it private or govt). You have less flexibility and pay more for things you could have perfectly well done by yourself.

But if your parents are feeling paranoid then this may be a good compromise.

About hotels - manali has a zillion hotels. We have members who are frequent travellers to himachal. I am sure they can give some good hotel recommendations according to your budget