Not planned your summer holiday yet? 5 hacks to bring your last-minute travel costs down

(Illustration by Suneesh K)

With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions after two years of the pandemic, families and friends are making last-minute plans for summer holidays in India and overseas. But flights are expensive because of rising fuel prices, and hotels and resorts have increased room tariffs to take advantage of the demand.

Last-minute vacation plans are hard to execute because you have to book your travel tickets and reserve hotel rooms within a budget and make sure at the same time that your family has a good time. Here are some tips to simplify the process.

Go to an off-season destination

Your choice of destination can stretch your budget. For instance, cooler destinations in summer are far more expensive. That’s because most of us would like to head to the hills to beat the summer heat of the plains.

According to Cleartrip.com, the cheapest Mumbai-Srinagar return journey between May 28 and June 4 costs around Rs 26,000. The cheapest Mumbai-Leh return ticket costs around Rs 43,500.

But the cheapest Mumbai – Bhubaneshwar round trip costs only around Rs 14,600. And the cheapest Mumbai-Coimbatore round trip costs around Rs 15,000. From Coimbatore, you can even travel to cooler destinations like Ooty, Coonoor, Valparai and so on.

“You shouldn’t spend money randomly out of excitement during a last-minute vacation. Avoid making impulsive budget decisions that can wipe out your savings,” says Harshil Morjaria, a Mumbai-based certified financial planner at ValueCurve Financial Solutions.

Avoid road + air trips

Destinations like Ladakh or hill stations like Shimla and Manali also entail long road journeys to places of interest nearby besides flights to get there. Road trips can dent your budget because of high fuel costs.

If you are planning a last-minute holiday, it’s best to keep it simple. Choose a destination where you stay in one or at the most two cities so you can use public transport, rent a self-drive car or a two-wheeler to lower your transport costs. To travel by public transport, you have the option of regular trains, buses and now metro trains in some cities.

“Transport around town comes in even more permutations, ranging in Kolkata, for example, from human-pulled rickshaws to a state-of-the-art metro system,” said a spokesperson for Rough Guides, a travel advisory firm.

Also read | Window seats and tasty meals: How airlines charge you over the base fare

Chuck the weekend, fly mid-week

The most important thing is to decide the right travel option to reach your destination. Getting confirmed tickets within your budget will be a challenge as prices soar.

Also, Indian Railways and airlines follow a dynamic pricing system while booking seats, so price increases with demand. You also don’t get any discounts or deals on your flights at the last moment.

You should look for cheaper alternatives when booking your flights “Fly mid-week instead of the weekend as the flights are cheaper if you fly mid-week,” said Vishrut Gandhi, founder of Udaan Holidays.

For instance, Mumbai-to-Delhi flights listed on the travel website MakeMyTrip cost around Rs 8,042 on the weekend and around Rs 6,520 between Tuesday and Thursday at the end of May.

“Also, mix and match flight options to get the lowest fare. Do a price and service comparison on travel websites like Yatra, Makemytrip, Cleartrip, etc,” said the spokesperson for a tour operator.

Use up your miles or card benefits

If you have a credit card offering benefits on your hotel bookings, then claim them on your last-minute vacations.

A credit card with hotel benefits can make your travel a lot more convenient and also allow you to save money. With such cards, you can avail of exclusive privileges on your hotel bookings or receive benefits like higher reward points, room upgrades, free stays and more.

For instance, the Yatra SBI credit card offers 20 percent off on domestic hotel bookings on a minimum transaction value of Rs 3,000 and other benefits if you use Yatra to make your bookings. Similarly, Standard Chartered DigiSmart Credit Card offers a 25 percent discount on domestic hotel bookings via Yatra up to Rs 4,000 for one transaction per quarter and other travel-related benefits.

Besides benefits on hotel bookings, customers also get Rs 1,000 off on domestic flight bookings worth Rs 5,000 or more and Rs 4,000 off on international flight bookings worth Rs 40,000 or more using the Yatra SBI credit card. Other credit cards with hotel benefits offer similar discounts on flight bookings.

Avoid holiday-now, pay later and similar debt schemes

Whatever you do, avoid taking loans to splurge on a holiday.

Some travel operators have launched schemes like ‘holiday now, pay later’ to lure travellers. They partner with financial firms to help you finance your holidays. Travellers have the option of paying for the holiday after returning.

“In the 'holiday now, pay later' scheme, if you default on instalments to the (tour operator’s) partner with a non-banking financial company (NBFC) after returning from the holiday, your credit score will take a hit; that could affect getting loans in the future at the best interest rates,” said Morjaria.

Banks are also offering schemes for your holidays that could end up as a debt trap if you cannot repay on time.

For instance, HDFC Bank offers a FlexiPay option for debit-card customers who use  MakeMyTrip to make their holiday bookings. Using the FlexiPay option, you can book your tickets now and make payments at a later time. You can pick a repayment tenure that best suits you. Payments made within 15 days are interest-free, but interest charges apply for 30-, 60- and 90-day tenures. Interest of Rs 70 per month on a purchase of Rs 3,000 will be levied.