The Travel Thread

[dante77]

Vietjet is cheap but bad reviews overall. Thinking of spending a little more and go with an Indian budget airline which I already have some experience lol

[Houndini]

2 hours ago, KunjanPSD said:

Take AC.

Baggage issues are there across each continent and carrier.

Do check the flight equipment before you book, try to get a flight on their latest J product. AC J is quite good.

Not sure if this is direct or not but direct will have the lowest probability of baggage being messed up because no transition of planes, even otherwise I would take AC J easily.

Layovers are only for experiencing a good biz lounge.

 

No direct flight to either MIA or FLL. AC is as expected transiting via Canada, and BA via Heathrow. 

[Mr_Mediocre]

24 minutes ago, Bird Bird Bird said:

 

No direct flight to either MIA or FLL. AC is as expected transiting via Canada, and BA via Heathrow. 

I will take AC via Canada. AC for me has a better J product and I am not a fan of Heathrow.

Also AC is *A, more options for your earned miles which will be plenty on a biz flight to the US while BA will get you avios, which is not bad (look at my recent post in CC thread) but *A will provide better flexibility for US/EU travel than Avios.

 

Just make sure layover is atleast 1.5-2hrs, that gives them enough time to load the bags.

Edited August 15, 2023 by KunjanPSD

[North]

On 8/15/2023 at 7:35 PM, dante77 said:

Vietjet is cheap but bad reviews overall. Thinking of spending a little more and go with an Indian budget airline which I already have some experience lol

 

I took vietjet myself earlier this year. Delhi to Da Nang, then an internal flight from Da Nang to Hanoi, and then Ho Chi Minh back to Delhi. 

 

its peak budget airline, no food or water. its a little cramped, like think indigo leg space. but hey - it gets you there and we had our own snacks. 

its pretty much the cheapest airline for a lot of SE Asia routes. 

[North]

Guys, if I wish to travel to Europe around October/November will I get the schengen visa in time?

 

Does it make a difference if I apply myself, or through some sort of processing agency or travel agent, to get it faster?

 

and I need to book flights beforehand yes? 

[Mr_Mediocre]

22 minutes ago, North said:

Guys, if I wish to travel to Europe around October/November will I get the schengen visa in time?

 

Does it make a difference if I apply myself, or through some sort of processing agency or travel agent, to get it faster?

 

and I need to book flights beforehand yes? 

1. Depends on the country you want to travel. But possible.

 

2. Not really, apply yourself and be extensive with your documents and application.

 

3. Yes, can do fully refundable ones.

[AtheK]

5 hours ago, North said:

Guys, if I wish to travel to Europe around October/November will I get the schengen visa in time?

 

Does it make a difference if I apply myself, or through some sort of processing agency or travel agent, to get it faster?

 

and I need to book flights beforehand yes? 

Apply immediately.

 

No difference, apply yourself, if you are very confused take premium service, they will vet the documents for you before submission. I did it myself without any additional service, was pretty smooth if you are following the checklist.

 

Yes

Edited August 18, 2023 by AtheK

[North]

Got it, thanks guys!

 

multiple countries actually, plan isn't fully sure yet. 
 

I can just Lufthansa from Del to multiple cities in Europe for about 22K one way.

Anyway, is there any method to prioritise what country I should apply to for the visa?

 

I know its usually country of entry/wherever you are spending most time. Will most likely be spending time with relatives in Switzerland, but I think they see a lot of tourist influx so is applying there a bad idea? @KunjanPSD

 

[Mr_Mediocre]

16 minutes ago, North said:

Got it, thanks guys!

 

multiple countries actually, plan isn't fully sure yet. 
 

I can just Lufthansa from Del to multiple cities in Europe for about 22K one way.

Anyway, is there any method to prioritise what country I should apply to for the visa?

 

I know its usually country of entry/wherever you are spending most time. Will most likely be spending time with relatives in Switzerland, but I think they see a lot of tourist influx so is applying there a bad idea? @KunjanPSD

 

Apply via Swiss only. You will need to provide an itinerary for the application. Dots have to connect.

It's all the same in EU, all the major countries are having high tourist influx.

[AtheK]

8 hours ago, North said:

Got it, thanks guys!

 

multiple countries actually, plan isn't fully sure yet. 
 

I can just Lufthansa from Del to multiple cities in Europe for about 22K one way.

Anyway, is there any method to prioritise what country I should apply to for the visa?

 

I know its usually country of entry/wherever you are spending most time. Will most likely be spending time with relatives in Switzerland, but I think they see a lot of tourist influx so is applying there a bad idea? @KunjanPSD

 

I had gone to greece, got appointment after two weeks and Visa was delivered in 3 weeks. If you are planning to go to greece it can be an option.

[godspeed4476]

On 8/16/2023 at 12:05 AM, dante77 said:

Vietjet is cheap but bad reviews overall. Thinking of spending a little more and go with an Indian budget airline which I already have some experience lol

Vietjet service and cabin is lot better than Indigo. I do not know what equipment they fly on Indian leg. But Ive flown their widebody twice from Mel and expereince was great. Their prices for add ons like food, seat selection etc are quite reasonable as well. Which month are u planinng on Vietnam?

[nitinveer]

Hi,

 

Any good Asian country or place in India to visit during October for a week with family (with 5 year old kid)? 

[Houndini]

12 hours ago, nitinveer said:

Hi,

 

Any good Asian country or place in India to visit during October for a week with family (with 5 year old kid)? 

Most small Asian countries will have similar weather throughout the year (Singapore etc). Thailand seems to have their monsoon till Oct. 

But most places in India will be good in Oct too - Kerala/Karnataka /Tamil Nadu is always a good bet IMO. 
Sikkim is a place of natural beauty though might get too cold for your kid in Oct. Can skip Lachen/Lachung, other places should be fine. 
Of course the usual touristy places across India will be fine during Oct too. 

[nitinveer]

2 hours ago, Bird Bird Bird said:

Most small Asian countries will have similar weather throughout the year (Singapore etc). Thailand seems to have their monsoon till Oct. 

But most places in India will be good in Oct too - Kerala/Karnataka /Tamil Nadu is always a good bet IMO. 
Sikkim is a place of natural beauty though might get too cold for your kid in Oct. Can skip Lachen/Lachung, other places should be fine. 
Of course the usual touristy places across India will be fine during Oct too. 

 

Thank you for the information, apologies I did not provide enough information in my previous post.

I am from Bangalore so we have covered most of places of south. We have also covered most of north tourist places, Sikkim from NE, and Rajasthan & Maharashtra from west. My son like cold weather (he managed -5 in Bhutan when he was 2 years old). 

 

Few questions I have is: 

Is Thailand a good place to visit with 5 year old kid? 

Singapore visa is easy to get considering less time I have for travel? 

Will Meghalaya have enough water in falls during mid October? 

 

Any other recommendations will also be appreciated. 

[North]

10 minutes ago, nitinveer said:

Thank you for the information, apologies I did not provide enough information in my previous post.

I am from Bangalore so we have covered most of places of south. We have also covered most of north tourist places, Sikkim from NE, and Rajasthan & Maharashtra from west. My son like cold weather (he managed -5 in Bhutan when he was 2 years old). 

 

Few questions I have is: 

Is Thailand a good place to visit with 5 year old kid? 

Singapore visa is easy to get considering less time I have for travel? 

Will Meghalaya have enough water in falls during mid October? 

 

Any other recommendations will also be appreciated. 

 

 

just check weather conditions, but Singapore and Vietnam are both 4-5 hour long flight away and excellent places to visit if you have, say a week in hand. 

 

a lot of tourist attractions in singapore are frankly catered towards children, and thats what i'd recommend doing. 

[Sach4life]

For Vietnam, I will suggest to keep at least 10 days. Even those might not be enough. For Singapore, 4-5 days are more than enough.

[Houndini]

41 minutes ago, nitinveer said:

 

Thank you for the information, apologies I did not provide enough information in my previous post.

I am from Bangalore so we have covered most of places of south. We have also covered most of north tourist places, Sikkim from NE, and Rajasthan & Maharashtra from west. My son like cold weather (he managed -5 in Bhutan when he was 2 years old). 

 

Few questions I have is: 

Is Thailand a good place to visit with 5 year old kid? 

Singapore visa is easy to get considering less time I have for travel? 

Will Meghalaya have enough water in falls during mid October? 

 

Any other recommendations will also be appreciated. 

Will recommend Singapore (vs Thailand) for kids. Tons of stuff to do, and visa is easy. Takes about a week- 10 days if you have all the documents. 
You can spend 2 days for sentosa if you want to cover everything, 2 days for zoo and bird sanctuary (just zoo and water zoo and night safari can be done in 1 day though difficult with kids), 1 day for Gardens by the Bay and MBS/Singapore Flyer, and another couple of many unique experiences which keep on popping in Singapore from time to time. 
You can also do short ship tours to nearby countries or a trip to nowhere. 
If you want a chilled out no rush Singapore tour, will recommend 7-9 days. 

[godspeed4476]

1 hour ago, nitinveer said:

 

Thank you for the information, apologies I did not provide enough information in my previous post.

I am from Bangalore so we have covered most of places of south. We have also covered most of north tourist places, Sikkim from NE, and Rajasthan & Maharashtra from west. My son like cold weather (he managed -5 in Bhutan when he was 2 years old). 

 

Few questions I have is: 

Is Thailand a good place to visit with 5 year old kid? 

Singapore visa is easy to get considering less time I have for travel? 

Will Meghalaya have enough water in falls during mid October? 

 

Any other recommendations will also be appreciated. 

5 Days for Singapore is an Overkill IMO. But yep its more catered towards kids and families as compared to any other destinations. Thailand is a good family friendly destination too, particulary north and it tends to be less rainy too. I was there in last september and had a great time

[dante77]

1 hour ago, godspeed4476 said:

5 Days for Singapore is an Overkill IMO. But yep its more catered towards kids and families as compared to any other destinations. Thailand is a good family friendly destination too, particulary north and it tends to be less rainy too. I was there in last september and had a great time

I don't think 5 days are overkill. Zoo, Gardens by the bay, Santosa, Disney, city sight seeing, Marina Bay, ferry ride, airport itself. Lot of things to cover. 

 

On my 7 days tour, I stayed in Singapore for 4 days and 3 days in Malaysia. I couldn't cover Gardens by the bay and that Disney island and did not know about airport. 

[Houndini]

5 hours ago, godspeed4476 said:

5 Days for Singapore is an Overkill IMO. But yep its more catered towards kids and families as compared to any other destinations. Thailand is a good family friendly destination too, particulary north and it tends to be less rainy too. I was there in last september and had a great time

No way. For someone going for the first time and with a small kid, you need 7 days.