THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BOOK CHEAP FLIGHTS

Travelling must never stop for those who are passionate about exploring new destinations. And if you are someone who wants to travel and be on the move at all the times, one of the major requirements is money and one of the major things that can help you save it is to cut down on your flight expenses.

Since airfare represents one of the biggest aspects of a trip’s cost, finding that hidden cheap flight deal can be just as important as finding the right destination, the right tour company, the right backpack, or the right place to stay.

The first thing to know about finding a cheap flight is that there is no magic bullet or one secret ninja trick to doing so.  In fact, you’ve probably come across a ton of them on your search to find the best flight deal. Most of them are myths. There's no way that you would wait for that festive season or off season when most of the major airlines come up with special fares. You can discount on your flight bookings at any time of the year. All you need to do is follow these simple tricks every time you are looking to book your flights.

Book early

That might sound cliched, but there's no better way to get a cheaper flight ticket than to plan your travel well in advance and book the tickets at that time. No matter whatever discounts or deals come by, booking early has always proved to be the best way to get discounted airfares. The reason being - as your departure date approaches, the airline fares will only increase, exceptions are very few here. So book the tickets early, save big and utilize the savings for other enjoyable experiences.

Be flexible with your travel dates and times

You might have heard that booking flight tickets on a Tuesday would save you big bucks. But that’s not always true. Try to be flexible with your dates. It’s best to check out the prices for the entire month. This way, you will get a clear picture of days that are cheaper for your destination. 

It’s always cheaper to fly during the middle of the week than on a weekend, because most people travel on the weekends. If you are going to fly when everyone is flying, then your ticket is going to cost more. Prices are also cheaper if you fly after a major holiday as are early-morning or late-night flights cheaper because fewer people want to travel then (who wants to wake up early!).

Be flexible with your destinations

If you can’t be flexible when you fly, at least be flexible with where you fly. It’s best to be both, but if you really want to save the most money and get a cheap flight for your trip, you should at least do one!

Airline search engines have made it really easy to search the entire world to find the cheapest ticket; you no longer have to search manually. If you are flexible with where you want to go (i.e. anywhere but home) use ‘Google Flights’ tool to figure out where to go. Go to Google Flights and click the map. Put in your dates and home airport and enjoy all your options.

The truth about airfare is that there’s always a deal to some destination, and if you’re flexible on where you want to go, you’ll always get a deal. When you are locked into one place at one time, you are stuck with whatever price shows up. When you become flexible, suddenly the entire world opens up to you and you’ll find amazing cheap airfare!

Don’t always fly direct

Not only does it help to be flexible with dates and destinations but being flexible with the route you take is another way to get a cheap flight. Sometimes it’s cheaper to fly to London and take a budget airline to Amsterdam than to fly direct to Amsterdam. There are so many budget carriers around the world that taking advantage of a good deal to another city and then hopping on a budget flight to your destination is sometimes the best way to go.

Be sure to have at least 3 hours between connections as booking tickets on different airlines will mean that if something goes wrong, you can't just get out seamlessly on the next flight. Your second airline won't care you were late since they didn't fly them on the first place.

This method is more work as you have to figure out lots of different routes and check different airlines – and connecting adds more time to your journey. But it will shave even more money off your flight, giving you extra to spend at your destination.

Opt for different airlines

Agreed, the easiest to book flights for your trip is to book for a return journey. Besides, the general perception suggests that return flights are cheaper. But the truth is rather different. Make that extra effort to go through the flights offered by other airlines and be a little more open about the time of your flight. Trust me; you will surely crack a cheaper deal.

Use the airline website to book

Given the increasing number of travel booking websites, it is always easier to opt for any one of them for booking a flight. But these websites are smart and no matter how much of discount they show you at the moment of showing the search results, the moment you try to book, you will end up paying an increased amount. This is because they include their service charges at the time of preparing your final bill. Well, they also need to earn their revenues. So the next time, make that extra effort to visit the airline's official website and book your desired flight from there.

Search ticket prices as one person

Don’t search for or buy multiple tickets in a single purchase. Airlines always show the highest ticket price in a group of tickets. For example, if you are a family of four and searching for four seats, the airline will find four seats together and show your fare based on the highest ticket price. So if seat A is Rs7000, seats B and C are Rs7200, and seat D is Rs8000, it will price those tickets as Rs8000 each instead of adding up the individual ticket prices. Therefore, always search for tickets as a single person. Afterwards, in the checkout process, you can pick your seats so you and your family are sitting together.

Take advantage of student discounts

If you are a student (or under 26), there are many, many discounts available to you. You can usually find prices 20-30% off the standard fare. 

Remember not all search engines are equal

Always remember you need to search multiple websites as you can before you book your flight tickets, no matter how much of hurry you are in.

You may contact author for more information at tribeni.das@justyatra.com

Recommended Resources
You can contact https://justyatra.com to book flight tickets and holiday packages across the world.

ALL ABOUT DARJEELING - THE QUEEN OF HILLS

QUEEN OF THE HIMALAYAS - DARJEELING

Darjeeling is the perfect getaway in North East India. With its inexplicable beauty and adventure opportunities, Darjeeling has been blessed with some of the most amazing gifts of Mother Nature. The place rejuvenates the mind, body and the soul with its fresh air and spectacular sights. Darjeeling offers a panorama of the dazzling snow peaks of Kanchenjunga, the beautiful tea gardens on the slopes of rolling hills, the orchids, pines and rhododendrons, the cute Himalayan toy train whistling its way through the mountains and colorful cultural displays along the streets of the city. The easy accessibility of adventure sports like trekking and water sports make the place even more alluring.

HOW TO REACH DARJEELING

Darjeeling hill town is located at an altitude of 6,710ft at the northern part of the state of West Bengal. It doesn’t have an airport or a regular broad gauge railway station.To reach Darjeeling from other parts of India, the nearest airport is Bagdogra. It takes around 3 hours to reach Darjeeling from the airport. Only pre-paid reserved taxis (small and large) are available at the airport for Darjeeling. Shared taxis and buses are not available there.

New Jalpaiguri (NJP) is the nearest major railway junction. Darjeeling is around 80 kms from there. There are ample taxis and shared jeeps from NJP to reach Darjeeling in about 3 hours. Few trains pass through Siliguri as well. There are also plenty of shared jeeps, taxis and buses at Siliguri (takes about 2.5 hours to Darjeeling).

There is a longer and scenic route from NJP/Bagdogra to Darjeeling via Mirik (takes about 4.5 hours). The Mirik lake and lovely tea gardens can be seen on the way. However this is possible if NJP/Bagdogra is reached in the first half. 

If time permits, taking a toy train ride from either NJP or Siliguri through scenic mountain route is also an option. It takes about 7 hours to reach Darjeeling. The toy train track runs parallel and next to the Hill Cart Road for most part.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

The two best seasons to visit Darjeeling are spring (March-May) and autumn (October-November). These are the times when the temperature is pleasantly cool and the sky is usually clear offering lovely views of Kanchenjunga snow peaks.

The temperature during spring season ranges between 17°C during day time to 6°C at night. During this time, Rhododendrons and Magnolia bloom in plenty and in different colors along with different kinds of garden flowers. Though the sky remains mostly clear, you may face strong winds and even hail storms at times. Darjeeling again becomes a paradise during the autumn.  Temperature ranges between 18°C to 6°C and starts becoming colder. This is a great time to get views of snow-peaks. 

The summer is short from May up to June. But by June the monsoon usually starts and lasts through September. It can sometimes stretch even up to October. The winter is from December until February. Winter in Darjeeling can be very cold. 

PLACES TO VISIT

Who doesn't know about the magnificent view of sunrise from Tiger Hill, the changing colors of the Kanchenjunga snow peaks as the light strikes? On a clear day, there is a possibility of getting a glimpse of Mount Everest, Mount Makalu and one of the most beautiful peaks of the world, Tibet's Chomol Hari.

Ghoom Monastery, one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries (1850) of Darjeeling houses a 12-foot tall statue of Maitreya Buddha which represents the Buddha of the future. The monastery preserves some of the rarest Buddhist manuscripts. Jang Dong Palriffo Brang Monastery was consecrate by Dalai Lama and was established in 1976.

Batasia Loop and the War Memorial. Batasia Loop is an engineering marvel located in Ghoom area. This is where the toy train makes a double spiral loop to negotiate a drop of 1000 ft. The War Memorial was constructed in honor of the Gorkha soldiers who sacrificed their lives in service of the nation.

Japanese Temple and Peace Pagoda. Close to the Darjeeling town there is a temple built in a traditional Japanese style. In the same complex, there is large Peace Pagoda that showcases four avatars of Buddha. 

Darjeeling Ropeway, the 45 minutes ride from an altitude of 7,000ft to 800ft with wonderful vista of a valley around Rangeet river, tea estates and sweeping views of the snow peaks of Himalayan range including Kanchenjunga (try to book tickets in advance). 

Tenzing and Gombu Rock. These huge rocks are located on Lebong Cart Road where rock climbing is practiced.

Visiting Darjeeling and not paying a visit to the tea gardens is a big mistake. The tea gardens which are located at the rolling slopes of thehills are going to charm everyone without a doubt. Some of the tea estates are Badamtan Tea Estate, Happy Valley Tea Estate and Rangeet Valley Tea Garden.

For the wildlife enthusiast, Darjeeling Zoo breeds some of the very high altitude animals and endangered species like Snow Leopard, Panther, Siberian Tiger, Tibetian Wolf, Deer, Black Bear, Snow Yaks, etc. Among them, Red Panda catches special attention of the tourist. It is internationally recognized for its conservation breeding programs of Red Panda, Snow Leopards, Tibetan Wolf, Siberian Tiger and other highly endangered animal species of Eastern Himalaya. 

Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Natural History Museum, Tibetan Refugee Self Help Center, Rock Garden and Ganga Maya Park are some other major attractions in Darjeeling.

One must experience the famous Toy Train Joy Ride in Darjeeling (remember to book tickets in advance).

After seeing the serene mountains, wildlife and the spiritual gompas, time to unleash the adventurer inside by indulging in a plethora of activities ranging from Trekking, hiking, rafting etc.The hilly areas of Kalimpong are best used for hiking as well as trekking. Teesta River of Kalimpong allows the adventure tourists to experience their wild side in river rafting activity. The activity starts at Melli Bridge and ends at Geilkhola in Kalimpong.

Darjeeling is a must to visit to find an escape from the hustle-bustle of the cities and find peace in its serene surroundings.

HOW TO BOOK

Toy Train Joyrides in Darjeeling

While in Darjeeling, who doesn't want to ride the heritage toy train of Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR)? After all, this is the first public transport that was built by the British to make a train move along the steep gradient of the Himalayas and connect the lower plains with Darjeeling hill town.

It's not about just the heritage and the history, it's also about experiencing one of the engineering marvels where many amazing loops and zig zags had to be created to negotiate the steep gradients in the mountains. It's also about enjoying the breathtaking beauty of the Himalayas as you take a relaxed lazy ride on this cute mini train that runs on a narrow gauge track.

Booking a 2-hour Toy Train Joyride

(Darjeeling to Ghum and Back)

There are several ways to book the DHR Joyride itself.

1) The best way is to book online and use the Indian Railway website www.irctc.co.in. Here you will first have to sign up for an account. It's free and quite easy. Only after logging into your own account in the website, you can make the bookings. But carefully note the following points:

While finding the trains for joyrides, you will need to enter the source station code as DJ (which stands for Darjeeling). For the destination station, the station should again be Darjeeling because it's a round trip. But the web-form does not accept the same station code for both source and destination. This is a limitation of the website. So for the destination code, you should enter DJRZ which also stands for Darjeeling (meaning 'To Darjeeling').

Use the ticket type as 'e-ticket' so that you get a soft copy of the ticket and print it yourself. Use the quota type as 'General'. You will then see all the joyride toy trains running for the date chosen. While entering your names/sex/age etc, ignore the choice of berths.

2) Another way of booking the joyride is through the site www.irctctourism.com. This is the tourism site of Indian Railways. To find the joyrides, click on 'Tourist Trains' and select DHR Joyride. But note that the ticket rates are higher here. The cancellation charges are also higher. So your preferred way of online booking should be using the first option I mentioned above. 
*Update January 2016: Only Toy Train Charters can now be booked through this option.

3) You can book at any of the computerized reservation counters in India. You will pay the same fare as in online booking through irctc.co.in.

4) You can also get tickets at Darjeeling Railway Station. If you decide to take the ride while in Darjeeling, you can call them up and check the availability before you go to the station for booking. Phone (Inquiry): +91 354-2252555

5) If you have difficulty booking the tickets online, you can request your hotel or tour operator in Darjeeling to help you book seats in the toy train. Several hotels, guesthouses and operators do so. They will need a scanned or photo copy of your Photo ID (passport in case of foreigners) to book the tickets across the counter.

How to book Toy Train Jungle Safari

You can book the safari online through www.irctc.co.in railway website. For source station use SGUJ (station code for Siliguri Junction), and for destination station use SGUD which is another station code for Siliguri Junction (it can not be the same because it's a round trip to the same place). You can also manually book this safari across any railway reservation counter including at Siliguri Junction.

NOTE: This train is usually seasonal and may run only on few days of the week.

Booking NJP-Darjeeling or Regular Toy Train ride

This is a diesel engine hauled train and the journey takes about 7 hours each way. Best is to book online through Indian Railway site www.irctc.co.in.

Once you log into your account in irctc website, use the 'Plan my Journey' form. For New Jalpaiguri to Darjeeling, enter NJP at the 'From Station' and DJ at 'To Station'. For travel to other intermediate stations, in 'To Station' use GHUM for Ghum, KGN for Kurseong etc depending on your destination (reverse the order of station codes for source and destination if your journey is other way).

Enter the journey date, choose 'E-ticket' option and proceed. It will show you the trains, coach class, fares etc. You can go ahead and book. The train that runs between Darjeeling and NJP is named 'DJ NJP PASSENGER', and the one between Darjeeling and Kurseong is 'DJ KGN NG TRAIN'.

Like any other normal train, you can also book seats and buy tickets for all these toy trains from any computerized Indian railway reservation counter across the country.

Windamere Heritage Hotel – History

Windamere Hotel was built as ‘Ada Villa’ in 1841 and then turned into a Boarding House for Tea Planters and other Raj types, on contract, in the late 1880s. In 1939, it became ‘Windamere Hotel’. It is a colonial hotel situated on Observatory Hill, in Darjeeling, India.

The hotel became more widely known as Darjeeling became India's summer capital. It expanded and took over a new wing.

In 1959, Palden Thondup Namgyal, Crown Prince of Sikkim, met his future wife Hope Cooke for the first time in the Windamere Hotel.

The hotel is also known for its views of the tea plantations below and of Mount Kanchenjunga, the third highest peak in the world.

It is "One of the three Jewels of the Raj", said a celebrated travel writer of The Windamere Hotel. Established in the 19th century as a cozy boarding house for bachelor English and Scottish tea planters, it was converted into a hotel just before the outbreak of the Second World War. Well known to sophisticated travellers the world over, the Windamere is famous for its unique ambience and charm, and has been the subject of many leading stories in the international media.

During the first National Awards Ceremony for outstanding hotels in India, the Prime Minister presented Windamere Hotel with a coveted award for its excellence as a Heritage Hotel of India.

Over the years, Windamere Hotel of Darjeeling has collected many coveted accolades and awards. It has been placed at the third position in 10 Top Colonial Hotels in the Asia-Pacific by Asian Geographic Passport in 2009 after the Raffles Hotel of Singapore and The Peninsula of Hong Kong. It was also part of The World's Best Colonial Hotels as listed by The Sunday Times, London in the year 2007.
Windamere is the original "Heritage House of the Himalayas". It is situated on Observatory Hill, a Darjeeling landmark, believed to be the focus and repository of life-enhancing cosmic energies.

Recommended Resources 

You can contact https://justyatra.com, a great resource to plan your tour and get deep insights into various attractions of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim including trips, tours and rides.

You may contact author for more information at tribeni.das@justyatra.com