First International Trip

In my opinion, gift them the money you plan to pay for their holiday and ask them to spend it on whatever they like. They will be 100 times happier and sleep peacefully for the next few years without worrying about having to pay for that bill, this bill, a gas bill, an electricity bill, etc. out of their own savings.

If you still wish to send them abroad, do only a package tour since this is their first international trip. Most of the obstacles involved with a foreign trip will be sorted out by the tour operator, and you can avoid getting blamed for pushing them out for this international trip and stressing them out.

teriab33 wrote:

In my opinion, gift them the money you plan to pay for their holiday and ask them to spend it on whatever they like. They will be 100 times happier and sleep peacefully for the next few years without worrying about having to pay for that bill, this bill, a gas bill, an electricity bill, etc. out of their own savings.

If you still wish to send them abroad, do only a package tour since this is their first international trip. Most of the obstacles involved with a foreign trip will be sorted out by the tour operator, and you can avoid getting blamed for pushing them out for this international trip and stressing them out.

Can you suggest a good tour operator?

Check in cred. The travel dates are also flexible. Compare the prices with your operator

Check Kesari travels. I have seen elder specific groups (senior citizen packages) when I travelled to Europe and observed happy faces, they seemed to have liked it. Also, reviews of Kesari travels are good.

A contrary opinion. I am assuming things are financially stable in case you are planning a vacation to Europe for your parents. If so, go for it! Experiences last a lifetime and I am sure they will cherish the moments.

http://www.tripo...n/

teriab33 wrote:
In my opinion, gift them the money you plan to pay for their holiday and ask them to spend it on whatever they like.

Desi parents, or for that matter Asian parents do not work like most of their European, Australian, North American counterparts.
(The spending on self or for recreational things is least expected unless from a certain social strata or more recent generations).


Point 2]
I think the person never explicitly mentioned s/he is 'gifting'/ forcing a holiday on them.


Point 3]
Could be their own (parent's own) wish to visit relatives somewhere and also plan a trip.
Or just go on a holiday.
(And also, socio-economic background, general preferences of lifestyle cannot be.. and dare I say: should not be.. assumed.)

jain01010199 wrote:
Are there any value for money holiday package companies?

The awareness or considerations of Vegan lifestyle and even desi vegetarian food choices is now more or less spread far and wide in that region.
Thus, ideally, in most main cities of at-least 6-7 main countries within Europe.. finding even Jain food options
would not be that difficult.

Pricing though.. is an entirely different ball-game in Britain and E.U.

The promoters of Kesari Tours (western India based operator) regularly used to have tours for women only customers, senior citizens and such.
And on two three different occasions, some people k own to us had used their services._br>
Later, their daughter started her separate business 'Veena's World' or Veena World.

And i the first 3-4 years of starting at-least they used to give real good itinerary, service and pricing too used to be competitive.

Have not kept track of them in recent years though.

Again from the west or North is Akbar Travels.
Old hands and pros at cracking deals with unofficial groups of retired PSU employee groups or directly offering PSUs .. good deals for their employees.

These and other regional operators too can be value for money ey, competitive yet capable, safe to help navigate the risks, uncertainties of international travel across multiple borders.

CKL used to offer slightly upmarket but good experiences too.
Peter Kerkar overstreched himself and his companies.
So Cox and Kings will be out of the window for a while.
So at that level, from within India, now Fairfax Holdings has their options.
Thomas Cook India's operations via the likes of Kuoni, SOTC are fairly good.
SOTC in particular carved a niche for itself in the escorted group tours category (both domestically and especially internationally).

Like Akbar Tours and other big names who help PSU or government emoyees get the best of their LTA,
there are other small time people/ businesses too who try to onduct such escorted tours.

Not too sure, but sometimes more customisation could be negotiated with them, if bargaining as part of a large group.

However, if not too pressed on the budget,
to recapitulate the major nes I mentioned, in no particular preference
Kesari/ VeenaWorld, Akbar Travels, SOTC/ Thomas Cook, Kuoni



Disclaimer: I am not directly or indirectly associated with any of the names, entities mentioned by me in the post. I have never been personally invested in any of these companies directly or indirectly. In the distant past, I may have advised others on some of these companies being viable investment opportunities.

medusa wrote:

Vegan

Didn't get you

MrKool_JJ wrote:

http://www.tripo...n/

fake lag raha hain, any personal experience ?

amdoinggood123 wrote:

fake lag raha hain, any personal experience ?

Not fake bro...
They are based out in Mumbai...Check fb/linkedin/insta/twitter handles to know more and also their reviews on google...

MrKool_JJ wrote:
Not fake bro...
They are based out in Mumbai...Check fb/linkedin/insta/twitter handles to know more and also their reviews on google...

Why so sad @siputultan ?

I would also recommend kesari/Veena world as i have seen them while visiting Australia. It was a specific group of >60yrs age group. They were wearing yellow color tshirts & red colored caps if I remember.

ConfirmPassword wrote:
Check in cred.

Meaning?