The stark wilderness of the Namibian landscape

Purvish Shah can’t get over his family’s last holiday in scenic St Wolfgang in the Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria. The Shahs did a home stay — their hosts only spoke German — in this tiny town with a population of 3,000 on their trip to Austria recently.

For the Shahs — Purvish, his wife Kinnari and two-year-old son Ayaan — Austria wasn’t a pit stop on a whistlestop Europe tour. Instead, they had a laidback, leisurely holiday and explored the tiny country over 18 days. And St Wolfgang was only one of several out-of-the-way places — apart from tourist favourites like Innsbruck, Vienna and Salzburg — that they discovered on their trip.

“St Wolfgang was unforgettable. It was very remote but very beautiful. And it was just time out for the three of us. Nobody knew us and we didn’t know anybody,” says Purvish, who distributes educational books.

It’s that time of year once again when Indians wonder where to head in the coming months. Unlike in the past Indians are taking more than one vacation in a year and it’s time to start scanning the travel brochures once again.

The azure hues of Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Indeed, the intrepid — and well-heeled — Indian traveller is doing it all — from home stays in remote European villages to overland safaris across Africa to even exploring tiny unknown islands in Thailand, closer home.

“Our free individual travellers have evolved. They’re more aware of their destinations and are looking for unique experiences,” says Ashutosh Mehere, vice president, FlexiHol, Cox and Kings India Ltd.

Let’s take a look, then, at the places that Indians are exploring at this time of the year.

The overland traveller

An Angkor Wat sculpture

For ad agency owner Raj Mohoni, watching wildlife on National Geographic was never going to be enough. He always wanted to go for the real thing. And that’s what he did — except again, it wasn’t the usual game park sojourn for him. No, he chose instead to take a 10-day overland safari to Namibia and Botswana from Johannesburg. Overland trips are road journeys in a truck refitted for tourists.

To be sure, these are tough holidays with nine hours of road time each day and halts at pre-determined camps each night. “This is for those in search of adventure,” says Abhik Dutta, director, The Wanderers, a boutique travel agency with offices in Mumbai and Calcutta that organised Mohoni’s trip. “It was unforgettable,” says Mohoni.

The trip, which began at Johannesburg, took him to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, one of the world’s largest inland water systems and most active eco-systems. Mohoni explored the waters of the Delta in a local boat called the mokora. “There were hippos standing just 20ft away and making threatening advances,” he recounts.

He then proceeded into the Caprivi National Park in Namibia, driving through the Namibian desert with its stunning reddish-orange sand dunes. Namibia’s Sossusvlei Sand Dunes are the largest dunes in the world. In fact, Dutta himself did an overland safari here recently, walking up Dune 45 (each dune is numbered) to watch the “most exhilarating sight of the sunrise over the desert as it changed the colours of the rock from hazy yellow to deep orange”.

Meanwhile, Mohoni’s safari also took him to the Chobe National Park in Botswana, where he even saw a confrontation between a pride of lions and a herd of buffaloes. “It was like watching a wildlife documentary as the lions and buffaloes charged at each other,” he says. The trip ended at Victoria Falls in Zambia.

Tourists finding their way around sunny Morocco

And if that wasn’t enough, he then took another overland safari from Johannesburg to Kruger National Park.

An eight-day overland Okovango Delta and Chobe Trail to Namibia and Botswana can cost around Rs 1.2 lakh including the return airfare to Johannesburg. You can travel here till November, after which it gets too hot.

Like Mohoni, other Indians too are exploring the overland option. Take Yogesh Shah, director, The Backpacker Co, which specialises in backpacking and what he calls “flashpacking” tours, a more luxurious backpacking trip. Now Shah, who just took groups to the Oktoberfest in Munich, is offering an overland trip from Marrakesh in Morocco over Christmas. “People are seeking out-of-the-ordinary experiences,” he says.

The 10-day Marrakesh overland trip, which costs around Rs 55,000 with three-star accommodation, meals and guided tours (but excluding airfare), will wind its way to places like Ait Benhaddou, a fortified city on the former caravan route in the Sahara desert. There’s even a camel safari through the Sahara desert to a Berber camp.

If overland trips are too rough for you, you can opt for self-drive holidays. Says Mehere: “One of the emerging trends this season is self-drive holidays.” Cox & Kings has just introduced self-drive trips in New Zealand and Melbourne.

Take its nine-day self-drive Beautiful New Zealand package across Auckland, Rotorua, Queenstown, the Glacier Region and Christchurch, with an offer price of Rs 99,990 (including airfare) with a self-drive sedan rental, stay in three-star hotels, meals and some sightseeing. You need to make bookings by November 15 but they will be valid for travel till March 31.

Then, well-heeled Indians are also venturing to South America — the Calcutta-based Club 7 Holidays took an 18-day trip to Brazil, Argentina and Chile costing Rs 3.5 lakh per person recently. The travel agency is now planning another South American tour to coincide with the Rio carnival in February, which will even include an Antarctica cruise.

Northern bound

The sun rises over Borobudur in Indonesia

Don’t be fooled by popular misconceptions. No, Indians aren’t deterred by the cold weather and Europe continues to be a popular holiday destination even as winter approaches. “Europe is still in demand,” says Darshan Maheshwari, business head, SOTC Do-It-Yourself Holidays.

Adds Aparna Chaturvedi Basumallik, director, Club 7 Holidays: “Indians have the notion that Europe is a no-no in October. But we introduced the Bohemian Rhapsody this Puja and were pleasantly surprised to find many takers.” The 15-day tour covered Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia with its stunning Lake Bled, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.

Delhi-based M S Tours & Travels, a Europe specialist, too is finding takers for places like Prague and Budapest.

Far East and more

There’s more to the Far East — and to the Middle East too — than your usual shopping haul or touristy beach hub. Or so the experienced Indian traveller is discovering. For instance, Club 7 Holidays has just sent a family to Chiang Mai region of northern Thailand. They’ve rented a fancy villa for a week here, and have even taken their cook along. A seven-day stay at a villa with airfare can cost Rs 1.10 lakh per person.

Meanwhile, others are exploring little-heard-of Thai islands like Koh Yao Noi. An hour away by speedboat from Phuket, this pristine island is located in the Phang Nga Bay with its impressive rock formations rising from the sea. You can stay at a thatched villa of the Paradise Koh Yao resort, a four-star deluxe property.

Says Dutta of The Wanderers: “This is an idyllic island getaway. There’s no nightlife, it’s just the sound of the waves. So it’s for people who can take the quiet.” A six-night trip to Koh Yao Noi and Phuket can cost Rs 1.4 lakh for two people, with stays in four-star hotels. But the offer’s not valid for the peak Christmas season.

The stunning deserts of Wadi Rum, Jordan

Or look at The Backpacker Co’s 15-day Thailand tour, which costs around Rs 43,000 with three-star accommodation but without airfare. You travel by train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai in the north, where you even do a home stay in a hill tribe village. The tour also covers Chiang Rai, Krabi and Phuket.

Other Far East countries are throwing up new experiences too. Sure, you’d think there’s nothing new in Hong Kong. But Star Cruise’s discounted four-night cruise on Star Cruise Aquarius, which costs just Rs 13,000, will take you to the stunning Ha Long Bay in Vietnam and Sanya in China. This World Natural Heritage Site is dotted with limestone islands jutting out of the sea like mountains and topped with jungle vegetation. The cruise also takes you to Sanya, a beach getaway in China. Club 7’s seven-night package, which includes the cruise and three nights at a three-star hotel in Hong Kong, costs Rs 64,000 per person including airfare.

The cultural hubs of Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia, especially the Angkor Wat temple complex here, as well as the Borobudur temples in Indonesia are also drawing seasoned Indian travellers.

Cox & Kings India has a 15-day Ancient Kingdoms tour from Northern Thailand through the unspoilt Laos countryside on to Cambodia, which includes a Mekong River cruise. This costs around Rs 2.16 lakh per person with five-star stays but without airfare.

And, if Indians discovered the red rock city of Petra in Jordan a few years ago, they’re now exploring the rest of the country too. So Cox & Kings India’s eight-day trip to Jordan, which costs around Rs 60,000 per person (excluding airfare), covers the classical city of Jerash and Amman and the Wadi Rum Valley with its shifting sands cutting through the sandstone and granite rock.

Closer home, the rich Indian is even discovering Bhutan and staying at hotels like Aman Resorts’ Amankora luxury lodges across Paro, Thimpu, Punakha and Gangtey. These can cost $1,200-$1,300 a night. “Bhutan is a high-end destination,” says Seema Makhija, who heads Travel Voyages, a Mumbai-based travel agency.

The honeymoon trail

Thailand offers the perfect beach destinations

Yes, it’s the wedding — and honeymoon — season again. But don’t think you have to confine yourself to hot spots like Maldives and Mauritius.

The Wanderers just sent a newly-wed couple for a nine-day trip of Tuscany alone. Club 7 Holiday’s Basumallik says the “most happening” destinations are Papeti and Bora Bora in French Polynesia. A 12-day trip here can cost Rs 4 lakh per person with airfare. M S Travels says places like Prague have emerged as honeymoon destinations too.

Besides, travel agencies like Kuoni India and Cox & Kings have just launched new honeymoon packages with specials like sunset boat rides, candlelit dinners and spa treatments thrown in. These are to places ranging from Bali, Maldives and Mauritius to Australia-New Zealand, France and Austria.

Clearly, the economic downturn may have begun to pinch many Indians but it’s not deterring the top end of the customised Indian traveller —at least for now.