Traverik Blog

Planning travel made easy. Visit www.traverik.com for more information.

[traverik-blog]

Travel Freedom: Your vacation, your way only on Traverik!

What separates a regular boring vacation from an absolutely fantastic one? It doesn't take the knowledge of Rocket Science to figure out the key ingredient: Experience. Right from the Planning stage till you are back and experiencing a holiday hangover, your holiday experience can be make or break moment for your holiday planners, travel agents, hotels and various service providers. But, how important is your role as a traveler in determining your own holiday experience? Do you have the freedom of choice while planning your vacation? Or, do you still go by the illusion of that freedom provided to you by agents with their large banner ads screaming “FREE” and “lowest price” with a small “*” of conditions apply. Okay, let me frame some of these statements for you:

("*conditions apply" can cost you a lot)

You get to decide your hotel and the room type: You don’t buy “stay in hotel A or B or something similar” claim. Of course, some of the agents do push some random 3-star & 4-star hotels as ultra-luxury properties, but it should not bother you. You have done your research. Have you?

You decide the dates of your vacation on your own and stick to them: Regardless of the convenience of your agents. Do you?

You decide sightseeing tours well in advance and have the full flexibility: You can extend or cut it short while at the destination as per your convenience. Can you?

You don’t like being made to wear gaudy Orange caps and herded around in a coach tour:  You took a vacation to relax and not to follow a routine for 24 hours a day! Or, are you still following that routine?

You don’t like a fixed travel plan of your agent and you can get it modified: Can You?

If your answer to any of the above set of questions is “NO”, You simply don’t have the freedom to take your vacation the way you want. It is time you changed the way you take your vacations. We at Traverik intend to provide you with a self-planning and booking tool that should change all your above answers to a resounding yes!

(www.traverik.com)

Yes, You get to choose your own Hotel and the room type as well. Yes, You get to decide your own sightseeing as per your requirements and budget. You want a holiday to relax and recharge your batteries , we won’t pester you with tours. You want activities to freshen up, we would provide you with the widest range of optionals to choose from. Still, you want that something extra, we promise to go out of the way to deliver it to you. After all, it is all about the experience. And, Traverik is soon going to revolutionize that experience forever!

Register on www.traverik.com for early bird offers and stay tuned for more!

[traverik-blog]

Honeymoon destinations in Thailand

If you are looking for a romantic getaway or a honeymoon to an exotic destination, Thailand should on top of your mind. Far from the ever-maddening rush to the regular Bangkok-Pattaya trip, there is a lot more to this beautiful country. We are going to list out four destinations in Thailand for honeymooners that are a delight :-

Krabi

Location - A small town on west coast of Southern Thailand.

Best time to visit- October to April.

People come to Krabi in search of the idyllic beach life that Phuket and Koh Samui offered a decade ago but are in danger of losing as they get bigger.

The Ko Lanta National Park, also in Krabi province, includes several coral-fringed islands with well-known diving sites.

Top activities- Snorkeling, kayaking, bird watching and sailing.

Eco-tours  in the inland National parks to waterfalls and caves are also popular.

Railey Beach- Popular secluded romantic getaway is accessible only by boat.

Krabi is close to both Phuket and Phi-Phi. So it’s great to set up Krabi as a base to explore the surrounding regions.

Ko Samui  

Location - An island off the the east coast of Kra Isthmus in Thailand.

Climate- Samui's weather patterns are a little different from the rest of Thailand. In April through September, when most of the country has its monsoon, Samui stays fairly dry, but from October to December, it's wet in Samui and drier elsewhere. The driest season is from January to March.

Calling it a “scenic beauty” would be such a gross understatement. It started out as a backpacker destination in the decade of 80s, but has now attained premier honeymooning destination status. Attracts more than 1.5 million tourists per year.

The island is home to serene beaches & various luxury, as well as, traditional resorts.

With options of adventure sports, mountain safari, Elephant rides and romantic sunsets, this island is surely any couple’s delight.

Anantara is one such famous staying place which combines a Thai-style design with romantic, lush gardens.

Chiang Mai

Location- Land-locked Northern Thailand. Sometimes also called cultural-capital of Thailand

Offers you much more than the regular beach-party vacation.

Best time to visit- November to February.

Outdoor adventure- Hiking, River rafting, Elephant rides, River cruise. Sometimes people do spend weeks outdoors hiking across the beautiful landscapes.

Ideal for History and culture lovers and foodies.

If one is into Museums and bazaars (flea markets), this is the place to be.

This place is also home to culinary delights and offers tourists a variety of culinary schools to learn the art of Thai cooking.

Koh Lanta

Location- Off Andaman coast, south of Phuket & Krabi. The island province comprises of some 52 islands with Koh Lanta Yai being the largest.

Weather- Tropical weather comprising only of two seasons: the hot season from January to April, and the rainy season from May to December. Temperatures during the year average 25ºC to 32ºC

Best Time to visit-  Around the year!

Perfect for a romantic escape to its serene beaches & water sports.

Activities include beach hopping from north to south and Scuba diving. Coral reefs, limestone outcrops, seamounts, pinnacles, and undersea caves around Koh Lanta and nearby islands make this place diver’s paradise!

So, once you are all set to visit one of these destinations, you can always contact Traverik. Our experts will do what they have always done- provide you the best travel plan, ever! Bon voyage!

[traverik-blog]

Travel Decisions: Budget is not the only reason

Every year travelers around the world are befuddled with plethora of travel options. While a lot of these travel decisions are guided by budget and money availability but more often than not, money is not the sole guiding factor behind any decision. One can find a trove of information on the internet with varied reasons as to why one should travel but in this write-up we would like to bring them to your notice the factors that influence your location choice once you have decided to travel :

Exotic Locations: The seasonal dip in fares to locations like Turkey, Tanzania, far-east (Malaysia, Vietnam,Bali) etc have a greater impact on travel decisions than hitherto observed before. When it costs the same to go somewhere nearby as compared to some of the places listed above, the usual line of thought is: why not take the plunge and experience something that they have not experienced before!

Culture Experience: Exposure to a different culture and experiencing a unique way of life, even for a very short duration, is on top of the bucket list of even the first-time travellers these days. No longer the travel decisions are solely guided by hotel deals and guided tours.

Striking landscape: Combine Amazingly exotic geography with a population that speaks an ancient language and you will always have people wanting to go to that destination. Getting the “wow” response from the travellers isn’t so easy unless they get enamored by a well-made awareness campaign. Some of the south-east asian countries have managed to do this really well and the result is for all to see.

Man-made attractions: Themed amusement parks(DisneyLand), tall buildings(Manhattan skyline), Ferris wheel(London eye) are some of the prime examples who have become their respective city’s symbols over a period of time. Can one imagine Manhattan without it’s famed skyline? For a family with kids, these locations provide multiple options to choose from.

Having done that, what’s the next step ? Traditional word-of-mouth publicity has now moved online and social media now plays a major role in influencing these decisions. No longer people rely solely on magazines/brochures and/or travel agents as their sole information source. They have come to depend more on travel blogs, e-zines, and of course, online travel agents (OTAs). It is imperative for the trending destinations to have a standout online campaign to grab the necessary eyeballs vital to the business.

Experience: From budget travellers to the super luxury ones, experience is the key. And this entire experience is a mix of various factors which starts even before the booking is done. Perhaps this should explain why travel agents have not only managed to survive but are creating a niche for themselves even in this era of online media. A traveller is more likely to go back to the same source if he/she gets the right experience. Little extras go a long way in building that permanent connection between the two.

Bon Voyage!

[traverik-blog]

Oktoberfest 2013 - Interesting trivia!

“When in Bavaria, do as the Bavarians do”- said no wise man ever. But a mug of fresh beer from the six listed breweries of Munich and you are wiser than ever! Did I say only six? Yes!

The Germans take their beer rather seriously. For a Beer to be designated as Oktoberfest beer, it ought to be approximately 6% alcohol by volume and must be brewed within Munich city limits. Only six breweries meet this criterion. The oldest is Augustiner, founded in 1328. Today, it has a beer garden onsite, proffering eight branded brews, including the six-per-cent Oktoberfestbier, served exclusively at Oktoberfest. (augustiner-braeu.de).

Also, in case if you are wondering why Oktoberfest is not happening in every nook and corner of the world- Oktoberfest Beer is a registered Trademark by the Club of Munich Brewers.1810 The inaugural year of Oktoberfest. The event started in Munich when Prince Ludwig I & Princess Therese invited citizens to celebrate their marriage on the lawns in front of the city gates. The party originally took place on 12 October and it was later lengthened and moved to September, in the hope of better weather. Accordingly, the modern-day version starts on 21 September and continues for 16 days.(oktoberfest.de).

  Beer & Pretzel: Deserves to be taken seriously

  A few beer related numbers at a glance:

6.3 million visitors drank roughly 6.9 million litres of beer. That’s roughly 1.1 litres of beer per person (assuming there were no tee-totallers of course.)

160 thousand plus attempts were made to steal the beer mugs. Surely, Beer brings out the best in every person.

116 oxen and 57 calves were eaten by the guests. food for thought for PETA activists!

827 inebriated people needed medical assistance and the number of police callouts went up to 2,031.

14  The number of large tents that will serve festival goers. Of course the word tent is a misnomer when one tent seats 5020 and takes 14 weeks to build.

420,000 The size, in square metres, of the  Theresienwiese, official site of Oktoberfest, equivalent to 10 Wembley Stadia put together. The park comprises beer tents, carousels, rollercoasters and Lederhosen-wearing locals.

Be sure to book your tables well in advance. Germans do it months before the due date. If you don't then be prepared to lose your seat on the table even if you take a bathroom break. yes! it's that crowded! Cheers to that fresh beer!

[traverik-blog]

Travel Planning tips

Planning well in advance can make your return from the vacation real smooth. Taking care of small things before you leave can make the transition back to normal life hassle free.

A small research about online reviews has shown that more than 30% of online reviews are fake. "For some products, up to 30 percent of reviews can be fake", says Bing Liu, a Computer Science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. So what a traveler can do, in such a scenario?

Cross-check your bookings with Hotels for confirmation

Don't go blindly by online reviews (you can check them here)

Your travel agent may get you better deals. don't forget!

Take care of hidden costs and expenses before you budget your travel.Being profligate with your expenses can cause you a lot of mental agony later on!

Respect your host country's customs, traditions and laws. It will save you from a lot of trouble.

 "You don't get something unless you ask for it!". Keeping this in mind alone can save you thousands and make your trip more fun than you could imagine. Ask your hotel for an upgrade. Chances are, more often than not, you would get it.

[traverik-blog]

Why you should be booking those vacation tickets right NOW!

Plan easy. Travel carefree.

www.traverik.com

[traverik-blog]

Travel Planning made super easy with www.traverik.com

[traverik-blog]

With less that a year to go for the biggest Footballing event on the planet, Traverik brings you snippets about Brasil. Time to saddle up and plan your trip in advance before the extravaganza begins. Sale of match tickets begins 20th august. With Traverik you can plan your complete trip much in advance and enjoy matchdays like never before. Plan easy. Travel carefree. 

[traverik-blog]

Delhi Food Walk

// <![CDATA[ (function(d){ var js, id = 'pikto-embed-js', ref = d.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement('script'); js.id = id; js.async = true; js.src = "https://magic.piktochart.com/assets/embedding/embed.js?UID=d525fac2-375e-4ca8-91b5-cd1cf554af57" ref.parentNode.insertBefore(js, ref); }(document)); // ]]>

[traverik-blog]

Online Hotel Reviews: of frauds, fakes & why Tour operators are needed?

All is certainly not gloomy for the tour operators. They have been here for ages and nothing should stop them from being here for longer provided they adapt their ways to the rapidly changing technology. A traveler will always be willing to bend towards that reassuring touch that accompanies a tour operator’s offerings. A small premium over the normal bookings should be seen as part of the same deal. Of course, the industry should see a lot of consolidation with smaller, fly-by-night tour operators getting phased out.

Hotels: But, one should keep in mind that technology evolution doesn’t really mean metamorphosing of travel advisory websites with highly active fora into an out-an-out hotel advertising website and pushing the same in your face the moment you open the homepage. Users are smart enough to see through it and will persist only as long as viable alternatives don’t arrive on the scene. (Most recent example: Accor Hotels manager caught posting over 100 fake TripAdvisor reviews). Some googling led us to even more such instances like here, here and here. Also there are smart advisory and opinions on the same which can be found here and here. The last link is to a website that promises to post a “Real” review once the payment has been made and they “research” your establishment. I am still wondering what sort of a research they might undertake and why would I pay to get a real review. (Remember sites like Buy “fake twitter followers”? Ring a bell?)

Try on google image search: Fake hotel reviews .

Lessons learnt:

Technology intended to be an enabler has met with gross misuse. (it doesn’t really matter who started it- the establishment owners or somebody else, but it has invariably led to just one thing: gullible travelers getting conned)

There’s no one to go back to if one’s decision of choosing a hotel is based on anonymous/fudged reviews on sites that exist for & make money only with the same.

Where does this leave the Tour operators?

This just validates their position of undertaking complete responsibility for a tourist’s comforts. Of course, they are subject to tourists’ regular complaints of monotonous itineraries and less than expected service but, at the end of the day, they are not anonymous.

We should also not forget that there will always be a segment of travelers that will cater to group departures (for reasons varying from cost to fears of getting lost in the alien land- yes, such people exist and they travel) that will be a continuous but increasingly diminishing stream of revenue for such tour operators. In essence, they should be forced by circumstances to adhere to the new paradigms if they have to survive. For the smaller tour operators, unless they are into a very niche segment (like someone who organizes a gourmet trip in Italy or sustainable eco-tourism), the time is ripe to explore the newer avenues of technology for it’s a question of survival. (Anyone who doubts this can refer to the Boiling frog experiment)

[traverik-blog]

Travel Planning- made even easier!

At Traverik, our aim is to simplify travel planning for every destination across the Planet. Keeping this as our primary objective, we strive day in and day out to make lives simple. We have now added all the transport options for every destination that's on Traverik. Be it a train, plane or buses on road or even a steamer, we have them all right here on our planner board!

Like here for a travel plan to London made by one of our users, when one clicks on the icon left to the main flowchart on the planner board, between London eye Millenium pier and Camaden Market,

one gets the array of transport options as below:

Add anyone of your choice to your plan and be rest assured about distances, timings and costs involved. Isn't that wonderful? And that's not all, Traverik gives you all transport options between any two destinations of the world, even if they are continents apart!

Time to log on to Traverik to create the best travel plans ever. Yes! the best. Guaranteed!

[traverik-blog]

"Yours never will." said farer to fearer... - W. H. Auden

[traverik-blog]

San Francisco Itinerary

San Francisco-

The city of hills is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. San Francisco is known for its cool summers, steep rolling hills and important landmarks like Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, prison on Alcatraz Island and Chinatown district. Twin Peaks, a pair of hills forming one of the city's highest points, forms a popular overlook spot.

When planning a trip to San Francisco, Traverik can offer you the best experience. Traverik.com offers the travelers a choice of choosing from different travel themes viz. Family Trip, Honeymoon or Couple Itinerary, Outdoor and Adventure Itinerary and the default Generic Itinerary. A different plan is associated with each travel theme and is easily customizable based on travelers’ requirements.

Some travel tips for San Francisco:

§  Have some warm clothes to put on; remember San Francisco is known for its cool summers.

§  Carry a pair of good shoes for walking on steep hills

§  Street parking is difficult. The Stockton-Sutter Garage may be a good value in the downtown area

§  Smoking is not allowed in parks, restaurants, shops, bars, and in the seats at baseball or football stadiums or within 25 feet of many office buildings.

§  Alcatraz is a must-see for first time visitors.

§  Just north of Twin Peaks, Tank Hill is a secret spot for panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, downtown and the Bay.

§  Yes, don’t ever call it ‘Frisco’. Its better to avoid even 'San Fran'. S.F. would do for San Francisco. 

[traverik-blog]

Traverik, your first travel planner has been adjudged the winner at the websparks competition organised by yourstory.in . WebSparks is an online campaign which is a showcase of the best consumer internet startups in India and the companies are judged by Qualcom Ventures. 

We would like to thank for your support & patronage that has helped us to get rcognized on this platform. We look forward to your continuous support to bring even more awesomeness in your travel plans.

Plan easy. travel carefree :)

[traverik-blog]

A five day trip to London

This post addresses the primary concern for any traveler who is looking for a sample itinerary while planning a trip to London. yes, London ahoy!

What comes up first on your mind when you think of London? A notoriously (in)famous & fickle weather or much admired British Royalty? There's much more to the city than these regular vignettes this travel plan made by one of our users might help you discover exactly what you didn't know about the city. Traveling to London should be a joy and we hope you come back with great memories courtsey Traverik's trip plan to London.

A publicly editable version of this five day Itinerary in London is accessible at  www.traverik.com/myplan/5138a6127b057. Assuming you arrive early at the Heathrow and you are in the city a little early to check in at the hotel,you can do some of the necessary things like exchanging currency, getting some cash from the ATM etc. Hyde Park is one good place where you can roam around while you have all the time in the world. With attractions like Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, Kensington palace & the Peter Pan statue apart from myriad other italian fountains and the Round Pond, you will have plenty on your platter before you get bored.

The Buckingham palace gardens and Royal Albert hall can be covered in a day to get you the necessary doses of Royalty in your London trip. Attractions like Jack the ripper tour conducted in the night & a night cruise on river Thames are also there in the itinerary to give you the ncessary variety.

Day 2 should be spent on admiring the architectural brilliance of the city's monuments. House of commons, Tower of London, Tate Modern all are thrown in to satiate your tourist urges.

In the Suggestions Box, you can also find plenty of other attractions like Madam Tussaud's wax museum, Double decker bus tours, Kayaking at West Reservoir Centre etc. that can help you customize your own trip the way you want it.

Day 3 is a mixed bag with destinations like Westminster Abbey, London eye, Camaden Market and a dinner at Shakespeare's Globe.

Day 4 is a road trip in around the city with the triad of Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and the Bath that can be covered in a day.

Day 5 has been reserved more for shopping and just roaming around. London tower, portobello, Piccadily circus are to be covered on this day with a Pizza & a pint of beer combo suggested at Dickens' inn near St. Katharine's pier. You can end your vacation in London with a show at the west end in the night.

[traverik-blog]

More awesomeness on Traverik

Dear Rocking Travelers on Traverik,

       We have some good news. In our last post we had promised new features in new year and you guys had been pretty excited about it. So here it is. We have lined-up a series of exciting new features for making Travel planning simple and those features shall be released sequentially over coming weeks. This week we are announcing launch of "Publicly editable plans".

      From now on, every plan made on Traverik, will be given a public URL (shown on right column). You can share this link across your network and ask your friends/family/traveler-community to edit it, all this keeping your plan pristine. In this way, you get the awesome traveler community and experts to help you. You can view their versions and then change your original plan accordingly. 

     So go ahead on Traverik, share your plans and let the awesomeness of Traverik work wonders for you. Send us your feedback and let us know what you think.

Making Social travel planning fun!

- Team Traverik.

[traverik-blog]

A great New Year 2013 ahead.

Hello folks,

First up the whole team at Traverik wishes you a very happy and great new year ahead. Lets hope 2013 brings a lot of positives in your life.

Its time to look back and see how 2012 did fare up for us. Fortunately, a lot of good things coming out of 2012, right from quitting our jobs to starting Traverik and then taking it into public Beta. A lot of positive reviews, a couple of media attention and a great deal of feedback from you guys. It feels overwhelming what we have set out to achieve and how far we have already moved towards it. Thankyou all for your unconditional support and love!

2013 brings us a new year and a great opportunity for us to work towards our mission of making travel-planning easy. We realize a great deal of work needs to be done and therefore we have planned a lot of new features that will be coming, some that you have already demanded for. Expect some awesome surprises as well. [:-)] Lets hope 2013 is just as exciting and fun, if not more, as 2012. Let 2013 rekindle the spirit of travel in all of you and allow us to serve you better.

Cheers to new travel and awesome travel planning through Traverik in 2013. Once again wish all of you a very Happy New Year.

-Ashutosh with Team.