WHY AVOID WEEKEND TOURS?

Leisure tours with families and friends are always enjoyable and memorable moments amidst fun and frolic. But the mistake most of us make is in designing our tour itinerary – we invariably select weekends. Rather, our choice should be weekdays only, for a lesser expensive and a thinly crowded environment, which is much less stressful, more pleasant and a truly fulfilling holidaying experience.

Thus, tours should be avoided not only on weekends but also during peak season and on public holidays when high rush is expected.

BENEFITS OF WEEKDAY HOLIDAYING

LOWER COST OF WEEKDAY TRAVEL

Money is the only factor for tourism. Otherwise, who does not like to visit exotic places, appreciate scenic beauty and understand diverse cultures and lifestyles in a highly relaxed mood, devoid of all worries of life.

Whether you are a backpacker, a low, middle or even high budget traveller, what if you get the same level of comfort or even more at a lower cost by avoiding weekend trips?

The hotel room, transport for local sightseeing and even food prices increase by 20% during weekends because of a surge in demand. As many of the sightseeing spots require paid entry, charges there are higher too on Saturdays and Sundays.

IDEAL SPARSE CROWD FOR TOURISM

The very essence of tourism is to beat the stress and struggles of life and relax in a calm and serene environment. Thus, thinly crowded spots offer the perfect space to rejoice naturally with beauty, nature and knowledge.

But the enthusiasm and purpose of holidaying in peace and tranquillity gets defeated if there are hordes of tourists all around, and you have to fight your way through to reach the destination as also jostle among crowds for local sight-seeing. Stress and anxiety overwhelm you.

That apart, when crowd is less, hotel occupancies are lower, and one can get rooms of their choice that offer better views and are on lower floors at hotels and homestays.

MORE SIGHT-SEEING TIME

Tourists stay at any destination for just 1-2 days, and hence time is a very crucial factor when they are on a sight-seeing mission. Every hour and minute counts because you have to cover the maximum possible points. And the more time you can devote to visit the attractions, the more rewarding will be your trip.

But if the destination is crowded or teeming with tourists, one has to stand in queue for almost everything. You have to wait for your turn to take a cab to the guest house, and again waste time in the hotel lobby before other tourists sign the register. Even at eating joints, you have to wait longer to be served your meal.

As you go out on sight-seeing, here too queue is required to buy entry tickets to enter different tourist spots. And after entering these places, you may not get a seat to sit and relax for a while. The suffocation you find yourself in very well goes against the purpose of the tour – to relax and enjoy.

Even higher traffic during these days can slow down your vehicle, which may prevent you from covering maximum points and spending adequate time at each spot.

TRAVELLING TICKETS

On the other hand, train reservations, bus or air tickets may not be easily available for weekend journeys, and one has to book much in advance for such travel plans.

MANAGING LEAVES

The main challenge for most vacationers who are salaried is getting leaves at their workplaces, while their school or college going children can’t afford to skip classes.

But the benefits of such absence from workplaces or schools far outweighs the hurdles they bring. Those in job can utilize their annual leaves for the purpose. Even children missing school or college for two days together, twice or thrice a year, should not be a big loss, especially when lessons missed can easily be covered through freely available digital modes of learning. The ideal off days can be Thursdays and Fridays, whereby they can return on Saturday and relax before getting back to their schedules Monday onwards.