Q: I am an 18-year-old girl from Pune wanting to travel alone/ with groups that conduct trips for people closer to my age group (within the country). I’m looking for both trekking and non-trekking options, preferably the latter. Could you please suggest suitable options?

Marco Says:
It’s been a long, long time since I was 18, and the world has changed much since then. When we wanted to travel, for instance, there was no such thing as group tours for young people. We simply begged our parents for a few hundred rupees, went to the bus stand, got on an uncomfortable overnight bus, didn’t notice the discomfort, plonked ourselves in the nearest hill town that was as far away from human habitation as possible. But, of course, the world has changed, as it must.

I’m told, for instance, that a company called Renok Adventures offers specially designed adventure holidays for youngsters. A member of the outfit, himself a college student, tells me that they have taken groups of students from several universities on various treks. They can also customise treks for individuals. See renokadventures.com. The Youth Hostels Association of India also conducts tours for members (membership is easily obtained at yhaindia.org). On offer at the moment are non-adventure trips such as their 3N/4D Manali package as well as a thrilling National Himalayan Trekking Expedition to the Valley of Flowers. Another fun option would be to join a tour run by an international company. Several offer trips targeted at the 18-30 age group, including Geckos Adventures (geckosadventures.com/ en/india), which offer a range of India holidays for the young; G Adventures, which has a cool Kerala holiday (gadventures.com/ trips/kerala-beaches-backwaters/ AHBB/) and Contiki, which has one in-depth India trip (contiki. com). These might be more expensive but are a good way to ‘go international’ without going abroad, putting you in touch with young travellers from around the world and giving you a chance to share ideas and interests—itself a prime reason to travel.