I am getting married in six months’ time. Planning for a week’s vacation abroad in February-March. Would love to visit a place that is naturally beautiful, has good food options and a friendly atmosphere. I have a budget of around Rs 2 lakh, which includes shopping.

Since you are getting married in six months’ time, I assume you will be travelling as a couple, and the budget is inclusive of airfare. Keeping your budget and requirements in mind, I suggest you choose among Thailand, Malaysia and Bali in Indonesia. All these places offer excellent cuisines, especially sea food (again I assume

We are a couple with a 9-year-old kid. Mid-October, we plan to visit Singapore and Malaysia for a 10-day holiday. Our main aim – to enjoy quality family time, full of fun and adventure. Suggest a suitable itinerary and hotel options (budget Rs 4000 to Rs 6000 per night).

Singapore and Malaysia offer plenty of options but I assume child-friendly activities will be a priority for you. I am also assuming that you will divide your time equally between the two places. Just 20 minutes’ drive from Kuala Lumpur (KL) is the Bandar Sunway township, home to Malaysia’s premier theme park, Sunway Lagoon.With a

I am 67. My wife and I would like to spend about a month of the next winter down south. Two places that come to mind are Pondicherry and Hyderabad. Please give other options with affordable places to stay, and places in the vicinity that are worth a visit.

Pondicherry and Hyderabad would do nicely, indeed, the former more so if you are looking for some laidback quietude. Do look up our feature on hotels in Pondicherry (‘Pocket-friendly in Pondy’, November 2010) to pick whatever suits your taste and budget. Old-worldly Taj Mahal (from Rs 1,550; 040-24758250) in the centrally located Abids area is

My husband and I, and our 21-year-old son, are planning a trip to Dubai this October for seven nights. Please help us decide on must-do activities and create an itinerary. We’re not very keen on shopping, but would like to have a feel of the city and culture.

If you don’t devote much time to shopping, then seven nights is perfect for seeing Dubai at leisure. Two of the activities peddled as must-do by tour operators is the desert safari and the dhow cruise. The safari is, indeed, worthwhile and exciting – plan this for the third or fourth day of your visit;

We are four people from Delhi planning a 15-16-day trip to Europe in June. We have zeroed in on Switzerland, Prague, Austria, Amsterdam, and Denmark or France (we are confused over this). Our budget is Rs 5 lakh per couple all-inclusive. Please help us with an itinerary. Also, suggest places we should visit in Switzerland and Austria, and if any place should be included or excluded from the countries we’ve chosen.

Well, you don’t say what interests you, so I’m unable to tell you what you should include or exclude. I dare say a lot of things will get left out anyway since you are travelling to five countries in a fortnight.  France and Denmark are culturally different but quintessentially European: renowned cities, historic sites, great

We are a group of four from Delhi planning a visit to Ladakh at the end of June for 7-8 days. We will take a flight to Leh and we want the trip to be a balance of culture and adventure. I understand 7-8 days are not enough to fully explore the region but we are time-bound. And because the group members aren’t very familiar with each other, we’ll have to go with independent rooms. Could you please help us with the itinerary, suggest some mid-range accommodation (B&Bs/guesthouses) and give us an idea of the total cost of the trip (excluding airfare)? Also, one member happens to be slightly asthmatic. Should we be concerned?

We are planning on taking our kids-they are 12 and 7 years old-to Austria in October. We want to have a family holiday with a mix of things. What should be our base to cover the whole of Austria – Vienna, Innsbruck or Salzburg? Also, please suggest some accommodation that’s centrally located, has a kitchenette, and costs less than ? 80 per night.

Austria is a delightfully small country to traverse but the distances between important locations are still not inconsiderable, so I wouldn’t want to have one city as my base and keep returning to it. However, if you would rather stay in one place,Viennawould be my pick, partly because it’s where you are most likely to

My wife and I are planning a trip to Agatti island in August or September. Please suggest the best options to stay there. We are looking for a resort which is isolated, on a quiet beach, and preferably has a spa. Also, are there any cruises to Agatti? If yes, from where?

I’m afraid all privately owned resorts in Lakshadweep, including those on Agatti, have been closed indefinitely following a stand-off between the local tourism authorities and resort owners. Currently, tourist travel to Lakshadweep is possible only under the aegis of the misleadingly named but otherwise bona fide and government-runSPORTS(Society for Promotion of Nature Tourism and Sports),

My wife and I (both in our sixties) are planning a trip to Kashmir from July 24 to August 2, ex-Delhi. 1) What are the places we must visit? 2) What are the most comfortable means of transport? 3) Could you recommend a few budget hotels? 4) Apart from the airfare, how much do you think we’re likely to spend?

Although you have over a week to spare, I’d suggest you take it slow and visit three (or a maximum of four) places in all. Divide your time betweenSrinagar, Pahalgam(with a day-trip to the village of Aru nearby) andSonamarg or Gulmarg. The best way to get around in Srinagar these days are the new radio

I’m looking to take a vacation abroad. My preferred destinations are Greece, Turkey and Jordan, or Texas in the US. I’ll be travelling with another adult and a 21-month-old baby between the end of September and early October. Our budget is Rs 3 lakhs. Of the countries we have shortlisted, which do you think would work best, considering the political and climatic conditions, and the obvious limitations of travelling with a child? I’m rather keen on a short ranch vacation in Texas, so please recommend a good child-friendly ranch, if that’s the place you decide to recommend. If you think none of these are worth visiting in that time period, please feel free to suggest any other destination. I am not very keen on Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mauritius or Dubai though.

You don’t specify so I’m going to assume the Rs 3 lakhs includes the costs for all three of you. I would drop Texas right away then, since getting there and back will eat up nearly two-thirds of your budget. As for Turkey, the recent political uprising doesn’t appear to have affected tourism yet, but