We are two friends planning to go to Central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and others. We want to stick to three countries where we could spend 6-8 days each, but we want to visit Bukhara and Samarkand especially. Our main aim is to experience local culture and sightseeing. Is it possible to stay with local families in homestays and hostels? What would the budget be per person for a total of 18-20 days? What would be the best way, and the best season, to travel?

Central Asia today chiefly comprises five independent republics, often called the ’Stans: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and the largest of them all, Kazakhstan (a few compilations include Afghanistan). These extraordinary destinations offer many unrivalled experiences, but ease in travel planning isn’t one of them. Contrarily, your itinerary will have to be almost blueprinted over dates

We are eight adults from Gujarat, aged between 22 and 55 years. We have planned a trip to South India from November 9 to 19, arriving and leaving from Bengaluru. We are doing a day trip to Mysore on the 11th. Our hotels are booked. The Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari, the Jyotirlinga temple in Rameswaram and the Meenakshi temple in Madurai are must-visits on our itinerary. Could you suggest other places of interest in our time-frame? We?re open to any itinerary suggested by you between 10th and 18th. The budget is open.

Your itinerary is structured well enough for the must-visits you have in mind, but is packed too ambitiously, I fear. A day trip to Mysore will be spent mostly on the highway between the two cities; the traffic around Mandya is particularly bad, all days of the week. Make sure you leave very early, or

Hello, I would like to take my mother (aged around 80 yrs) to Ladakh, Kaashi Haridwaar & Aagra in 4th week of Dec 2015 (from 25th to 2nd Jan 2016 both inclusive). No idea, at this age, whether I can took her or not, as I have no idea about the weather condition at that moment. Also, no clue on the routes, the accommodation where to stay (not too expensive, but should be a very good one) & the eateries & for local transport, whom to approach. Can you please provide me details on all the above. My budget is Rs. 90,000/ (fixed, includes for all travel, accommodation, food & shopping etc) & travel time will be around 9 days. Pls. do not ignore this, as this is my lifetime dream to take my mother for a trip, that includes a flight travel. If this is suitable for her, pls suggest any other destinations, (including a foreign location also), where I can take her. Preferably a very less crowd & more nature place will be preferred. Please reply me back soon, as I need to make the booking arrangements. Thanks in Advance, Best Wishes, Veerabhadra B H 9964502986

Hi, I am a resident of Bangalore. I have always been wanted to visit the enchanting North East India for a quite long time. As you know they are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura. I want to cover one state (only the must see state) at a time every year or twice a year and visit only the must see places (not too many places) in these states, spending a day or two in the places you recommend. I like leisurely travel, would not like to visit during peak seasons. I am a solo traveler. I like cool climiate, winter. I am a nature lover and would like to visit only places with lots of nature – greenary, moutains, lakes, water falls, snow capped moutains, wild life, etc. I need your help to chalk out a iternary to visit these places including ideal time to visit, budget hotel stay (not expensive), any contact persons who could help me out with these things. Which state would you recommend me to start with? I would be greatful if anyone could help me out with my dream of touring these states. Best regards, Srikanth

Hi! We are an adult group of 3 planning on a 5D/4N vacation in Dubai in December’15. Our budget is around Rs 25,000 per head. Departure from Mumbai and arrival/departure airport of choice Dubai DBX. We plan on staying with a friend who resides in Dubai. Request your help in drawing up an itinerary and places of interest and sightseeing in Dubai. Is the budget of Rs/Head 25,000 realistic to cover airfares, visa fees, entrance fees to sights/places, local transport etc. Thanks & Best Regards, Chandran aka Chan

We are a family of four, including two kids. We are planning a 5-6-day car trip from Ranchi to Odisha in the last week of October. Accommodation issues are partially resolved as we plan to utilise the services of company guest houses in Puri and Chandipur. Our plan is to move from Ranchi to Chandipur on Day 1, and thereafter to Puri on Day 2. Please share your comments on the season in which we have planned the trip. Also, please suggest an itinerary.

Your travel plans appear sorted, and I expect the weather will hold out well, with winter round the corner and the NE monsoon not quite there yet. Parts of the notoriously bad NH33, particularly on the Ranchi-Jamshedpur- Baharagora stretch, which hadn’t seen improvement for years, were being repaired in June 2015 alongside four-lane expansion, which

I am planning an overseas trip for my family (wife and two kids, ages 10 and 5). I?m confused between Singapore/Malaysia or Hong Kong/Macau as the destination. Could you please help me with the right choice where the family can enjoy the most, and suggest a suitable itinerary? I?m thinking of about 7 days during Dussehra, or the winter holidays in December. Would you suggest a cruise trip along with it? I am looking at a budget of not more than Rs 2.5 lakh.

I would go with Singapore/Malaysia, or just Singapore, since there’s so much to see and the island-nation is a delight for kids. I’m not sure where you are based, but airfares will also be somewhat cheaper for this sector. The dates you are considering are fine, though accommodation and airfares cost more during the Christmas-New

I am from Chennai and I?m planning to travel all over Tamil Nadu alone in my car over 20-25 days between September and December, most likely December to avoid the rains. Can you please draw me an itinerary? Please include places like Kanyakumari, Kolli Malai and Theni. The budget is not a problem and I would like to stay in 4/5-star hotels.

That’s an ambitious plan and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t do it, but I have some perspectives to add: you can drive all over Tamil Nadu, yes, but cannot stay and experience much of it in the time you have in mind; also, of course there are hundreds of villages in TN, but they

I am planning my honeymoon for March 2016 for 12-15 days in either Mauritius or the Maldives, clubbing it with a city (Dubai, for example) within a budget of Rs 2.5 lakh. Please tell me which of the two beach destinations would be better, preferably along with another city? Also, in terms of the weather, is March 2016 a good time to visit them?

You can fly Emirates from Mumbai to Mauritius via Dubai (about Rs 45,000 next March, and currently the cheapest option), or opt for a fiddly Air Mauritius code share with Jet Airways that stops at Singapore and Kuala Lumpur (about Rs 53,000). Colombo would be your obvious choice of halt if you pick the Maldives,

My wife and me, both in our mid 50s and based in Kolkata, wish to visit Jordan around the middle of November. Will 10 to 12 days be enough to cover Amman,Jerash, Petra (including the Light and Sound show in the evening), Wadi Rum (including a night at a Bedouin camp, Umm Qaish and Madaba, on a comfortable and non-hectic pace? Can this trip be done without tying up with a tour operator in India? We would rather prefer a local and reliable operator in Jordan, who could assist us in choosing hotels, booking cars etc. We plan to fly in and out of Amman. Our budget is Rs. 125000/- plus or minus Rs.10000/- including round trip airfare and visa charges. – Soumitra

I am planning to visit Diu and the Rann of Kutch with my wife and 6-year-old daughter for a week in December, split evenly between both places. Kindly suggest good budget hotels (Rs 3,500?4,500) for both. What would be the most convenient way/route from Kutch to Mumbai? We are not considering flying and we would prefer train over road transport.

Brace yourself for a lot of time on the tracks since the two destinations you have picked aren’t well-connected by your favoured mode of travel (I’m assuming the reference here is to the Great Rann of Kutch, for which you disembark at the railway station in Bhuj). A metre gauge line runs from Delwada (8km