What’s the first thing that every urban Indian traveller does before leaving home? Whatever the journey ? whether it’s a long-haul foreign holiday or a short trip to the nearest hill station; whether it’s a business trip or one with the whole family ? one thing that has become a constant on the urban Indian traveller’s to-do list is ‘check on the Internet’.

You start by deciding where to go, getting basic information about the destination and booking air or train tickets. Then you find the best places to stay and finalise your hotel rooms.

From a freewheeling, backpacking country hike through Europe to the most meticulously planned holiday in Australia, there’s no information and no service that the vast world of the Internet cannot provide.

Ask veteran traveller and travel blogger J. Alfred Prufrock (the moniker he prefers to use on his blog www.sadoldbong.blogspot. com). “I almost never plan a trip without going on the Net,” says the civil servant who prefers to remain anonymous.

When he travels, whether on work or for pleasure, both of which he does extensively, he can use the Internet to compare prices and book a hotel room in Chennai, hire a car (“or at least get a number for hiring a car”) in Trivandrum, download a road-map for Moscow, check out the timings of a museum in Milan.... in short, as he says, information is everywhere. “I can also compare prices on everything from air fares to extra beds and book online,” he adds.

Last year, the compulsive traveller planned a 7-night 8-day trip through Europe on the Net, starting off at Milan and then through the Alps to Vienna to Prague including a day-trip to the Carpathian region, to Budapest, flying back to Rome ? all for slightly less than $500 on twin-sharing basis. Global travel websites and communities such as Virtual Tourist (www.virtualtourist.com) help you plan travel as well as get in touch with other travellers who can share their experience and expertise, says J. A.P.

Back home, the Net experience is just as wide. In a survey conducted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India, 39 per cent of the respondents had bought railway tickets online and the figure was expected to go up to 48 per cent in the future, while more than 40 per cent had bought airline tickets. While IRCTC (Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation) services the railway sector, websites such as makemytrip.com, travelguru.com and the recently launched cleartrip.com offer the best airline ticket deals to passengers.

“Most of the time I buy railway tickets online on IRCTC as they provide home delivery of the tickets at no extra cost,” says Bangalore-based PR manager Ronita Dutta. “This saves me the hassle of standing at a queue at a crowded railway station or booking office, or paying extra money to travel agents,” she adds. Dutta also checks up on all the travel websites for the best available prices for her trips back home to Calcutta and most of the time ends up buying tickets on the Net, either through the travel websites or the airline websites.

If it’s a comprehensive holiday you’re planning, there are several websites with an offline presence that help you hit the right itinerary and literally hold your hand through the journey. Recalls Delhi-based financial consultant Sravasti Talukdar, “Last year my family took a vacation in Kerala. I put a query on a travel website called Cocohol Tours (www.cocohol.com) and within an hour they had called me back. Then they sent us an itinerary, and once we had approved, they did hotel bookings for us and provided guides and chauffeur- driven cars at every single destination.” The eight-day tour, which included such pitstops as Munnar, Kumarakom, Thekkady, Alleppey and Cochin, cost around Rs 50,000 for the four of them.

And finally, after the trip is done and the last souvenirs have been given away, there are certain other things to be sorted away and filed ? the memories. And even there, the Internet is an immense help. “For me, beyond the ease of planning and execution, the Internet has made travel a community experience. You end up reflecting on your journey and sharing your experiences,” says London-based Neha Vishwanathan. According to her, this makes travel a much more enriching process. “You share your photographs, thoughts and come back to read blogs from that place. You develop a relationship with the place that goes beyond just a vacation. You become your own travel writer,” says Vishwanathan. Finally, as she puts it, the Internet does for travel what it does for any other activity ? makes it easy, accessible and more community-oriented.

Illustration by Suman Chowdhury

My favourite holiday

DJ Whosane!

I am hard pressed to pick just one favourite holiday and the best I can do is narrow down on two of my all-time favourite destinations. The first is the United States, where I’ve been regularly travelling to for work and for leisure since the late 80s. The second, of course, is Goa.

I vividly recall my first trip to the States. I had gone with a friend and we travelled cross-country by Greyhound taking in New York, Miami, San Fransisco and any place you’d care to name. It was the middle of a bitter winter, windy and freezing, but I’d never had such fun. Then again, the US is a country where fun comes easy. Even last summer I went there with my girlfriend and we headed to one of my favourite spots ? Orlando. Like moths to the flame, we were drawn to all the theme parks, complete with roller coaster rides, water games and more. We had a blast!

Goa in a way is like the complete antithesis to a holiday in the States. I returned just last week after a short break there. Though it’s raining quite a bit now, it is still very beautiful. There’s something about the rain on the sea that puts people under a spell of tranquility. The long walks, the flea markets, just sitting on the beach and looking at the ocean ? I just don’t know how my time flies there. Goa always manages to leave me feeling refreshed and at peace. Hopefully, this will see me through till my next trip.

Route map

This one is for those flying from Delhi to New York non-stop. Having launched the direct connection a few months ago, Continental Airlines has decided to give its passengers some interesting add-ons. The carrier has now introduced an online check-in facility and is also offering Business Class passengers an escorted car transfer service between the domestic and international airports (presuming you are taking a connecting domestic flight out of the Capital).

The online check-in system issues boarding passes at the click of the mouse thus cutting out the tedious wait in queues. Just log on to www.continental.com and enter your ticket confirmation number and the boarding pass can be printed out. But if you don’t have access to a printer, then by opting for the request fax option while making the booking, the boarding pass will be faxed to you. So arrive at the airport and sail through for a security check. If luggage has to be checked in, you can do so at an eService Centre counter just one hour before the flight.