Festival hopping has been gaining popularity for the past years as a low cost way of discovering places. Travels are typically timed during the so-called festival season of a particular place or at least places that are located near each other. Festivals offer exciting reasons for visiting a place. They are not only times of great revelry but they also provide an important glimpse to the culture and people of a particular place.
Advantages of Timing Travel With Festivals
One of the biggest expenses in traveling is making sure that there are activities to be done during the visit. This may incur paying special fees just to get to enjoy the feel of the place. Festivals are able to provide such activities in an all-out fashion because they are actual and really happening at the very time the traveler is visiting.
The experience of being in the middle of the real thing is another advantage that will be hard to replicate during some other times of visit in the same place. What one would normally learn about through pictures and stories of travel guides will be experienced first hand. Festivals are also venues for great displays of local products. Going to one or several provides opportunities for real learning as age-old practices and beliefs are shown in all their glory.
How to Maximize Festival Hopping
Eager travelers can maximize their festival hopping adventure by checking on schedules of festivals of places of special interest to them. It would be ideal to time the visit for festivals that are scheduled to happen at about the same period. This will make it possible to experience more than one festival in a trip which is a very cost-effective option.
Some neighboring countries also hold their festivals on dates that are fairly near each other’s schedule. This is like hitting two birds in one stone as travelers get to visit two countries or even more during a single planned travel itinerary. This will result to much cheaper transportation expense or even accommodation expense.
See the World Through Festivals
Festivals showcase a place’s uniqueness and the great diversity between places in the world. Many do their festival hopping alone while others do it with groups. It really depends on the preference of the traveler. Festival hopping with family and friends may be more costly but it may provide more wonderful memories to look back to.
India is home to some of the best attractions in the world. Some of the world’s nicest beaches, the Taj Mahal, and of course, their numerous festivals attract countless visitors year in and year out. And speaking of festivals, this season is right around the corner. As such, this is one of the best times to travel to India!