'Self-drive travel gaining popularity in India'

There is no better way of travelling to a new place and experiencing things up close.

One way to it is to drive there yourself through the interiors of the city of town, halt every now and experience the local flavours.

Self-drive travel lets you do just that. The latest travel trend in the country is self-drive vacation that lets travellers see and feel the city in a manner that is not possible otherwise.

Self-drive vacations are completely different from destination specific travel. It lets travellers see more, do more and go back home with a lot more to remember and talk about.

"It allows you to mingle with the local people and experience local cuisines and feel the culture yourself which gets left out in destination specific travels. The destinations chosen by people who drive to that place are generally those which have a rich culture and lots of local things to see," said Kapil Goswamy, CMD, BigBreaks.com.

Some of the popular self-drive vacation destinations are Delhi-Jaipur and Delhi-Agra in north and Mumbai-Aurangabad and Mumbai-Goa in the West.

Interestingly in India, the local cuisines and flavours change every few hundred kilometers. It is also a boon for those who love long drives.

"Self-drive holidays have been popular in Western countries for some time and the trend is now catching up in India as well. While some undertake the journey in a small group, others prefer going solo. The trend is here to stay and grow, letting people experience what they would have otherwise missed," said Varun Gupta, CEO, Goomo.

- Hitting The Road: There are many factors that are responsible for the popularity of self-drive vacations in India. One is that the roads are now connecting most of the hinterland. Plus, the road quality is also better than it used to be years ago. Better roads encourage people to take out their vehicles and go to those destinations that they have been thinking about for ages but not taken such excursions due to fear of getting bumped or having a flat tyre frequently on the way.

- Navigation Assistance: Another very important factor that has led to self-drive vacations pick up pace in India is good availability of satellite navigations systems and gadgets now. The assurance of constant guidance and navigation with the help of satellites and top notch communication methods are causing a lot of people, particularly single women, to undertake road trips.

The need to ask for directions or the fear of getting lost in a confusing terrain is now ebbing. This is truly revolutionising the whole of the travel sector. Even the cost of having internet facilities constantly on the phone or other devices is on the decline, prompting people to have 24x7 connectivity. This is letting people go to even remote areas like Kalpa in Himachal Pradesh to Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand.

- Renting The Vehicle: A number of companies are offering cars on rent, that too at affordable prices now. There are international car rental companies in India now. These companies have been quick to cash in on the growing trend of self-drives and further facilitating such journeys. Cars or even two-wheelers are being offered by them at reasonable terms and letting even those travel who don't own a vehicle themselves.