Stories from Oyster Holidays
Destination guides, visa walkthroughs, and real traveller stories from our Bangalore team.
Visa & Travel Documents
Thailand Visa on Arrival for Indians: What Changed in May 2026 and How to Plan
Thailand moved Indians from visa-free to Visa on Arrival in May 2026. The trip is not harder, just slightly different paperwork. Here is the practical version.
Visa & Travel Documents
Visa-Free Countries for Indians in 2026: The Updated List
27 visa-free countries, 47 visa-on-arrival, 66 e-visa. The Indian passport opens more doors than most travellers realise, especially in 2026.
Destination Guides
A Munnar Tea Estate Family Stay: Slow Days, Cool Mornings
We swapped a Munnar resort for a tea estate bungalow with one family. Three days, two daughters, one elderly mother-in-law, all happy.
Honeymoon Ideas
Bangkok and Phuket Honeymoon: A Seven-Day Plan that Works
Three nights of city, four nights of beach. Thailand still does it better than most for first-time honeymooners, even after the visa change.
Destination Guides
What My Daughter Said in the Gondola at Gulmarg
I'd been told a hundred things about taking children to Kashmir. None of them prepared me for the moment in the cable car when my younger one started crying for
Visa & Travel Documents
Schengen Visa from Bangalore: A Step-by-Step Guide that Works
Schengen visa rejections cost Indian travellers crores every year. Most are avoidable. Here is the documentation checklist that gets 95% approval.
Destination Guides
Singapore and Sentosa with Kids: A Four-Day Family Trip
Singapore is small, clean, and built for families. Four days covers Sentosa, Gardens by the Bay, the zoo, and still leaves a slow day.
Destination Guides
Kathmandu and Pokhara: A Week in Nepal as a Solo Traveller
Visa-free for Indians, cheap flights, mountains visible from your hostel window. A 7-day Nepal trip without a single trek.
Destination Guides
Coorg in a Long Weekend: A No-Fuss Plan from Bangalore
Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. Coorg, with kids, with parents, without rushing. Where to stay, what to skip, and the coffee plantation walk worth doing.
Destination Guides
Vietnam with Kids: A Ten-Day Family Trip from Hanoi to Hoi An
Vietnam works surprisingly well with kids. Short flights, gentle food, safe streets, and a country-length trip that doesn't exhaust anyone.
Honeymoon Ideas
The Maldives Water Villa Honeymoon: Is It Worth the Price?
A water villa in Maldives is the most photographed honeymoon on Instagram. The question Indian couples ask us most often: is it really worth the money?
Destination Guides
The Beach in Goa Where I Walked for an Hour and Met One Person
Twelve years of Goa trips. The first three were Calangute. The last six have all been south of Cavelossim. Here's why, and where to go if you've had enough of t
Destination Guides
Dubai with Kids: A Five-Day Family Plan Beyond the Burj
Dubai is one of the easiest international trips for Indian families with kids. Five days, three malls maximum, two desert experiences, and what to actually skip
Destination Guides
Switzerland Without Spending a Fortune: Where Bangalore Families Save Without Compromising
Almost every Bangalore couple who walks into my office with Switzerland on their honeymoon list flinches at the first cost quote they have seen. It does not hav
Honeymoon Ideas
The Hour Before Sunrise in Kumarakom
Everyone takes the houseboat. Almost nobody takes the small canoe at 5:30 in the morning. After my own Kerala honeymoon, that's the only thing I tell couples to
Destination Guides
Mauritius or Maldives: A Conversation with the Bangalore Couples Who Cannot Decide
There is one question I have been asked more times than any other in this office. Mauritius or Maldives for the honeymoon? Both visa-free, both stunning, both w
Destination Guides
Ubud, Solo: Bali for the Indian Woman Travelling Alone for the First Time
Ubud is one of the gentler first solo trips abroad. Quiet enough to enjoy alone, busy enough to never feel isolated, and culturally familiar in small ways.
Destination Guides
The Japan Trip the Bangalore Family Keeps Postponing — and How We Finally Get You There
Of all the destinations our office tracks, Japan is the one where families talk about it the longest before they actually book. "Next year for sure." "After our
Honeymoon Ideas
We Were Going to Maldives. Then We Looked at Havelock.
The Maldives budget was Rs 4 lakhs. Our budget was Rs 1.5. Karthik suggested Andaman and I rolled my eyes. Six nights later, I owed him an apology.
Destination Guides
Sydney and the Gold Coast: An Australia Family Trip for Indian Travellers
Two cities, two completely different vibes. Sydney for the city + culture days, Gold Coast for the theme parks and beach. A 10-day family plan.
Destination Guides
About Bali, Honestly: A Letter to the Couples Who Walk into My Office
Almost every young couple from Whitefield, Indiranagar, and HSR Layout that walks into my office for their honeymoon has Bali on the shortlist. I am very fond o
Destination Guides
Cherrapunji and the Living Root Bridges: A Solo Trip to Northeast India
Wettest place on Earth, double-decker living root bridges, and a 3,500-step descent to get to them. Five days in Meghalaya as a solo traveller.
Visa & Travel Documents
Thailand, the Visa News, and What It Actually Means for Your Trip
On the nineteenth of May, the Thai Cabinet announced that Indians would no longer get sixty-day visa-free entry. The phones in our office have been ringing ever
Honeymoon Ideas
Mauritius Beach Honeymoon: A Quieter Alternative to Maldives
Visa-free, French-Creole charm, more to do than Maldives, half the cost of comparable luxury. Mauritius is having a honeymoon moment for Bangalore couples.
Destination Guides
What My Mother-in-Law Said at Amer Fort
Three generations on one trip. My in-laws in their seventies, my fifteen-year-old daughter, and the four days in Jaipur that almost ended in a fight at the City
Honeymoon Ideas
Gulmarg in Winter: A Couples Trip to the Snow
Snow trips need not mean noisy ski resorts. Three quiet days in Gulmarg, two gondola rides, one private cottage, and a lot of fireplace time.
Visa & Travel Documents
About the Dubai Visa Rejections Nobody Talks About
A young couple from Indiranagar came to my office last March, three days before their Dubai flight, with a visa rejection in hand. They had booked everything th
Honeymoon Ideas
Japan in Cherry Blossom Season: A Honeymoon to Plan Six Months Ahead
Sakura season is short, the trains book out, and the hotels triple in price. Done right, it is the most photogenic honeymoon you will ever do.
Destination Guides
I Keep Going Back to Vietnam: Notes from Leading Our Bangalore Groups
There are countries you visit once and tick off the list. And there are countries you keep wanting to return to. After leading nine group tours to Vietnam from
Honeymoon Ideas
A Cappadocia Balloon Honeymoon: How to Do Turkey Right
Hot-air balloons over fairy chimneys at sunrise: the most-photographed honeymoon moment in the world. Here is how to plan it from Bangalore.
Destination Guides
Rann of Kutch with Kids: A Winter Festival Trip that Actually Works for Children
White Rann under a full moon sounds like the kind of trip kids will hate. We tried it anyway. They asked when we could go again.
Destination Guides
Two Countries, One Honeymoon: Singapore and Malaysia Done Properly from Bangalore
Almost every young IT couple in Bangalore that walks into my office asking about Southeast Asia wants to know if they can do Singapore and Malaysia together. Th
Destination Guides
Two Bases, Not Five: A Slower Sikkim Trip
I did Sikkim two years ago the wrong way. Five hotels in seven nights, mostly in vans. Last year I went back and did it differently. Better trip, fewer kilometr
Honeymoon Ideas
Paris + Switzerland Honeymoon: A 10-Day European Circuit for Indian Couples
The classic Indian honeymoon: 3 nights Paris, 6 nights Switzerland. Eiffel Tower at night, Jungfraujoch on a sunny morning. How to do it without rushing.
Destination Guides
Friends, Yes Sri Lanka Is Ready Again — Here Is What I Tell Bangalore Families Now
The first question almost every family asks me about Sri Lanka, two years after the crisis, is whether it is safe to take the children. The honest answer is yes
Destination Guides
Switzerland with Kids: A Seven-Day Family Plan that Doesn't Wreck the Budget
Switzerland with kids is the dream Europe trip. It is also expensive. Here is how to do it in 7 days without the Rs 8 lakh budget.
Destination Guides
A Slow Letter from Bumthang: Bhutan for a Bangalore Family
My dear friends, of all the countries I have helped Bangalore families plan, Bhutan is the one I still think about most often. Let me tell you why, and what I w
For First-Time Travellers
Scuba Diving in Havelock for First-Timers: What Nobody Tells You
Discover Scuba Dive in Havelock is the easiest introduction to the sport in India. It is also more disorienting than the YouTube videos make it look.
Destination Guides
Vietnam Solo, Ten Days: A Country-Length Trip for Indian Travellers
Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City in ten days, including Ha Long Bay and Hoi An. Solo, cheap, photogenic, and one of the easier Asian countries to navigate alone.
Destination Guides
Varanasi Ganga Aarti: How to Experience It Without Being a Tourist About It
Everyone tells you to see the Ganga Aarti. Few tell you which ghat to choose, where to sit, or what to do in the slow hours before and after.
Destination Guides
Sri Lanka Family Circuit: Beaches, Hills and Wildlife in Seven Days
Sri Lanka is closer than most international destinations and offers more variety per day than almost anywhere. A week with kids covers it well.
India Travel
My Mother-in-Law Sat on a Stone Bench at Kedarnath and Did Not Move for Ten Minutes
My in-laws are in their early seventies and have wanted to do Char Dham for years. We finally did it last year. Here is the version that worked, with the part n
Destination Guides
Solo Through Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi: A Week-Long Plan
Malaysia is an under-rated solo destination. 3 days in KL for the city, 4 days in Langkawi for the beach. Visa-free for Indians till December 2026.
Honeymoon Ideas
Udaipur for Two: A Romantic Three Days in the City of Lakes
Udaipur is built for couples, even if it does not advertise itself that way. Three days, two heritage stays, one boat ride at sunset, and the small things in be
Destination Guides
The Day I Lay in Bed in Kaza Doing Nothing
Spiti on a motorbike, solo, October. Most of the trip was great. One day in Kaza I did not move from my homestay bed. Here is what I would tell anyone planning
Travel Tips & Hacks
Senior-Friendly Travel from Bangalore: A Practical Checklist for Adults Travelling with Parents
Travelling with parents in their 60s or 70s is different from travelling with kids. Different prep, different pacing, and a few things that nobody mentions unti
Travel Tips & Hacks
What Pangong Looks Like at Four in the Morning
My first Ladakh trip in 2022 ended with a chest infection and very strong opinions. Three trips later, I have stopped doing most of what I did the first time.
Destination Guides
Dubai in 48 Hours: A Solo Stopover Plan
Many international flights have Dubai layovers. With a smart visa-on-arrival or transit visa, you can turn it into 48 hours in the city.
Destination Guides
Wayanad in the Monsoon: An Underrated Two-Day Trip
Most weekenders avoid Wayanad in monsoon. The leeches scare them off. The trade: empty homestays, mist-soaked trails, waterfalls at full volume.
Travel Tips & Hacks
Goa in Monsoon: An Honest Take from Someone Who Goes Every Year
Monsoon Goa: half the price, twice the beauty, and a few honest trade-offs nobody warns you about. Here is what to expect.