Flight prices to India

[WanderLustingLane]

We are planning a trip to Goa for two years time and need a budget to plan to and save for, I'm searching the web and can only find flights for around 700!
I wasn't expecting them to be fifty quid or anything but I don't see how we are ever going to save it we have five of us to pay for.....
I was hoping for budget of
2000 flights
1000 accommodation (air BNB home combined with some nights in the beach huts roughly 15 per night)
1500 spending money (food and drink is apparently very reasonable over there, plus a few excursions to the spice plantation etc)

Has anyone been and if so does my budget sound reasonable and could I ask how much your flights were and how who did you book with?

We want hoping to go over Xmas and new year, 2-3 weeks.
Thanks!!

Intrepid have some information about the elephant situation. For cathedrals, markets, old town etc. consider Fort Kochi. Varkala beach is easily reachable via local bus or Über from Triv.
Cows are bloody everywhere and if there's no cow, there's a goat.
Kerala is a dry state, so BYO, stay 5* or get local tips on restaurants that will sell you a beer when the Police isn't looking. Food is cheap unless you take the catch of the day of fresh prawns etc., but that's like anywhere. If you like tea or spices, Thekaddy/Periyar in Kerala would be a better bet than Goa (reachable via private transfer or local bus, 3hrs+). Periyar is a national park which does tours, you'd be able to see elephants doing their thing in the wild there. The surrounding area is home to Tetley tea and there are a few spice plantations as well.

I travel to India several times a year, Goa flights are between £580-£780 (approx) depending on when you fly.
It is becoming more expensive year on year

luchi no need for sarcasm I was just stating things we were hoping to see, it sounded lovely, everyone we speak to that has been has said it was nice to see them on the beach and how sacred they are.

People in RL I have asked seem to say that it cost them fuck all to go, but it looking likely that's not the case, flights alone are really expensive (for us anyway)

Regarding elephants, we found a reserve or sanctuary for elephants tigers etc in Rajasthan, an overnight excursion.

Of course though I will be doing my research properly before doing anything, I would never want any part of animal suffering, I'm vegetarian and massive animal lover, have never seen an elephant up close before so hopefully I can have this experience.

Georgina will be me and partner, kids will be 14, 8, 6
We are not big drinkers or anything, so I was hoping my food budget was enough.

As a pp poster said about the Thalis being cheap and drinking coconut milk it sounds delicious! It's our favorite food.

It's Not possible to do an over night to Rajasthan without an internal flight.
The tiger sanctuary there is in Rathanbore national park.
Internal flights will cost you £60 pp return to Goa minimum (you can fly up to Jaipur )
Staying in Rathanbore is expensive. Looking at £80+ per room per night. You will also need an escort & transport around the park.
Probably another £50+
So your overnight stay with 2 rooms would be around £500 you would really need a minimum of 2 nights though.

I find holidays often sound cheap, until you work it out for family of four/five. We have a single friend who tells us all about how he's been here for this much. But then when you multiply it by four for us to go its 6K.

Please also be extremely careful elephant washing etc with small children. They are big dangerous creatures that can easily trample on kids. saw a video on FB the other day of an elephant flipping someone with its trunk.

Looks like we will have to push it further back a few years, I can't face a non direct flight with three children either so would rather pay a bit more .
Fingers crossed I win the lotto in the meantime ay

It's a good point about visas. They are about £100 each.

Not sarcastic. Just astonished. There are cows on the beach because they are abandoned and emancipated because cow slaughter is banned (since they are sacred). Nothing romantic about it. It's just a cow. On a beach. How is that a tourist attraction?! If you were from a country where cows were rare I would understand...
Genuinely baffled.

Emaciated and certainly not emancipated.

I rather like the idea of an emancipated cow.

I've been to Goa and Kerala several times, most recently to both last month. Prices in India are definitely on the increase, and the fall in sterling has not helped either. I wouldn't be put off by a non-direct flight - if you fly into Mumbai, it's a fantastic new airport, and onward flights to Goa are frequent. Kerala is much nicer than Goa, imo. And I far prefer inland Goa to the beach (be aware that some of the beaches are dominated by Russians on package holidays, knocking back vodka and abusing the locals).

Christmas and New Year - you pay a premium for accommodation but summer is out of the question because of the monsoon and Easter is unpleasantly humid. The weather in December and January is fab.

Flight prices vary enormously depending on when you want to go. If you want the lowest price, flexibility is key. The more flexible you can be, the better deal you will get.

If you are restricted to travelling at peak times when everybody else wants to go, it is generally best to book as early as possible.

Cows on the beach in Goa will mug you - they will eat anything they can get hold of, books, bags...!
What about Sri Lanka?
Charter flights to Goa or indirect flights will be cheaper.

Look at package deals. You get some really cheap ones coming up for Goa.