Why "Sorry, Off Topic"?

You started the thread, so it can be about anything you want (within reason!)

First the dates - I am assuming you meant end March, not Feb, or maybe April?

Anyway, with the flights you have two options as far as I know. The first and probably the cheapest is to talk to the charter airline's offices (not just the one you came with) here and see if they can put you on a flight roughly when you want to go back. Do not be afraid to haggle, they have plenty of empty seats and can only sell them to people who arrived on a charter, because...........

It is against the law here to arrive on a scheduled flight and leave on a charter. However, I'm pretty damned sure that it's OK the other way round. So there's your second option, book a scheduled flight back. You can't do this straight from Goa, via Bombay/Bangalore/etc will be required. Prices vary but we have just booked at about £220 one-way for May, to give you some idea. This is why I said a charter should be cheaper (not available to us) and direct.

Hotel? Well with tourism being so low this year, really the world is your oyster! Just look around you, find one you like the look of, and go in and ask. Best procedure is: ask the daily rate, ask to see a room, ask the "best" daily rate they can do, offer at least 25% less than that. If refused, start to walk away, they will either call you back or let you go. If let go, and it is the place of your dreams, go back and offer a bit more. If its not, look elsewhere. Best to do this morning as its cooler and management tends to be around to make decisions. Please take note, displayed room rates in Goan hotels are ludicrously high, absolutely no-one pays them, especially charter companies. We are talking them paying 25% maximum!
The other alternative is a smaller guesthouse, where an en-suite room with fridge should cost between rs300-500 for the room. As it now getting hotter and will continue to, maybe you should factor in AC.

If none of this searching appeals, contact me via here, and I will sort you out with my friends place in Calangute (quiet part), just behind the beach........nothing in it for me, they are lovely rooms, lovely people, and less than a minutes walk to the beach.

Anymore help needed, just ask
Regards,
Johnny Five, innit?

Hi Johnny, it's December that they are going so Feb 2010 is when they are coming back. The accommodation will run out at the beginning of Christmas week when accommodation is at its dearest.

Angelswitch, you may need to bite the bullet over Christmas and New Year as prices are quite expensive but if next season is anything like this one there should be some bargains to be had once the New Year madness is over. Sorry, I can't help with recommendations as we have our own accommodation but I am sure someone will be along in a minute with some suggestions for low priced guest houses.

It is against the law here to arrive on a scheduled flight and leave on a charter. However, I'm pretty damned sure that it's OK the other way round. So there's your second option, book a scheduled flight back. You can't do this straight from Goa, via Bombay/Bangalore/etc will be required. Prices vary but we have just booked at about £220 one-way for May, to give you some idea. This is why I said a charter should be cheaper (not available to us) and direct.

When we left on 8th February we were told our Gatwick Monarch flight was cancelled. Monarch had arranged buses to take us to Calangute to spend the night in various hotels - none of which we fancied.

We managed to get seats on Thomsons' Gatwick flight even though the check in desk was closed - the captain had agreed to let us on the flight to Gatwick. However, immigration at Dabolim refused to let us fly with Thomsons, saying - "you came in with Monarch, you must leave with Monarch."

Luckily we managed to get on Monarch's Manchester flight later that evening - the plane didn't have a premium cabin, but anything was better than a night in Calangute.

Thank you for the correction Katie, one of the problems of living here; I can always tell you the day, date and month.......its the year I can never remember!

Max, I think they gave you a load of buffalo-cr*p there. I am 99.9% sure the legal restriction exists only between scheduled and charter, not between charter and charter. If you think about it, it would be ridiculous, like saying if you flew into Bombay with Virgin but couldn't fly home with BA?

Unfortunately, at Dabolim you would have been dealing with corrupt idiots, unlike Bombay that does at least have an air of competence about it. I have found other references to representatives of the charter airlines coming out with this story, obviously to keep you with them?

Having just found the relevant document, I will change the above percentage to 100%. You can find the legal definition at;
http://dgca.nic.in/aic/aic05_06.pdf
its dead boring but does make it plain. Maybe someone should send a copy to Immigration at Dabolim?

Max, I think they gave you a load of buffalo-cr*p there.

You may well be right - but it doesn't change the fact, that we were not allowed out with a different charter company.

Max, you are absolutely correct. We flew home last Friday and as we had originally flown with Thomson/First Choice none of the other tour operators would let us go home with them. Don't think there is anything written in statute...just appears to be policy they are all applying. Believe me, I tried them all and they wouldn't entertain us
kind regards
Towpal

Item 4.1 vii) in the document refered to above, quite clearly says:

"Tourists flying on ITP charter flights can only fly into India and out of the country by using the services of same charter operator"

Sorry, my mistake.

Hi all thanks for the info think we are going to get a room down near the beach will probably sort it when we get there it was very quite this christmas so with luck we will get some were at a good price
think i will go and see Eddy at day trippers for the flights back the £200 sounds good hope we can get some thing like that(more money for hunny bee)
as for the off topic thing i don't even remember posting any of it think it was the night i finished the hunny bee off

As far as I am aware - and I was a manager for Thomas Cook there - if you arrive by schedule, you have to leave schedule. It goes by the stamp in your passport, not the carrier. As you can only fly in to Goa by charter or domestic flights in most cases, your disembarkation stamp will be the airport that you arrive, ie Mumbai in most cases for schedule and Dabolim for charter. When i worked in Goa, I flew in scedule to Mumbai and had a Mumbai stamp. To leave on the last charter that year, I had to pay $100 bribe to get a Dabolim stamp in my passport.

As for the carrier, the check in staff have no real way of knowing there and then which carrier you travelled in on. If it were the case, insurance companies would have problems getting you return flights via charter companies as they are cheaper.

The long and short is, You can fly home schedule if you arrive charter and you are not restricted on your carrier.

If this has changed in recent years my apologies, but Thomas Cook, or JMC as we were then used to sell spare flight tickets to people who have extended their stay.

My OH flew in Air 2000 and out Monarch.

As i have already said, if this has changed recently my apologies.

When we left on 8th February we were told our Gatwick Monarch flight was cancelled. Monarch had arranged buses to take us to Calangute to spend the night in various hotels - none of which we fancied.

We managed to get seats on Thomsons' Gatwick flight even though the check in desk was closed - the captain had agreed to let us on the flight to Gatwick. However, immigration at Dabolim refused to let us fly with Thomsons, saying - "you came in with Monarch, you must leave with Monarch."

Luckily we managed to get on Monarch's Manchester flight later that evening - the plane didn't have a premium cabin, but anything was better than a night in Calangute.

I look forward to your apology - just kidding.

I cancelled my return flight in January because my daughter was ill and we came back with a different carrier a week later. Both were charter flights. The agent who booked it did tell me that you're not supposed to change carriers but it can and is done. I arrived at the airport and was met outside by the travel agents airport "contact" who was already clutching my new ticket and boarding card. The staff at the door were only interested in making sure I had a ticket and payed no attention at all to which airline I' might have come in on. I had no problems. New ticket cost me £240 and I have no idea how much of this went in anyones pocket !

If you haven't paid yet just cancel and book a scheduled flight in November.

arnt you only allowed four weeks in Goa as per tourist visa

i am wrong apologise

I don't understand what difference it makes, just as long as you are leaving, but perhaps I am just being too simplistic or just plain simple.

arnt you only allowed four weeks in Goa as per tourist visa

The tourist visa is for 6 months. That is until the Indian government decide to reduce it to 3 months.

The problem is buying a charter flight ticket, 4 weeks is easy - 6 weeks not so easy.

thats what i was thinking you cant get a charter flight for more than four weeks and i think i am right to say that all charter flights adhere to this, the only way round this is to go on scheduled flight to Mumbai

thats what i was thinking you cant get a charter flight for more than four weeks

Yes you can - it's just not that easy, some agents won't sell you a 6 week ticket.

Try - United Co-op Group, werner.gomes@tarsc.net

Thanks for the help the deal we got with Thompson's is a good price so once there we will cancel return flight and ether rebook a return flight with them or go Goa to Bombay and then on to Manchester i think I'm going to get an headache