Walking Wanderer

Manali is one of the most beautiful and alluring place in Himachal Pradesh. One need not to take many holidays to explore this vibrant hill station in Kullu valley, even a 3 days of backpacking is enough.

The vibrant and colorful Manali, Himachal Pradesh, is a famous tourist destination in India. The things that make Manali mesmerizing and breathtaking are just many. The amazing weather, mountains and the lush green forests are just a few of them. All the adventurous and recreational activities that one can experience while being here make Manali much more alluring. One visit to Manali can light up the boredom of your life.

Recently I have got number of mails in which I have been asked about how to plan a budget trip to Manali, so I thought of writing a complete guide on planning a budget trip to Manali.

How to plan budget trip to Manali

Most of the people start their journey from Delhi or Chandigarh so I will tell you few things according to that

• Delhi is about 530km from Manali and it takes around 12 hours of overnight journey from Delhi to reach the destonation
• The best way of traveling from Delhi is by Volvo buses which usually starts from Kashmiri gate in the evening. The price of ticket usually ranges between 1000Rs to 1300 Rs and after 12 hours of overnight journey you will land up in Manali.
• The second option of traveling from Delhi to Manali can be in a cab, which is also a very great option. Traveling in cab is very comfortable and plus shared cabs are very cheap.
• After reaching Manali by the morning one can look for hotels around Mall road depending upon your transportation, as the hotels around Manali are cheaper and affordable for the budget traveler.
• Note: If you are traveling to Manali during the peak season that is around May and June then always go for prior bookings while during the other months you can go for onsite searching of hotels. During the months of March, November, January one can find good budget hotels after reaching the place. In off-season one can even try some bargaining skills to get some discount on hotel prices.
  
• In order to travel in Manali one need to know the basic geography of the place, As this article basically emphasize on 3 days visit so I will choose place according to that, Hadimba, Vasisth, Jogini waterfall , Solang valley are some of the must visit places of many others.
• After checking into the hotel room one can take some rest and later during the evening one can visit Hadimba temple and can explore colourful souvenir market of Manali. Hadimba temple and the Mall road will be accessed easily by walk, this will also help you save some money.
• On day 2 get up early in the morning and go for bike or Scooty rentals to explore the nearby places like Vasisth temple,  Solang valley,  Naggar, Jana falls etc or you can also book taxi services as they are very comfortable.
• Bike rental or taxi booking call 8988265439 this above number is of thakur bhai my most trusted source in Manali for bike rentals so you can freely call him. This guy will even help you in planning  a great Manali trip. Jogini waterfalls is among those places which I never let anyone skip who ask me about places to visit in Manali.

Read: How to Visit Rohtang Pass

Best Time to Visit

If you are a budget traveler and looking for feasible trip then always try to visit  Manali during the offbeat season. Offbeat season is better to explore the local life and natural beauty of beauty of this place. But if you want to skip the summer strokes then probably May and June is the best time to visit Manali.

For budget travelers July to December are probably the best months to travel to Manali,  the room prices are at low,  bikes rate are low everything will be cheap.

Budget Estimation

1. Volvo buses travel both side per person = 2000-2500
2. Stay in Manali for 3 days per room for 2 persons 3000-4000(breakfast and dinner)
3. Rent of bike 1100 per day

Rohtang Pass

Rohtang pass remains open from May end to October 3rd week at Maximum.  If you plan to visit Rohtang during the May end or June then you have to book your cabs in advance as its the peak season time.

The main reason why people want to visit Rohtang during the peak season is due to the huge snow walls present on the top. The view of Rohtang pass during May and June is just amazing. People can even go for government buses which run after regular interval of time from Manali to Rohtang. As this article is about how to plan a budget trip to Manali so I would suggest you to advance book your cabs or book you tickets in advance for government buses running from Manali to Rohtang pass.

At last one can board bus back to Delhi from Manali covering all the major places in just 3 days and that too in budget.  If still you guys have doubt regarding how to plan a trip in budget you can pen down a comment below.

Read: How to plan Budget trip to Kasol