Double Up Holidays

Same Dream Destination, Smaller Bill: Plan Your Next Holiday At Nearly 50% Less Per Person

Dec 23, 2025

6 mins Read

By Supriya Sahu

You want the sunset in Bali. The shopping spree in Dubai. The memories with your family. But here's the reality: most holiday packages charge you full price, regardless of how smartly you plan. What if I told you that you could visit your dream destination at nearly 50% less per person?

This isn't about compromising on experiences or choosing lesser destinations. It's about understanding how to structure your holiday differently. Booking smarter, travelling in the right groups, and leveraging tools that actually work.

The Double Up Holidays offer from Alike changes your travel equation entirely. Let’s walk you through exactly how.

Foreign trips from India don't have to mean compromised experiences

When you hear budget itinerary planning, most people think of compromises. Fewer meals out. Smaller hotels. Rush through attractions. But that's not what we're talking about here.

A cheap foreign trip from India simply means being strategic about who travels with you and what you book together. The maths is straightforward: if the stay costs ₹10,000 per night, it costs ₹5,000 per person when shared between two people. If an activity costs ₹5,000, split it four ways and it becomes ₹1,250 per head.

This principle extends across everything: accommodation, experiences, transfers, and meals. When you pool resources intelligently, the per-person cost drops dramatically while the experience quality remains untouched.

These destinations offer excellent value already. Add group sharing, and you're looking at holidays where the same destination, lower cost, becomes a genuine reality rather than a compromise.

Understanding the best cheap countries to visit from India

Not all destinations offer the same value proposition. Some are naturally cheaper. Others offer better experiences when shared. A few excel at both.

Let me break down the geography that works best for reducing per-person trip costs:

Southeast Asia: Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia

Bali: This stands out because accommodation, food, and activities are genuinely affordable. A family holiday here doesn't require you to sacrifice quality hotels or experiences. The island offers everything from spiritual experiences in Ubud to beach relaxation in Seminyak.

Thailand: Bangkok's markets, island hopping, and cooking classes. These experiences cost significantly less than equivalent activities in Europe or the UAE. Shared accommodation and group activities mean your reduce per person trip cost becomes substantial.

Vietnam: Perhaps the most affordable of all. Quality hotels run cheaper than in Bali. Food is exceptional and inexpensive. Travel within the country is reasonable. For groups pooling resources, Vietnam offers remarkable value.

Singapore: Often mistaken as “expensive Asia,” Singapore actually works well for families who plan smart. World-class public transport eliminates cab costs, attractions are bundled through city passes, and experiences—from Sentosa to Gardens by the Bay—are impeccably run and family-friendly. You pay for efficiency and quality, not chaos, making it a surprisingly controlled and value-driven holiday.

Malaysia: Malaysia quietly delivers one of Southeast Asia’s best value family holidays. Kuala Lumpur offers affordable hotels, excellent food courts, and easy sightseeing, while places like Langkawi and Penang balance beaches, culture, and nature without inflated prices. Shared villas, short domestic flights, and great infrastructure mean comfort stays high while per-person costs stay refreshingly low.

UAE: Dubai and Abu Dhabi

The UAE might seem expensive, but here's what most people miss: the city pass structure completely changes the equation. The Dubai Tourist Pass and Abu Dhabi experiences offer savings of up to 50% on attractions. When a group books together, they access these passes collectively and share the per-person cost.

A couple visiting Dubai alone might spend ₹50,000 on attractions. That same couple, travelling with another couple and sharing bookings? Their individual cost drops to ₹25,000 each, without visiting fewer attractions. Attractions like the Dubai Burj Khalifa and other iconic experiences become more affordable when costs are shared.

The cost hierarchy

Destination	Budget range (per person, per day)	Best for	Group benefit
Vietnam	₹2,000-3,500 (£20-28)	Budget-conscious families	Very High
Bali	₹3,000-5,000 (£24-40)	Beach + culture blend	High
Thailand	₹3,000-5,500 (£24-44)	Adventure + relaxation	High
Malaysia	₹3,500-5,500 (£28-44)	Modern + traditional mix	Medium-High
Dubai	₹4,000-6,500 (£32-52)	Luxury experiences, shared passes	High (with passes)
Abu Dhabi	₹4,000-6,000 (£32-48)	Cultural experiences	High (with passes)

The same destination, lower cost: How the Double Up Holidays model works

This is where the actual maths happens. The Double Up Holidays offer from Alike isn't just a discount. It's a structural rethink of how you book holidays.

Here's what it offers:

Partner goes free

Book your international holiday, and your partner's entire land package, hotels and experiences are absolutely free.

Children go free

Up to 2 kids below 8 enjoy free hotels and experiences.

The destinations covered include: Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, the UAE (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), and Indonesia (Bali).

How this changes the per-person cost

Let's work through a real example. Say you're a couple planning a 7-night holiday in Bali.

Normally:

Flights: ₹60,000 per person (₹1,20,000 for two)
Hotel (₹8,000/night): ₹56,000 per person (₹1,12,000 for two)
Experiences (₹15,000): ₹15,000 per person (₹30,000 for two)
Total per person: ₹1,31,000

With Double Up Holidays:

Your flights: ₹60,000
Partner's flights: ₹60,000 (paid separately, as flights aren't included in the free package)
Hotel (₹8,000/night): ₹56,000 (split between you both = ₹28,000 each)
Experiences (₹15,000): ₹15,000 (split = ₹7,500 each)
Total per person: approximately ₹67,500

You've just halved your per-person cost on the ground. Not by picking cheaper hotels. Not by skipping experiences. Simply by structuring the booking differently.

For families

A family of four, two parents and two children under 8, planning a 7-night Bali holiday:

Flights for 4: ₹2,40,000 (₹60,000 each)
Hotel (₹8,000/night for family room): ₹56,000 per night = ₹3,92,000
Experiences (₹20,000): ₹20,000
Total household cost: ₹6,52,000
Per person: ₹1,63,000

With the offer:

Flights for 4: ₹2,40,000 (unavoidable)
Hotel: ₹1,96,000 (parents pay), ₹0 (kids free)
Experiences: ₹10,000 (parents share), ₹0 (kids free)
Total household cost: ₹4,46,000
Per person (including children): ₹1,11,500

Practical steps to reduce per-person trip cost when booking your holiday

Beyond the offer itself, there are additional strategies to lower costs further:

1. Travel in groups, but book strategically

Don't just invite friends. Invite friends who are at similar life stages. Couples travel with other couples. Families with families. This ensures shared accommodation makes sense and everyone's schedule aligns. Group bookings through Alike can be customised. Each person gets their own itinerary but shares common experiences.

2. Choose flexible travel dates

Peak season pricing is real. School holidays in April-May and October-November command premium rates. If you can travel in shoulder seasons, February-March or August-September, accommodation costs drop 20-30% immediately. For a ₹8,000/night hotel, that's ₹1,600-2,400 in daily savings across your group.

3. Combine experiences thoughtfully

A private tour for two couples costs less per person than two separate tours. A group spa session (available in Bali through partners like Tahara Spa at Sthala by Marriott) is cheaper per person than individual bookings. When you're using Alike's platform, these combinations are often pre-configured in the holiday packages.

4. Use city passes where available

The Dubai Tourist Pass saves up to 50% on over 70 attractions. If you're visiting Dubai, a group buying passes together saves on both the pass cost and the attractions. For example, visiting the Dubai Burj Khalifa, Dubai Aquarium, and The Lost Chambers Aquarium individually might cost ₹8,000-10,000 per person. Through the pass, it's ₹5,000-6,000 per person. For a group of four, that's ₹12,000-16,000 in collective savings.

Similarly, Abu Dhabi offers dedicated cultural passes that provide value when shared across groups.

5. Factor in eSIMs and local essentials

Most people overlook this, but international roaming adds up. A 5G/4G tourist eSIM for Indonesia costs roughly ₹1,500-2,000, but when shared across a group (data plans are often shareable), it effectively costs ₹375-500 per person. These small savings compound across 10-15 items (transport passes, local SIM cards, activity vouchers).

The role of budget itinerary planning in lowering holiday costs

Most holiday packages offer fixed itineraries. You pay for everything, whether you use it or not. Real budget itinerary planning means customising what you actually do.

Alike's AI-powered trip planner, Eia, allows you to:

Build custom itineraries day by day
Mix and match experiences based on actual interests
Share the plan with travel companions and gather feedback
Adjust budget allocations in real-time

This approach to trip planning means:

If the group decides you don't want the sunset dinner cruise, you skip it and allocate those funds to an extra spa session instead. The per-person cost doesn't increase. It simply redistributes.

If you discover a better local restaurant through creator recommendations, you can swap the pre-booked meal and pocket the difference.

These micro-adjustments, across a 7-10 day holiday, create meaningful per-person savings of 10-15%.

Group and shared travel actually leads to better holidays

Here's something nobody talks about: shared travel creates better experiences, not worse ones.

When you're splitting costs, you're more likely to:

Afford better hotels (because the cost per person is manageable)
Book private tours instead of group tours (because a private Ubud tour costs ₹8,000 for a group of four, not per person)
Enjoy meals together without counting every rupee
Create actual memories instead of rushing through a checklist

The best holidays aren't the most expensive ones. They're the ones where you move at the right pace, stay in the right places, and travel with people you genuinely want to spend time with.

By reducing the per-person trip cost, you're not cutting corners. You're removing the pressure that comes with overpaying. That pressure is what ruins holidays.

Getting started with your same destination, lower-cost holiday

Here's the straightforward path:

Step 1: Identify your travel partners

It might be your spouse. Your sibling and their family. Your two closest friends. Whoever it is, make sure they're genuinely interested and available during your preferred dates.

Step 2: Choose your destination

Use Alike's destination pages (Bali, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia) to explore what's available. Compare costs across options. Read creator stories to understand what each destination offers.

Step 3: Use the trip planner

Alike's free AI trip planner helps you build a custom itinerary collaboratively. Everyone inputs preferences, and the system suggests experiences that work for the whole group.

Step 4: Check the Double Up Holidays eligibility

If you're a couple, family with kids under 8, or friend group, you qualify. Review the terms, understand what's included, and confirm your travel dates fall within the offer window (travel by 28 February 2026).

Step 5: Customise and book

Select your package, customise as needed (accommodation type, experience preferences, duration), and proceed with booking. The platform provides immediate confirmation via email or WhatsApp.

Step 6: Get support when you need it

Alike's chat support is available throughout your planning and travel. No automated bots. Real people who understand travel challenges.

Your holiday deserves better maths

You work hard. You deserve to relax. Your holiday should reflect that without straining your finances. The equation isn't complicated: better planning + smart grouping + the right platform = dramatically lower per-person costs without compromising quality.

A cheap foreign trip from India doesn't mean a lesser experience. It means removing the financial friction that comes from booking the traditional way.

The destinations are beautiful. The experiences are authentic. The memories will last. The only thing changing is the cost structure, and that's a change worth making.

Your dream destination is waiting for you to book it smarter.