Bitten by the travel bug: Vidula Tade of BuffyFish Tours

We all love vacations. That time away from the hustle and bustle of life  is something we all look forward to. But Vidula Tade converted her wanderlust into a business with BuffyFish tours and wants people to get out of their comfort zone and experience the world! An avid traveller herself, it is something she been doing since she was a wee toddler! Now curating tourism experiences to almost any destination in the world, Vidula wants to promote Indian tourism and believes that we must protect the homeland and its beauty.

Travel and get out of your comfort zone~

The love for wanderlust

"I spent the first 8 years of my childhood in Thiruvananthapuram, and every summer we would come down to Pune, to meet my grandparents and other relatives. We would board a train called “Jayanti Janata” that brought us to Pune in 2 days. It was a literally a child-like exhilaration to see the varying landscapes that were clad in numerous shades of brown and green and blue.  Soon after we moved to Pune in 1989, my maternal uncle, who was a mountaineer, took me on my first trek to Rajgarh, a fort near Pune. My uncle was the first one to have influenced me and it was through him that I learned how to live in the outdoors. Then in 2005, I met Anoop, my husband, who was the biggest influence in my life as he had already travelled to a few countries before I had met him. I have been trying to play catch up with his count ever since I met him, only to match the number of countries that we have travelled to. Together we have travelled to 27 countries across 5 continents."

The Indian tourism industry is one of the biggest thriving industries in the world. and made over USD 120 billion in 2015 alone

The fish that swims to travel! The origin of BuffyFish! 

"One night in 2011, I woke up with a jolt and literally had an epiphany of sorts. I couldn’t sleep. I knew I wanted to travel and meet new people and this, I realized, would give me the peace of mind that I was looking for. The question was how. I ruminated and the idea of making travel a living, appealed to me the most. I knew then, that I would have to quit my 12 year old secure job in the IT industry which I eventually did 2012. I setup BuffyFish and we have been operational for the last 2 odd years."

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The BuffyFish advantage.

 " Currently, at BuffyFish we customize experience based tours for people to any destination in the world. If someone comes to me and says they want to go to France for 9 days, I help them put together an itinerary, include the places that are a must visit and I also throw in some  offbeat places. Everything is included in the package. We offer a unique experience to the customers. All of this for a fee of course! Currently, we don't have fixed departure trips. But we hope to start them in the future. We want to get into self driven car and bike trips. It is on the cards."

We need to protect the beauty of the homeland

While traveling solo, don't loiter in a strange place and always carry pepper spray

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 India vs the world 

"Indians are very particular about the services that are being offered to them. they will usually end up fighting for the best service. They need value for money and  won't pay much for top service! Western travellers will pay for the service and love being pampered. Indians need to learn to sit back , after all travel is about enjoying yourself when on the tour and it is not having to worry about money all the time. Also the Indian customers have a mediocre taste when it comes to a unique experience that is being offered to them. We also need to learn that littering when you travel in your own country is a big NO! And please , we should travel light!

Be alert when you travel alone

Being safe while travelling solo. 

" I think the biggest advice is to use common sense and stay safe. Don't loiter in a strange place and always carry pepper spray! Be well informed of your surroundings and keep your close ones on call all the time! "

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The favorite destination

In India, Spiti is on top of my list. I would love to go back to the untouched and unexplored places again and again. New Zealand's  South Island was quite a treat. The other destination would be Scotland. The highlands and the mountains are beautiful!"

The Indian tourism industry insight.

"It  is one of the biggest thriving industries in the world. and made over USD 120 billion in 2015 alone. it is growing and I think there is a lot of potential. There is a lot of market for offbeat tourism industry, backpacking, and experience based tours. Although we need to protect our homeland, make it litter free, use technology as a positive tool and protect our wildlife!