New Delhi, Oct. 18 -- Best of the Week is a weekly newsletter by Siddharth Sharma/Shravani Sinha. Subscribe to Mint's newsletters to get them directly in your inbox.

Let's be honest, nothing beats the joy of planning long weekends, imagining yourself by the sea with a coconut in hand. But for folks like 28-year-old Suyash from Bengaluru, the Goa dream has officially faded. "A trip to Thailand costs the same-and the beaches are better!" he laughs. Return flights to Krabi were Rs.17,000, while flights to Goa demanded Rs.9,000 and nearly triple the stay cost. So, Thailand won hands down.

He's not alone. Bidya, a communications professional, ditched her annual Goa trip for Sri Lanka this year. "There's barely any cost difference, and intern...