International travel from India has become routine for a much wider demographic than it was even five years ago. But “affordable” and “cheap” are not the same thing. A 10-day trip to Europe for two still costs Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh. A family vacation to Dubai runs Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh. Even in Southeast Asia, Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, the lands between the Rs. 1.5 lakh and Rs. 3 lakh for a couple, once you factor in flights, visas, accommodation, meals, activities, and the spending you did not plan for but did anyway.
A personal loan can fund the gap between what your savings cover and what the trip actually demands. But international travel adds layers that domestic borrowing does not: currency conversion costs, TCS on foreign remittances, forex card decisions, and the reality that every rupee you spend abroad costs more than face value by the time markups and taxes are added.
This guide covers how much to borrow based on real destination costs, how to minimise what you lose to forex inefficiency, and how to structure repayment so the trip creates memories rather than financial strain.
What International Trips Actually Cost from India in 2026
Before deciding on a loan amount, build a destination-specific budget. The numbers below reflect total per-person costs for a 7 to 10-day trip, including return flights from a major Indian city, mid-range accommodation, meals, local transport, sightseeing, visa fees, and travel insurance.
- Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Bali): Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 1.5 lakh per person. Flights from India start at Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000 return. Hotels run Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000 per night. Food is inexpensive, Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,500 per day, depending on how often you eat at restaurants versus street food.
- Dubai and UAE: Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 2 lakh per person. Flights start at Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 20,000 return. Accommodation is the primary variable; a 4-star hotel in Deira costs half as much as a beachfront property in JBR. Activities like desert safaris, Burj Khalifa tickets, and theme parks add Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 30,000.
- Europe (UK, France, Italy, Switzerland, 10 days): Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 4 lakh per person. Flights cost Rs. 35,000 to Rs. 65,000 return. Schengen visa fees are around Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 8,000. Accommodation in Western Europe runs Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 15,000 per night. Intercity train fares, museum entry fees, and meals push daily expenses to Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 15,000.
- Australia and New Zealand: Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 5 lakh per person. Flights are the biggest single expense, Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 80,000 return. Accommodation and food are expensive by Indian standards. A 10-day trip covering Sydney, Melbourne, and the Great Ocean Road costs Rs. 3 lakh minimum for a mid-range experience.
- USA and Canada: Rs. 2.5 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh per person. Flights run Rs. 60,000 to Rs. 1 lakh return. Hotel rates in cities like New York, San Francisco, or Toronto average Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000 per night. Car rental, fuel, park entry fees, and dining add up quickly.
For a couple travelling to Europe on a 10-day trip, the realistic budget sits around Rs. 4 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh total. If savings cover Rs. 2 lakh, the borrowing need is Rs. 2 lakh to Rs. 4 lakh, a manageable personal loan amount with EMIs that stay within comfortable limits.
How Much to Borrow: The EMI-First Approach
The mistake most travel borrowers make is starting with the trip they want and then figuring out whether they can afford the EMI. The correct order is reversed.
Start with your EMI ceiling. Your total monthly EMI obligations, across all active loans and credit cards, should stay below 40% of your net monthly income. The Bajaj Finserv EMI calculator lets you run these scenarios with your exact numbers before applying. Enter different amounts and tenures until you find the combination where the EMI feels routine rather than restrictive. That number is your borrowing ceiling. Design the trip to fit within it, not the other way around.
One more calculation: add 10-15% to your trip budget for unplanned expenses. Currency fluctuation, an extra day’s hotel because of a flight change, a meal at a restaurant you did not budget for, or an activity that was not on the itinerary but too good to skip. If your calculated budget is Rs. 3 lakh, plan for Rs. 3.3 lakh to Rs. 3.5 lakh.
Forex Costs That Inflate Your Trip Beyond the Budget
Every rupee you spend abroad goes through at least one conversion layer. Understanding where the money leaks happen lets you plug the most expensive ones.
- Exchange rate markup. When you buy foreign currency, whether loading a forex card, withdrawing from an ATM abroad, or swiping your Indian debit card, the rate you get is not the mid-market rate you see on Google. Banks and forex dealers add a markup of 1.5 to 4% above the interbank rate. On a Rs. 3 lakh trip, a 3% markup means Rs. 9,000 in losses from conversion alone.
- Cross-currency transaction fees. Indian debit cards swiped abroad typically attract a fee of Rs. 100 to Rs. 300 per transaction plus a percentage-based markup. Over 30 to 40 transactions during a 10-day trip, these fees compound.
- ATM withdrawal charges abroad. Using your Indian debit card at a foreign ATM triggers a flat fee from your bank (Rs. 125 to Rs. 250 per withdrawal) plus a fee from the foreign ATM operator (typically USD 2 to USD 5). Withdrawing small amounts frequently maximises these fixed costs.
- Dynamic currency conversion (DCC). When a foreign merchant offers to charge you in INR instead of the local currency at the POS terminal, they are applying their own exchange rate, which is invariably worse than your card issuer’s rate. Always choose to pay in the local currency and let your bank handle the conversion.
The Forex Card Advantage for Travel Loan Borrowers
A multi-currency forex card is the most cost-effective way to spend abroad when your trip is funded by a personal loan. Here is why the combination works:
- You take the personal loan in INR. The full amount is disbursed to your Indian bank account. You then load a forex card with the required foreign currency at a rate locked in on the day of loading. From that point on, currency fluctuation does not affect you; you have already locked your rate.
- When you spend abroad with a forex card, there is no further currency conversion. The card debits from the foreign currency balance you already loaded. No markup per transaction. No cross-currency fee. No ATM operator charges if you withdraw from the forex card at partner ATMs (card-issuer-specific).
- The cost to load a forex card is typically 1.5 to 2.5% above the interbank rate, lower than the 3 to 4% markup on Indian debit card transactions abroad. On a Rs. 3 lakh trip, the difference between a 2% forex card markup and a 3.5% debit card markup saves you roughly Rs. 4,500, real money that you would have paid for nothing.
- Load the forex card 2 to 4 weeks before travel if you think the rupee might weaken further, or closer to departure if you expect it to strengthen. Nobody can reliably predict currency movements, but loading in a single tranche at a rate you find acceptable is better than loading in small amounts scattered and paying the reload fee (Rs. 100 to Rs. 250) each time.
TCS on Foreign Remittances: What Travel Borrowers Need to Know
Tax Collected at Source is not a tax you permanently lose. It is an advance tax payment that gets credited to your PAN and adjusted against your income tax liability when you file your ITR. If your tax liability is lower than the TCS collected, the excess is refunded. But it does affect your cash flow when loading your forex card or making a foreign remittance, so you need to budget for it.
Practical move: if your trip falls near the end of a financial year (January to March), consider splitting pre-trip expenses across two financial years. Load part of your forex card before March 31 and the rest after April 1. Each financial year gets its own Rs. 10 lakh threshold.
Bajaj Finserv Personal Loan for Travel: Product Details
The Bajaj Finserv loan app offers personal loans for any purpose, including international travel. There is no separate “travel loan” product; it is the same personal loan with the same eligibility criteria and terms, applied toward travel expenses.
- Loan amount: Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 55 lakh
- Interest rate: Starting from 10% p.a.
- Tenure: 12 to 108 months
- Disbursal: Within 24 hours of approval; Insta Personal Loan can disburse in 30 minutes to 4 hours for eligible applicants
- Collateral: None required
- Age: 21 to 80 years
- Employment: Salaried with a public, private, or multinational company
- Minimum income: Rs. 25,000 per month (higher in metro cities)
- CIBIL score: 685 or above
Apply through the Bajaj Finserv app: register, verify with OTP, enter your details, upload documents (Aadhaar, PAN, last 3 months’ salary slips, last 6 months’ bank statements), and choose your preferred loan variant and tenure. Check for pre-approved offers first, if you have an existing relationship with Bajaj Finance, faster processing with lighter documentation may already be available.
How to Repay Without the Trip Becoming a Financial Hangover
The difference between a trip you remember fondly and one that creates resentment every EMI date comes down to three decisions you make before applying.
- Pick a tenure where the EMI is invisible in your budget. A Rs. 3 lakh loan at 12% over 12 months costs Rs. 26,648 per month, noticeable if you earn Rs. 60,000. The same loan over 36 months costs Rs. 9,963. The total interest paid goes from Rs. 19,774 to Rs. 58,674. But Rs. 9,963 per month fits within a Rs. 60,000 salary without daily trade-offs. You will barely feel it.
- Use bonuses and windfalls for part-prepayment. A year-end bonus of Rs. 50,000, applied as a part prepayment on a Rs. 3 lakh loan at the 6-month mark, reduces total interest by Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 15,000 (depending on the rate and remaining tenure).
- Do not extend the loan tenure beyond the interval until your next planned trip. If you travel internationally once a year, repay the loan within 12 to 18 months so you are debt-free before planning the next trip.
Conclusion
A personal loan for travel is discretionary borrowing. Unlike a medical emergency or education expense, it funds something you chose, not something you needed. That distinction means the standard for responsible borrowing is higher. Borrow only what creates a trip you will value for years, repay on a schedule that does not compress the rest of your financial life, and come home with photographs and stories, not a monthly reminder of what you overspent.
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