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The stunning Alleppey Backwaters in Kerala - a great place to get in tune with nature

Tips for Christmas in India with teenagers

This sounds like an incredible trip, reader! OK, let's dive right in and try to answer your questions.

Train-ing Day

Trains to Goa from Cochin are frequent throughout the week (Madgaon Junction from Ernakulam Junction is the route you want), so you shouldn't have any issues there - the journey will take between 12 and 15 hours.

The usual rules of rail travel in India very much apply. Book well ahead of time, and we’d strongly recommend that you travel in the far more comfortable AC class, not the standard Sleeper class, if you plan to take an overnight train.

Goa-ng On An Adventure

While you're in Kerala, we'd definitely recommend taking a trip to Mararikulam - about an hour's drive from Cochin.

This seaside village has a lot of gorgeous guest houses and homestays (Marari Dreamz is a particularly lovely one, hosted by a local couple who see a ton of praise for their delicious food!), and it's conveniently located for bird-watching at Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary and beachfront yoga on Marari beach.

When it comes to picking the right spot in Goa during the Christmas period, there's a lot to weigh up - the north will be busier, while the south will be quieter (and often pricier).

The Sunburn Festival, Asia's biggest music event, is also kicking off on the 28th December on Vagator Beach in the north after a few years' absence - which is very cool if your family happens to be into EDM music, but will also mean a ton of crowds and likely a fair few drunken revellers who might spoil the vibes. If it's not your scene, we'd steer clear.

Arambol Beach in the north has both the excellent Wala Surf School and a variety of yoga retreats (check out Chique Shanti in neighbouring Mandrem for some great vegan food on the beach.

In the south, we'd aim for lovely Agonda and Cola Beach - plenty of yoga and vegan menu options, and relatively consistent surf, the well-rated Aloha Surf School.

For something a bit different away from the water, you could also head an hour's drive inland from Agonda to the Bhagawan Mahavira Wildlife Sanctuary (which has elephants, leopards and more). There's a stunning farmstay out on the edge of the sanctuary, Dudhsagar Plantation, with local hosts and its own nature trail.

Fabulous festivals and NYE

Even if you're heading for Goa right after Christmas, you should definitely try and make sure you at least see Cochin for a day during its yearly Carnival (which begins on 25th December and continues until the New Year). There'll be processions, costumes, elephants and Christmas lights.

Mumbai could actually be quite challenging for New Year's Eve, particularly since you're travelling with two party members who are under the legal drinking age in India. Mumbai NYE celebrations are often ultra-crowded, hard-partying and boozy (sadly, drink-driving incidents in the city tend to skyrocket on the night), and a lot of events will be closed-entry and for adults only.

There's also a fair amount of uncertainty right now around the night itself. Across 2020 and 2021, Mumbai effectively banned New Year's celebrations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, while enforcing a capacity limit and curfew at hotels, bars, and restaurants.

In other words, there's likely to be a lack of information about what celebrations are going ahead up until the city confirms that NYE won't be restricted this year.

There are more family-oriented options out there outside the city - from resort celebrations to camping experiences - but honestly, we'd be tempted to just stay in Goa. There'll be a ton of energetic beach and shack parties up and down the coast (and again, further south will generally be a bit less wild and rowdy), or you could circle back to gorgeous Gorkana for a more laid-back and restorative New Year's experience.

Whatever you pick, we hope you all have an absolutely wonderful time - send us a postcard in January 2023!

Cheque Before You Fly

This is a fascinating topic, and one that many travellers may not be aware of - bounced cheques (which may be automatically treated as deliberate criminal offences in US and Canadian jurisdictions) are one of the most common reasons why travellers can be turned away at the border.

Considerations will include the seriousness of the offence and the time since it occurred. So if the bounced cheque was a small amount from over 20 years ago, that should stand you in good stead according to Canada's laws.

The method of travel won't help you here, unfortunately, reader - the best thing to do is to get an assessment of your eligibility before you travel. You should then get a response from a Canadian visa officer which formally confirms whether you're eligible to enter the country (and which ensures it won't be a decision that's made on the border itself).

The worst-case scenario is that you'll have to apply to be deemed 'rehabilitated' - this comes with a processing fee that ranges from $200 Canadian dollars to $1000 Canadian dollars, depending on the seriousness of the offence. It can also take up to a year (!) so the sooner you act on this, the better.

Good luck and hope you get to have that trip to Montreal at last!

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Our Pick of the Clicks

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.

Speedin' to Sweden: Thanks to a new sleeper train from Hamburg, you can now whizz across Europe from London St Pancras to Stockholm in less than 24 hours. Nice.

Duck, duck, Greece: The airport at Skiathos, Greece, is quite unique - a combination of high temperatures and an awkward runway forces planes to make extremely low landings, and tourists frequently gather nearby to watch.

This has resulted in frankly a bit of a terrifying viral video this week, which shows plane-watchers ducking as a WizzAir flight skims over their heads.

Aside from locking yourself in the toilet all flight, obviously: CN Traveller has been asking flight attendants for advice on an urgent (and horrifying) question - what do you do when a child behind you won’t stop kicking the back of your seat?

Just plane embarrassing: The summer sadly continues to see a spate of stories about apparently intoxicated passengers acting like an absolute nightmare on flights - including one man who frightened his fellow fliers by attempting to open the airplane door mid-flight (thankfully, there are very good reasons why this just wouldn't work).

Thanks for reading!