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The deed is done! The flight to Australia is booked at long last!! We are flying out on Monday 25th November 2019, stopping over in Singapore, and will be spending Christmas and New Year Down Under.
I’ve been thinking about and planning this trip in my head for over a year. And I’ve been actively planning it out for six months!! To finally have cemented dates and put my money where my mouth is feels incredible.
I’m doing my best to not over plan, as the whole point is to go out of my comfort zone and live in the moment. Due to the time of year however, some parts of the trip had to be booked in advance.
A brief overview of our trip looks like this:
- Spend 4 nights in Singapore as a stopover on the way to Melbourne
- Spend 4-7 nights in Melbourne (this depends on what tour I pick to see the Penguin Parade! Will probably have to be closer to 4 nights sadly.)
- Fly to Cairns and spend 4 nights here exploring the Reef and the Rainforest
- Travel down the East Coast at our own pace. My current must see stops are Fraser Island and Brisbane.
- Arrive in Byron Bay on the 22nd December for our Aussie Christmas!!
- Travel to Sydney over three days stopping overnight in Port Macquarie and Newcastle.
- New Year’s Eve in Sydney!
- Leave for New Zealand on 2nd January 2020.
Now whilst that may look like a proper plan to some of you, anyone who knows me will understand how loose of a plan that is for me! Normally there’d be a day by day itinerary with contact details, travel times, activities planned, and the best restaurants earmarked.
I’m really trying to let this trip be laid back, but knowing how anxious I can get I am still filling my mind with information. Research, planning, and preparation are how I best cope with the unknown. So whilst I won’t have a plan as such, I will still know enough to make smart decisions on the go!
Finding the Perfect Flight
I thought I’d share with you my method of flight hunting. I’ve learnt the best tricks to get the most for your money, and how to choose travel options that minimise stress, anxiety, and jetlag.
Check out my post “What if… I miss my flight?” for more tips on dealing with transport anxieties!
The first thing I do when hunting down any flight is go straight to my Skyscanner app. Seriously, if you don’t have it already get it now! In fact, download it from here immediately!
Super Skyscanning
What Skyscanner does is compare every available flight option, from every agent, and show you the best deals.
You can keep your search as wide or narrow as you like to find the cheapest airport to fly from, the shortest flight duration, how many stopovers you’re willing to have… it really is very savvy. It even allows you to do a multi-city search, meaning it’s easy to find layovers. Perfect for long haul flights such as our trip to Australia.
For example, these were my requirements for our London to Melbourne flight:
- Stopover in Asia for 2-4 nights half way to Australia (I can’t handle more than ten hours travel without a bed for the night)
- Take 2 Direct Flights only (I don’t want to deal with connecting flights)
- Arrive in the evening so I can go straight to be upon arrival (I never sleep on planes and so this is my best jet lag fighting technique)
Now, without adding in these parameters the cheapest flight option that came up for London to Melbourne cost about £440.
The catch is that I would have to deal with 4 connecting flights and a travel time of about 36 hours.
Not happening!!
Once I’d filtered in my preferences I could easily see the cheapest option for what I wanted was £576.
For the sake of my comfort and sanity, I’m, willing to pay the higher price! Plus, for extra persuasion that this was the flight for me, the airline is Singapore Air. Now I’ve only used them once before, but they are by far the best airline I’ve ever travelled with. Read their reviews and you’ll see why.
The other tip/trick I have for you is to be picky about when you make your booking. I have no idea why, but the optimum time to book your flight is about 5 months in advance, on a Tuesday or Wednesday.
I’m not kidding!
That £576 flight suddenly dropped to £554 this week. Happy days!
Do Your Research
Whilst I’ve still got your attention, let me also remind you to factor ground transportation into your flight plans.
The costs of airport parking, taxis, trains etc can have a big impact on what may look like a bargain on the surface.
And be sure to check out your ongoing transport at your destination. If you arrive at a late/early hour your options may be limited.
Happily both Singapore and Melbourne have cheap options that fit our timetable. I’m ready to pre-book online for an even lower price too.
Planning pays off people!
Drop me any questions in the comments box if you want some specific advice, I’m happy to help!
Keep Flying High 🙂
