Planning a Trip: SE Asia Flights
SE Asia is the best place to go to get a mix of culture, nightlife and lots of beach time. I went to Thailand a year and a half ago by myself and had the best time. I was able to meet people all over the world, but the best part was exploring the temples in the different cities and learning more about Buddhism and myself.
Now that i've gone through Thailand (and trust me I still want to go back again), I turned to a more southern part of SE Asia, and more specifically Indonesia. My friend Mandy had originated from there and I spent a year hearing all about it. It sounds fantastic, and being the beach-addicted girl I am, I wanted to go to somewhere I was within a quick drive of a beach or body of water. After seeing the photos, I wanted to go to Bali and luckily, J has always wanted to go there too.
J was in Hobart in July, so the perfect time to go was right after his trip and tack on an extra bit with me! Now we just had to book flights and find the best time to sit down and plan it all out.
Now the moment we decided we were going in April/May, I started booking hotels on Booking.com for Bali, just estimating when we would want to go and where we would want to go on the island. I had just had a few friends that had just left the Gili Island, which were just off the coast of Lombok, so those were on the list.
All the articles are true. Make sure to book your flights 2-3 months in advance. I would recommend that you put a travel flight alert on your ideal flight and just watch the price fluctuate. Mine did daily, so I was able to see when the best day was to book. We took too long to book and ended up having to pay a lot more than we had budgeted for, so I hope this advice helps you get a better price!
Momondo.com
Check momondo.com. They may not be the site that you actually book on, but they are a great hub to find the cheapest flights and I found that they have better rates than Expedia, Google Flights or Flighthub. I've used them a few times for my flights, and I trust them over every other site.
It's true. Book on a Tuesday. Or on a Wednesday morning. I found that when I tried to book my flights on the weekend, or Monday day/evening, I was shown a very high price all the time. When I started to look on Tuesday mid-morning to Wednesday, I found a way better price. Make sure to be a day or two flexible when you are leaving, it's better to save $200 and leave a day later than have to pay more to leave after work on a Friday.
Look at flying into different flight hubs. There are always other alternatives to flying direct into your location, it may take an additional flight later on, or a ferry, but sometimes that’s just the opportunity to see a different country or city for a day or two.
Just because it's cheap, doesn't mean a 40 hr flight is okay. To save on a few dollars, I have tried to save $100 by taking a longer flight. Let me tell you, when you are stuck in the Beijing airport at 4 AM with no heat or warm clothes, no chance of using a airport lounge and you're desperate to sleep in your 8 hour layover, that extra $100 would have made your journey home a little easier. Spend the extra money, your time and comfort are worth it.
Safe flight!
- E