Today I am going to talk to you about tips I use when booking plane tickets. By combining these tips, it allowed me to visit 10 destinations in 4 different parts of the world for less than 1500 euros without having more than 8 hours of layovers, here is the article with the concrete case. In this article, I will explain how I do it.
Use the layover of your plane ticket to discover the country.
What is the principle?
When you buy a plane ticket, you often have a layover in another country if you want the lowest price ticket. Depending on the airline and the time of year, making a layover from 2 days to an indefinite duration will not cost more than a normal ticket, so why not take advantage of it.
Here is one of my examples:
- SOUTH AFRICA – DUBAI – THAILAND :
I made a 4-day layover in Dubai to go to Thailand from South Africa.
If we analyze this example South Africa – Dubai – Thailand:
- The tickets are not in peak season.
- The tickets are on weekdays.
- The price of the plane ticket is the same as if I had made a layover of several hours in Dubai.
- The Visa price is free in each country so there are no additional fees.
- You have to be flexible with dates.
Second example:
- PARIS – CHINA – JAPAN
I made a 6-day layover in Beijing during my trip to Japan in 2012.
Analysis of the example:
- The ticket is in high season.
- I paid 50 euros extra to make a layover in China but I also paid the visa price for China which is 70 euros. The plane ticket price was 930 euros instead of 880 euros with a layover of several hours. The Visa price is offset by the difference in cost of living between Japan and China.
- I added an extra 5-hour layover on the outbound trip so the journey is quite long.
The advantages of making a layover during your trip:
- Visit two countries on the same plane ticket.
- Not paying or paying just a little more for the plane ticket by visiting two different countries (Depends on the countries).
- If you have time (a month or more), making a layover of a few days to several weeks in another country will allow you to discover another culture.
The disadvantages of this tip:
- It is better to have a long vacation period.
- You have to check the country where you land for visas.
- You have to be flexible on your travel dates.
- If you go to two different zones, the time difference can cause problems.
My opinion:
I very often use this method to visit two countries in the same trip or during my round the world trip. I visit between 1 and 4 places in each country staying a minimum of 2 days in each place.
It allowed me in another trip to visit Lisbon and Brazil in the same trip for the same price as if I had just made a layover of several hours. Even though I shortened my stay in Brazil by 3 days, it was completely intentional because for a discovery of South America, I just wanted to stay long enough to get an idea.
Make an additional layover by taking a low-cost flight and a regular flight.
What is the principle?
Instead of going from point A to C, you go A -> B -> C. You add a layover to reduce the price of the plane ticket by taking a low-cost flight in addition. You break up your trip.
Example 1:
- a one-way ticket to Burma in Rangoon:
The cost of the one-way plane ticket costs at least 504 euros with a layover in Vietnam with a long layover of 23h30 which is not negligible.
Example 1b:
- A one-way ticket to Bangkok with a regular airline and a one-way ticket to Rangoon with a low-cost airline.
The combined minimum plane price would be 365 euros, the prices of low-cost plane tickets for the following days are roughly similar.
The advantage of this tip:
- You can travel to two different countries.
- You can enjoy the layover at the first place for as long as you want. To benefit from this tip, you often have to stop at better-served airports.
- You pay less for the plane ticket by doing part of the trip with a low-cost airline.
The disadvantage of this tip:
- This makes your trip longer.
My opinion on this tip:
It is a fairly easy way to save a hundred euros on some destinations and normally I stay a few days at the layover destination where I take the low-cost airline so the trip is broken up several times so the trip is not that long.
At the end of December 2012, I went to Burma for 1000 euros total for a Paris-Bangkok ticket and a Bangkok-Yangoon and Mandalay-Bangkok ticket instead of 1200 euros because it was high season to go to Burma and it is a very poorly served country in Asia.
Depart from a different airport than planned.
The principle is simple: depart from a different airport to pay less.
Example 1:
- A round-trip ticket Paris-Bangkok
What you need to know:
- It is a plane ticket during high season
- It is a last-minute price
- The cheapest ticket is 1182 euros with layovers of 36h35 and 26h. By searching well you can find a ticket at the same price with layovers of about 15 hours.
- The plane ticket with layovers of about 15 hours is 1452 euros.
Example No. 1b:
- Round-trip ticket to Amsterdam for the same dates and take the bus to Amsterdam.
If we add the two combined tickets, it comes to a little over 1000 euros.
What you need to know:
- Taking a flight from a well-served airport such as London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt can save you several hundred euros in high season.
- You may need to add a night at the destination, about 30 euros in a youth hostel.
- You can visit several countries on your trip if you have time for less money.
- The second trip is a bus trip.
The disadvantages of this tip:
- You need to have time and be flexible.
My opinion on this tip:
It is a solution I use when the first two do not work. I took the example of Europe but you can do it in Asia or elsewhere as well.
I am currently going to Mexico and I left from San Diego to Cancun. I could have left from Los Angeles but the plane ticket price was more expensive but in this case there is not really a big price difference.
Other tips for a cheap plane ticket:
- Tip No. 1: Fixed departure place and flexible date or destination.
Use Skyscanner, put a departure place, a flexible date (a whole month) and a flexible destination (Everywhere).
You can see the lowest prices departing from France in July 2015.
Let’s take an example: I am currently in Mexico, my closest airport is Cancun. I want to leave to another place as cheaply as possible by plane:
My opinion on this tip:
You can find good deals at the best price using this tip but you have to be very flexible on destinations.
Conclusion for the cheapest plane ticket:
If you have time, these solutions are the best tips you can have to get a cheaper plane ticket. If you have little time, you may need to invest more money to enjoy the trip a bit more. I mainly use these tips for my round the world trip or for trips of one month.
Tip No. 1 allowed me to go to Thailand (5th country of my round the world trip) via Dubai (4th country of my round the world trip) departing from South Africa (2nd country of my round the world trip).
Tip No. 2 allowed me to go to Turkey (1st country of my round the world trip) to South Africa (2nd country of my round the world trip).
Tip No. 3 allowed me to go to Taiwan from Malaysia instead of Thailand because from Thailand tickets are expensive to go to Taiwan.
I use these tips to move around each of my round the world destinations.
And you? What technique do you use?
Visit my other article if you want to spend as little as possible during your trip.
