Cape Town flights

[weehoo]

We are thinking about going to South Africa in October (2 adults and 2 kids under 8).

I've started tentatively looking at flights and I'm not sure if we can afford to fly direct (I've been twice before many years ago and flew direct then but just one flight to pay for!)

Does anyone have any tips about keeping prices as low as possible without too much compromise? Also I'm not sure if we should get on and book soon or wait to see if any airline has a sale?

[ContinuityError]

Shocking attitude to global warming on this thread!

Swiftly followed by:

I love my holidays

If you are so concerned about flights and global warming, why are you still flying just to go on holiday?

[BubblesBuddy]

So flying less (ie direct flights) does not appear to be remotely considered here? Just your own pocket? No wonder global warming is getting worse if everyone thinks like this. It is a very FU attitue. It probably will not be hundreds of ££ saving at half term. Fly direct. I love my holidays but I would not fly miles out of my way, take up extra fuel, waste my precious oliday time and add to pollution to do extra unecessary flights. It is shameful and utterly selfish. If anyone wants a holiday, pay for direct flights. It is the least anyone can do in the circumstances.

[weehoo]

@KoalasandRabbit we are already taking a week off plus half term!

[KoalasandRabbit]

A lot of people take longer holidays than half term and pay the fine. We don't but know dozens of people that do.

[Lippy1234]

Perhaps to save hundreds of pounds per person.

[BubblesBuddy]

The op has fixed dates at October half term. So how can she go mid week? Shocking attitude to global warming on this thread!

BA are perfectly fine! It’s not great to keep taking off in aircraft when you don’t need to. Why would anyone with just a week wait around in airports en route just to get an allegedly better flight? The time wasted is ridiculous let alone wasting energy and producing emissions.

[LochJessMonster]

I used skyscanner and then flew Virgin to J'burg (amazing service) and then a BA flight from J'burg to CT.

We went beginning of October, certainly wasn't hot, bit windy on the coast tbh, definitely need cardigans!

[Stroller15]

Agree don't book SAA. BA has a book now pay later scheme which might be helpful. You can also set up a price alert on Skyscanner so it tells you if prices go up/down. I have to go to SA a few times a year and fly from up north. KLM has good deals, as do Qatar. Avoid school holidays if you can and check SA school dates, it makes a big difference. I usually fly on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

The exchange rate is not great for the Rand at the moment so you should get a lot for your pounds.

[Lippy1234]

Chapman’s Peak is a great drive.

[weehoo]

Thank you everyone for your replies!

Some food for thought re flights. I've flown to Cape Town before via Jo'burg but that was from Tanzania as I visited there first.

Our dates (in Oct) are fairly fixed, partly due to half term but most importantly also slap bang in the middle of the whale season (the best free entertainment in the world!)

We don't spend much on holiday - plan to do walking, animal spotting, picnics and a bit of driving along the coast

[Lippy1234]

I’ve been twice in Feb it wasn’t that hot, about 25 degrees and perfect for sightseeing.

[AFistfulofDolores1]

Don't book South African Airways. They are currently incredibly financially unstable, and may go under. It's not worth the risk, imo.

Look at either breaking in Dubai (Emirates), or even flying to another city and getting a domestic carrier to CPT (e.g. Mango or Kulula) - which may be cheaper.

[KittenVsBox]

I would always take a direct flight if possible. Indirect is such a waste of time and energy.
Change the flight date slightly (fly Friday rather than after school/work finishes on friday for example).

Skyscanner to discover which airport combinations you want, and then Google flights to play with the cost matrix. Then book direct with the airline. Dont go with weofferbarginflights.com as a third party. It's a nightmare to deal with if anything goes wrong.

[KoalasandRabbit]

Skyscanner is good for evaluating cheapest option if you've not used that - I always book direct with airlines though. Generally mid week to mid week is cheaper than weekends though with kids at school you may not have that flexibility. We flew direct with BA but it was pre kids so 2 of us. Always find things like half term can be very pricey as no choice in dates so if you can look at other times of year that can help.

[99point9FahrenheitDegrees]

I mean DO do all the things you want to do, but you can ALSO have cheap days in between!

[99point9FahrenheitDegrees]

The nicest indirect or direct flights are Virgin, via Joburg, and are cheaper than the direct. The cheapest go via all sorts of places! The direct flights to CT aren't great, and the JHB stopover only adds a couple of hours. October is quite a nice time, late spring, so warm by UK standards. Don't go in February, it's REALLY hot then! Keeping costs down generally... I guess don't do all the expensive tourist stuff? You can have a lovely day out in Kirstenbosch with the children, you can go to Muizenberg or Noordhoek beach, that sort of thing.

[ClumsyPickle]

This is a journey I've done a lot! Avoid BA, the planes are horrid and the service really not what you'd expect. Recently flew Qatar via Doha, great service and flights but it did turn it into a long journey! Look at Virgin as the flight is probably the best, and I think they still price match! Lots of offers to be had

[BubblesBuddy]

It’s about time multiple flight recommendations stopped due to global warming. Fly direct! Less flights equals less pollution!

[ReviewingTheSituation]

We flew indirect to keep costs down, and to avoid having to go to H'row. We did Emirates via Dubai. It did make for quite a long flight overall because Dubai isn't really 'on the way'! We also arrived in CT without our bags thanks to a short delay on the first flight and thus a curtailed (and already short) transit through the VAST Dubai airport.
The other option is to go via one of the big European hubs (Paris, Frankfurt, AMS). I didn't want to do that because I wanted to feel like I'd actually got somewhere/travelled some distance before part 2 of the journey.

How long are you going for? If just a week, I'd be much more inclined to take direct flights, but if going for 2 weeks then I'd save the money and go indirect again.

[BubblesBuddy]

SA airlines are usually cheaper than BA.

I would suggest you don’t take two flights. It uses up lots of air fuel and is the least green way of travelling due to fuel use during multiple take offs. It’s also going to take a chunk out of your time there.

I would recommend staying in smaller guest houses. I think April is a slightly cheaper time to visit. It’s Autumn but it’s still pleasant in Cape Town. Just not beach weather maybe. February is still highish season.

[marialuisa]

We got a better deal for February, booking flights and hotel together through BA. Was about £500 pp cheaper than just buying the same flights.

[Lippy1234]

I’ve also been twice, the first time I found it cheaper to book a package with Virgin than pay for 4 flights for my family. We stayed at a hotel in Bantry Bay in a family suite. The second time was just my DH and I so we paid the high BA price but then found it such good value there it evened itself out.