The most important decision of your life... booking flights

It may seem like a trivial thing as booking flights has never been a notoriously difficult task to carry out. However, there are tiny little habits or things you might miss, and 2 weeks in you'll realise you've made some real amateur mistakes.

To return, or not to return

Obviously you are going to have to return at some point, I'm not talking about marooning yourself in a new city and starting a new life. This is more about not making the same mistakes I did. Don't fall in to family holiday syndrome. You are going away for at least 5 months, booking a return date is ridiculous.

Going to Brazil for the first part of my year abroad I had to book return flights, not doing so would’ve add another £1000 to the total costs, something I was definitely not willing to pay. However, given that Murcia is two hours away, not 24 (it took me this long to get back), the very fact I booked a return flight fills me with regret and disappointment. I didn’t save any money by doing so, or if I did, it’s more likely to be £10 rather than £1000.

Source

Booking a return flight also ties you down. Why would you want to give yourself a set period of time to make the most of? Yes my work placement ends a few days before I am set to leave, but I have a whole summer to make the most of, I didn’t need to fly back straight away by any means.

The truth is, however, in my particular case I do. I am going travelling this summer and need to be back to sort everything out. But, this is not to say booking a return flight was not a stupid thing to do, it still was. It turns out that I would’ve been able to leave a few weeks earlier, working from home, as no one will be working from the office in July. But, rather than just booking a flight now to coincide with this stroke of fortune (I had only given myself a week between getting back from Spain and going travelling) I have to go through what is sure to be a painful process, trying to reschedule my flight without having to pay anything extra.

We all know how that’s going to go…

The airport

Flying to Murcia was all a bit last minute for me. As I’m working, I didn’t have a university place sorted months in advance, so when it came down to booking flights I just typed in Murcia and clicked on the first thing that came up. This was the wrong thing to do.

When you type in Murcia, San Javier Airport comes up, and although it seems fairly close to the city centre, getting from here to where you need to be is a nightmare... an expensive one too.

You can get a bus from here to Murcia but the truth is, after flying out and landing in a place you know nothing about, if like me you haven’t had much time to organise it, the last thing you want to do is faff about finding the bus stop, making sure you get the right bus.

One of my flatmates here did however put himself to the test. Luckily though, as we had been speaking on Facebook, he told me about his experience before I decided to pit my wits against Murcia’s public transport too. He said it took him about five hours, maybe even more, from when he landed in San Javier to when he got to the flat. Not only does this bus only run every two hours (so if you miss one, enjoy the wait) but navigating through a city you’ve never been to before isn’t going to be the easiest thing.

I said if a bus was there when I arrived I would get on, but if not I’d bite the bullet and pay for a taxi. I did end up getting a taxi, but the price of it haunted me for days. I paid €70, which was not too far off what I paid for the flight! It was my only option though, and the blow to my wallet was softened by the taxi-driver-come-tour-guide who lectured me about Murcia and everything we passed. Nevertheless, it was still an expensive choice, tour or no tour.

Source

When I got to the flat, which admittedly was hassle free, I explained how much I had to pay and my flatmate and I both realised we hadn’t been too clever in flying out here. However, as he had been in Murcia for a while, he'd found out that San Javier wasn’t the only viable (well, just about) airport to use to get to Murcia.

In fact, flying to/from Alicante is a much better option. The buses from the airport to Murcia are much more frequent, and due to the popularity of the destination, you might even find some cheaper flights. No overpriced taxi services are needed and it won’t take you five hours to get there. Alicante is the better option in every single way, I just hope you’ve read this before booking…

Don’t be an idiot

Short and sweet, the main point of this article is to make sure plan, and then plan again. Know where you are going and what the best ways to get there are. Don’t do what I did and choose the first thing that you see, take time to look and ask around. You’re more than likely to find something better.

Source

I hope you learn something from my mistakes.

Safe (and cheap) travels.

Photo gallery