Make the Journey Part of the Holiday

Flying all the way from New Zealand to Europe? I’m a great believer in squeezing another adventure out of the airfare.

Think a few nights eating your way around Singapore before Italy. Tokyo on the way to London. Perhaps somewhere warm on the journey home when your feet have finally had enough of European cobblestones.

A stopover doesn’t have to be somewhere you simply recover from the flight. Planned properly, it can become one of the highlights.

And you may be surprised by what can be built into an international airfare. Depending on the airline, routing and fare rules, there can be opportunities to include another city or country without piecing together a string of completely separate tickets.

I usually prefer at least two or three nights. One night can disappear into arriving, checking in and leaving again. Give yourself a little longer and you actually get to experience the place.

It’s also worth looking beyond the obvious route. The quickest flight isn’t always the most interesting option, and sometimes a slightly different routing opens up somewhere you hadn’t even considered.

You’re travelling a very long way. You may as well see a little more of the world while you’re at it.