Kuidas planeerib puhkust normaalne inimene? Mõtleb aegsasti välja, kuhu minna, vaatab sobivad kuupäevad, leiab (võimalikult otse) lennud ja läheb reisile.

Kuidas planeerin puhkust mina? Keegi mõtleb aegsasti välja, kuhu puhkama minna, et saaks soodsad lennupiletid ja ööbimised broneeritud. Mina jätan erinevatel põhjustel õigel ajal piletid broneerimata ja hakkan sellega tegelema viimasel hetkel. Hinnad on muutunud. Muidugi on. Iga loll teab seda. Kuidas siis saada sihtkohta nii, et ennast vigaseks ei maksa? Mina hakkan uurima erinevaid reisi alguskuupäevi, ööbimisi ja alguskohti väljalennuks.

Ehk siis nagu te aimata võite tegelesin ma  viimasel hetkel lennupiletite broneerimisega. Pariisi. Vaatasin Tallinnast, Stockholmist, Helsinkist, Riiast, isegi Vilniusest, aga nii palju olen ma õppinud oma koonerdamise juures, et kui vahe on väga väike, siis ei ole asjal mõtet, sest no igasugu muud kulutused juurde ja ongi sama hind (või kallim). Aga nüüd olid hinnavahed päris arvestatavad. Ainsaks probleemiks, miks ma kohe läbi Austraalia  (kirjanduslik liialdus, saite ju aru) Pariisi pileteid ei ostnud, on Marek. Tema eelistab seiklustele võimalikult otse ja mugavalt reisida. Ent ometi laseb ta ikka veel minul piletite ja ööbimiste ja planeerimistega tegeleda;)

Ma olin hiirekliki kaugusel seekord Marekile mõeldes otselendu broneerimas, kui mulle meenus, et enne Pariisi minekut olen mina Norras ja Ida Rootsis, et miks pagana pärast meie siis peame Eesti tagasi tulema ja siit OTSE lendama kui me saame Rootsist nende paganama soodsate piletitega lennata (Tallinnast Stockholmi tulekul poleks mõtet, sest laevapiletid on sel perioodil ulmekallid). Näiteks Stockholm-Vilnius. Veeta seal paar ööd. Lennata edasi Vilnius – Pariis ning teistega seal kohtuda. Mõeldud ja peaaegu tehtud. Üks lend kahele 40 eurot, teine lend 100 eurot. Aga MIKS üldse Vilnius mõtlesin ma siis ühtäkki? Ryanair lendab Skavstast ka mujale. Lõin otsingusse Skavsta Varssavi ja Varssavi Pariis ning juba järgmisel hetkel uurisin ma palju ööbimine Varssavis maksab. Maksis vähe. Ühes kohas (tundus piltide ja hinnete järgi väga ok) oli hind KAHELE KOLMEKS ÖÖKS 25 eurot. Samas…tundus ikka liiga odav. Kahtlane värk. Kuigi keskmine hinne oli 9.  Broneersin hinnalt natuke kallima koha. Ja ostsin meile Idaga lennupiletid Stockholm-Varssavi, Varssavi-Pariis. Kaks ööd saame koha peal olla ja Poola pealinnaga tutvust teha. Ma ei olegi Varssavis käinud.

Marekile ostsin otselennu koos teistega Tallinnast Pariisi. Eks ma pärast reisi löön kokku kui mõtekas see minu “kokkuhoid” oli, aga samas ma pean ütlema, et asi oli pigem selles, et nii oli võimalik ja tundus palju põnevam. Pealegi Ida on harjunud minuga koos seiklema.

Pariisis valisin ma ka otseloomulikult hotelli asemel Airbnb. Ma olen tööalaselt nii palju hotellides ööbinud, et kui vähegi võimalik, üritan ma leida midagi põnevamat kui tavapärased Scandicud. Siiani on hästi läinud. Hind on ka tihti tunduvalt parem. Ma väga loodan, et selle ööbimiskoha asukoht on seal, kus ma arvan, et on. Õnneks erinevad arvustused annavad lootust: “A must stay Airbnb location! Directly opposite the RER A Val D’Europe and not far at all from the shopping centre, post office (for those post cards home) and the best patisserie ever (called maison Marteau- try their croissants and baguettes). One stop on the RER A to Disney (€1.95 adults and €0.90 kids) in a very memorable double decker train). 

Vot nii broneerin pileteid ja reise mina. Võib olla oleks aeg hakata täiskasvanuks ja reise ette planeerima? Aga samas, need ei ole ju mingid reisid reisid. Paapua Uus Guineasse ja Amazonase vihmametsadesse planeeriks natuke rohkem isegi mina, aga sellised lähireisid…Mulle ei ole üldse oluline otselend või transpordivahend. Kui jääbki viimasele hetkele, siis nagu näha, kuidagi ikka saab, ka soodsalt.

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How does an average person book a holiday? Thinking well in advance where to go, chooses suitable dates, finds as direct flight as possible and goes.

How do I book a holiday? Somebody chooses well in advance the destination to get the flights and accommodation fairly cheap. For various reasons, I delay the booking process and instead start doing that on the last minute. Have the prices changed? Of course they have. Everybody knows that. How to reach your destination then without overpaying too much? Usually I start to play with different departure dates, starting points and places to stay.

As you can guess, I tried to book our tickets on the last minute. To Paris. I checked flights from Tallinn, Stockholm, Helsinki, Riga and even Vilnius. Though I am quite tight with money when it comes to buying flight tickets, I have learnt that if the price difference is small, there is actually no point in going for the cheaper option as you will end up with different additional costs and paying the same amount if not more. This time though the difference was quite remarkable. The only reason, why I didn’t buy tickets via Australia (I am joking here, you do realize that) to Paris the first place, is Marek. He prefers to travel directly and comfortably to avoid any adventures.  Yet he still lets me to take care of all the booking 😉

I was about to click and book direct flights for us, this time thinking of primarily at Marek, when I realized that I will be in Norway and Ida in Sweden before the trip. So why should we come back to Estonia for these direct flights, when we can get cheaper tickets from Sweden to Paris (no point in a ferry trip from Tallinn to Stockholm at that time, as the tickets are just unbelievably expensive). For example Stockholm-Vilnius and spend couple of night there. Then fly Vilnius-Paris and meet up with others. Very good idea and almost booked too. One flight for two people 40 euros, other flight 100. But suddenly I was thinking why Vilnius? Ryanair flys from Skavsta to other destinations too. So I googled Skavsta-Warsaw and Warsaw-Paris and was already looking up prices for accommodation in Paris. It wasn’t dear. One place cost 25 euros for two for three nights and it seemed very okay according to pictures and feedback. But still … it seemed a bit too cheap. A bit fishy, though the average rate was 9. So I booked a bit more expensive accommodation for us and bought tickets from Stockholm to Warsaw and then Warsaw-Paris. We will spend two nights in the capital of Poland to get to know it. I have never been to Warsaw yet.

Marek got his direct flight from Tallinn to Paris with others. I will calculate after the trip HOW cost-effective all this was. I must admit thought that this was more about because it was possible and seemed more fun. Beside, Ida is used to have adventures with me.

Of course I chose Aibnb in Paris instead of a hotel. I have spent too much time in hotels because of my work, so wherever possible I try to find something more exciting than your usual Scandic. So far I have not been disappointed. Usually the price is also better. I really hope the place is where I think it is. Luckily, various feedbacks let me believe, it does: “A must stay Airbnb location! Directly opposite the RER A Val D’Europe and not far at all from the shopping centre, post office (for those post cards home) and the best patisserie ever (called maison Marteau- try their croissants and baguettes). One stop on the RER A to Disney (€1.95 adults and €0.90 kids) in a very memorable double decker train). 

So this is how I book our holidays and tickets. Maybe it is time to grow up and starting planning every trip in advance? But these are not your traditional trips. If I was going to Papua New Guinea or rainforests in Amazon, I would plan a bit more. But these sort of short trips … I really don’t care about direct flights or way of transport as a matter of fact. If it is left to the last minute, you can still get there, as you can see. And also save some money.