South Africa here I come!

A couple of days ago we went into an actual physical travel agency and booked tickets to South Africa in January 2025. We have found previously that online comparison sites are sometimes way more expensive than going to a travel agent like always did in the old days. In this case the tickets were about $800 dollars cheaper for each of us than the online prices.

I have had luck price-wise in the past by either booking very early or very late. However, booking late the last couple of trips to South Africa has not been cheaper, probably because many Swedes travel to sunnier climes during the darkest winter months. When the Asian tsunami occurred on the 26th December 2004, there were up to 30 000 Swedes in the affected areas, leaving Sweden the most seriously affected country outside the disaster area. Other popular areas for Swedes to spend the winter months are Spain and Portugal. This means that tickets to warm countries are usually pricier during cold winters. We wanted to travel to South Africa in January 2024 but the prices were almost double what they are at the moment. We had the coldest January in decades this year so the prices were very high.

I am really looking forward to having a bit of sun and heat. But most of all I am looking forward to seeing my family. My bonus mother is 89, my bonus brother is undergoing treatment, and I have lost four close South African friends this year. Life becomes increasingly precarious the older you get and the journey takes two days, which means it is not really viable if you yourself are in ill-health. So I really want to go while I am healthy.