If you are travelling to Canada for the ski season, or even just a white Christmas, there’s a secret travel hack that could save you hundreds.
Fiji is starting to promote itself as a stopover to North America and Canada and, in the case of Canada, there are deals out there that could save you plenty, and add a tropical island stopover to boot.
Corporate Traveller told news.com.au its fare analysis showed flights from Sydney to Vancouver in November with a Fiji stopover were available from $894, but a direct flight from Sydney to Vancouver in the same month was advertised for more than double that at $1982.
Corporate Traveller global managing director Tom Walley said there is a growing trend in stopping over in Fiji on the way to Canada for both significant financial savings and an opportunity to embrace the ‘bleisure’ trend – where business travellers add some leisure travel to a work trip.
“This makes it a highly economical choice for businesses looking to manage travel expenses effectively, while giving their teams the opportunity to take some downtime,” Mr Walley said.
“With optimised flight durations and reduced layover times, Fiji serves as an efficient transit point for those who want to keep on the move.”
Flight Centre Corporate, which encompasses Corporate Traveller, has tripled the volume of bookings that include a stopover in Nadi on the way to Vancouver in the current quarter (Q3 2024) compared to the same period in the year previous (Q3 2023).
The good news is, Fiji is always looking for tourists, so with a bit of shopping around you should also be able to find an excellent accommodation deal.
Our tip, you can avoid Fiji’s $170 departure tax by staying less than 48 hours.
Weird and wonderful airport lost property auction
Do you love a random bargain? Brisbane airport is currently conducting its lost property auction and, along with some great deals, there are some truly bonkers offerings.
There’s plenty of the normal stuff, like electronics, children’s toys, jewellery and fishing gear, but a bit of a scroll through the catalogue brings up some truly bizarro listings.
You can bid on a cardboard cutout of AFL footballer Cam Raynor, questionable levels of ‘art‘, and mini guitars.
And for everyone who has ever lost earbuds – and let’s face it, that’s everyone who has ever owned them – you can buy them by the dozen.
For the true airport nerds, you can also bid on a core sample from recent runway works or a behind the scenes tour of the airport.
The auction closes in one week, for more details, visit here.
Norway travel warning
Smartraveller has issued a travel warning for Norway.
The Norwegian government raised its national terror threat level from moderate to high (level 4 of 5) on 8 October due to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, including advising of increased threats to Jewish and Israeli targets in Norway.
Smartraveller advises taking official warnings seriously and following the advice of local authorities.
Would you buy lost property from an auction? Why not share your thoughts in the comments section below?
Also read: Why cruising may be about to become more expensive for many Aussies
