Flight deal of the week: UK to South Africa for £358

Our resident expert finds cheap flights to Johannesburg

Fly to Johannesburg for great rates (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Every week, Jack Sheldon from Jack’s Flight Club selects a flight deal from the UK for Independent readers that you can’t afford to miss. This week: Johannesburg from £349.

There are some fantastic options to visit South Africa at a fraction of the standard fare, with tonnes of dates available throughout their summer (our winter). These flights are convenient single-stop routes to Johannesburg with KLM and Air France with a variety of departure airport options from all over the UK.

How to book

Availability is scattered throughout November 2017 to April 2018, so the best way to find the ideal travel dates is to put your desired route into Google Flights and use their handy calendar tool to identify the best travel dates – these should have the lowest fares and be highlighted in green. Once you've selected your travel dates, you have two options:

1) Book directly with KLM or Air France for slightly higher fares (but more flexibility should your plans change before your trip).

or

2) To save an additional £30 or so, head over to Momondo, re-enter your itinerary, and book with the OTA (online travel agent) offering the lowest fares.

Flight options from the UK:

Return flights from Dublin: £349

Return flights from London: £369

Return flights from Birmingham: £358

Return flights from Manchester: £358

Return flights from Newcastle: £389

Return flights from Edinburgh: £388

Return flights from Glasgow: £392

Return flights from Southampton: £360

Return flights from Inverness: £368

Return flights from Aberdeen: £434

Return flights from Bristol: £430

Return flights from Cardiff: £438

When to fly

November 2017 to April 2018

When to book

Most of these fares should last a few more days.

Pro tips

Many international airlines such as Hawaiian Airlines and Singapore Airlines try to drive tourism to their base by offering free extended stopovers for anyone flying through their home state/country. KLM takes it one step further by often pricing fares even lower for any Brits wanting to get a day or two in Amsterdam on the way to a long-haul destination.

If flying with KLM through Amsterdam, try changing your itinerary to a 'multi-city' trip and you will often see fares drop even lower. In this particular case, one can fly from Manchester on 4 December, spend a day in Amsterdam and catch a direct flight to Johannesburg the next day, with a simple single-stop return on the 19 December, all for £358. It’s a great-value price for a safari trip.