When I was 25, I set foot in Europe with everything left in my bank account. I budgeted every penny, worried that notoriously expensive Europe would wipe me out in no time. Yet three months later, I had traveled across 16 countries and kept the entire trip under NT$200,000. Then, at the beginning of this year, now 28, I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to visit Sweden—part of supposedly even pricier Northern Europe—and enjoyed three spectacular nights of the northern lights. I had expected it to cost a fortune, but once again I proved that where there’s a will, there’s a way: you can fulfill your northern lights dream with just NT$50,000. So often, it’s our own preconceptions that hold us back.
Going on sale today,Qatar Airways’ Europe airfare promotionbrings us that much closer to our dreams:round-trip tickets are just NT$18,000 including taxes.，They’re valid for travel from September 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017, with a huge selection of European destinations, open-jaw itineraries, and a 30 kg baggage allowance.And most importantly—it’s Qatar Airways! The airline Skytrax named the best in the world. Somebody get over here: there’s a batch of ridiculously cheap Qatar Airways tickets! How can you not buy a great fare like this?
This is a sponsored post with Qatar Airways that I honestly can’t find a single reason not to recommend!
First, let’s look at the promotional fares from Qatar Airways this time, before taxes. Please secure your jaw before proceeding, because it may hit the floor.
(Round-trip prices in TWD, including taxes)
Departing from Taipei/Taichung/Kaohsiung to Paris: NT$18,036; Madrid: NT$17,097; Rome: NT$17,579; London: NT$20,940; and more.
A round trip to Sweden to chase the northern lights is only NT$17,788 including taxes, while an open-jaw ticket flying into Paris and out of Germany is just NT$18,418 including taxes. If this price doesn’t make your finger slip onto the Buy button, you’ll be kicking yourself when it’s gone!
★ 8/30 update:I’ve looked up the approximate promotional fares including taxes for everyone, and they are seriously attractive—just over 20% of the usual price.
However,fares may vary from one day or moment to the next because of exchange rates and daily changes in taxes.Also, I checked these fareson the evening of 2016/8/30,so the cheapest seats on some routes may already have sold out (try searching for round trips from Hong Kong instead), or I may simply not have found them.This table is for reference only.
→ Visit Qatar Airways’ official Chinese promotional website
→ Visit Qatar Airways’ official booking website
Starting today, Qatar Airways is holdingan eight-day limited-time sale on routes to Europe and the Americas (2016/8/29–9/5).Flights through 2017/6/30 are on sale, making this the perfect opportunity to give yourself a trip this year.
Below, I’ve put together:
– The full terms, pros, and cons of Qatar Airways’ Travel Festival promotional fares
– My guide to booking through the official website yourself, including open-jaw bookings
– And, finally, a few tips for planning a route around Europeso you can quickly decide which country to fly into and which one to fly home from!
[ Qatar Airways was named the world’s best airline by Skytrax ]
♥ Qatar Airways Travel Festival: Huge savings on European and American routes♥
Promotional booking period:
August 29, 2016 (Monday), to September 5 (Monday). The offer lasts only eight days, so don’t spend too long hesitating.
Once you’ve booked the ticket, the hardest part of the trip is already done. There’s no turning back now!
Travel dates:
★ 8/30 update: The promotion is now valid from 2016/9/1 onward
September 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017 (your return flight must also depart by June 30, 2017)
The round-trip itinerary must be completed within two months.
Pros and cons at a glance
Every promotional fare comes with pros and cons. If you can live with them, the drawbacks may even turn into advantages—and that makes it the right ticket for you.
Cons
- Flights from Taiwan to Europe requiretwo connections,and each direction usually takes around 20 hours or more,so they’re best suited to travelers with plenty of time.
The first connection is usually in Hong Kong or Bangkok, and the second is at Qatar Airways’ hub in Doha, so you can’t stay cocooned in your seat all the way there. But if you prefergetting off the plane to stretch your legs, go shopping, or even squeezing in a few extra countries along the way,then you definitely shouldn’t miss this fare (see the advantages below).
Pros
- You can depart from Taipei, Taichung, or Kaohsiung, and all three cities qualify for the promotion.
- There are an impressive 36 European destinationsto choose from, including plenty of options in Eastern Europe!
- Open-jaw itineraries using different arrival and departure cities also qualify for the promotion.(Keep reading for instructions on booking an open-jaw ticket, plus a few tips for planning your route around Europe!)
- If your connection in Doha is longer than five hours, you may be eligible to joina free Doha city TOUR and add another city to your trip.（See this Qatar Airways post for the relevant terms.）
- The baggage allowance is 30 kg, so you won’t have to worry about leaving your souvenirs behind.
- If you want to spend a few days in a connecting city such as Hong Kong, Bangkok, or Doha, you may add one stopover to either the outbound or return journey for USD 100. This must be booked through a travel agency.
- Your baggage will be checked through to your final destination, including when you join the Doha city TOUR, unless you have separately arranged an extended stopover at a connecting point.
- You can earn miles with the oneworld alliance. If you join Qatar Airways’ frequent-flyer program, you may also receive benefits based on your membership tier, such as complimentary lounge access or a higher baggage allowance.
Most importantly,Qatar Airways is a five-star airline that has repeatedly been named the “World’s Best Airline,” with excellent cabin crews and onboard facilities.At a price this good, you can enjoy high-quality service and give your trip a comfortable beginning and end.
[ Sights on the Doha city TOUR ]
Important promotional details
- You mustpurchase the outbound and return tickets togetherto receive the promotional fare, andthe maximum stay is two months.。
- If you can no longer find a promotional fare for the dates you want,try looking for flights departing from Hong Kong instead.The promotion still applies; you’ll just need to buy separate round-trip tickets to Hong Kong yourself. Deals between Taiwan and Hong Kong are pretty common!
- Promotional tickets cannot be canceled or changed, but during the booking process you can pay extra to upgrade to a flexible fare.
Booking options
- Book througha Taiwanese travel agency.For a list of participating travel agencies, see the informationon the Chinese promotional websiteat the bottom of the page.
- Orbook directly throughthe Qatar Airways website.It’s easy if you follow the steps below, and the website also makes it convenient to check your booking details.
Qatar Airways currently offers a Simplified Chinese booking system, or you can book through the English version.
Guide to booking a round trip from the same city
If you know exactly where you want to go and only plan to explore one country or city, booking a standard round trip from the same city is quite simple. I’ll usea nearly two-month trip flying into and out of Franceas an example:
Step 1. Go tothe Qatar Airways website.Enter your origin and destination. I recommend typing the airport’s English code or the beginning of the city’s English name, then selecting it from the suggestions below—for example, TPE or Paris.
Next, select your intended departure date. If your dates are flexible and you just want the cheapest fare, choose a nearby date for now; you can change it based on the prices in the next step.
Step 2. After clicking “Search Flights,” you’ll see fares for different dates and departure times.Only the prices in the “ECONOMY PROMO” column are part of this Travel Festival promotion.。
Select the outbound and return fares and flight times you prefer.
Qatar Airways’ Taiwan–Hong Kong segments are operated in partnership with other airlines, and the operating carrier is clearly disclosed. For example, I wanted to choose a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong.
You can alsouse the calendar to quickly check fares on other dates.
Step 3. Once you’ve selected both flights, click “Continue” at the bottom of the page. This takes you to a page confirming your flights and total price. At the bottom, click“Fare and Tax Details” to see the promotional base fareand an itemized breakdown of every tax and fee. I really like how transparent and clear Qatar Airways is here. Oh my goodness!A round trip to Paris for only NT$18,000—doesn’t that make your finger itch to click Buy?!
Here, you can also choose whether to upgrade to Economy Saver for a little more flexibility with your travel dates.
Step 4. After clicking “Continue,” you can book as a Qatar Airways member or as a guest. If you aren’t a member yet,just select the guest option.。
Step 5. Enter the passenger’s personal information. The English name must match the passport.If you have a oneworld frequent-flyer number, you can enter it here to earn miles.There are also options for specifying special meal preferences in advance, such as vegetarian, children’s, or low-calorie meals. There are so many choices—how thoughtful!
After clicking “Continue,” there is a second page where you’ll need to enter your contact and emergency-contact information.
Step 6. Once you’ve confirmed all the details, click “Pay Now” to proceed to credit-card payment. Take out your card, select Visa or MasterCard, enter the requested information, and click “Confirm Payment.” That’s basically it—you’ve scored an incredibly cheap, high-quality ticket!
Guide to booking an open-jaw itinerary
If you’re planning a longer, multi-country trip,flying into one city and out of another saves you from backtracking.Better yet, Qatar Airways’ spectacular promotional faresalso apply to open-jaw tickets.How could you not take advantage of that?
The open-jaw booking interface on the Qatar Airways website doesn’t display fares, sowe first need to check prices using the steps in the “Guide to booking a round trip from the same city.” Once you’ve noted the flight times you want, use the multi-city interface to purchase the ticket.
For this example, I’ll use a two-month trip flying into Paris, France, and out of Berlin, Germany.
Step 1. Go tothe Qatar Airways website.First, use the standard round-trip search to look separately for promotional flights from Taipei → Paris and Berlin → Taipei. Grab a piece of paper and note the dates, departure and arrival times, and flight numbers so you can match them later.
[ First, use “Round Trip” to search for Taipei → Paris round-trip tickets, but pay attention only to the outbound flight. Once you find a price and time you like, write down the flight number and departure and arrival times. ]
[ Next, use “Round Trip” to search for Berlin → Taipei round-trip tickets, but pay attention only to the return flight. Once you find a price and time you like, write down the flight number and departure and arrival times. ]
Step 2. Return tothe Qatar Airways homepageand select “Multi-city.” As shown below, enter Taipei → Paris and Berlin → Taipei, along with your planned dates.
Step 3. After clicking “Search Flights,” find the Taipei → Paris outbound flight you selected earlier. Click “Show more flight” to view all flights for that day. After clicking “Continue,” find the Berlin → Taipei return flight you selected in the same way.
Step 4. Click “Continue” again, and you’ll see the total price for your open-jaw itinerary.Only NT$18,000—so unbelievably cheap!!!
The remaining passenger-information and payment process is the same as Step 4 in the standard round-trip guide above.
The dream of traveling around Europe—open-jaw flights
Back in 2012, when I set off on my first European adventure, I thought I’d found an absolute bargain when I paid NT$30,000 for a ticket into Paris and out of London. I completed that three-month, 16-country journey on a total budget of NT$200,000. Now, four years later,round-trip airfare to Europe—the largest transportation expense of the trip—can be covered with a budget of less than NT$20,000.Wouldn’t you say the dream of traveling around Europe is becoming easier and easier to achieve?
How should you start planning a route around Europe?
Step 1. List the countries you absolutely must visit.
Step 2.Find the dates of festivals and events.
For example, if you want to attend the 2016 Berlin Beer Festival, which runs from 9/23 to 10/16, you’ll need to be in Berlin during that period.
Spain’s Saffron Festival takes place from 2016/10/28 to 10/30, so if you want to attend, you’ll need to reach Spain by the end of October.
This will give you a basic blueprint of which country you need to be in and when.
Step 3. Consider the weather and seasons.
For example, winter in the UK might be unbearably cold. If you’re leaving in September, make the UK your first stop and save the more southerly countries for later in the trip. If you want to see the northern lights, you can also choose the month you’d like to go. This will make the order of your itinerary even clearer.
Step 4. Spread out a map and mark the three points above.
Next, open a map of Europe, mark and color in the countries and cities you want to visit, then add the dates and timing from the first three steps.
Step 5.Draw your route.
The map will now make the relative locations clear, and it should be obvious which country you need to visit at each point in time. All that’s left is to draw a route based on the dates and neighboring locations. Of course, the route may turn out to be extremely awkward, in which case you might have to make a few compromises.
→ For more,see this post about planning and setting off on my 85-day, 16-country European adventure, along with stories from the journey.New installments are currently being published every weekend. You’re welcome tofollow my Facebook pageand tune in on time.
The northern lights dream—a standard round trip
At the beginning of this year, my European adventure got a sequel. As a New Year’s gift to myself for 2016, I took a trip to Sweden to see the northern lights. That’s when I discovered that this distant dream—which I’d thought would require ten years of belt-tightening and hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings—could actually be done for under NT$50,000, including round-trip transportation from Taiwan to the Swedish Arctic Circle and four days and three nights of accommodation there. My airfare at the time was even NT$8,000 more expensive than Qatar Airways’ current promotional fare! The northern lights truly are so much closer than we imagine.
→ For help planning your trip, read this together with“Grab Your Bags and Go: Leaving in Ten Days to Chase the Northern Lights in Sweden’s Arctic Circle! Independent Trip Planning Isn’t a Dream”for best results.
This time,Qatar Airways tickets to Sweden are somehow only around NT$18,000!!If not this year, when are you going to see the northern lights? Hurry up and book those tickets, everyone—the aurora is waiting for you!
→ Visit Qatar Airways’ official Chinese promotional website
→ Visit Qatar Airways’ official booking website
Europe and the northern lights have always seemedabsurdly expensive because of the package-tour prices listed by travel agencies.It wasn’t until I actually put on my backpack and went there myself that I realized these destinations had never been as unattainable as I imagined. Transportation and accommodation consistently take up the largest share of a travel budget, and airfare in particular can vary enormously. It’s definitely the easiest place to cut costs—and the money you save can take you to several more places!
We’ve never lacked ways to save money; what we lack is the willingness to put in the effort to find them.
Making your European dream come true really isn’t difficult. Once you’ve booked the ticket, the hardest part of the trip is already done!
Finally, Creya！可以呀 has a little gift for you. Just leave a comment on this FB post and tag two friends for a chance to win a Qatar Airways EasyCard. There will be two winners! (Closes 2016/9/5; drawing to be held by 9/12.)
