Fly to Surubaya

Q: My wife and I want to visit family in Surubaya in July. As far as I know there are no direct flights to Surubaya and one would have to travel via Bangkok or Singapore. We would like to go to Bangkok (or second choice Singapore) for a few days on our way there. Apparently to fly to Bangkok is quite affordable but to go from there to Surubaya not so. What would you suggest and would it be possible to use one of the advertised Bangkok “specials” and just add a Surubaya leg. - Andre Herbst

A: You can fly from Bangkok to Surubaya in Indonesia on AirAsia, a budget airline that is generally very affordable. I checked on fares between the two centres for July and I was able to book a return fare for 166 US dollars (R1150). You need to book as early as possible to get the best airfare (www.airasia.com). Most tour operators will allow you to add "extra days" onto their packages, so you could well buy a cheap package to Bangkok and then extend the return date to fit in your excursion to Surubaya. You can also get to Surubaya from Singapore, travelling with Singapore Airlines' regional airline SilkAir. The special fare on the Surubaya route is around 250 Singapore dollars return (R1375), but if you fly Singapore Airlines to Singapore, it could be booked as an add-on fare at a lower cost.