If you’re living in the UK there’s no better place to take a holiday to than Australia. Visas are very easy to attain and if you book strategically, finding affordable flights can be simple as well. At GAFFL we know a lot of travelers in Australia are budget conscious. We know this because travelers in Australia are constantly using GAFFL to find travel companions to share costs with during their trips. We thought it would be helpful to list some tips for finding the cheapest flights to Australia from the UK so that you’re able to save some money on your flight to use towards the rest of your trip.

Cheapest flight route to Australia from the UK

The cheapest route you can fly to get to Australia from the UK is London to Sydney. Generally, if all things are the same, meaning there are no flash sales or discounts, flying to Sydney would be the cheapest destination regardless of which UK airport you fly out of. Similarly, flying out of London would provide you with the best price regardless of what destination city in Australia you land in. 

Cheapest departure cities in the UK

If you’re not able to fly out of London, leaving from Edinburgh or Manchester is slightly more expensive. On average you’ll be paying £20-£60 ($26-$77 USD) more for the cheapest flights departing from these cities compared to London flights. If you’re flying out of Cardiff, Glasgow, Birmingham, Newcastle, or Belfast you’ll be paying £75-£100 ($97-129 USD) more.

To illustrate the price differences further, below are the prices for the cheapest flights for a round trip to Sydney departing on February 10th and returning on February 24th from the cities just discussed.  

London (two main airports - Heathrow and Gatwick)

• Feb 10-24 to Sydney Cheapest £647 ($822 USD)

Edinburgh

• Feb 10-24 to Sydney Cheapest £675 ($857 USD)

Manchester

• Feb 10-24 to Sydney Cheapest £675 ($857 USD)

Cardiff

• Feb 10-24 to Sydney Cheapest £732 ($929 USD)

Glasgow

• Feb 10-24 to Sydney Cheapest £782 (1060 USD)

Newcastle

• Feb 10-24 to Sydney Cheapest £812 ($1031 USD)

Birmingham

• Feb 10-24 to Sydney Cheapest £829 ($1053 USD)

Belfast

• Feb 10-24 to Sydney Cheapest £829 ($1053 USD)

Cheapest Arrival cities in Australia

While some of you may not be able to control which city you fly out of, you should have more control over what city you choose to fly to. Similar to the departure cities, arrival cities are a key factor in determining your ticket prices as well. Sydney, is the cheapest arrival city for people looking to fly to Australia from the UK. If you arrive in Melbourne you’re paying about £25-50 ($32-65 USD)more. Flying into Adelaide or Brisbane will be about £50-100 ($65-129 USD) more, and if you’re going to Darwin, Perth, Cairns, and Gold Coast you’ll be paying £100-200 ($129-258) more for the cheapest flights.

Below are the prices for flights departing from London and arriving in the cities listed above. Consistent to the first example, all of these flights are round trips from London departing on February 10th and returning on February 24th.

Sydney

• Feb 10-24 from London Cheapest £647 ($822 USD)

Melbourne

• Feb 10-24 from London Cheapest £673 ($855 USD)

Adelaide

• Feb 10-24 from London Cheapest £725 ($921 USD)

Brisbane

• Feb 10-24 from London Cheapest £726 ($923 USD)

Darwin

• Feb 10-24 from London Cheapest £756 ($961 USD)

Perth

• Feb 10-24 from London Cheapest £782 ($994 USD)

Cairns

• Feb 10-24 from London Cheapest £817 ($1038 USD)

Gold Coast

• Feb 10-24 from London Cheapest £881 ($1119 USD)

When you should book your Flight to Australia from the US

While it’s possible to find deals if you wait, if you have certain dates and flights in mind, you should book as soon as possible. Prices generally go up closer to the departure dates, so waiting for the right deal can often backfire. However, there are price watching tools out there for those of you who don’t have set dates in mind. We recommend the Hopper App to monitor flights. The flight prices above were all found using Hopper. We do not have any affiliations with this company, we’re simply fans and love how simple their product is to use. 

The best months for you to book your flight out of the UK are between the second week of March up until the beginning of June and the end of October till the end of November. Prices are generally the cheapest during these periods, and are the most expensive from December to January and from June to September.

You’ll find the best deals flying out in the middle of the week as opposed to weekends. Flying on a Tuesday or Wednesday will generally provide you with the best deals.

We hope that this post helps all our British friends who are traveling on a budget to Australia. If this article was helpful don’t forget to share it with your friends! 

Additionally, once you're in Australia, if you want to meet up with other travelers or locals in Australia, GAFFL can help you with that. Simply browse through the trips and local listings below, connect & chat with someone who's profile you like, meet up, and adventure together! It's that simple.