109 My Sunday Photo L is for Luxor and lack of tourists

We're in Luxor for a long weekend, it's the height of the tourist season.

What is the first thing you notice in the photo?

The lack of tourists.

I didn't have to wait, till the coach load filed by, or for the children to run in-between the pillars. I just took the shot and 100's others like it, undisturbed, no one getting in my way, just peace and quiet, a photographers dream.

Whilst the lack of tourists is good for me, it is not good for the local economy. Luxor is a city built 1400BCE. It is already a ruin, but it doesn't need to become run down as well. The Egyptian Pound has devalued so much, that people are struggling here, desperate for the tourists to return.

So why don't the tourists come here anymore?

My top 7 tips on how to get the cheapest flight

I once entered a travel agents in Swindon as they had flights to Luxor 'from £99'. I asked the travel agent to book me that flight, they asked when I wanted to go, I replied 'when the £99 flight is' it apparently wasn't as simple as that, it depended on the departure point and date and time I wanted to fly. Having repeated several times I wanted the £99 flight and I didn't mind what time/date/location, I left emptied handed and never got the £99 deal.

My next trip to the UK will be for Christmas. I've started looking for flights now. I found a flight for R10,098.00 December 17th to January 4th to Birmingham but with a 24 hour stop over. I change the destination to Manchester, change the date to return a day later and I find a flight for R9520 with only a 2 hour stop over. It takes some time but it's worth it to set aside a day or 2 to get not only the best price, but the best route and stop over.

A direct flight will cost me R14,851 and I have the inconvenience and cost of getting to and from Heathrow.

My top 7 tips for finding a cheap flight

• I can tell you to avoid peak times such as Christmas and school holidays but you're not stupid, you've probably worked that one out by now.

• I can tell you to be flexible with your dates, routes, time etc, etc, etc, but you've probably worked that one out also.

• I can tell you to search for deals with budget airlines first....yeah...now you think I'm patronising you.

• Google 'cheapest flights from (insert departure) to (insert arrival)' then enter a variety of dates, times and routes and probably spend the best part of a day doing this.

• Change your arrival airport if possible....for example it's cheaper to fly into Birmingham or Manchester than it is into the London airports.

• Look for flights where you have a stop over...it is cheaper to fly with a stop over than direct to the UK from South Africa.

• Don't be fooled by the initial price you see....all prices should state whether this includes taxes or not, but please remember that some search/booking sites show you the price for each leg of the journey.