Need to book

[Anne Mclennan]

hi
A friend and I are walking the Camino Frances in September October and expect to finish about 13 October. I am booked to fly out of London on 24 October
As I’m unsure of my actually Camino completion date I don’t really want to book my flight from Santiago to London until I finish the Camino or perhaps a few days before. Has anyone got any advise about whether last minute seats are likely to be available on flights or should I book a flight much earlier?

 

[domigee]

Hi and welcome!
I book my flight back to London about a week to 10 days before the end of my walking, when I have a pretty good idea of when I will arrive... It is always in August and so far I have always had seats on planes...
If you are worried, you could always book an estimated return and then change the booking if wrong timing. It carries a penalty though, how much depends on the flight....
https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/help-centre/faq-overview/Flight-Changes-And-Refunds#0-0

 

[MikeJS]

I normally book my return flight less than a week before I leave as I wait until I am fairly certain of my arrival date. I don’t want to rush the last bit and like to spend a day of 2 in SdC. I always use skyscanner to find my flights and have never been short of choices.

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

Hello and welcome,

In my opinion you must do what feels comfortabel for you.

Wish you both a wonderful journey and a Buen Camino , Peter .

 

[Waka]

The last thing you should be thinking about before you've even started is flights back home to the UK. If you are planning to walk to The End of the World then when you arrive in santiago is a good time to book. Otherwise you could think about doing it from Sarria, that's only 5 five days from SDC or taking it slowly 7 days.

Whatever you do you must just go with the flow and have wonderful stress free journey.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I'm from the USA and we seem to get stung big time if we wait until the near end of our Camino to book the flight back home. Round trips are much more reasonable. If anyone knows of a way around this, but still get a good price, I'd like to know. Those from the UK are very fortunate to have carriers like Ryan air available to them. My flights from Santiago back to Madrid on Ryan have been the cheapest fare I've ever booked, even in my own country.

 

[Deleted member 76633]

Try www.skyscanner.com which searches most of the flights for the chosen and close airports. So as you approach the end you can decide between SdC, Vigo or Madrid for the return. Someone will have a cheap deal.

 

[Helen1]

I don't think availability will be an issue, especially if you have some flexibility with days you can travel. The cost of a last minute flight might come as an unexpected shock though. I am guessing you can pick up a flight for around £20 if you book early, you might be looking at £200+ for a last minute weekend flight.

 

[Marbe2]

We are from USA. We connect in Dublin. One can go through customs in Dublin which means when we fly back to US we do not have to deal with US customs in a big airport. I book all flights ahead. Flights are usually more expensive if you have an open segment and book last minute. I book separate flights: US-Dublin-US. Then I book separate flights, Dublin-Madrid ( either aer lingus or Ryan air) and Santiago SCQ to Dublin (aer lingus). We usually return to Dublin a day or two before our flight home. It gives us a bit of time to unwind! Remember these are not connecting flights so we make sure we get to Dublin with time to spare to make our trans-Atlantic flight. I got a flight to DUB for abt 475 dollars. And flights from DUB to Madrid, then SCQ to Dublin for 100 euros total! If money is no object then, of course, purchasing an open ended ticket is ideal.