When to book?

[Anthony18]

Hey all! I really want to do a portion of the CF (from O Cebreiro - Santiago de Compostela) in mid June. I'm looking at flights and prices from Miami to Madrid...good Lord!!! Price right now on American Airlines- the price is almost $1500/person. Any tips on best time to book? Did I wait too long and I'm better off booking later this year for a trip next year, or do you think prices may fluctuate a few months before June and I can get something a bit more affordable? Anyway, thanks in advance for taking the time!

 

[Purky]

Try Momondo.com or Norwegian.com. With a quick search I found prices less than half of your price around June 2018. See also this thread.

 

[kelleymac]

Try using http://matrix.itasoftware.com as a search engine. From Miami to Madrid, I'm seeing flights from $550, round trip. On Matrix you can check nearby cities and dates for departures and arrivals, you can sort the data (flights) by city, time, cost, etc. -- If you can just get across the ocean, you can pick up a cheap flight from other cities (Paris, London, Frankfurt) to Madrid or other Spanish cities, and from there travel to O Cebreiro by bus. You can even get tickets to Santiago de Compostela pretty cheap. I flew from Toronto to Paris for less than $400 round trip in 2016. You might also look at buying two separate tickets here in the US--get a flight up from Florida to a NYC airport and then flying from NYC.

-- PS You can not purchase the ticket on the matrix.itasoftware site, you will have to contact the airline, or buy it from the airline's website. The costs given by matix include fees and taxes, unlike many other search engines.

 

[trecile]

Try using http://matrix.itasoftware.com as a search engine. From Miami to Madrid, I'm seeing flights from $550, round trip. On Matrix you can check nearby cities and dates for departures and arrivals, you can sort the data (flights) by city, time, cost, etc. -- If you can just get across the ocean, you can pick up a cheap flight from other cities (Paris, London, Frankfurt) to Madrid or other Spanish cities, and from there travel to O Cebreiro by bus. You can even get tickets to Santiago de Compostela pretty cheap. I flew from Toronto to Paris for less than $400 round trip in 2016. You might also look at buying two separate tickets here in the US--get a flight up from Florida to a NYC airport and then flying from NYC.

-- PS You can not purchase the ticket on the matrix.itasoftware site, you will have to contact the airline, or buy it from the airline's website. The costs given by matix include fees and taxes, unlike many other search engines.

I agree with using Matrix to search for flights. Please don't fall for one of the third party bookers who advertise fares that don't exist.

 

[Anthony18]

Try Momondo.com or Norwegian.com. With a quick search I found prices less than half of your price around June 2018. See also this thread.

Cool, thanks...will do!

 

[Anthony18]

I agree with using Matrix to search for flights. Please don't fall for one of the third party bookers who advertise fares that don't exist.

Great info! Thanks so much!!

 

[t2andreo]

Generally, the best time to book airfares is YESTERDAY! As you approach the departure date, the price magically rises. This is called demand pricing. It is why an emergency airfare purchased at the last moment, like for a family emergency, is so expensive.

That $1500 price is likely for a peak travel time. This could be close to a holiday, or in the peak summer travel season, from about 15 May through 15 September. Yup, just looked. You are talking about mid-June. The airlines, as businesses, will charge whatever the traffic will bear during peak demand times.

Just as an aside. I am flying AA from PBI (West Palm Beach), through CLT (Charlotte) to MAD (Madrid) on 10 April and am paying less than $600 round trip, not including extra fees for second bags and good seats. AND, that includes a return on 28 April from Santiago de Compostela via Madrid and CLT. Dates are everything...

Think about altering your travel dates. Sometimes, even shifting departure a day or two can make a difference.

Hope this helps.

 

[Anthony18]

Generally, the best time to book airfares is YESTERDAY! As you approach the departure date, the price magically rises. This is called demand pricing. It is why an emergency airfare purchased at the last moment, like for a family emergency, is so expensive.

That $1500 price is likely for a peak travel time. This could be close to a holiday, or in the peak summer travel season, from about 15 May through 15 September. Yup, just looked. You are talking about mid-June. The airlines, as businesses, will charge whatever the traffic will bear during peak demand times.

Just as an aside. I am flying AA from PBI (West Palm Beach), through CLT (Charlotte) to MAD (Madrid) on 10 April and am paying less than $600 round trip, not including extra fees for second bags and good seats. AND, that includes a return on 28 April from Santiago de Compostela via Madrid and CLT. Dates are everything...

Think about altering your travel dates. Sometimes, even shifting departure a day or two can make a difference.

Hope this helps.

Great info, thanks so much.

 

[KYBirdman]

I booked Air Portugal one way from Miami to Paris for $165. One stop in Lisbon. Taking the train to SPdP. Sorry, I did not look for round trip.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I booked Chicago to Paris on United, a non-stop RT flight. Purchased the first week in January, May 30-June 28 for under $780. This included a checked bag (which I don't need), meals, and choosing your own seat. Maybe not the cheapest flight, but there were no hidden fees and I was pretty happy with the price.

 

[Anthony18]

I booked Air Portugal one way from Miami to Paris for $165. One stop in Lisbon. Taking the train to SPdP. Sorry, I did not look for round trip.

I was searching for American Airlines. Their prices were outrageous. Safe trip and buen camino!

 

[t2andreo]

Timing & your travel dates are EVERYTHING! Sometimes you can save a lot just by shifting travel days to off-peak days of the week. Many airlines will show you the prices over a span of days. Having flexible travel days is a big deal.

Hope this helps.

 

[debra]

I have been looking at a large range of flights. Where you appear to be only looking at Madrid

I am looking at a longer trip but here is my information on the flight. I am looking at Ryanair for the short hops in Europe.

All flights are out of San Francisco (SFO).
Madrid $800 Flight back to Madrid $30
London $510 flights to and from walking $100
Paris $490 flights to and from walking $150
Rome $460 flights to and from walking $150
Fly to Paris and leave London $530 flights to and from walking $120
Fly to Rome and leave London $520 flights to and from walking $120

My dates are fly out week of May 7 with a return in week of 11 June or 18 June.

For researching flights I used Kayak, but would only take booking from site I believe to be legit and don't turn up tons of poor review in a fast google search.

Now this will sound odd but if you live in a small town where travel agents have a bit of extra time you may want to ask them as they may be able to get a lower price but you need to be prepared to pay for the ticket when you talk to them.