When to purchase tickets for a Sep-Oct walk?

[moriahsdavis]

Hello! First time posting, and first Camino this coming Sep-Oct. When do you all suggest my mom and I purchase tickets from the US? We've read many articles about buying airline tickets internationally, and it runs the gamut. Wondering what the seasoned experts recommend?

 

[C clearly]

The seasoned experts have trouble resisting the temptation to buy tickets for the next Camino as soon as they've arrived home from one Camino!

 

[Kiwi-family]

In case you think @C clearly is joking, let me assure you she is not!
Many seasoned experts have spreadsheets of routes on their computers so all info is at their fingertips and they can pounce on a good fare when they happen to stumble across one (an occurrence which is highly likely given the frequency with which they peruse airline sites)

 

[Marbe2]

Do enough exploring/research to know what is an acceptable price. Then secure a fare that is reasonable from your perspective.

If you are starting your camino in Racine WI, you likely will fly out of Milwaukee?
if so you may need to make at least one stop?

Suggest a ticket you can at least change at no cost. The basic ticket leaves you unable to change your ticket at no cost. In addition, particularly American Airlines, changes days, weeks months out and you may find your connection being rerouted.

So find the best route for you, buy it at an acceptable price for your budget and hope you’re not rerouted. If you can get a direct flight and need to pay a bit more, consider it!

 

[J Willhaus]

Yes, we usually buy far in advance (four or five months) and the airline does change something either minor or major one or two times before we go. My thinking is that the tickets are then "paid for" well in advance and I have more time and money to spend on the actual trip. It spreads the cost over several months.

The same strategy does not work for bus and train travel in Spain when you arrive. Often tickets don't go on sale until shortly before the travel date so if I want a train ticket in advance, I often need to keep checking in the few weeks ahead of my trip. I have been skunked a time or two when tickets were either sold out or Phil and I couldn't sit together on our train travel when I waited to buy after my arrival.

 

[moriahsdavis]

In case you think @C clearly is joking, let me assure you she is not!
Many seasoned experts have spreadsheets of routes on their computers so all info is at their fingertips and they can pounce on a good fare when they happen to stumble across one (an occurrence which is highly likely given the frequency with which they peruse airline sites)

Thanks. Do you happen to be one of the experts with just such a spreadsheet?!

 

[moriahsdavis]

Do enough exploring/research to know what is an acceptable price. Then secure a fare that is reasonable from your perspective.

If you are starting your camino in Racine WI, you likely will fly out of Milwaukee?
if so you may need to make at least one stop?

Suggest a ticket you can at least change at no cost. The basic ticket leaves you unable to change your ticket at no cost. In addition, particularly American Airlines, changes days, weeks months out and you may find your connection being rerouted.

So find the best route for you, buy it at an acceptable price for your budget and hope you’re not rerouted. If you can get a direct flight and need to pay a bit more, consider it!

Thanks. Likely flying out of Chicago, though Milwaukee is an option if it's cheaper. In all likelyhood, a Milwaukee departure will take us through Chicago anyway. Thanks for the info on American Airlines possibly changing routes.

 

[moriahsdavis]

Yes, we usually buy far in advance (four or five months) and the airline does change something either minor or major one or two times before we go. My thinking is that the tickets are then "paid for" well in advance and I have more time and money to spend on the actual trip. It spreads the cost over several months.

The same strategy does not work for bus and train travel in Spain when you arrive. Often tickets don't go on sale until shortly before the travel date so if I want a train ticket in advance, I often need to keep checking in the few weeks ahead of my trip. I have been skunked a time or two when tickets were either sold out or Phil and I couldn't sit together on our train travel when I waited to buy after my arrival.

So... 4-5 months is considered "far in advance" then? We're about 8 months out now and I'm wondering if that's TOO far? What do you think?

 

[J Willhaus]

So... 4-5 months is considered "far in advance" then? We're about 8 months out now and I'm wondering if that's TOO far? What do you think?

I have bought tickets that far our in earlier Caminos as I was excited. Just be prepared to keep track of multiple changes. I have an email folder for each trip and put the updates in it when they come in.

 

[trecile]

I would start tracking prices now.
If you let us know which airports you will be flying from/to I'm sure that there are forum members who are familiar with the route and know what a good price is.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Thanks. Do you happen to be one of the experts with just such a spreadsheet?!

Only one? lol

 

[moriahsdavis]

I would start tracking prices now.
If you let us know which airports you will be flying from/to I'm sure that there are forum members who are familiar with the route and know what a good price is.

We would likely fly from Chicago to Madrid. Possibly Milwaukee if the price is right, but Chicago is convenient as well. We have price alerts on, but they're all over the place. Not very reliable. We've just never done this, so don't know if it's wise to wait closer or if we're missing an opportunity. 8 months out just seems so far, but then again, what do we know?!

 

[peregrina2000]

We would likely fly from Chicago to Madrid. Possibly Milwaukee if the price is right, but Chicago is convenient as well. We have price alerts on, but they're all over the place. Not very reliable. We've just never done this, so don't know if it's wise to wait closer or if we're missing an opportunity. 8 months out just seems so far, but then again, what do we know?!

There are so many possible routes for getting from either Milwaukee or Chicago to Madrid that it’s kind of dizzying. If you don’t think the price alerts are working well for you, then I think you should choose one of two options- start doing searches yourself or get a travel agent (yes they still exist).

If you’re going to start doing searches yourself, I would just plan to visit the websites of Delta, American and United. Hunt for round trip fares on all 3 sites for the two possible departure cities (Milwaukee and Chicago) to Madrid. Then, as trecile says, you’ll get a sense of what the fares are and will be able to jump on a good one when you see it. Fares are totally unpredictable and you never know when a good fare will pop up, but you’ll be much better able to recognize it if you have familiarized yourself with the going rates.

I have a friend who was in a similar situation to yours (not going on a camino, though) and she was totally uninterested in spending hours on the internet looking for fares. She went to AAA, and a travel agent there helped her. I don’t know whether there was a charge, but this agent also booked hotels and rental cars. I don’t know if they would just do the flights, but if you are an AAA member, it’s worth a call.

Just one heads up - I think the strong consensus here on the forum is that you should buy your tickets directly from the airlines, not from a third party like Expedia or Kayak. In case of a problem, cancellation, etc, you are in a much better position if you have a direct relationship with the airlines.

And one other thing — American is a partner with Iberia, which is of course the main Spanish airline. If you fly American or Iberia, you land in a better connected terminal in Madrid, and if you fly American, you can easily add on intra-Spain tickets if you want. For instance, if you want to fly from Santiago to home, it’s easy to do if you’re on an American or Iberia flight. Flight leaves Santiago at about 9, which gets you to Madrid in time for most of the flights to the US.

Good luck with all of this, it’s much more daunting than actually walking a camino!

 

[C clearly]

I bought my ticket 4-5 months in advance, at what I decide was a "reasonable" price. Yesterday, curious, I looked to see if prices had gone up in the 3 weeks that had passed. They had not: they had gone down, quite a bit. For a moment I felt bothered, but I quickly decided that I didn't care. Having bought the ticket, I was already on my way on the trip, and once you are on your way, you simply need to roll with the expenses.

So I have no useful suggestions for when to buy your ticket.

 

[moriahsdavis]

There are so many possible routes for getting from either Milwaukee or Chicago to Madrid that it’s kind of dizzying. If you don’t think the price alerts are working well for you, then I think you should choose one of two options- start doing searches yourself or get a travel agent (yes they still exist).

If you’re going to start doing searches yourself, I would just plan to visit the websites of Delta, American and United. Hunt for round trip fares on all 3 sites for the two possible departure cities (Milwaukee and Chicago) to Madrid. Then, as trecile says, you’ll get a sense of what the fares are and will be able to jump on a good one when you see it. Fares are totally unpredictable and you never know when a good fare will pop up, but you’ll be much better able to recognize it if you have familiarized yourself with the going rates.

I have a friend who was in a similar situation to yours (not going on a camino, though) and she was totally uninterested in spending hours on the internet looking for fares. She went to AAA, and a travel agent there helped her. I don’t know whether there was a charge, but this agent also booked hotels and rental cars. I don’t know if they would just do the flights, but if you are an AAA member, it’s worth a call.

Just one heads up - I think the strong consensus here on the forum is that you should buy your tickets directly from the airlines, not from a third party like Expedia or Kayak. In case of a problem, cancellation, etc, you are in a much better position if you have a direct relationship with the airlines.

And one other thing — American is a partner with Iberia, which is of course the main Spanish airline. If you fly American or Iberia, you land in a better connected terminal in Madrid, and if you fly American, you can easily add on intra-Spain tickets if you want. For instance, if you want to fly from Santiago to home, it’s easy to do if you’re on an American or Iberia flight. Flight leaves Santiago at about 9, which gets you to Madrid in time for most of the flights to the US.

Good luck with all of this, it’s much more daunting than actually walking a camino!

Thank you so much for all the advice. This is very helpful!

 

[moriahsdavis]

I bought my ticket 4-5 months in advance, at what I decide was a "reasonable" price. Yesterday, curious, I looked to see if prices had gone up in the 3 weeks that had passed. They had not: they had gone down, quite a bit. For a moment I felt bothered, but I quickly decided that I didn't care. Having bought the ticket, I was already on my way on the trip, and once you are on your way, you simply need to roll with the expenses.

So I have no useful suggestions for when to buy your ticket.

So true! Once we click "purchase," I'm not going to look again. Don't want to be disappointed, ha!

 

[Kiwi-family]

Similar to @C clearly, I bought my latest ticket and then there was a big sale and I could have saved $500. I'm not giving it any thought either!!

 

[FourSeasons]

Yay, I’ve made the grade. I’m planning my fourth with a spreadsheet, color coded even. This is my first time using a spreadsheet for a Camino.

I’m so excited for you! For me I’ve always booked well in advance with a refundable/changeable ticket. Thank goodness I’ve never had to change for a lower fare. This time though I purchased 9 months in advance. I checked a few weeks later to find the prices when down, a lot. So I was able to change my ticket. I’ve looked a few times since to see the prices have gone up significantly. Good luck in your search.

Just know, getting there is the hardest part. Then it’s just walk, eat, sleep, repeat. you’re going to have the time of your life. Buen Camino!

 

[K_Lynn]

KLM/Air France currently has a "sale" on. I was briefly tempted but the discount was not so great for me to pounce. I'm in Canada and usually book 6-12 weeks out. Throw your starting airport and your desired landing point into Google for an idea of airlines and costs, pay attention to total hours of the trip as some flights might be cheaper but with lengthy (over 6 hours) layovers. Always book a bulkhead or extra room seat on the overseas flights. There is no point being cramped and miserable for hours!

 

[CWBuff]

I guess to each his\her own as I DO track about 8 months in advance but mostly get them roughly 120 days in advance. Since I personally fly 99% UNITED i buy through their website (i.e. from Airline directly) and if the price does drop within 90 days they WILL reimburse the diff.

You can also sign-up for price alert on such sites as GoogleFlights and SkyScanner to name a few.

In the end it is not probably about anyone else's opinion and or spreadsheets & charts - it is still has to be YOUR decision as to how much you are comfortable to spend (yes I know everyone likes 'the cheaper the better' but it will come down to what you willing to pay.... not to mention that some will only fly Basic Economy with hardly any perks and some very well will get into 1st\Business Class)

Good luck & Buen Camino

 

[trecile]

Since I personally fly 99% UNITED i buy through their website (i.e. from Airline directly) and if the price does drop within 90 days they WILL reimburse the diff.

I think that this is dependent on the type of fare, and is in the form of a credit, not a direct refund according to this article:

https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/how-to-rebook-and-save-when-united-prices-drop

 

[CWBuff]

@trecile - Well when I got my EWR-CdG for my 2022 Camino I used my Chase United CC, which allows me to buy Economy Basic and gives me 1 checked in bag free - (and so went my backpack with poles in oft-mentioned plastic\durable nylon duffel bag) - and just to fork up lousy $35-50 for my seat choice not over $100-150 to "upgrade" to Standard Economy. it also bumps me up 1 group as a "Priority Boarding" and it mostly works for me.....
When I saw a cheaper price after I already bought the ticket I called United. The agent told me that since I booked directly with United and was well within the 90 days - I qualified. The refund was in form of a $$$ difference issued straight to my form of payment (i.e. the afore-mentioned CC). That's all I can say.
Granted 2022 is not 24 so who knows what other tricks did the gentle folks who control our wings came up with in order to alleviate our pockets of some extra change, but that's the way it went with me

 

[Marbe2]

I bought my ticket 4-5 months in advance, at what I decide was a "reasonable" price. Yesterday, curious, I looked to see if prices had gone up in the 3 weeks that had passed. They had not: they had gone down, quite a bit. For a moment I felt bothered, but I quickly decided that I didn't care. Having bought the ticket, I was already on my way on the trip, and once you are on your way, you simply need to roll with the expenses.

So I have no useful suggestions for when to buy your ticket.

I don’t know your airline,but I usually fly UA. and I by am able to cancel my ticket, (not basic fare) which allows one credit for the value of the ticket. If the fare drops significantly, I cancel and then rebook the same flight,immediately at no cost. I did this on a flight several months ago and saved $175 for each of two tickets.