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Hello All,
I usually plan, and book my vacations much closer to their departure time, but in this case I am curious if it is worth looking into booking any earlier. I am planning my/our honeymoon and we would like to fly from Boston to Malaga and drive the Costa Del Sol and Algarve regions. My big question, for now, because I am sure there will be many more, is when do I book the airfare for the best rates? As this is looking to be a very expensive two weeks, I would like to spend the lions share of my budget on getting hotel rooms in the best areas. Secondly should I look for a direct flight to Malaga or should I look to Dublin/London and grab Easyjet or Ryanair? Any advice/ideas would be welcome. Thanks so much.
When to book and international flight for June 2010?
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The past couple of years, Iberia has had excellent sales in late winter/early spring (I travel in late May every year).
But why would you want to drive the costa del sol? Surely you mean the interior?
I would book directly to your destination. Although it might be cheaper to book with Ryan Air or Easy Jet, if there are delays for any reasons you will be stuck - those airlines will do nothing to assist you (as they are low cost, point-to-point airlines).
I think you should book directly, as well, since smaller regional airlines Ryan and Easy Jet don't always go into the bigger airports where you might be connecting from. Also, once they charge you for baggage, booking fees, and anything else they can think of, it's not always such a good deal.
As far as to when to book ... you have plenty of time, but if you see a fare you think you can live with, go for it, and then don't look back. It's always hard to predict future prices ...
I would definitely try to book direct. From BOS, it looks like BA (via LHR), Delta (via JFK), Iberia (via MAD) or Swiss (via ZRH) might be options. If you really wanted to book two separate tickets, you might try going via Amsterdam, which is a very easy airport to deal with and which is served by Transavia and Vueling.
As for when to book? Unless you got tickets in the $500 range, I would hold out until March, at the very earliest. I would probably wait until at least April before settling for $800+.
I agree with March, but start to look in Jan as well.
BostonJackO (in pertinent part) writes: "... I am planning my/our honeymoon and we would like to fly from Boston to Malaga and drive the Costa Del Sol and Algarve regions. My big question, for now, because I am sure there will be many more, is when do I book the airfare for the best rates? ... Secondly should I look for a direct flight to Malaga or should I look to Dublin/London and grab Easyjet or Ryanair? ... "
Looking at your final question first: Delta just announced that they will begin serving Malaga direct from the U.S. I thonk it's reasonable to assume that Flights will be from Atlanta, Delta's home base.
European flag carriers serve Malaga directly from airports such as Frankfurt and Amsterdam; so finding the cheapest flight 'across the pond' should be your first priority. I agree with Travelgourmet & BobtheNavigator that March should be the earliest for booking your flights.
June should not be a problem for Hotel accomodations. The European 'Peak Season' begins July 16 (la Virgen de Carmen) and continues until around Labor Day. Most Resort Hotels probably won't take reservations for June, 2010 until around Semana Santa (early April).
It's a 'long haul' Malaga (Costa del Sol) to Lagos (Algarve). Between them there's Cadiz, Jerez de la frontera and Sevilla, then the Doñana wildlife refuge and el Rocio before crossing into Portugal just past Huelva. You'll be traveling so much, it just doesn't look like a Honeymoon to me.
Forget about one or the other (i.e., Malaga or the Algarve)! Try to plan a realistic 2-week Honeymoon Trip. You might even be able to take in things no one of your friends in Boston has seen: like the Feria del Campo with its pilgrimage to el Santuario de la Virgen de Rocio just west of the Doñana
Looking at your final question first: Delta just announced that they will begin serving Malaga direct from the U.S. I thonk it's reasonable to assume that Flights will be from Atlanta, Delta's home base.
This flight is out of JFK, not ATL. And it is only during the summer. Regardless, the OP will not be able to get to Malaga non-stop from Boston. Given that, then they should seek to avoid anything beyond a single connection. Delta offers a single connection, via JFK, as would Iberia, via Madrid, and BA, via Heathrow.
Wow, March time frame. I am going on a cruise in June leaving from Barcelona. We would like to leave out Newport News Virginia on Us air connection through phl to bcn but that connection never seems to work out for us because it's expensive. Last year to Rome we flew from Richmond, Virginia to JFK then connection on Aerlingus. Although Aerlingus was a great airline I would prefer to find a non stop this time to BCN. I have even looked at IAD, BOS, EWR and I keeping coming back to JFK. You really think we should wait until March to make plans? What about January time frame?
Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
I frequently travel in June to Europe, and usually start researching now - get a feel of what the undiscounted prices are for what type of flight - and then when the deals come (around late January and then February) I can pounce, knowing I got a good deal. I check Kayak.com, and then enter the best bets into Yapta, which emails me when prices change. I also sign up for updates on several different airlines, so they email me as well.
Last trip was to Edinburgh in June 2008, and fares were running $1200 each from Jacksonville. I got an email one morning in mid-February for $790 fares, and I grabbed it - they were gone in an hour, but we got them.
I had set a pre-determined limit to when I would buy, so I don't second guess myself. I put it at $800 (including taxes) and so then I bought. Then I ignored the fares after that, avoiding the 'I could have saved X if I had waited!' shame game.