Booking flights
 

Hi everyone,

I'm planning a trip to Nicaragua with my family during the week of Thanksgiving. Is it too early to book our flights? Should I wait?

I noticed that the flights there for July and August are a couple of hundred dollars cheaper. I wasn't sure if I should wait and see if the prices decrease later, or if the prices in November were just higher since we're visiting during Thanksgiving.

I realize it's impossible to predict pricing, but I was just curious about other people's experiences. I've never traveled internationally during the holidays.

Thank you!

You don't say where you're flying from or what kinds of fares you're seeing.

Thanksgiving is a busy travel time, although not necessarily to Nicaragua. Any connecting flights within the U.S. will be packed, though, and that'll drive up the fare. If, for example, you return Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, you'll pay top dollar. Can you shift things even by a day, say, returning Saturday or Monday?

Thanks for the info!

I'm flying from STL, and the fares right now are about $950. I think the fares for flights in July/August are about $750, I'm tempted to wait a little bit. Could anyone tell me if this is a typical price for this flight?

We're returning on the Mondat after Thanksgiving, so hopefully that will help!

>>I think the fares for flights in July/August are about $750, I'm tempted to wait a little bit.<<

Summer is the rainy season -- November is the beginning of the high/dry season. It is a more popular time to visit Nicaragua. I don't know specifically but I would assume summer flights would be cheaper.

Fares to any destination people go to get warm during the winter will be higher than in summer, with rare exception. Last year I bought flights to southern Mexico on June 5th for the fall when I was considering it and found a cheap fare. Had I waited even a bit I'd have paid almost double.

I suggest, if you can live with the fare now offered, that you buy it. Or, if you can live with the thought of paying more to gamble on a cheaper fare, do. If you do that watch the fares daily on every airline or use a site like http://matrix.itasoftware.com which is how I found my good fare.

You might also sign up for low fare alerts:

http://www.airfarewatchdog.com

Thanks everyone! I've signed up for a price alert, so we'll see what happens!