I am planning a trip to Greece in May 2006. When is the best time to book the flight and get the best rate?

Start looking for deals now - or have a travel agent do it.

The best deals could appear anytime from now through the first of March/end of February.

I would ask this question also on the Cheap Flights forum of www.eurotrip.com - - you won't find a greater of guru of bargain trans-atlantic air travel than the moderator, Don, there.

Best wishes,

Rex

p.s. for a meaningful answer, you will need to give your origination. I assumed that you need to cross the Atlantic to get to Greece.

But maybe "sgkmom" means that you are in Singapore!

Thank you for the response. We are leaving from Lawrence, Ks. Will be flying out of Kansas City, MO. MCI

I started looking for a ticket to Athens early so I could keep track of the fare trends, then found one for last May on Air France in December, 2004. I ended up paying at least $200 less than I would have paid later on. Part of this was being able to find a cheap flight from where I live in Oregon to SFO for the international flight. Since you live in the center of the country I assume you'll be needing to do the same. I booked these two flights separately to take advantage of different fare sales. All the airlines offer them periodically, it's up to you to find them. It means knowing which airlines fly from MCI to the various international departure airlines closest to you and then monitoring their fares. Orbitz.com and the other online ticket sellers can also be helpful, but keep an eye on the airlines' websites as well. By using the online websites to check fares from more than one international departure airport you might be able to catch a good discounted fare, you just have to be persistent.

Correction:



"It means knowing which airlines fly from MCI to the various international departure AIRPORTS"