What's your favourite place to get cheap airfare to Central America?
Apr 2nd, 2012, 07:09 PM
#1
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What's your favourite place to get cheap airfare to Central America?
Please share here. I'm trying to locate the best deal to Costa Rica. I found the deal of a lifetime (really it was) and it ended the day before I booked it. So tell me your favorite website for great deals (North American sites/companies) and I will check it out!! thanks
Apr 3rd, 2012, 03:12 AM
#2
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spirit.com cheap to SJO from FLL have paid as little as $19/tax each way for me in the past even FREE by getting their Spirit World MasterCard points #1 for me jetblue.com aa.com not as good usually but better than the others.
Apr 3rd, 2012, 03:44 AM
#3
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You can use ITA travel to compare just about all airlines - http://matrix.itasoftware.com/
I've always flown AA for best routes/connections and comparable fares.
I've always flown AA for best routes/connections and comparable fares.
Apr 3rd, 2012, 04:51 AM
#4
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I wait for supersales. Got AA R/T (DIA) for ~$240 at the end of last year, which was pretty good; then I watched like a vulture for Groupon, etc., which turned out pretty well.
Sign up for fare warnings from various sites, then go to the home airline page for booking.
And know that however much you save on the flight, it's still going to cost a bunch of money, so if you REALLY want to go, don't wait for that $300-off-retail sale.
Sign up for fare warnings from various sites, then go to the home airline page for booking.
And know that however much you save on the flight, it's still going to cost a bunch of money, so if you REALLY want to go, don't wait for that $300-off-retail sale.
Apr 3rd, 2012, 05:50 PM
#6
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Well I am open to taking a bus to NYC for a great bargain (like $450 or under, taxes included). But so far I only found a $650 ticket from NYC to San Jose. It would actually cost the same to fly out of my home city as paying $650 plus bus fare so I did not buy it.
Apr 4th, 2012, 07:58 AM
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as tully wrote, ita matrix is great if you have time to check everyday.
Also, try checking out the mileage run deals page on FlyerTalk.com. It's mostly listed by airport codes so you're looking for XXX-SJO. Deals are often restricted in terms of dates so it's not as helpful if your dates are fixed. If there is an excellent fare, the golden rule is to NOT CALL the airline until everyone gets in on the deal. Only when the deal is dead, do you call about seats, re-confirm ticket numbers, etc. Others have inadvertently alerted airlines by prematurely calling about their seats or whatever, causing the agent to see the exceptionally low fare who starts looking into it and the fare often stops showing up within hrs. Many of the fares are just great sales, like last Sept there was a United sale from many cities to SJO for $260 ai. But it's not very practical to wait around for some great deal, like Sylvia says, if you're set on a trip.
I usually let low airfare determine where I'm going. I wasn't planning on going to Costa Rica but I saw a $216 ai fare a couple years ago and jumped on it. Same way I ended up in Prague and London several years back. If I have a set destination, I check ita obsessively until I see a dip.
Also, try checking out the mileage run deals page on FlyerTalk.com. It's mostly listed by airport codes so you're looking for XXX-SJO. Deals are often restricted in terms of dates so it's not as helpful if your dates are fixed. If there is an excellent fare, the golden rule is to NOT CALL the airline until everyone gets in on the deal. Only when the deal is dead, do you call about seats, re-confirm ticket numbers, etc. Others have inadvertently alerted airlines by prematurely calling about their seats or whatever, causing the agent to see the exceptionally low fare who starts looking into it and the fare often stops showing up within hrs. Many of the fares are just great sales, like last Sept there was a United sale from many cities to SJO for $260 ai. But it's not very practical to wait around for some great deal, like Sylvia says, if you're set on a trip.
I usually let low airfare determine where I'm going. I wasn't planning on going to Costa Rica but I saw a $216 ai fare a couple years ago and jumped on it. Same way I ended up in Prague and London several years back. If I have a set destination, I check ita obsessively until I see a dip.
Apr 4th, 2012, 10:40 AM
#8
Have you considered changing the dates of your travel? For eg a July date is likely to be more expensive than going in May or June.
There are some sub $500 fares from NYC right now. I find holiday periods are a good time to book flights.
There are some sub $500 fares from NYC right now. I find holiday periods are a good time to book flights.
Apr 5th, 2012, 02:34 AM
#10
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Hi, fishee! I went over to FlyerTalk, but their jargon is confusing. I can't seem to puzzle out where to search for low fares. Aside from airport codes, it's in a foreign language to me, ha, ha!
I like your idea of going where the deals are, if you can. An adventurous, economical way to discover the world!
I like your idea of going where the deals are, if you can. An adventurous, economical way to discover the world!
Apr 5th, 2012, 06:04 AM
#11
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@cattail: they're crazy about acronyms on that site, some of the posts are really funny:
"Has anybody had any luck with VDB as AA PLT out of CLT? Checking ITA and EF everyday but Y always 7....."
Scan the first page of MR Deals (and the second if you don't check everyday) for anything that originates with your home airports. Besides that, the only thread to keep track of/subscribe to is "Good Deals in Economy Class" -- good fares but not considered being worthy of mileage runs (flying for sole purpose of accumulating miles cheaply as possible). Thread format is a hassle but I check the last page of that thread for new posts re
RD.
"Has anybody had any luck with VDB as AA PLT out of CLT? Checking ITA and EF everyday but Y always 7....."
Scan the first page of MR Deals (and the second if you don't check everyday) for anything that originates with your home airports. Besides that, the only thread to keep track of/subscribe to is "Good Deals in Economy Class" -- good fares but not considered being worthy of mileage runs (flying for sole purpose of accumulating miles cheaply as possible). Thread format is a hassle but I check the last page of that thread for new posts re
RD.
Apr 5th, 2012, 02:29 PM
#12
Those were just from doing a Kayak search but not in July. Those were closer to $600 and of course that depends on what days you leave and return on.
If you really are on a strict budget you might want to reconsider Costa Rica, I thought it was expensive for what you get.
If you really are on a strict budget you might want to reconsider Costa Rica, I thought it was expensive for what you get.
Apr 5th, 2012, 06:55 PM
#13
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Well at first I found a bargain for $412 roundtrip. But I had to wait for my manager to approve my vacation request. So I spent hours researching and planning the trip, got the vacation authorized only to find out the fare had nearly doubled in price. After 2 weeks of anticipated enthusiasm and excitement, I don't want to change the location now.
I found something on the United Airlines website for only $423 from New York. It's a good price. Will still have to pay an extra $150 for greyhound bus, but I'll end up saving about $200 in the end.
I really recommend the United website. They gave the best deal by far and the website set up makes it easy and quick to find the best rates. So it can search for the lowest fares at nearby airports and dates close to the ones you picked so you don't have to keep on entering a whole bunch of different combinations.
I found something on the United Airlines website for only $423 from New York. It's a good price. Will still have to pay an extra $150 for greyhound bus, but I'll end up saving about $200 in the end.
I really recommend the United website. They gave the best deal by far and the website set up makes it easy and quick to find the best rates. So it can search for the lowest fares at nearby airports and dates close to the ones you picked so you don't have to keep on entering a whole bunch of different combinations.
