Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[cmyden]

Finally some European summer relief - $638 roundtrip after tax in August

Europe has been ridiculously expensive for summer travel this year. Until now.

Air Transat is showing flights to Manchester, UK for $638 roundtrip after tax.

Looks like the cheap dates are Fridays and Sundays. August 6 to 20 for example. Or August 8 to 22. August 1 to 15 is $735.

From Manchester you should be able to get wherever you want in Europe for a decent price.

Oh and if you're headed to Oktoberfest, they have a decent one to Frankfurt for $730 roundtrip after tax, September 18 to October 6th.

cM

[Nehkara]

Hey cmyden!

I am looking to go to Iceland probably next year.

I was just wondering if you have noticed any patterns in pricing for flights to Reykjavik from Calgary?

I was thinking of going there for New Years but I noticed flights in the winter months are very very expensive.

Any thoughts? Is there a way I could get there around New Years without bankrupting myself?

[Phaneuf3]

Gotta say this thread is great and thanks a lot. Figure I'll throw out a request just in case you have anything interesting:
Cuba - or anywhere really warm, with a beach and reasonably cheap really - around Novemberish?


It's pretty flexible and I'm open to suggestions if +/- a month or a different but similar destination can get a wicked deal.

Thanks!

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

Hey cmyden!

I am looking to go to Iceland probably next year.

I was just wondering if you have noticed any patterns in pricing for flights to Reykjavik from Calgary?

I was thinking of going there for New Years but I noticed flights in the winter months are very very expensive.

Any thoughts? Is there a way I could get there around New Years without bankrupting myself?

If you can somehow get to Winnipeg you fly there pretty cheap as Iceland Express has been holding ridiculous sales every now and then.

In June it was $59 from Winnipeg to Reykjavik as an example.

http://www.icelandexpress.com/

[cmyden]

Guatemala for $574 roundtrip after tax, Panama City for $650

Mexicana Airlines has flights to Panama City (PTY) in October and November for $650 roundtrip after tax.

That's about 30% cheaper than any other way of getting there from Calgary.

The nice thing about Mexicana's flights to Panama are that the flights are direct to Mexico City, avoiding the U.S., and have reasonable layovers.

You can also get to Guatemala (GUA) for a decent price in October/November. October 20-27 for example is $574 roundtrip after tax. That's using a combination of Air Canada and Mexicana Airlines.

Lastly, there's San Salvador for $629 roundtrip after tax, which is a great price but requires a brutal 22 hour layover in Mexico City on the way back. Likely only useful if you want to check out Mexico City for a day.

UPDATE: Looks like these prices can be found in August and September as well.

cM

[fundmark19]

Chris is there a cheap way to fly for fiji to australia prefer somewhere south end might try and make this a month long trip

what is best way to see what dates are available? Pretty flexible since am going to try and stretch it for a month Will be around month of april if possible

[c.t.ner]

Originally Posted by Radio

Hi Chris,

I am flying to DC on the 19th for business, but was thinking of going early and taking the family for the weekend. What is the best website for deals or do you have the best price for around the 16th readily available?

I probably shouldn't chim in here (As I'm not Chris), but I live in DC at the moment and if you're looking at one of the three airports to fly into. Do yourself a favour and fly to Reagan (DCA). It's the best of the three to go with. Dollas is way out of town and will cost you an arm and a leg to get into downtown DC. While Regan is pretty close to the core and is connected via the Metro. Don't bother with BWI unless you plan on driving in from Baltimore.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by drewboy12

Hey cmyden,

Could you let me know the best deals available to New Zealand in October. Departing from Toronto or Ottawa. Thanks!

Hi Drewboy,

The cheapest flights at the moment are around $1750 roundtrip after tax using Air New Zealand from Toronto.

cM

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Nehkara

Hey cmyden!

I am looking to go to Iceland probably next year.

I was just wondering if you have noticed any patterns in pricing for flights to Reykjavik from Calgary?

I was thinking of going there for New Years but I noticed flights in the winter months are very very expensive.

Any thoughts? Is there a way I could get there around New Years without bankrupting myself?

Hi Nehkara,

I haven't really seen any pattern, but the cheapest flights usually seem to hover around $900 roundtrip after tax throughout the year, and that's using routing through Seattle on Alaska Air, and then from Seattle to KEF on IcelandAir.

For New Years, it can done for slightly more, Dec 29 to Jan 5 for example at $936 roundtrip, however it has a brutal 20 hour layover in Seattle. It wouldn't be so bad though if you wanted to check out Seattle for a day. It gets in at 6:55 PM and then your flight out to KEF is at 3:35 PM the next day. The layover on the way back looks reasonable at 3 hours.

The fastest way is for $1033, routing through Toronto and Boston on the way there, and Seattle on the way back.

cM

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf3

Gotta say this thread is great and thanks a lot. Figure I'll throw out a request just in case you have anything interesting:
Cuba - or anywhere really warm, with a beach and reasonably cheap really - around Novemberish?


It's pretty flexible and I'm open to suggestions if +/- a month or a different but similar destination can get a wicked deal.

Thanks!

Thanks Phaneuf, the best Cuba deals seem to be up to September at the moment. Melia Las Dunas for example is $672/person after tax in August/September but jumps to over $1000 for October.

Nice resort: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...Maria_Cuba.htm

I would say the same applies for all all-inclusive destinations at the moment. Some good prices in September, but not much for Oct/Nov.

The best at the moment looks to be the El Cid Castilla in Mazatlan for $830 in October.

cM

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

If you can somehow get to Winnipeg you fly there pretty cheap as Iceland Express has been holding ridiculous sales every now and then.

In June it was $59 from Winnipeg to Reykjavik as an example.

http://www.icelandexpress.com/

Ah, pre-tax prices I imagine those were the ones that worked out to around $490 roundtrip after tax? I believe they were these ones...

http://www.icelandexpress.com/canadaoffer/

(to either Iceland or London, or both with a free stopover)

A great price for sure (especially from Winnipeg). Although with the average price to Winnipeg hovering around $300ish, I would imagine your total cost is likely to be at least $800ish, assuming the flight timings work out.

That's still quite a good price. From Calgary you're usually looking at around $900 for the cheapest flights.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by c.t.ner

I probably shouldn't chim in here (As I'm not Chris), but I live in DC at the moment and if you're looking at one of the three airports to fly into. Do yourself a favour and fly to Reagan (DCA). It's the best of the three to go with. Dollas is way out of town and will cost you an arm and a leg to get into downtown DC. While Regan is pretty close to the core and is connected via the Metro. Don't bother with BWI unless you plan on driving in from Baltimore.

I really hope people aren't afraid to chime in! The whole point of this thread is to help Calgarians find the best travel deals, and the more people chiming in with tips and advice, the better.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

Chris is there a cheap way to fly for fiji to australia prefer somewhere south end might try and make this a month long trip

what is best way to see what dates are available? Pretty flexible since am going to try and stretch it for a month Will be around month of april if possible

Hi Fundmark,

The cheapest between Fiji and Australia look to be around $400 roundtrip after tax using V Australia to Sydney and back. April 8 to 28 for example. Likely a lot of other dates at that price, but hopefully it gives you an idea.

It looks to be a fair bit more expensive to get to Adelaide at around $750 roundtrip using Virgin Blue or V Australia. So you might want to consider Fiji to Sydney to Adelaide (or wherever in Australia you want to go). There's some pretty cheap inter-Australian airlines. Sydney to Australia can be done for around $190 roundtrip on JetStar.

[fundmark19]

Thanks Chris any idea how to check which dates are still able to get that fiji deal over march or april looking to go for a month? Is only way really trial and error?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Guatemala for $574 roundtrip after tax, Panama City for $650

Mexicana Airlines has flights to Panama City (PTY) in October and November for $650 roundtrip after tax.

That's about 30% cheaper than any other way of getting there from Calgary.

The nice thing about Mexicana's flights to Panama are that the flights are direct to Mexico City, avoiding the U.S., and have reasonable layovers.

You can also get to Guatemala (GUA) for a decent price in October/November. October 20-27 for example is $574 roundtrip after tax. That's using a combination of Air Canada and Mexicana Airlines.

Lastly, there's San Salvador for $629 roundtrip after tax, which is a great price but requires a brutal 22 hour layover in Mexico City on the way back. Likely only useful if you want to check out Mexico City for a day.

UPDATE: Looks like these prices can be found in August and September as well.

cM

Can add Bogota, Colombia to this list as well for $650. Mexicana there and back, good layovers. Aug 12-20 for example. Or Sep 30 to October 13th.

Also, San Jose, Costa Rica is down to $590 roundtrip. November is a pretty good time to visit Costa Rica, the dry season is just beginning. Just go before the prices start to rise around American Thanksgiving.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

Thanks Chris any idea how to check which dates are still able to get that fiji deal over march or april looking to go for a month? Is only way really trial and error?

Ah, sorry Fundmark, I thought maybe you had already booked it.
Unfortunately that Fiji deal didn't last very long at all, I believe it was gone by late Friday afternoon. I'm still not sure what it was exactly, either an unadvertised sale or just a mistake fare on the Vancouver to Fiji route.

[fundmark19]

Dang I was on the fence all day because I had to look at logistics at see if the fiance was in. Oh well!

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

Dang I was on the fence all day because I had to look at logistics at see if the fiance was in. Oh well!

Yeah I know, it can be pretty tough sometimes with some of these deals. I mean, realistically, not many people can just decide to take off somewhere in a matter of hours without consulting work schedules, etc. Hopefully something else will come along that works for you both.

[fundmark19]

Oh well keep up the great work! Will always be thankful for spain that made the egagement quite memorable

[cmyden]

ALL INCLUSIVE: The Royal Decameron Complex in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - $677/person after tax

The Royal Decameron Complex in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico has dropped to $677/person after tax on the following departure dates...

September 9, 16, 23, 30

reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...fic_Coast.html