Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[lucky1]

occasionally Turkish Air has some very good pricing on the direct flights from Toronto to Istanbul - nice new 777's, with an economy comfort class that is better than AC's old biz class

Istanbul is one of my favourite cities to visit - lots to see and do, prices fairly reasonable - and Ataturk airport has great connections.

The area in and around Antalya is pretty nice, the most well preserved Roman amphitheatre exists in Aspendos, and they still have outdoor concerts there.
Side (pronounced See Day), is basically an open air roman museum - old roman port city, lots of roman temples, great ruins you can just walk around in, another amphitheatre, great night life, tons of restaraunts etc.....

Pm me if you want some pics or more info - including a place to stay in Side

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Notorious Honey Badger

Hey Chris,

is it easy/cheap to get to Croatia from Istanbul?

Hmmmm, looks like it might be about $100 each way...

http://www.kayak.com/flights/#/IST,n...10-31-flexible

Unless there's a cheaper way through using some obscure airport. Skyscanner didn't seem to be able to find any.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

Wow, that still works? I sadly remember when you used to be able to do that for flights within the U.S.

Thanks Chris.

You can do something similar with Air France, they usually let you stopover in Paris for free.

[Kybosh]

Booked for three weeks late October to mid-November. Thanks for the heads up Chris. This is the first time I've been able to use one of your deals. I'm not sure yet if I'll hang out in Turkey the entire time are visit somewhere else in the region, but at $700 I couldn't pass it up.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

Booked for three weeks late October to mid-November. Thanks for the heads up Chris. This is the first time I've been able to use one of your deals. I'm not sure yet if I'll hang out in Turkey the entire time are visit somewhere else in the region, but at $700 I couldn't pass it up.

I think there will be a lot of Canadians invading Turkey this October!

[lucky1]

Kybosh - head south - even southern turkey - Istanbul can be cold at that time...

Damn AC booking is really misleading - it says you can have a departure date up till and including May 6, 2013- with a return of up to 3 months after departure date - the rub is flights are only loaded on the system up to May 9, 2013.....so to get this deal thru AC - and have two weeks of fun, the last departure date is really around April 24th -

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by lucky1

Kybosh - head south - even southern turkey - Istanbul can be cold at that time...

Damn AC booking is really misleading - it says you can have a departure date up till and including May 6, 2013- with a return of up to 3 months after departure date - the rub is flights are only loaded on the system up to May 9, 2013.....so to get this deal thru AC - and have two weeks of fun, the last departure date is really around April 24th -

Yeah, this is the problem with that time of year but c'est la vie. I might consider heading further south to even Jordan or something.

[lucky1]

for those going to istanbul - the Sulthanemet (spelling?) area is where you want to be - great outdoor pubs, eateries......its the old part of istanbul, so has a very old european flavour to it....
recently stayed at a small boutique hotel called 'Neorion Hotel' great roof top terrace overlooking the boshphorous....and they take great care of you - within walking distance of all the major Istanbul attractions - underground cistern, blue mosque, topkapki palace, sophia hague etc etc....

[lucky1]

Also, have a nice fully equipped apt for rent in Side (near antalya) in a great complex - 5 minutes from the beautiful beaches of the med!! :-)

[getbak]

Hell of a deal. Thanks for the heads up Chris. Just booked for next March. One week in Amsterdam, then 2 in Turkey ($718 total).

I wanted to add another Continent to my checklist in 2013, but I thought it was going to be South America. Guess it's going to be Asia (just barely) instead.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by getbak

Hell of a deal. Thanks for the heads up Chris. Just booked for next March. One week in Amsterdam, then 2 in Turkey ($718 total).

I wanted to add another Continent to my checklist in 2013, but I thought it was going to be South America. Guess it's going to be Asia (just barely) instead.

Nice! Save South America for 2014 - World Cup in Brazil


If anyone needs help on planning their trip to Turkey, there is a great resource from the guy who literally wrote the book on Turkey (for Lonely Planet and others)...

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/

[bbtran]

Great deal. Booked Apr. 8th-26th. 5 Days in Turkey and the rest will in France. $742.

[BumbleBee]

Unbelievable deal! I just booked April 7-May 6, 2013 in Amsterdam, although I'll certainly be snagging a Eurorail Pass and travelling all around for the month, and then May 6-May 14, 2013 in Istanbul! I am absolutely ecstatic - crazy deal!!

All for $720.00!

[Hi-Psi]

I booked April 15-May14 with 11 others so far, gonna be a sick trip! Thanks again Chris, this is my 3rd-4th time booking one of your deals for a vacation!

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by cmyden

I think there will be a lot of Canadians invading Turkey this October!

I take it back, I think April/May will be the Canadian invasion of Turkey!

[cmyden]

Air Transat just released the first good deal to Europe for July travel. Try June 26 to July 11 from Calgary to Glasgow, Scotland. $599 roundtrip after taxes.

[rd_aaron]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Air Transat just released the first good deal to Europe for July travel. Try June 26 to July 11 from Calgary to Glasgow, Scotland. $599 roundtrip after taxes.

Is this the typical timeframe for flights to Europe to go on sale? It'll be 2 years before I go, but I'll be going in July for a little over a month and I want to start tracking when the best time to buy a flight is.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by rd_aaron

Is this the typical timeframe for flights to Europe to go on sale? It'll be 2 years before I go, but I'll be going in July for a little over a month and I want to start tracking when the best time to buy a flight is.

Air Transat likes to make their deepest price cuts less than about a month to go before departure. You have to be pretty flexible with dates (and destinations), and there's never any guarantee that they *will*.

On the major airlines, price cuts in summer to Europe rarely seem to happen anymore.

[Ozy_Flame]

Hey Chris, when is the best time to buy a flight down to New Zealand and/or Australia? I'm thinking about going in January, and then buying one-off flights to island hop around Micronesia / Polynesia as well.

Also, when I went last time, I booked through a travel agent . . . Would it be better to do the whole thing planned with an agent or myself? I don't mind putting in the legwork to save a few bucks on my own.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Hey Chris, when is the best time to buy a flight down to New Zealand and/or Australia? I'm thinking about going in January, and then buying one-off flights to island hop around Micronesia / Polynesia as well.

Also, when I went last time, I booked through a travel agent . . . Would it be better to do the whole thing planned with an agent or myself? I don't mind putting in the legwork to save a few bucks on my own.

I think every now and then it's good to refer people to the article where I try to explain why airfare prices can't really be predicted, and why I think about 8 weeks before departure is as far as I usually wait it out before pulling the trigger on the major airlines.

If I see something that looks out of the ordinary within that timeframe, I would pull the trigger. If I get to the 8 week mark and there hasn't been anything out of the ordinary, and I still want to go, I would pull the trigger. The risk of fares rising past that point starts to outweigh the chance of them falling.

'Should I buy my flight now or wait?' - The question I get asked the most

http://www.yycdeals.com/should-i-buy...asked-the-most

In regards to agents vs. booking online...

These days, every price that exists is available to the consumer online in some shape or form. It's just a matter of whether or not you're better at exploring all your options and finding the best deal on your own, vs an agent doing it for you.

I'm not going to say that one way is better or worse for an individual. It certainly can't hurt to see if an agent can help you discover something you couldn't find on your own. The only point I want to make is that there isn't any 'secret access' for agents to prices that aren't available to the consumer online.

I also find planning travel to have so many personal choices, that researching my own trips is the only way I'd ever go about it.