Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

Hey Cmyden,

I got another favor to ask of you... I should really take you out for a few beers or something!

I'm looking for flight deals from Calgary to Madrid on Oct 3rd and coming back from Barcelona to calgary on October 25th. What are some good prices for this? Thanks again!

Hey wooohooo,

The multi-city search over at Kayak is probably the best place to look.

http://www.kayak.com/flights?mc=y

It looks like using a combination of Air Canada and Lufthansa is cheapest, at $1189 after tax. Air Canada there, and Lufthansa back home. You can play around with different date combos to see if there's anything cheaper, but that sounds about right to me.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by bcsoda

Seen anything good for Amsterdam? I have no real restrictions in regards to dates, but would prefer something a month or more away.

Hi bcsoda,

I haven't seen anything too spectacular. May 28 to June 5 is the cheapest, at $962 after tax on Air Transat. Of course, you can always keep an eye out for cheap flights to London as well.

May 6-13 is $693 into London Gatwick on Air Transat, and then combine it with a cheap flight from one of the cheap inter-Europe airlines (SkyScanner.net)

[cmyden]

Las Palmas Beach All Inclusive - $678/person after tax

The price just dropped for this last minute deal to Las Palmas Beach in Puerto Vallarta for April 9th to 16th.

Can see it here: http://tinyurl.com/ykzmcpl

This could be a good one for families, because you can have 2 kids under the age of 12 stay free with you.

It's definitely a 'budget' all inclusive hotel, the reviews on TripAdvisor are on the border between mediocre and decent.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...t.html#REVIEWS

But for an all inclusive family vacation it seems to be an ok 3* at a good price.

[Tron_fdc]

Looking to get into Munich Apr 19-26, but I'm pretty flexible with dates. I can do a 3 or 4 day trip out of YYC.

Best I see is $1200, you seeing anything better?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

Looking to get into Munich Apr 19-26, but I'm pretty flexible with dates. I can do a 3 or 4 day trip out of YYC.

Best I see is $1200, you seeing anything better?

Hi Tron,

$1200ish looks to be about the best there is. The KLM flights look like the best option.

The other option is finding a cheap flight to London but there doesn't seem to be much for less than $1000, so not worth it. Unless you could wait until May 6-13, when there's a flight on Air Transat for $650ish.

Or April 30 to May 8 for $693 into Gatwick.

[Tron_fdc]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Hi Tron,

$1200ish looks to be about the best there is. The KLM flights look like the best option.

The other option is finding a cheap flight to London but there doesn't seem to be much for less than $1000, so not worth it. Unless you could wait until May 6-13, when there's a flight on Air Transat for $650ish.

Or April 30 to May 8 for $693 into Gatwick.

Yeah, I have to hit a conference (for at least a day) that runs Apr 19-25. I was hoping to find some crazy deal for $800 or something.....oh well.

Thanks though! Appreciate the effort.

[cmyden]

Calgary to San Diego, $237 after tax, roundtrip

WestJet just dropped some of their fares to San Diego to $237 after tax

May 25 - June 22
June 8-15
June 15-22
August 3-10
August 31-September 7
September, every 7 night flight leaving on Tuesday
October, every 7 night flight leaving on Tuesday

And it's direct both ways. Nice.

[cmyden]

Calgary to San Francisco, $237 after tax, roundtrip

And just as the San Diego fares have dropped, so have the fares to San Francisco.

Pretty much any combination of the Tue/Wed/Thu flights on WestJet from May through October 21 will give you this cheap price.

[mc0709]

Hi Cmyden,

I am going to need a flight ASAP out to Victoria (but from Edmonton), and I will need to be out there on April 15th, so any day before that for arrival and anytime from later in the evening on the 15th till the Saturday (17th) for return flight home... any help would be great. I also am supposed to have a $75 credit with West Jet.

Michelle

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by mc0709

Hi Cmyden,

I am going to need a flight ASAP out to Victoria (but from Edmonton), and I will need to be out there on April 15th, so any day before that for arrival and anytime from later in the evening on the 15th till the Saturday (17th) for return flight home... any help would be great. I also am supposed to have a $75 credit with West Jet.

Michelle

Hi Michelle,

Well, there's Edmonton to Abbotsford, Apr 13-16, $226 after tax on WestJet.

Or, eliminating Abbotsford, Vancouver is the same price, Apr 13-16 for $226 on Air Canada or WestJet.

And narrowing it down to just Victoria, Apr 13-16 is again the cheapest, $253 on Air Canada but a whopping $390 on WestJet.

[valo403]

Odds are this won't effect most of you, but if you're flying Spirit Airlines be aware that they are planning to charge for carry on bags placed in the overhead bins starting in AUgust. Charges will range from $20-45 per bag.

It's an interesting move. At first it appears to be yet another cash grab, but there are potentially upsides. Spirit is characterizing this as a way to reduce their fares even further, so for those who pack light for a short trip this could work out pretty well (assuming of course that fares actually drop). The other bonus is the reduction in congestion onboard due to all the carry-on bags. Once a fee was placed on checked bags people carried on everything, getting rid of that will make things go much smoother.

I wouldn't be surprised to see other airlines move in this direction, especially if they can cut down the initial fares enough to win customers.

[ma-skis.com]

Thanks for the tips on the san francisco flights cmmyden, ended up booking for the summer.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by ma-skis.com

Thanks for the tips on the san francisco flights cmmyden, ended up booking for the summer.

No prob, always nice to hear from someone that's taken advantage of the deals! San Francisco is a great city.


Calgary to Salt Lake City or Minneapolis - $322 after tax, roundtrip

At first glance, they're not the most exciting destinations in the world, but the interesting thing is that the fare is available for any date, including peak Christmas, New Years, etc.

So for anyone looking for a ski holiday at Christmas, New Years, etc, Salt Lake would be a good choice, they have a lot of great hills less than an hour away (Park City, The Canyons, Brighton, etc)

The flights are on United.

[jjbouma]

Originally Posted by ma-skis.com

Thanks for the tips on the san francisco flights cmmyden, ended up booking for the summer.

Ditto but I'm flying into San Diego and then out of San Fran.

[rockstar]

FYI, I'm seeing YYC to Manchester on Sunday, June 13, for USD $255 all in.

Air Transat, orbitz.com

edit: ONE WAY

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by rockstar

FYI, I'm seeing YYC to Manchester on Sunday, June 13, for USD $255 all in.

Air Transat, orbitz.com

edit: ONE WAY

Got me really excited there for a moment

Still the cheapest roundtrip June fare out there to Europe though, $700 after tax on Air Transat, June 13-20

[rockstar]

I have a question for you, Chris.

Let's say I want to go to Europe (I do). And let's say I have a friend in, say, NYC, whom I'd like to visit for a few days on my way.

Now I know that flights with stopovers can be cheaper (however not always). But what if I want to find a flight overseas that stops in NYC?

What's the best option in your opinion?

-Book two separate flights independently; just find the cheapest ones
-Find a website that accommodates this type of search (does one exist?)

or, what I was thinking,

-Speak to a travel agent

Is it possible to request a layover, firstly, and also request that it be a long one? And would there be any chance that this would be an affordable scenario? (in your experience)

Thanks.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by rockstar

I have a question for you, Chris.

Let's say I want to go to Europe (I do). And let's say I have a friend in, say, NYC, whom I'd like to visit for a few days on my way.

Now I know that flights with stopovers can be cheaper (however not always). But what if I want to find a flight overseas that stops in NYC?

What's the best option in your opinion?

-Book two separate flights independently; just find the cheapest ones
-Find a website that accommodates this type of search (does one exist?)

or, what I was thinking,

-Speak to a travel agent

Is it possible to request a layover, firstly, and also request that it be a long one? And would there be any chance that this would be an affordable scenario? (in your experience)

Thanks.

Well, you couldn't have picked a better city. If you're going to find a cheap flight to Europe, New York has the best chance by far.

Myself, I would probably scope out the price of two roundtrip flights, trying to figure out the cheapest flight from New York to Europe.

But, you could also search for a multi-city flight, it *may* be cheaper in some cases.

http://www.kayak.com/flights?mc=y

^^ try that here. Just use 'NYC' whenever you're using Kayak, and it will search all 3 New York airports (including Newark).

You could try a travel agent of course, assuming they still exist, although they don't have access to any better prices than what is out there already from the airlines.

If you give me an idea of when you're going I can have a look and see what the best deals are.

[rockstar]

Thanks a lot.

I'll use Kayak for sure - seems like exactly what I was thinking of.

My plan is to leave Calgary in the middle of June sometime. Now, I'm going to Europe one-way, so that puts a different spin on things.

As for the destination, it doesn't really matter. UK, or the mainland. I'm not picky, so I'm looking at any possible destination!

Thanks again Chris. I'm all over that link you gave me.

UPDATE: I'm thinking now to take a bus from Calgary to NYC. Only $113, 3-ish days, and I get to see a lot of the Canadian countryside, which I've never seen. I just have to avoid anyone who looks like he may wish to sever my head.

So now I think I'm just looking for the cheapest one-way flight from the NY-area to the Europe-area in mid-to-late June. Which, I suppose, makes this post off topic.

[cmyden]

Canto del Sol All Inclusive $676/person after tax

It leaves soon. Really soon. As in 3 days from now. April 17-24.

1 week, all inclusive in Puerto Vallarta, Canto del Sol.

Can see it here: http://tinyurl.com/y2rr3c7

The reviews seem quite decent, it seems to be a solid 3 to 3.5 *. 73% of people recommend it on TripAdvisor, and most rate it as 'very good'. So it's not the cream of the resort crop, but at $676 after tax, a great price for sure.

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