s/o - travel out west first before European vacay! Flyto Alaska, CA and drive home...

[Lanny]

OP sheryl:   When you are on Google Flights (which I'd never tried to use until this morning) and on other OTA web sites, look for their recommendations of dates that are close to the dates you have input into their web form.  For example, I checked Cali, Colombia to Madrid, Spain; which TravelMath shows is 5160 miles.  Apparently I checked May24th and returning on May 28th (not good...)  At the top, is showed a "Date Tip"  "Save $300 if you leave on Tuesday May 23rd".   AND THEN, when I clicked on the Date Tip, I got another Date Tip that said I can save another $153, if I return on Tuesday May 30th That brought the Round-Trip fare down to USD $745, which is about what you were looking at to go from the East Coast to Anchorage or to London originally, a much shorter distance. As you can see, playing around with the dates can save a lot of money and frequently the OTAs will show you the fares, on adjacent dates, which may be exactly the same, or, much higher, or much lower.  Flexibility with your dates will help get a lower airline fare is the bottom line. 

 

ETA: Some airline web sites will also have a chart showing the fares on nearby dates.

Edited May 8, 2017 by Lanny

[Lanny]

Also consider creating a free account with airfarewatchdog. You can input which cities you are interested in flying to and you'll get emails when the fares drop in price.

 

When I know where I want to go, I stalk airline prices daily. When we went to Croatia years ago I checked for weeks. On a random morning the flights to Dubrovnik dropped by over half so we jumped on it. The next day they were back up. It pays to be diligent and flexible.

 

Diligent is a good word. That helps a lot.  Flexible is an even more important word.  And that's a good example, of how short-lived a low fare might be. When one is available, on an airline you would enjoy going on (we prefer Avianca, LAN Colombia and COPA, since we live in Colombia), and the schedule is good (no umpteen hour connections, in some connecting airport), buy immediately...  

 

Frequently, the airline fare pricing algorithm will set a lower price, and if none of their competitors match their price, they will raise the price back to match those of their competitors, in a few hours.

 

Sometimes, from Cali to Orlando, or to some other city, one airline will offer very low fares, 1, 2 or even 3 months in advance. That surprises and pleases me... Other airlines will be much  much higher.  If you like the airline with the low fare and it is available one or two months in advance of your trip, go for it, because as it gets closer and closer to departure date, fares generally go up, not down. We generally try to book at least 30 days in advance, I think to Orlando last year it was about 55 days in advance and there was an exceptionally low fare available on Avianca, which is #1 with me.  

[Lanny]

@sheryl   LOOK AT JETBLUE...  They have service to Anchorage (ANC).  They have free WiFi, free Directv, etc. The other airlines will charge you extra for that. I think they may have larger seats and more pitch too?   I see their ticket counter when we are in the Bogota airport, but they do not serve our city (Cali).  I have a very good impression of JetBlue, from what I've read about them and seen on TV.  JetBlue.com

 

I would avoid airlines like Spirit ,which will get you there, but will charge you for everything you might want or need to do, with the exception of using the restroom.

 

Seat pitch refers to the space between a point on one seat and the same point on the seat in front of it. For many carriers, the pitch in Economy class is 29 to 32 inches (74 to 81 cm). More seat pitch can mean more legroom, but legroom is also affected by the thickness of the seat back.

 

ETA: On the JetBlue web site, before I wrote what is above, on a Route Map, I saw Anchorage and it was in a Drop-Down-Menu.  But now, I am not seeing it.  I wonder if they dropped service to Anchorage, or, if it is a seasonal service?  Suggestion: Call them or contact them on Facebook or Twitter and ask whether or not they are serving Anchorage at this time.  If they are, I think JetBlue would be my first choice, unless I could go Nonstop, from the East Coast into Anchorage, on another carrier.

 

ETA #2:  I checked again on the JetBlue web site. They seem to go from Anchorage (ANC) to Seattle (SEA) and to Boston (BOS).  Possibly they have nonstop service from Seattle into other East Coast cities too?   That would be better than going all the way down to Los Angeles and then to Boston (fewer hours in the air).  https://www.jetblue.com/wherewejet/

 

If the JetBlue fares and schedules are competitive, I would prefer to go with them and have the extra services and comfort they provide to their passengers...

Edited May 8, 2017 by Lanny

[mommyoffive]

Also consider creating a free account with airfarewatchdog. You can input which cities you are interested in flying to and you'll get emails when the fares drop in price.

 

When I know where I want to go, I stalk airline prices daily. When we went to Croatia years ago I checked for weeks. On a random morning the flights to Dubrovnik dropped by over half so we jumped on it. The next day they were back up. It pays to be diligent and flexible.

 

Airfarewatchdog is good if you are wanting to go to a certain place.

 

I do like Scott's Cheap flights a lot better.  But is random.  But I am willing to go jump any where. 

[Lanny]

@OP   I believe the JetBlue service to/from Anchorage is seasonal and will begin in mid-June this year.  I believe they fly from Anchorage to Seattle and to Portland, because they have "Deals" to those cities on their web site at this time.  If you could fly, for example, nonstop from Anchorage to Seattle, and then nonstop from Seattle to Boston, that would be much faster than flying all the way down to L.A. or somewhere in CA and connecting there. 

 

Suggestion: Sign up for the JetBlue Mailing List, so you will be "the first to know" when they have specials. 

[tdbates78]

Airfarewatchdog is good if you are wanting to go to a certain place.

 

 

I do like Scott's Cheap flights a lot better. But is random. But I am willing to go jump any where.

I have about 10 places saved on airfarewatchdog at any given time. If you are purely interested in prices you can use kayak.com/explore. If pulls up a map with prices and you can select based on cheapest prices from your departing airport. Its fun to play around on it.

[Lanny]

Writing about Alaska and Anchorage brought back memories. During April 2001, we had enough Delta Frequent Flyer Miles for 2 free tickets, to go from Colombia to anywhere in the USA. We could have gone to Anchorage or Honolulu.  We ended up selecting Las Vegas as our farthest destination.  Alaska would have been "cool" and I don't mean the temperature.  Honolulu has beaches, which we do not have in our local area (we are in a Tropical Valley) but we have better weather than Honolulu does.  Alaska was very high on my list for the use of those 2 free tickets...  One thing that I urge anyone to do, when looking at flight schedules where a connection is involved, is to look at the total elapsed time, from the origin airport to the destination airport.  Some of the elapsed times I saw, looking from NYC to Anchorage or Boston to Anchorage, were about 18 hour and I think as much as 24 hours. It is quite possible one could go nonstop, for the same $.  Always check the total scheduled elapsed time, when a connection is involved. 

[PeppermintPattie]

I checked and the distance from LA to Anchorage is the same as NYC to London. 

 

Also, I'd really think twice about spending so many days of your trip travelling from one place to another. Catching a plane anywhere adds stress and takes away from the pleasure of a vacation. 

 

If you are still thinking about Europe, get some Rick Steves' books from the library and start reading. You'll see how easy he makes it to travel anywhere in Europe!

[Guest]

Perspective on Alaska and Distance....

 

DD is going on a cool kayaking trip this summer. 6 day trip - 1 full day of travel, 4 days on the water, 1 day travel home. 14-16 hours in the car.

 

My inlaws came up a few years ago and we drove to Denali to see the park. 5 hours in the car and 5 more home.

 

We are in Anchorage. The next biggest City is 8 HOURS drive north. The third biggest city requires either ferry or plane access.

 

If you come to Alaska for four days and want to see more than one place, you need to plan to spend 2 of those four days driving.

Or up to a four days if you're taking the train, which is the very best way to tour the south central to central part of the state.

[sheryl]

y'all travel a fair amount!  :)

 

so, I've read each every response.  it seems looking at the airline website directly is the best route? so, no to kayak, Travelocity and the like?

 

also, how on earth do you know the cheapest price?  I thought it was staying over on a Saturday.  Is that out dated?

 

i'm still trying to learn how to find out the cheapest airport from which to fly out/in to.  Is there a quick way to determine this? 

 

Flying school 101 here...LOL! :)  

[ktgrok]

I checked and the distance from LA to Anchorage is the same as NYC to London. 

 

Also, I'd really think twice about spending so many days of your trip travelling from one place to another. Catching a plane anywhere adds stress and takes away from the pleasure of a vacation. 

 

If you are still thinking about Europe, get some Rick Steves' books from the library and start reading. You'll see how easy he makes it to travel anywhere in Europe!

And watch his show on Hulu or PBS

[Lanny]

y'all travel a fair amount!  :)

 

so, I've read each every response.  it seems looking at the airline website directly is the best route? so, no to kayak, Travelocity and the like?

 

also, how on earth do you know the cheapest price?  I thought it was staying over on a Saturday.  Is that out dated?

 

i'm still trying to learn how to find out the cheapest airport from which to fly out/in to.  Is there a quick way to determine this? 

 

Flying school 101 here...LOL! :)  

 

 

You will never be positive that you have "the lowest" fare and that it will never go lower. I suggest that when you get a fare that you feel is very attractive and that you will be happy with it, click to buy. That's what we do. Yes, it might go even lower, but, it might go up and it might go way up. For example, from Cali, Colombia to Orlando FL, I feel that USD $400 for a round-trip, is excellent. Anything below that is incredibly wonderful. Last year we went for USD $301. 

 

Statyng over a Saturday night.  Yes, I remember that from the old days, when they sold Round-Trip Excursion fares. Stay over a Saturday night. Buy 7 or 14 or 21 days in advance.  Now, the tickets seem to be sold on a one-way basis, so you might pay more in one direction than you do in the other direction. 

 

I would look on the web sites of the airline(s) that have flights you like and also perhaps on 2 other  sites. Maybe Kayak and the Google Flights web site that was mentioned. The very interesting thing about the Google Flights web site, which I'd never seen until yesterday, is that the poster wrote that she did not see that fare anywhere else.

 

There are HUGE numbers of fares available on most flights. On a Domestic flight there might be dozens or hundreds of fares. On an International flight, more fares...  That Google Flights web site found one that other web sites were not showing to her. THAT IS VERY INTERESTING.

 

Back in the days when we did not use eTickets (you print those out on your printer, which I now believe is very cool...)  I found a Fare on Travelocity or somewhere, for a trip to Orlando, on COPA (excellent Panamanian airline).  When I called their Reservations, the person did not give me the fare I had seen on Travelocity or whatever web site I had seen it on.  I had the Code Number for that fare and then the agent booked it for us, at that fare.  It was not what popped up, when s/he checked for available fares...

 

That's before I began booking on the Internet, which is easy and I am more confident mistakes will not be made, if I input the information directly, instead of giving it to a Travel Agent or Airline person. Things get lost, as information goes from one person to another person.  Names, phone numbers, etc., can be misunderstood. The fewer people involved, the fewer mistakes.

[tdbates78]

The best way to find out a "good" price is to watch the fares. If you see that, say, flights to LA are always $600 then you would know that if a $400 flight pops up you should take it. Unless said $600 fair is already within your budget. As I mentioned above, I just stalk the flights I'm interested in online and wait for the prices to drop. I would check multiple sites, but typically I personally have found the best prices when I've gone directly to the airline website, and you cut out the middle man in the event that something goes wrong. 

[sheryl]

thanks everyone! 

 

will need to reread this thread and the European one a few times and let it sink in.  read books, google websites, etc.

 

tdbates 78, I signed up for airfarewatchdog.  today I rec'd 3 emails!

 

back to the toilet issue - I read a reply stating that there are public urinals!  Is there an alternative?  Are there not private/enclosed toilets.   Is that what you mean?  A urinal/toilet in public display?  Maybe I'm misunderstanding something.   :)

 

 

 

[mommyoffive]

I would also sign up for the free emails from 

 

 

https://scottscheapflights.com/

 

 

and check 

 

theflightdeal.com

 

 

But I find lots of them myself just going on Google flights

 

Yes, you will never know if you got THE BEST price.  But you can see when they drop and what they normally are.   Once I book something I just focus on that and stop watching prices.

 

I hope you do research and then make a choice.  I used to get so worked up trying to figure out which place we should go.  I wasted so much time.  Germany, France, England, Ireland, Spain, Italy..............................

What if we only had one trip?  How could I choose? 

 

analysis paralysis

 

 

 

I hope to get to a lot of places.  Only time will tell. 

 

[tdbates78]

Another one is farecompare.com. I get emails from them all the time! And I second (third?) google flights.

 

I honestly never encountered weird toilets, and I've been to some rural areas in places like Bosnia, Montenegro, Slovakia and Turkey. Im sure they exist, but unless you are way off the beaten path, I wouldnt worry much about it. The bathrooms at Carowinds (or local amusement park) are more questionable than anything I've seen in Europe, including Rome Termini :p Sometimes you have to search around for the flusher (!) but really, its little things like that that make traveling abroad interesting.

[PeppermintPattie]

I've travelled in Europe quite a bit, and the weirdest toilet I saw was the one in a parking garage in Germany - it was clean. (I was dreading going in there with my kids, but they were desperate and it's where my fil took us.) Other than that, toilets have been just what I'm used to at home.

 

[sheryl]

Yes, Mommyoffive,  thanks for the tip re: Google flights!  I'm going to check in to that now.  I've been busy today and also re/reading replies from this thread and another.  :) 

[MEmama]

 

back to the toilet issue - I read a reply stating that there are public urinals! Is there an alternative? Are there not private/enclosed toilets. Is that what you mean? A urinal/toilet in public display? Maybe I'm misunderstanding something. :)

Yes, they are open air and quite public, but as far as I know they are for men's use only. We've seen them in France and Belgium. My teenage son loves using them. :). Of course, there are private washrooms as well; the public urinals tend to be in urban areas. Overall, Europeans aren't as overly modest as most North Americans, so don't panic. And be aware if you go to beaches you are likely to see more skin and body parts than you are accustomed to seeing here. Just go with it.

 

I've used holes in urban cities in Italy, but that was 35 years ago. I don't know if they are as common now--we didn't encounter them on our last trip to the northern part of the country--but that was pretty standard then. In general, washrooms are very clean; as pps have mentioned, in many places you'll need change either for the stall or for the washroom attendant.

 

Don't worry about the minor details. Focus on what you want out of the trip and keep an open mind.

 

Have fun planning.