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Posted in Airplane Tickets, Costa Rica on Oct 17th, 2008
Martin Air is a Dutch airline that used to fly from Orlando and Miami to San Jose, Costa Rica and they were usually the cheapest fare available. I called them today to ask for a ticket prices to San Jose and back and I was told that they no longer fly routes from Florida to Costa Rica.
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Posted in Airplane Tickets on Oct 16th, 2008
You can find a great deal of information on this by scouring the Internet. I will try to distill what I have learned into concise blog entries.
There is a popular notion that buying airfare on early Wednesday mornings will assure cheaper airfare. I researched this on the Internet and found no hard evidence supporting this belief. The best article I found on the subject can be found here.
When I travel I start by checking the airfares at the bigger sites like Orbitz and Travelocity. This gives me a general idea of who the has the cheapest airfares.
Try to be flexible with your travel dates. Airfares vary by the day of the week with Saturdays usually being the most expensive. Being flexible may sometimes involve a shorter stay than you originally planned. Don’t be adverse to this idea. An 11 day stay can be just as rewarding as a 14 day stay and end up costing you a lot less.
Once the big travel search engines have given me a lead on prices I will usually go to web site of the airline with the cheapest price. You should always check the web site of the airline and compare their price to that of the search engine.
My wife and I will be going to Costa Rica in December. My wife is a schoolteacher and this gives her several vacation weeks during the year. The downside is that these vacation days are on fixed dates but it gives us the time to travel so we are not complaining.
Originally we had planned to go from Saturday, Dec 20th till Saturday January 3rd. Using Orbitz, I found the cheapest airfare to be $767 dollars on Spirit Airlines from Tampa, Florida (where we live) to San Jose, Costa Rica. I went to the Spirit Airlines website and found the same flight for $863. In this case, Orbitz is offering the better deal.
These prices are high and its because of the Holiday season. My wife’s next vacation is in the Spring when fares are cheaper but she only has a week off. There is an added value to traveling in Costa Rica during the Christmas season because it is a very nice time of year to be in Costa Rica. The weather is great and Costa Ricans are full of the Christmas spirit.
Because we have some flexibility I started looking for flights on different days. If we leave on Sunday the 22nd (one day later) and come back on the 31st of December instead of the 3rd of January we find the fares to be:
$593 dollars from the Spirit Air website
$643 dollars from Orbitz.
In this case, buying direct from Spirit is cheaper.
So if I go to Costa Rica for:
15 days, the airfare is $767 per person
11 days, the airfare is $593 per person
That is a difference of $174 per person. If two people are traveling that means an extra $348. This is money you can either save or apply to more activities and better lodging while you are in Costa Rica.
One of the factors in the lower cost of the ticket is the fact that we would be flying home on New Year’s Eve. This does not matter to us. We have no fixed plans for that date and we are hardly going to feel deprived after spending 11 days in Costa Rica. Traveling on these dates also gives us some time to prepare and rest before and after the trip. I recommend leaving one day after you get off work and coming back at least two days before you have to go back to your job. This way you have a full day to relax and ease back into your routine.
I know not everyone is fortunate enough to live in Florida where travel to Latin America is relatively cheap. I will be posting some articles on air travel in the United States as well.
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Posted in General Travel Tips on Oct 16th, 2008
I’ve been traveling all my life. I’ve stayed in some of the world’s most famous hotels and slept in a tent in a campground. What I have found is that you get a richer travel experience when you don’t spend a lot of money. The best hotel in New York is not much different from the one in Tokyo or Berlin. You could close your eyes in one, be magically transported to another and until you went outside, probably not notice you were in another country.
A lot of people seem to want to insulate themselves from the real travel experience. They stay in American style hotels, eat in American style restaurants and generally avoid a real immersion in the culture. In my opinion, this is not the best way to go. Spend less and stay in a hotel or campground where upon waking you realize, “whoa! I’m in another country!”
It may take more work but by immersing yourself in the local culture and economy you can enjoy a much more authentic experience in a foreign land.
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Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 16th, 2008
Due to the economic challenges we are facing, I know a lot of people are wondering if they should travel at this time. My answer is a resounding “YES!” Travel is more than a mere diversion. It is an experience that educates and improves the traveler. I consider it an investment in oneself.
It is sometimes hard to imagine that there is any way of living but the one that we have known living in our home countries. Travel allows you to see the incredible diversity of the human experience. Different groups have found a myriad of ways to deal with life’s challenges. They have also found many unique ways to enjoy what life has to offer.
Despite what the media may say, this is not the end of the world. We may have to spend less and be smarter with our money but that is not necessarily a bad thing. The world has so much to offer us and it would benefit us all to be more efficient with our resources.
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