elvis christ 451 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 So my buddy got shore duty and is stationed on some base in southern Spain. I want to go visit him in the next couple of months, probably in May. I was checking flights and they're god damned expensive, like $1200 expensive on kayak. Anybody got any tips or tricks for getting a litle bit cheaper price on tickets? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maxwelhse 1,285 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 If you have a AAA membership call them up. OR... You can get a stand-by ticket and cross your fingers. To be honest, if $1200 is round trip, that really doesn't sound that bad for Spain. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
termite 463 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Elvis, That doesn't seem like a bad price. The last trip I took to Sao Paulo Brazil, cost me about $1000.00, round trip and I flew at night, coach. Better have your passport and visa or you're screwed. If you've got an AmEx card, call them and see if they can help book it, or some travel agents can get you a decent price, may have to book it real early though. I have a friend that flies back and forth to India pretty regular, and sometimes to get a better price, he books a flight that takes a lot longer and with a few more stops, PITA, but sometimes cheaper, just be flexible with your travel schedule, IF you can. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
elvis christ 451 Posted March 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 (edited) Thanks guys. I do have AAA, so maybe I'll check with them. I've been using Madrid as the destination, I know there's probably other airports in Spain, but I don't know what they are, I guess I should find out. So I have to have a visa to go there, even if all I'm doing is getting drunk, not working? Edited March 7, 2014 by elvis christ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maxwelhse 1,285 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Thanks guys. I do have AAA, so maybe I'll check with them. I've been using Madrid as the destination, I know there's probably other airports in Spain, but I don't know what they are, I guess I should find out. So I have to have a visa to go there, even if all I'm doing is getting drunk, not working? I've never air traveled overseas, but in my domestic air travel experience I'll tell you that I would rather kill a family of 12 than drive more than 10 miles in a strange place... Fly to where you're going no matter the cost. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spacehog 2,218 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Elvis, Vary your departure date when getting quotes to see at what point the fare drops the lowest. If you book too late they rape you, but if you book to early they do the same. Typically the best rates are three weeks to four weeks from the flight, but that does vary by carrier and destination. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
elvis christ 451 Posted March 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Thanks y'all, keep the suggestions coming. On a side note, spacehog, I like that new profile pic. We need to get out and shoot when the weather gets right. You too, Terry, I know you've got toys. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 (edited) I have been back and forth to Spain several times. Sometimes you can get a cheaper deal by flying to an east coast hub and taking a separate flight out on a budget carrier to a European hub (e.g. Amsterdam) and then flying a cheaper European company like Ryanair or even Iberia (Spain's carrier). If you are going to Rota you will have a hell of a time. PM me if you want any tips on shit to visit, there is a lot to do and see in that region of Spain, especially if you are a history buff.. I lived there about six months just in the next town over from the base, in El Puerto de Santa Maria (just El Puerto to the locals) A train is another option and are generally cheaper than flying. If you fly into Amsterdam and take the train down to Seville, it will take about a day and a half, then take a regional train to El Puerto or Rota. It would probably cost you more to fly into Madrid than Amsterdam actually, but I can't say for sure. The train is totally worth it because the Spanish countryside is fucking awesome. Don't plan on spending a lot of time on base.. There isn't shit on the base in Rota. Movie theater and an exchange, what else is there? All the fun is had in El Puerto. Lots of good clubs, pubs, and bars. Don't let any sailors take you to the "house on the hill" outside of El Puerto. I ended up there with no warning and found myself walking into a whorehouse that was straight out of from Dusk Til Dawn. Not in a good way. I didn't sample the fares. Oh and learn some basic Spanish.. Even the Spanish that speak English will pretend that they don't. Fuckers. Very little English signage outside of Madrid and Seville. Edited March 7, 2014 by mancat 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spacehog 2,218 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Thanks y'all, keep the suggestions coming. On a side note, spacehog, I like that new profile pic. We need to get out and shoot when the weather gets right. You too, Terry, I know you've got toys. Name a date. I'll be there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 (edited) Try very hard to NOT connect through Heathrow or Paris-DeGaulle! They're worse than Newark! Amsterdam and Frankfort are good airports to go through. Galway isn't bad if you find a good fare through the UK. ETA: I live in Dayton, OH, and I've found it helps to compare ticket rates out of Dayton, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Columbus. I can reach any of those airports in about an hour or so, and it can make a HUGE difference on what prices, flights and connections are available. Edited March 7, 2014 by Ronin38 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
storm6490 2,768 Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 We drive up to Canada to fly over to europe. Saves us a ton of money, even after the gas and hotel room. Try to find an airport that is a major hub next to you. Purchase your tickets about a month in advance and try to fly on a monday or tuesday. Play around with your dates and times and you can save hundreds. Good luck to you! 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
elvis christ 451 Posted March 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 I was looking at flying out of Atlanta, but its more than flying directly from Birmingham. I'll look into flying into Amsterdam, I wanna check that place out anyway, and I could probably handle a day and a half on a train if I could get my head to right in Amsterdam. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
elvis christ 451 Posted March 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 I have been back and forth to Spain several times. Sometimes you can get a cheaper deal by flying to an east coast hub and taking a separate flight out on a budget carrier to a European hub (e.g. Amsterdam) and then flying a cheaper European company like Ryanair or even Iberia (Spain's carrier). If you are going to Rota you will have a hell of a time. PM me if you want any tips on shit to visit, there is a lot to do and see in that region of Spain, especially if you are a history buff.. I lived there about six months just in the next town over from the base, in El Puerto de Santa Maria (just El Puerto to the locals) A train is another option and are generally cheaper than flying. If you fly into Amsterdam and take the train down to Seville, it will take about a day and a half, then take a regional train to El Puerto or Rota. It would probably cost you more to fly into Madrid than Amsterdam actually, but I can't say for sure. The train is totally worth it because the Spanish countryside is fucking awesome. Don't plan on spending a lot of time on base.. There isn't shit on the base in Rota. Movie theater and an exchange, what else is there? All the fun is had in El Puerto. Lots of good clubs, pubs, and bars. Don't let any sailors take you to the "house on the hill" outside of El Puerto. I ended up there with no warning and found myself walking into a whorehouse that was straight out of from Dusk Til Dawn. Not in a good way. I didn't sample the fares. Oh and learn some basic Spanish.. Even the Spanish that speak English will pretend that they don't. Fuckers. Very little English signage outside of Madrid and Seville. He's in El Puerta, but he has his own off base apartment. Dude is a total drunk, your stereotypical sailor, can't get a sentence out of his mouth without saying fuck. I think he's been making some friends out there, but I do speak a good but of Spanish, albeit Mexican Spanish, not the queen's spanish. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dad2142Dad 6,559 Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 If you can get him to Benidorm, the beaches where just wonderful back in '88, Not sure how they are now after austerity............ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 Did you see Top Gear UK, Season 20, Ep. 3? They test 3 "budget" supercars on a drive through Spain. Scary... ghost towns and a nearly-new but abandoned airport. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RockHoundTX 10 Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 I have several million miles in the air across most of the major carriers. These days $1200 for a round trip is not a bad price at all especially in May. Prices on all the majors have gone up by about 10% a year for the last few years. This is especially the case with international flights. I used to get $750-$850 flights to Taiwan pretty regularly but now they tend to be $1200+ for the cheapest fares and $1400 is pretty normal. The idea of waiting until the month before can cost you majorly. Your $1200 seat can become $1500-$1800 overnight. If you want to play that game then figure out 3 or 4 flight options and then go to website like SeatGuru to see how full each flight is. If one or more of your connecting flights is greater than half full more than 6 weeks in advance then your chance of getting a lower airfare is slim. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lone Eagle 839 Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 I was looking at flying out of Atlanta, but its more than flying directly from Birmingham. I'll look into flying into Amsterdam, I wanna check that place out anyway, and I could probably handle a day and a half on a train if I could get my head to right in Amsterdam. Here's what my supervisor does to avoid jet lag when going to China to visit the factory. Try to book a redeye flight leaving late afternoon/evening. Stay up at least 18 hours before the flight. Eat a good, but not heavy meal before boarding, and avoid fast food. You'll sleep like a baby for the entire flight(8-10 hours depending on depart/destination). You'll not only wake up refreshed, but 9 times out of 10, no jet lag for him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
termite 463 Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 Hey Dude, Passport AND Visa's for each and every country you want to visit. Yeh, you can probably leave here without one, but just try getting back in. Even if you're able to leave the states, most countries won't let you leave the international part of the airport without them, but unless you have someone meeting you and you can trust them, I wouldn't leave the international terminal to just site see. While in Indonesia, they (locals) told me to not leave the hotel and go walking around, Singapore wasn't much better, and screw Mexico City, down there, everyones grandmother is still a virgin and for $1.00, you can tap it. Sao Paulo, SHIIIIIITTTT, don't even get stopped in traffic, you'll get jacked in a heart beat, and just try and go up to Rio to view the lovely ladies on the beaches. Traveling USED to be fun, now it's more like surviving and having to watch your ass 24/7. Right off the bat, you'll have a bulls eye on your back because you're American. I've already turned down 3 trips to India, and told them exactly why, "No No, You be very safe with us, we not let anything happen to you" I told them that I'd go, IF I could bring some of my "toys", ain't no way in hell that would be allowed. You and Hog say when and where to go shoot, I broke down and bought me a hunting license so I could shoot at the wildlife management areas, been going to Gadsden to shoot with the grandkids at the one up there. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Arik 565 Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 Sounds about right. I paid about that for my trips th Amsterdam and Sweden. You might find cheaper price if you look for layover flights, I dont like flying and would rather pay more to just get there and get it over with than doing a layover Quote Link to post Share on other sites
elvis christ 451 Posted April 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 (edited) I've got my money together, I'm gonna pull the trigger on a plane ticket in the next week or so, shooting for the holiday weekend in may, which is probably stupid, but I don't want to burn too much vacation time. My buddy has a bunch of elaborate plans, but I had to tell him I probably won't be able to afford cruising around Europe. Probably have to keep it semi local. Edited April 5, 2014 by elvis christ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted April 5, 2014 Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 I think its called a Euro Pass, but you can get a train ticket pretty cheap that let's you travel more on a budget. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Arik 565 Posted April 5, 2014 Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 Euro pass is a good way to go. Ive done that. The other thing I did was lease (long term rent) a Pegeot. This only works if you go for 3 weeks or more. I flew into Paris, picket up my rental, drove to Amsterdam (6hr drive). Stayed with some freinds and then drove to Germany and Central Sweden and back to Amsterdam, where I left the car and flew home. It cost about $1400 for everything including car insurance Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Redrum4u 125 Posted April 5, 2014 Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 Go to running of the bulls! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maxwelhse 1,285 Posted April 5, 2014 Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 Try very hard to NOT connect through Heathrow or Paris-DeGaulle! They're worse than Newark! I've missed this thread for a LONG time, but EVERY flight I've taken has connected through ATL in the US (Delta Skymiles member), which is the busiest airport in the country and has a terrible reputation. I have no complaints. Even the airport staff and the restrooms were all very nice. I don't really believe that the "bad" airports are really that "bad"... I do believe bad experiences are plentiful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
breid1970 327 Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 I spent 14 years in the service flying all over the world. I absolutely refuse to ever, and I mean ever, get on another airplane again. Not gonna happen.. Wish I could be of more help. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 I've never had any problems in ATL either. But I still refuse to go through Heathrow or Paris ever again! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maxwelhse 1,285 Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 What was your experience? I have a staunch position about NEVER leaving the US again, but if I HAVE to, I'd like to be informed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ronin38 2,117 Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 Well, the biggest problem with Paris is that there are NO SIGNS! Forget about what language they might be in, there just weren't any signs. Makes trying to find the right gate for your flight connection rather difficult! The few signs we did find were ONLY in French. (Kind of like Quebec...) Heathrow was a longer tale to tell. Let's just say they're NOT organized and NOT well-equipped to handle the traffic they now have (and this was back in 2000). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mancat 2,368 Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 Have been to De Gaulle and the signage was in multiple languages.. So I'm not sure when you went there. Have not been to Heathrow, but have been to Stansted both times into the UK. It's been no big deal. However both times I had to go through customs which took forever, but they don't really give Americans that hard of a time, believe it or not. If you're brown-skinned and even remotely muslim-looking, have fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spacehog 2,218 Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Try very hard to NOT connect through Heathrow or Paris-DeGaulle! They're worse than Newark! I've missed this thread for a LONG time, but EVERY flight I've taken has connected through ATL in the US (Delta Skymiles member), which is the busiest airport in the country and has a terrible reputation. I have no complaints. Even the airport staff and the restrooms were all very nice. I don't really believe that the "bad" airports are really that "bad"... I do believe bad experiences are plentiful. You must have never caught a flight out of Newark, NJ. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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