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Question for the US vet's..

Posted: Thu 29th May 2008 07:39 am
by onelovemarley
First off - this is by far the most helpful webiste when it comes to info about amsterdam travel. Although I'm sure I'm not the first you've heard this from.
Good to see the forum has been working. :lol:

I was hoping to book a trip during non-peak season and was wondering when is usually the best time of year to try to book the flight? I know there may not necessarily be a 100% to the question but in general, what do you think would be the best?

My friend swears flights he checked in August--for a flight the first week of Dec. were $470 roundtrip (tax incl.) from Chicago. Right now the best I see for the firstw eek of Dec is $745 from Chicago. He also thinks we should book the room now (lock rate in as it won't go down, only sell out) and hold off on the flight.
Is it cheaper to book a package? As I'm sure everyone, we want to get the most bang for our buck. We don't need anything fancy, just clean, I only plan on being in the room 8 hours a day to sleep. Cheap is good--More spending $$$.

Any tips/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. The main question would be when to strike on an offseason flight.

Thanks in advance.

Posted: Fri 30th May 2008 02:56 pm
by TokeOnThat
How long are you looking at staying for

I think i hold the world record for cheapest flight to Amsterdam so far this year....2 british pence!!!!

If you let me know the dates i'll have a look around for you!!

Posted: Fri 30th May 2008 05:49 pm
by Boner
TokeOnThat wrote:I think i hold the world record for cheapest flight to Amsterdam so far this year....2 british pence!!!!
And how much was the flight once all the taxes and charges were added?

Posted: Fri 30th May 2008 06:28 pm
by travelling high
The cheapest I have found is about $900 in Feb.{leaving from Detroit}.If you have a look about a month or two before you go you might find a better deal.And as for the hotel situation I would book that first because depending on when you want to go rooms can be hit or miss.You can always get a flight.

Posted: Fri 30th May 2008 06:59 pm
by Ash333
TokeOnThat wrote:How long are you looking at staying for

I think i hold the world record for cheapest flight to Amsterdam so far this year....2 british pence!!!!

If you let me know the dates i'll have a look around for you!!
I managed some return flights from Eindhoven for 2 pence includng taxes with ryanair. they dont fly to amsterdam though. How did u manage that?




to the OP, try staying in the Flying Pig for 25-35EUR per night. www.flyingpig.nl

Posted: Fri 30th May 2008 08:11 pm
by itsmymagicallife
Early December is not a very busy time for tourists in Amsterdam. Rooms will be available. I would book a flight first. If you are flexible with your dates by even a day or 2 can sometimes make a big difference on flight price.

Posted: Fri 30th May 2008 08:17 pm
by freewheelin frank
"expedia" package deals have been extremely helpful during the last few trips...just there for 597.00 roundtrip airfare...Jan-May seems to be the cheapest as well as Sept-early Dec...I have been for room and flight for 993.00 during January...hope that helps

Posted: Fri 30th May 2008 11:50 pm
by Badfrog
From experience I have found the best time to book your air is 4-6 weeks before your desired flight days. Kayak.com and farecompare.com are both good sites for finding your best deals. As far as your hotel goes,the sooner you book the better.As you near your desired trip dates then available rooms get fewer and fewer. There is a nice little smiley face icon on the top of the forum page here that says "Support the forum". You will find good deals using it,and help keep this wonderful site up and running. I have never booked a package deal,but it sounds like I might have to look into it myself.

Posted: Sun 1st Jun 2008 03:10 pm
by Pala
IMHO.

Best fares are from Jan - Mid March. They get progressively more expensive, but still reasonable from Mid March through May.

It's my understanding that the airlines dump a bunch of seats for that period, at early bird prices, in September.

Tix for travel in less than 14 days seem to always be much higher. I have yet to find a way to secure "last minute deals."

Be sure to check some other arrival cities if that works for you. Frankfurt is consistently $150 or so less than AMS, from Seattle.

Booking Buddy lets you search multiple agrigators, including kayak.com which seems give me the best results.

http://www.bookingbuddy.com/

I'd love to learn of more low fare searching tips.

Have a blast,
chuckje.

Posted: Sun 1st Jun 2008 03:13 pm
by Pala
Oh, also,

farecompare.com sez that Wednesday is the best day to find lowest fares.

cheers,
big ears.

Posted: Sun 1st Jun 2008 05:20 pm
by travelling high
Pala wrote:Oh, also,

farecompare.com sez that Wednesday is the best day to find lowest fares.

cheers,
big ears.
This is good info to give.If I go on vacation here in the states{usually to Vegas.Having alot of friends still living there :wink:} I only fly there on Wednesday's and leave on a Tuesday.

Posted: Mon 2nd Jun 2008 07:34 am
by onelovemarley
wow.. I couldn't find my trend and I was hoping for one respnose and I got all these great ones. Thanks guys. I'm thinkin about doing the expedia package, it's a great deal with a cheap/clean room. I may look for about a month but defidently going to act fast..

Thanks for the help!

Posted: Thu 5th Jun 2008 10:18 am
by TokeOnThat
Ash333 wrote:
TokeOnThat wrote:How long are you looking at staying for

I think i hold the world record for cheapest flight to Amsterdam so far this year....2 british pence!!!!

If you let me know the dates i'll have a look around for you!!
I managed some return flights from Eindhoven for 2 pence includng taxes with ryanair. they dont fly to amsterdam though. How did u manage that?
Well technically it's not to Dam......but all i gotta do is get the train.



to the OP, try staying in the Flying Pig for 25-35EUR per night. www.flyingpig.nl

Posted: Thu 5th Jun 2008 03:40 pm
by NirvanaEJ
hotels.nl might get you much better prices than expedia, check it out.