Hi. My wife and I are planning a long trip in South America beginning in late 2015. We see that distances between cities/countries are big and air fares expensive. Generally speaking, would it be cheaper to buy air tickets months ahead (for those sectors whose timing we are certain about), or wait until closer to the travel date, hoping (in vain?) for a bargain? Thanks for any advice you can give. We have never been to South America, and are planning to visit Chile, Argentina, Antarctica, Uruguay, Bolivia, Brazil and Peru during our six month journey, from December 2015 to May 2016.
1
hazzdawg
To get the best fairs you generally only need to book a week or two in advance, depending on how flexible you are with dates and times.
Best advice is to always try to fly domestically (cross borders overland) and make sure you are searching for all airlines. Even the best search engines such as sky scanner will not necessarily show all airlines.
2
femby
For Chile, prices rise as flying dates approach. For certain destinations: Easter Island, Punta Arenas, Calama, as far ahead as possible. Easter Island flights are always full and fares can vary widely depending on the time of year. It is a flight which is always cheaper if included in another LAN ticket. Jan/Feb have the highest prices. Punta Arenas gets booked up because of people going to Torres del Paine in season. Calama is the airport for San Pedro de Atacama and flights north fill up quickly because of mining in the north. I would say you want to book a month out, more than that for Easter Island.
3
mott2
You might want to check out LanChile South American air pass. We use them for numerous trips to different countries around South America from our base in Santiago including Easter Island.
4
wjs
Thanks hazzdawg, femby and mott2 for taking the time to reply and giving us those useful suggestions. Happy New Year!
5
roberto1938
For next April, Last month I found LAN flights, $ 102 Santiago to Antofagasta, round trip, and Santiago to Easter Island for $ 503.
6
Thorn Tree
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