Cheapest way to fly from South America to Europe

Hi jessbrice!

Welcome to TT!

You could take a look at Condor (to Frankfurt) and Arkefly (to Amsterdam) out of Brazil.

I can be totally flexible as to which city in South America I depart from, and which in Europe I arrive in
That sounds very unlikely - would you travel all the way to, say, Bogotá to catch a plan to, say, Murmansk only to get to Europe?

Anyway, if it doesn't matter, Madrid has many (direct) flights to South America and decent onward connections to other cities. London, Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam are other big hubs in Europe.

Generally speaking it makes more sense to buy a round-trip ticket, however - even if you don't plan to use the return portion, it works out cheaper and saves you from any trouble at the airport in SA because you don't have "proof of onward travel".

If you don't have an EU passport and plan to travel around Europe indefinitely, make sure you are familiar with the Schengen Area and the 90/180 day rule for non-EU citizens.

Firstly what are your ideal departure and arrival airports/cities? Surely you aren't that flexible on where you fly to and from?

After a cursory internet search, I found an Avianca flight direct from Bogota to Madrid on Thursday 15 August for 585 GBP / 685 EUR. I doubt you'll find many flights that are much cheaper than that. Use skyscanner or momondo, play around with dates and places and you're bound to come up with something in your price range. There is no secret, magic low price.

Edited by: edgeofthecity

On either the 5th or 12th August you can fly from Bogota to Madrid for €480 via Caracas with Conviasa which is the Venezuelan national carrier, but the Caracas - Madrid leg is operated by Vision Airlines (because Conviasa are banned from flying in the EU due to safety concerns..........).

I doubt you will find a cheaper flight than this, it may not be the most luxurious experience ever (or maybe it will) but it should be safe enough.

I doubt you will find a cheaper flight than this

At the moment, a quick look at Condor shows me a cheaper one-way fare from Salvador de Bahia to Frankfurt on Aug. 4th...

Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for all the help and advice - true, I guess I should have thought it through a little more when saying I could be totally flexible, as pointed out, that's a little unlikely. I think I've found something from Quito-Frankfurt for around $750, which I'm pretty happy with, but will definitely look at some of the suggested options too! Thanks :)

Possibly S.America to Cancun, Cancun onward to many countries in Europe. Many travel companies/agents have reasonably priced fares.

Possibly S.America to Cancun, Cancun onward to many countries in Europe.

I don't think so but, of course, depending on the specific departure airport in South America and the specific arrival airport in Europe, it wouldn't hurt to see if by chance that option could be the best one but, IMHO, it's highly unlikely; even more unlikely if the OP is really flexible with the departure airport in South America and the arrival airport in Europe.

P.S.: If you aren't familiar with the fares from South America to Cancún, that leg itself could be more expensive than the quote from South America to Europe provided by Tryfan in #5 and the cheaper fares I referred to in #6.