Traveling to the City of lights is extremely thrilling and can often be the largest expense you'll be facing out of the entire trip, with accommodation coming a close second. If you are looking to optimize your budget, and thus are looking for the best priced flight this article will help you by showing you some simple tips.
In order to book the best and most budget friendly ticket there are some factors that you need to take into consideration.
1. SEASON OF TRAVEL
Paris's peak tourist season is during the summer. Their busiest period during the summer is from June until August. It is during this period that Paris can see around 30 million tourists from around the world. With high, intense traffic like that its no wonder why flights during this season would cost the earth. During the peak season you will battle to find a ticket under $1,100! The airlines are aware of the popular times to travel and therefore charge much more than normal, due to a surplus of demand. This also means that the tickets will be quite scarce. Thus the best time to buy a cheaper ticket would be during Paris's low season. This is between November and April, during the winter months. A ticket during this season can cost as little as $500. Thats less than half the price of a ticket during peak season. However if you wish to visit Paris at an affordable rate, that isn't entirely in low or high season you can purchase a ticket during ‘shoulder-season'. This is the season that lies between the high and low seasons. Traveling in this season can be advantageous in that it allows you to experience a bit of both worlds. Attractions won't be extremely busy but they won't be closed or empty either. It all depends on your preferences when traveling. Known as the intermittent season, its not surprise that the flight's prices are intermittent too. Costing anything between $600-$800.
2. WHEN YOU BOOK YOUR TICKET
One of the biggest factors to consider when booking your flight is time. Booking a ticket highly in advance is a tip that should not be dismissed. Many websites advise that in order to attain the best price for your flight you should book your ticket a month in advance at absolute minimum. The most advised period of time to actually book your ticket is anything between 3-7 months in advance, especially if you plan on traveling in peak season. Basically once you have affirmed that you will be traveling to Paris, or any destination in fact, it is advised that you immediately look at booking your flight. The pricing of plane tickets has often been compared to the stock market, as the prices will fluctuate in real time. Thus requiring you to be quick and savvy when booking. If you are booking online by yourself, there are quite a few websites that will offer quotes from a number of airlines for your chosen date and time of departure. These sites, more often than not, will have notification feature that you can enable. This will allow the site to flag great fares and notify you of them before they disappear.
Some great sites to look at when browsing for the best fares are:
‐ https://www.kayak.com, is a search engine dedicated to flight travel.
‐ https://www.cheapoair.com,is a giant of the flight travel search engines with a vast data base.
‐ https://www.google.com/flights, is easy to use and accurate.
‐ www.vayama.com, specialises in international flights. It is a great option to consider using for this purpose.
3. THE AIRPORTS
Something that can also be extremely vital in ensuring you get the best flight is the airport you depart from and land at. If you live in an area where there are quite a few airports to choose from then you can alter where you depart from according to the cost of the flights. However something you should definitely take note of, regardless of where you depart from, is the airport you land at. The theory is that you will find more flights that land at major airports like Charles de Gaulle and Orly airport in Paris, which would inadvertently result in you having a higher chance in finding a great deal!
4. WHEN YOU TRAVEL
Whilst it is important to take into consideration the time of year you are traveling, it is also really important that you take note of the days you will be traveling on. Generally it has been found that discounted tickets can be attained if you are willing to travel on a Monday-Wednesday. These are not popular days of travel, therefore many airlines reduce their prices so that they can fill up their flights.
5. PAYMENT
Payment of your ticket can also play a vital role when searching for the best flight. Some travel search engines advise that you pay for the flight in the local currency of your destination. This small tip can often result in you saving quite a bit of money.
6. ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF ARRIVAL
There is also the option of catching a flight into another part of Europe and then booking a domestic flight to Paris or using another method of travel. On occasion this has been found to be cheaper method of traveling to a destination, especially in Europe as there are many other avenues of travel that work out cheaper than flying such as the railway. For example you could catch a flight from New York to Switzerland and then either catch a domestic flight or take a train to Paris. This would be a great option if you were willing to take the time and enjoy the journey. It would offer you the chance to see another destination whilst en route to Paris, whilst simultaneously being able to save money.
Using these six tips you are guaranteed to be ahead of the crowd when searching for the best flights to Paris.
