Calling all Mass. April Vacationers

[kathmzh]

I know there's some experts here in getting the best flights for April vacation. I'm planning on 2007, when April Vacation starts on the 16th -- when is the best time to look for flights? Do you guys book 11 months out, or wait? Any help is appreciated!

 

[emagirl]

Not from Mass but close...Maine.

We have travelled in April twice and both times I have booked seats as soon as I could as flights from Portland are few and far between and I have found the prices don't go down... and I prefer not to have to travel to BOS or MHT.

ps. We hope to go that week in 2007, too.

 

[brentalex]

For my trip this April, I started looking for flights as soon as they were released. Delta and American will start 330 days from when you want to fly. I had a ballpark figure of what I wanted to pay, so I checked almost everyday. I also knew that JetBlue would open their flights much closer to my dates than the other 2. So I kept looking and waiting. As long as there were still seats available on the non stop flights on Delta and American, I figured I could wait. Then one day Song/delta had an unannounced sale. All of a sudden the flights which were about 700 per person round trip were down to less than 300 round trip. I bought the tickets as fast as I could. 2 days later the prices were right back up.
So my advice is to check everyday once the flights are opened. It can be a pain, but it certainly saved me lots of money and was very much worth it.

 

[JoeCathyAngelina]

For my trip this April, I started looking for flights as soon as they were released. Delta and American will start 330 days from when you want to fly. I had a ballpark figure of what I wanted to pay, so I checked almost everyday. I also knew that JetBlue would open their flights much closer to my dates than the other 2. So I kept looking and waiting. As long as there were still seats available on the non stop flights on Delta and American, I figured I could wait. Then one day Song/delta had an unannounced sale. All of a sudden the flights which were about 700 per person round trip were down to less than 300 round trip. I bought the tickets as fast as I could. 2 days later the prices were right back up.
So my advice is to check everyday once the flights are opened. It can be a pain, but it certainly saved me lots of money and was very much worth it.

I did the exact same thing last year.
We caught the same break with Song, $496 total non-stop round trip for the three of us.
April 2007, I don't plan on being that lucky; so I booked a condo from Saturday to Saturday.
If something doesn't come up for $500 or less for the three of us, we drive.
Here's the story.
My wife hates to fly.
The first time we went to Walt Disney World, April 2004 with my 3 year old daughter We decided to go to WDW a couple of months before we went with little planning. We rented some points off the DIS forum, checked the airfares a couple of times and picked up a trip tick from AAA.

We drove from my office in downtown Boston to WDW Old Key West stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks.

After the first 3-4 hours in the car driving the rest of the way to WDW isn't that bad; more like a series of short trips.

Our Trip to WDW started Friday, 3/26/04 at 1 pm: Miles, Stopped, Time

Leaving, Boston to Walt Disney World: Friday, 3/26/04, 1:00pm
1, Boston to New Jersey 212 212 6:00pm
2, N J to Aberdeen MD 183 395 9:07 pm
3, MD to Rocky Mt NC 266 661 1:36 AM
4, NC to Florence SC 209 870 4:40 am
5, SC to S Newport GA 210 1,080 7:58 am
Arrived, GA to WDW 251 1,331 12:00 PM

Started, Friday, 3/26 0 1:00pm
Finished, Saturday, 3/27 1331 12:00pm
A 23 hr trip with 5 stops along the way down
76 gallons of gas, $131 for the gas, 17.78 mpg 58mph
Driving around WDW 21

The Trip Home started Friday, April 2nd 11 AM: Miles Stopped Time

Leaving Walt Disney World to Boston:Friday, April 2nd 11:00 am
1, WDW to St Augustine FL 116 116 12:44 PM
2, FL to Savanah GA 178 294 3:55 PM
3, GA to Florence SC 174 468 6:22 pm
4, SC to Battleboro NC 181 649 9:30 pm
5, NC to Aberdeen MD 295 944 2:17 am
6, MD to Bloomfield NJ 181 1,125 5:30 AM
Arrived, NJ to Boston, MA 237 1,362 9:30 am

Started, Friday, 4/02 11:00 am 0
Finished, Sat, 4/03 9:30 am 1362
A 22 1/2 hr trip with 6 stops on the way home
81 gallons of gas $126 for the gas 17.58 mpg 60.5mph
Driving around WDW 62

157 gallons, $257 for the gas, $44 tolls, 17.68 mpg, 59.2mph 2776


The traffic was a mess from Hartford through Delaware on the way down.
It rained from North Carolina to Boston, Mass. on the way home

Me and my wife alternated turns driving our Nissan Xterra when we stopped for gas. My 3 year old held out a lot better than I thought she would on the way down and on the way back to Boston, WITHOUT, tapes, DVDs, video games, just a lot of singing and sleeping.

It's not that Bad!!!

Last year, April 2005 we caught a break in fares and flue down and back out of Logan on a non-stop with American Airlines , $504 round trip total for the 3 of us.

This year, April 2006 we caught a break in fares so we're flying down and back out of Logan on a non-stop with Song/Delta , $496 round trip total for the 3 of us.

April 2007,
If all goes well,
The creek don't rise,
and there ain't no melt down,
We'll do it all again next year.

Good Luck all,
Joe

 

[kathmzh]

Thanks for the advice....I don't mind watching everyday, it's sort of a "sport" for me to get the best price. I *THINK* I would be willing to drive, but my DH isn't, so that's out. Anyone else with experience booking for April Vacation?

 

[debster812]

Thanks for the advice....I don't mind watching everyday, it's sort of a "sport" for me to get the best price. I *THINK* I would be willing to drive, but my DH isn't, so that's out. Anyone else with experience booking for April Vacation?

Not April, but February, which is even tougher IMO. April vacation here in the Northeast does not ALWAYS coincide with Easter the way it does this year. That being said, I would start looking at exactly the 330th day, and if you see a price you can live with, BOOK. My rule of thumb for February getting to FL is NEVER connect, non stop only, because the weather can be so dicey. In April, it's not as much as a factor, so I am willing to look at connecting/direct flights with a stop.

That being said, we had no plans to head south THIS April, and another DISers posted about 2 months ago that JetBlue was having a sale. I scored flights BOS to RSW for $84 each way, with a connection in JFK.

Good Luck.

 

[emmabelle]

We went April vacation 2005, I got the tickets with Delta as soon as they came out, it was around $250 per ticket, but had one connection in Atlanta. It definately matters when Easter is, the prices are even higher when Easter falls during the vacation.

 

[emmabelle]

That being said, we had no plans to head south THIS April, and another DISers posted about 2 months ago that JetBlue was having a sale. I scored flights BOS to RSW for $84 each way, with a connection in JFK.

Good Luck.

I saw that sale too through the Dis, I wish I could have gone, but we were already going to Florida in March (Naples) and Disney in August, so that might have been a little too much, not for me, but the rest of the family.