More Tips For Finding Cheap Tickets

Jane Engle writes:

Americans visiting London these days may feel as destitute as the young Oliver Twist. And with $400-a-night hotel bills, $80 cab rides and $8 Tube tickets, they won't need Fagin's band of pickpockets to empty their wallets.

For their predicament, tourists can mostly blame the woeful U.S. dollar, which, after sliding 14% in two years, was recently worth half a British pound.

Another culprit is increasing costs in London, judged the world's second-most-expensive city by Mercer Human Resource Consulting in New York. (Moscow was No. 1; New York, No. 14.)

But if Americans plan carefully, they need not scratch the British capital off their 2008 travel lists. And there are new reasons to go: the redesigned St. Pancras Station, now home to the Eurostar and boasting fresh-food markets and soaring architecture; a reimagined London Transport Museum; and a big British Airways terminal, opening in March, that may reduce hassles at Heathrow.

10 DO'S . . .

Here are 10 tips for saving on a London vacation, plus five budget-busting mistakes, all gleaned from a recent trip, travel agents and other experts:

1.Go in winter, spring or fall. By avoiding the summer peak season, which many carriers define as late May through the first week of September, you'll save hundreds on airfare. And because theaters, museums and many other pastimes are indoors, you'll still have fun.

In a recent spot-check of flights online, the lowest LAX-London round-trip fare was $1,200, including taxes and fees, for nonstops in summer, compared with less than $700 for travel into March. Expect to pay $50 to $200 more in April and early May, said Brian Clewer, owner of the Continental Travel Shop, an air consolidator and travel agency in Santa Monica.

To snag the best price or even to get a seat, book way ahead. Most fliers are buying international tickets more than three months before departing, said Amy Ziff, editor at large for Travelocity.com.

Don't count on fares dropping in 2008, experts told me, even though more airlines will fly to London. That's because Heathrow and Gatwick have limited slots; oil prices remain high; and fuel surcharges of up to $220, along with taxes and fees, already add hundreds to each transatlantic ticket.

2. Book packages or group tours. Packages combine flights, hotels and often airport transfers and other costs into one price; tours typically add guides, meals, ground transportation and more. Either option can save you money, because operators get volume discounts and may buy British currency in advance to cover expenses. To book a package or tour, see a travel agent or check websites of travel sellers and major airlines.

Here are some good links:

Booking Strategies Large Internet Sites Student and Budget Specialists Domestic Bucket Shops Ethnic and Foreign Bucket Shops Courier Flying Round-the-World Tickets Charters Bumping To Gateways Glossary

Elizabeth writes:

15 Tips for Cheap Travel:

1. Ask What's Fixed and What's Flexible
2. a. How to Find Cheap Tickets and b. How to Find Cheap Plane Tickets
3. How to Find Cheap Lodging
4. Consider a Package Deal
5. Creating a Travel Budget
6. Doing Research Before You Go
7. How to Save at Home While You're Away
8. What to Pack
9. How to Get to (and from) the Airport
10. Enjoy Yourself While You're There
11. How to Exchange Money
12. How to Get a Cheap Rental Car
13. Getting Around
14. How to Find Cheap Eats
15. Getting Home- VAT Taxes, Ordering Photos, and More