Tag Archives: bargain airfares to Mexico

Airfare Bargain Discounts to Mexico: What’s True, What Isn’t

We were trying to book a “last-minute” trip to Oaxaca over winter break and having no luck with “good” fares, ie. those under $600.  Indeed, prices were veering upwards of $900-1200 per ticket.  Okay, granted, we are less than five weeks away from our intended departure date and there is a penalty for waiting so long to decide whether we were going again.  I think we spent a good six to eight hours traveling around various travel sites to compare prices and schedules and determine whether the published fare was what it would actually cost us once the taxes and fees are added on.

Our preferred routing has been on Continental through Houston which is the only airline that has a direct flight to Oaxaca.  However, the hefty cost was prohibitive.  We searched Travelocity, American Airlines, Expedia, CheapOAir, and Airfare Watchdog, finally landing on Hotwire where the published prices include all taxes and fees (no hidden costs here).  On the others, the enticement is a low fare until you go to book and discover that $110 to $160 can be added on, or the price quoted is only for one-way!

We decided to book on Hotwire to Mexico City where we found a round trip fare for $438.  We’ll spend the night in Houston for $45 (with our AAA discount) at a Knight’s Inn three miles from the airport, and pick up the morning flight to Mexico City.  From there, we’ll take a $5 taxi to the CAPU bus station and take a $35 first class bus (TV and toilet) to Oaxaca and get in in time for dinner.  Our total savings will be around $400 plus or minus.  Not bad for a bit of online fare sleuthing.

On the return trip, I’m planning to bus from Oaxaca to Puebla, spend the night and pick up another Talavera ceramic plate or two.  Four hours via bus from Oaxaca to Puebla, another hour and a half from Puebla to Mexico the next day.

 

 

$480 USD RT Airfares to Oaxaca

and $260 USD RT airfares to Mexico City on Continental Airlines!  Now that’s a bargain.  Stephen and I booked flights to Mexico City leaving on July 15.  We’re going to land, take a bus to Puebla (40 minutes from Mexico City) to oggle Rococco buildings with facades covered in talavera tile, then after two days of sightseeing, head on down to Oaxaca, a four-hour bus ride from Puebla, to arrive in time for Guelaguetza.  With airport and immigration taxes, the total airfare per person was $371.

This is rock-bottom pricing, lower than any “best fare” I’ve seen over the last four years.  So, I went ahead and bought my Day of the Dead ticket to return at the end of October for a week.  I’m still hoping that people will come to their senses and realize that this is not an epidemic.  I hope we will have participants sign up for the Day of the Dead tour I am offering in Teotitlan del Valle and Oaxaca from October 29 to November 4.  And, in anticipation of this, bought my round-trip ticket from Raleigh-Durham to Oaxaca (via Houston) for another great rock-bottom fare of $480 RT plus taxes.

I went online to www.hotels.com and found a 50% off room at the 4-star Camino Real Hotel Puebla, located in a 16th restored convent.  Cost is $68 per night when booked and paid in advance — an unbelievable price. Una buena discuenta.

Last week, the New York Times reported two deaths from the H1N1 flu virus.  It is evaporated from the front page.  Yet, the hysteria does not seem to be subsiding.  My friend Sheri Brautigam says there are no tourists on the 16th century cobblestone streets of Oaxaca.

I am defying the fear-factor and intend to take advantage of these great prices to get back to Mexico.  What about you?