I am planning a first time trip to Paris for Christmas/New Year%26#39;s (Dec 23rd thru Jan. 1st) and I will be traveling alone. I am checking prices on Expedia for airfare and am wondering if this is a good time to purchase. Also, is Expedia considered safe for purchasing international flights? A friend suggested I use travel agent but not sure why I would do this if I can do myself online. Are there advantages to using travel agent? Thanks for your help.
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I%26#39;ve bought international tickets online several times and it%26#39;s always been fine. Don%26#39;t worry about that at all, especially with a site like Expedia.
As for the price...it%26#39;s always a gamble. If you can comfortably afford the price now, I%26#39;d do it--you never know what might happen. Especially since you%26#39;re traveling during the holidays!
Good luck!
Katie
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I%26#39;ve used Expedia for booking trips to Europe for the last 4 years and hav%26#39;nt had any problems. You can%26#39;t beat the price you get by booking hotel and air together. The important thing is to do your research on the hotels. Tripadvisor has a ton of hotel reviews that have helped me alot. Just be aware that even the greatest hotels are going to get a few disgruntled reviews, many of them are posted by trolls who have never even stayed at the property. There are also some that are nausateingly wonderful. Ignore the extremes and focus on the mid-range reviews, they seem to be the most acurate. It%26#39;s not too early to book, I booked mine 2 months ago for this November. Once you have that out of the way, you can concentrate on the research!
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No worries about Expedia. Shop around but quite often they have better prices than others. Easy to work around, I bought often and will buy again on Expedia.
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Have you checked airfrance.com? They are having a great sale starting Oct. 15 and going through the end of March. But you have to buy by the 22nd.
Les
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Thanks everyone for your comments! I%26#39;m now convinced that booking thru Expedia is safe and probably the best bargain. Now I just have to get ready to fork over $1000 for my ticket...(gulp)!
I%26#39;ve already booked a hotel room (at the Castex in the Marais arr.) which is where my tour group is staying, though fortunately I will be arriving in Paris a few days before meeting the group which will allow me time to explore on my own, and I%26#39;m also extending my stay a few days longer to celebrate the new year.
Since I%26#39;m traveling alone I do prefer a direct flight and right now Expedia has LAX to CDG on either Delta or Air France. Does anyone have a preference for one airline over the other? The rates are about the same w/in about $100 so I%26#39;d rather go w/ the airline preferred by experienced travellers.
This is my FIRST major trip alone and my FIRST trip to Paris so I%26#39;m very excited but a little nervous at the same time. I%26#39;m sure once I get airfare secured I will relax and enjoy the months of planning ahead.
Thanks everyone for such quality input -- I love this forum!
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Les, thank you for the info. I just went to Air France website and inserted travel dates but I%26#39;m getting a message that %26quot;no flights are available%26quot;. Is this possible?
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Hm, that%26#39;s strange. It could be that the 23rd and the 1st of January are already sold out?? Big flying days...
Les
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I tried entering the dates again and this time it worked -- though airfare for my dates are still hovering around $1,000. I was hoping for less but I suppose I should grab a seat while there are still some available. Thanks
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Buckeye, pls note that Delta and Air France codeshare so the plane you fly may be both a Delta and an Air France flight...I%26#39;ve done this...AF out of Cincinnati and Delta back thru Atlanta...If you compare their departure times you%26#39;ll see the Delta and AF flights are the same in many cases....I always shop the sites like Expedia and Travelocity and Orbitz along with the airlines%26#39; own websites when making my decision to purchase...You will be able to tell if Expedia is truly your best deal...
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I have a friend who flies to France every Christmas to visit family, and she always buys her tickets WAY in advance and always pays about 1000....it%26#39;s a huge travel period.
Les
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