First time traveler: how do I book flights?
Upvote:2
It is a bit easier, but most importantly usually cheaper, to buy a round-trip ticket rather than the two legs separately.
There are many sites available that will allow you to shop around for the best prices and schedules, though in the end it's often a better choice to book directly with the airline.
As there are no direct flights from the US to Freetown, you'll have at least one connection. If you're a first time traveller, it's probably a good idea to avoid additional connections, but less direct routes tend to be cheaper, so it's really your choice.
As an indication, airlines flying from Europe to Freetown include Air France, Brussels Airlines, KLM and Turkish Airlines.
Since you have at least two flights in each direction, it's probably a good idea to book the flights on the same airline or on airlines part of the same alliance.
Remember to check: - the airline change and cancellation policies, if that's relevant for you. At the very least, you need to be aware of them. Cheaper tickets are usually non-modifiable and non-refundable, or only with significant penalties.
take into account time zones and date changes. If you see a flight arriving at
10:00+1for instance, that means 10:00 the following day.avoid short connections, especially if the airport will require you to go through immigration, pick-up and re-check your bags. Usually not the case in Europe if you stay within the same airport.
more generally, make sure you don't book a connection with flights landing and departing from different airports in the same city (shouldn't be an issue if you fly through Paris (CDG), Amsterdam, Brussels or Istanbul).
check for any passport/visa requirements, both at your destination and in transit cities (shouldn't be an issue for EU airports, not so sure for Istanbul).
Remember to sort out any passport/visa requirements before booking your flight!
Upvote:3
That depends a bit on how much time and effort you want to put in to optimize the cost. Going going to Freetown in Sierra Leone is a non trivial trip.
Especially if you are not a very experienced traveler: buy a single round trip ticket that covers your whole trip. You may be able to get a cheaper option booking two separate tickets, but it's most likely not worth the risk.
Google flights is a very good search engine for beginners. https://www.google.com/flights/. Put both airports into the search fields and select dates that you are targeting. Click on any of the dates and select "Calendar". Wait for a bit and it will show you the calendar with the lowest available fairs for a lot of different departure dates with the same trip length. You can also click on "Flexible Dates" so see fares that are around the same dates but with different length. Just click on the date & price that you like and it will give options for these dates. Check the flight duration. Some of these may be cheaper but very convoluted or long.
In this case should be paying somewhere between US $1800-$2000 on an airline combination that's going to be Delta, KLM and Air France. It's easiest if you book directly on the airlines' websites. These airlines have partnerships and will often offer the same flights at more or less the same price. If that's the case, chose the airline that operates the flight to/from Freetown (Air France most likely), since this probably the trickiest part.
More post
- 📝 What does my Schengen visa mean?
- 📝 Is it important for an International Student to arrive in the airport near to his university?
- 📝 Traveling from El Paso, TX, to Tulsa, OK? No ID, but traveling companion has one
- 📝 Is a US drivers license adequate for domestic flights in India?
- 📝 UK Standard Visitor Visa for Indonesian citizen (visa-national)
- 📝 Does all the subsequent itinerary on a round-the-world ticket get invalidated if you are denied an entry?
- 📝 Cruise Terminal at Malta
- 📝 Schengen Visa Refusal from the Spanish Consulate
- 📝 UK Visit Visas Refused Due to Evaluation Oversights and Similar Errors
- 📝 Visa fee for Swiss visa in London
- 📝 Upper East Side to I-95 South via Car
- 📝 Can I stay longer than my visa states?
- 📝 How do I correct missing departure records?
- 📝 Can I bring a prescribed Schedule V drug into US?
- 📝 Can a US Citizen drive in California with a foreign Driver's License? If currently a resident in CA but moved recently?
- 📝 Is there a website that gives you the average price of a hotel over a year?
- 📝 Is it still necessary to manually fill out a migration card for Russia?
- 📝 Do I need a return flight for all airlines to go to Argentina?
- 📝 Passport outer cover with slight damage
- 📝 Is there any ferry from Vietnam to Hong Kong?
- 📝 Additional baggage (computer equipment) on Qatar Airways -travelling from Yerevan (EVN) to Chennai(MAA)
- 📝 Do airlines check if people passing through the gate actually board the plane?
- 📝 Is it ok if my passport is a little bent?
- 📝 Should I attach both my bank account statements for Schengen visa?
- 📝 How long does it take to get a tourist visa in Siem Reap?
- 📝 What are the laws regarding sleeping in my vehicle by state
- 📝 How should I prepare for potential flooding in Utah and Arizona?
- 📝 Renting a holiday house in the Riviera with a small child
- 📝 Minimum connection time in Muscat for an Oman Air flight to Paris
- 📝 Saitama, Japan - Where's this purple beck with cherry blossoms?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 First time traveler to the US via connecting flights
- 📝 First time traveler: how do I book flights?
- 📝 If I book two flights with Sichuan Airlines, and miss the second because the first is delayed, can I reschedule for free?
- 📝 How to book flights when travelling together with slightly different itineraries?
- 📝 I'm from the UK travelling to meeting my Girlfriend for the first time who is from the US. How will I get on going through CBP?
- 📝 First Time Traveler US Citizen traveling to Pakistan
- 📝 How to book flights with multiple stop-overs of several days?
- 📝 How can I find the time schedule of flights to/from a given airport?
- 📝 How to go about backpacking to Europe for the first time
- 📝 How do tour companies book flights and hotels?
- 📝 I'd like to book a flight transiting Dublin in order to use hidden-city ticketing. How can I find all flights transiting through Dublin from NYC?
- 📝 How do I book flights Boston area to St. Thomas to Seattle to Boston area?
- 📝 How good is the reliability of flights out of Stewart, BC?
- 📝 How do I know how much time was given to me to stay in the USA?
- 📝 When a flights departs in the middle of the winter daylight saving time switch, what is the actual departure time?
- 📝 How much transfer time do I need in Mumbai airport?
- 📝 How to book a hotel room with V Pay Card
- 📝 How early do I need to book Eurotunnel tickets?
- 📝 How can two persons having Eurail and Interrail passes book same train and stay together?
- 📝 Ways to book multiple flights
- 📝 Don't use first flight, but use return flight (both flights on same ticket) -- on which airlines and under which circumstances is this possible?
- 📝 How exactly is the delay time calculated for the purposes of EU air travel compensation?
- 📝 Can a baby exit Estonia for the first time on an Australian passport?
- 📝 How to apply for UK visa with First Name Unknown?
- 📝 How can physically disabled people who aren't flying first or business class use the lavatory on a Lufthansa A340-600?
- 📝 how to calculate the real time spent on road travelling by car
- 📝 Booking flight tickets for someone in another country? First time flying
- 📝 How to book a United Airlines ticket if my passport doesn't have a last name?
- 📝 I am flying overseas and returning with my fiancee. How do I coordinate the flights so that we are together on the return leg?
- 📝 How do I book accommodation without knowing the check-out date?