If you know they're reasonable, there's no point in waiting. But, for June, I've always been able to book a flight pretty late in the game (April, May). It might depend on your departure city and the airline. We use USAir our of Philly.

cliffnchristi,

You might want to check your airline's policy regarding fares that come up cheaper than what you've paid. If you book your flights and continually check fares during the course of the year, you might find a sale when the fares are cheaper. With many airlines you can "rollover" your tickets and get a voucher for the difference in fare. I did this twice last year and had two vouchers totalling more than $200 toward this year's flights. Unfortunately now American Airlines charges you $100 for a rollover, so it is usually not worth it. Other airlines do not charge.

This way, if are able to rollover very good. You have help with the next trip's fare (and you know you'll be back). If you've booked a flight with fares you can live with, then even if no opportunity to rollover comes up, you're still ok and you've got guaranteed non-stop flights.

Gerie

Hi cliffnchristi... I think we have talked before - We always plan our trips for June and I have found that if I have patience and watch the fares very carefully that they will drop tremendously as soon as the high season is over. We flew a direct USAir flight out of Charlotte (N.C.) and got really great fares this summer... $298...booked through Hotwire.com. I would say if you can get a good rate now that is good for June,'06 - do it, but I think if you stay on top of things that you can get a really great fare by mid to late April. Of course, if you have already booked your accomodations and are locked into fixed travel dates that can make it more difficult, but if you can be flexible with traveldates, etc. it helps. Since there were four of us going I had to get good air fares first and then work the accomodations around that - but remember too that you are going off-season and don't be pressured into booking an accomodation - there will be plenty of places to choose from... you might even find a great "last minute special"! Hope this helps. <')))<

Hi Cindy!
We'll be flying direct out of Charlotte as well. Wow! $298. The best I can find right now is $567 and I thought that was a great deal....guess not, huh? There will be 6 people in our party. You don't think we'll have a problem getting all of us on the same flight by waiting til April???

Hi again...well, whose to say what will occur between now and then - I just know that I've purchased our airline tickets this way for the last ten years or so and never have had a problem and one year there was eight of us and I got tickets for $354 (that was through bestfare.com)... I found hotwire.com had everyone beat this year! Like I said too - we are very flexible with travel dates and accomodations - we always rent a cottage/villa, etc., no resort settings - we like to pretend like we live there while we're there...it's the only place I've ever been where I DO NOT want to leave - even my children know to tread lightly around me on our "last day"... I get very sad. Well have fun planning - I'm already wanting to start planning for next summer,but I have a son whose graduating and he wants to go to Germany... I think I'll send him with his dad and my daughter and I will come to STJ !:)

cliffnchristii-

I went to STT this past JUne (and returned mid-July). I originally booked my fare at $560 and was able to eventually get it down to $238 (USAir.com) - so I gor vouchers for the difference. I've seen the $238 fare come up at least twice every spring/summer...and it seems to be the best fare going lately.

Typically, I find that non-direct fare websites (priceline, hotwire, etc) are not as competitive as the airline's direct site if you keep an eye on it and watch for the drop in the fare. It sounds like Cindy is having good luck with discount vendors, so I'll have to explore that option. I do wonder if you can rollover your tickets if the fare drops with the airline direct and you've booked it with someone like hotwire, etc. And, as Gerie points out, different airlines have different policies on rollover fees.

During the off-season and coming from a hub city, I would consider $238 a low and $600 a high...

While someone might be able to save a few dollars by using a consolodator like Priceline, I'm hesitant about what happens if there's a glitch. I've read too many "horror" stories on "Epinions.com" about people who've booked with discounters, and then a flight was cancelled or a connecting flight was late or some other snafu, and neither the airline nor the discounter wants to take responsibility. I always book right with the airline. American is my "airline of choice" (lol, except for Southwest, and they don't fly to STT) from St. Louis, and I just reserved for November for less than $500. I could have saved a few dollars by spending all day on an aircraft and flying STL-ORD-SJU-STT but I'd prefer to be spending MY time having a beer on the beach, not waiting in an airport!

CliffnChristi-

We booked directly through American and it was the best price I could find through all search engines. We paid $348.00 for tickets out of New Orleans. Try the airlines as well. They will sometimes surprise you and be lower than the Bestfares.com or the other travel search engines.

Mel

And honest to goodness, the DAY after I booked, the price dropped by $100 per ticket out of STL! I emailed American and they said "you MAY qualify for a lower fare but a change fee COULD apply, call our reservations desk for more information". Oh, well