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No Hesitation When Buying Plane Tickets

SOSUA, Dominican Republic- Never hesitate when looking for a plane ticket. The moment you find a good price, buy it. Don’t wait on the chance that the price will come down, don’t monkey around with indecision about departure dates: Just buy it. Once an air ticket is purchased, that is the path you are going [...]

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SOSUA, Dominican Republic- Never hesitate when looking for a plane ticket. The moment you find a good price, buy it. Don’t wait on the chance that the price will come down, don’t monkey around with indecision about departure dates:

Just buy it.

Once an air ticket is purchased, that is the path you are going to travel: your route is in stone, it is settled, the foot has spoken, you don’t even need to think about it anymore.

Searching for a flight out of the Dominican Republic

I bobbled and then dropped two good priced air tickets when looking for flights out of the Dominican Republic — I hesitated to click the purchase button, and now must pay double.

Our next move is El Salvador.

When I checked out the prices of onward tickets before coming to the Dominican Republic, I was looking at $120 to Mexico on Jet Blue leaving the beginning of March. But I did not purchase this ticket. I waited, I hesitated. The price has now shot up to over $300.

So I continued looking for cheap flights out of the Dominican Republic towards El Salvador throughout our stay, and a week ago I found a flight for $170 on Spirit Air. This would have been good, too.

I mentioned it to Chaya. We hesitated. This flight is now $290.

Where to travel from Dominican Republic

We think about staying in the Dominican Republic for another month — we all like it here — but the current rates on flights leaving in April are hitting upwards of $400 per ticket one way. I miscalculated the Caribbean tourism high season — I did not predict that the cost of flights would more than double in only a month’s time — and I’m going to have to pay for it.

I travel with a family now: a wife and a baby. We have a single income, and this income must now cover the costs of two airfares. We are now looking at $600 to get off this island, rather than the $250 that I planned for.

The biggest expense in travel has now doubled for my traveling family. This is perhaps the other side of budgeting for family travel — we save money by staying in apartments, we save more money by traveling slow, but we must boot the costs of two airfares rather than one — and soon it will be three.

Travel tips often come out of travel mistakes, don’t hesitate on buying a plane ticket, as cheap flights have the tendency of rolling over cliffs and disappearing  into thin air.

Once you buy a plane ticket, your route is set — there is no more thinking about it, you can now relax. Don’t hesitate at the crossroad.

Travel Tips — Dominican Republic Air Travel — Dominican Republic Travelogue Entries — Caribbean Travelogue Entries — Dominican Republic Travel Guide

Filed under: Air Travel, Travel Tips

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3694 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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  • craig | travelvice.com February 28, 2010, 1:05 am

    Try flying to Puerto Rico first, then connections from PR -> FLL or MIA -> onward. You’ll likely need a physical ticket from the DR to PR… meaning local travel agent.

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    • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com February 28, 2010, 8:35 am

      Good suggestions, I thought that may have been a clutch move as well, but we tried it and it came out to a little more. I can get to Puerto Rico cheap, but it comes out to a little more getting to Fl and then to Guatemala — although not much more! We ended up just buying two tickets each on Spirit Air. One to FLL and another to Guatemala. It worked out to be around $275 total for each of us. It would have been $100 a piece cheaper if I acted a week ago though haha.

      Thanks for the suggestion, we thought of going over to Puerto Rico for a while just to check it out . . . but I think we are going to put it off for the next run through this region.

      Wade

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  • Krista February 28, 2010, 9:03 am

    Ouch . . . I feel your pain. Fluctuating ticket prices are the curse and the blessing of Internet travel. Virtually no-one I know anymore visits a travel agent to buy a ticket – and as such we have more control over the tickets we buy online, whereas years ago we would have sat across the desk from the travel agent and just bought whatever they served up to us. In contrast, those who depend on the Internet for travel needs know that there are all kinds of tips and tricks to getting the best price, and we will spend all kinds of time searching, because we know that best deal is out there! It sounds like this recent purchase is one you are chalking up to experience – and I am going to use it as a reminder for myself also, as I have put myself in similar situations hesitating to buy a ticket in the past. I might also add the tip: “Don’t compare prices AFTER you have already purchased your ticket!”. That can lead to some sleepless nights, too:)

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    • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com February 28, 2010, 9:56 am

      Hello Krista,

      This is right on. Do some browsing to gauge a rough impression of how much a air ticket should cost, set a price that you are willing to pay, find it, buy it, and forget about it. The moment you say, “that is a good price” should probably be the moment you click the purchase button. Good tip!

      Walk Slow,

      Wade

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  • Caitlin February 28, 2010, 9:24 am

    Hey Wade,

    If you’re arriving in Guatemala City at night (or anytime really) I really recommend staying at Patricia’s Hotel. It’s 2 minutes from the airport, and is cheaper than most other things in Guatemala City (including sketchy places downtown). Plus, best of all, they will come pick you up at the airport FOR FREE no matter how late you arrive, and then you get free breakfast. And there’s a great dog named Padme. Anyways, it would probably be something like 15$ for a private room, which is expensive for the rest of Guatemala but a really good deal for Guatemala City.

    http://www.patriciashotel.com/

    I’m sad I’m missing you in Guatemala!

    Heh… would it be mean to mention that I got my plane ticket back to Canada today for 220 bucks after taxes? Bought only 4 days ahead of time. I am a cheap flight guru.

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    • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com February 28, 2010, 10:00 am

      Thanks for the suggestion, Caitlin,

      I will keep that hotel in mind, this is good to know. We ended up buying two tickets. It seems to be the high cost flight season in the Caribbean which seems to continue well into the summer. We thought about staying in the Dominican Republic for another month but would really be stuck then.

      Good ticket going back to Canada, but I must ask why you are going back there now!!!!! It is cold there! You are going the wrong way! haha.

      Thanks,

      Wade

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      • Caitlin March 1, 2010, 12:03 pm

        Haha… don’t remind me. I’m back in the winter wasteland now. Although it’s pretty mild here in Toronto so it’s a-ok. Hopefully will be off somewhere warmer soon!

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        • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com March 1, 2010, 12:24 pm

          Go to China. Lots to eat there.

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