[travel] Would you rather hang out for a night in Istanbul or Zurich?

[Black]

billb wrote:
Ohare -->Toronto-->Frankfurt--Warsaw is only $650.00 to $850.00

I'm not seeing anything under $750, but:

Looking at flights to Warsaw and thought it would be fun to have a 20+ hour overnight layover in a city I've never been to . . .

[OWC Jamie]

I arbitrarily picked the first two weeks of June starting and ending on a Sunday.

[Black]

billb wrote:
I arbitrarily picked the first two weeks of June starting and ending on a Sunday.

Thanks. I saw some article recently that suggested 6 weeks out as the pricing sweet spot. I was targeting the last March week. Definitely want to be in Warsaw (or at least Krakow) on the last Friday of the month for Critical Mass.

Also trying Monday to Monday thinking it ought to be cheaper on a weekday than a weekend, but I guess I'll play with the paramenters some more.

[richorlin]

Istanbul, of course! If you have enough time, try to take in Topkapi Palace, The Blue Mosque and, naturally, the Grand Bazaar.
Having been to both places, rest assured, Istanbul is a lot more interesting than Zurich.

[colonel panic]

I've been to both. Having a choice to return to only one, I would without a doubt choose Istanbul. It's a great city, with wonderful people and a rich history.

[OWC Jamie]

6 weeks
Might find some good discounts, but man the choice of departure times might not be so good.
I'd have been starting to look for fare drops last Thanksgiving for end of March.

[Jimmypoo]

I'd have to know the relative value of a Euro to a Turkish ho.

[Black]

billb wrote:
6 weeks
Might find some good discounts, but man the choice of departure times might not be so good.
I'd have been starting to look for fare drops last Thanksgiving for end of March.

I've been looking for several months, thanks.

[polychrome]

They're both good cities to visit but I found Istanbul to be much more culturally interesting than Zurich.

[IronMac]

There is no longer a pricing sweet spot with regards to when you book a flight. I've been flying back and forth between Singapore (and parts of Asia) and Toronto for the past three years and I have found that prices are about the same for a particular time period no matter how far or how close you are to the departure date.

What I have found is that there are certain periods of the year where fares can be dramatically different. I've also found that flying on Mondays or Tuesdays or Thursdays usually yielded the lowest fares.