Planning a trip to Argentina and on a budget? No one wants to pay more than they have to for airfare these days. As a person that has flown to and from Buenos Aires many times, I have narrowed down my Top Tips for finding the most inexpensive flight as possible.

1. Be flexible with dates of travel. Most search engines now offer this option, and unless you are strict about when you need to travel, this allows you to see the cheapest options available.
2. Going along with being flexible, fly midweek. Flying on a Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday have the cheapest fares because most people fly on a weekend. This is also true if you don’t mind flying ON a holiday, such as Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years Day.
3. Also, try to travel during the ‘off season.’ Flight prices drop dramatically to Buenos Aires in October/November, as well as March/April. The highest prices are for Dec/Jan, and June/July, as this is when most people plan their vacations. Traveling during the spring or fall often provides the best weather in Argentina and the cheapest prices overall, no matter where you’re flying from.
4. Book your flight a 20 days to 1.5 months ahead of your travel time. Any later is risking a higher price, and any earlier and the airfare typically hasn’t gone on sale yet.
5. Try to book a flight from a hub, or large city. In my own experience, JFK in New York City has the cheapest flight prices of anywhere else in the United States. Sometimes it is worth purchasing the flight from JFK to EZE (Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires) and then buying a separate flight to JFK from your home airport. A little inconvenience can save hundreds of dollars. Some other cities to check in the USA are Miami, Chicago, and Los Angeles, which also offer cheaper fares.
6. Always buy a round trip flight even if you’re planning a one way. Often times the round trip flight is hundreds of dollars less than the one way, sometimes under half the price. You don’t have to take the return flight, or you can cancel it and use it another time.
7. Use the right search engine. Use Kayak.com, Momondo.com, or Mobissimo.com for flights to Buenos Aires. These check all other search engines for you (like the big guys: Travelocity, Orbitz, and Expedia) and don’t charge you for purchasing. The other option is to check individual airline companies for deals they are advertising only on their websites: Delta, American Airlines, and Continental often times do this. LAN, TACA, and Aerolineas Argentinas are all South American companies that fly to the USA.
8. Subscribe to an airfare tracker, or search often yourself. Searching often allows you to monitor he influx of prices and know what you’re dealing with. Too little time? Subscribe to an airfare tracker, which sends emails when prices go on sale direct from companies. Airfarewatchdog.net does this, as does Kayak.com and a few others.
9. You could also give up your seat, if you don’t mind the extra time. Once in a while someone is in a hurry to get to Buenos Aires on a full flight and the airline may offer a free flight voucher for your seat. Don’t worry, they put you on the next available flight if you can wait a few hours or a day. It may play a role in your next adventure!
10. Try working with a travel agent. It doesn’t cost you a thing (the airlines and hotels pay the commissions), they know most of flight options off the top of their heads, and they’ll save you time. The trick to working with them is to pass along the results of any research you already did, so they don’t have to duplicate your efforts.

Of course, there are always airline miles to redeem or old travel vouchers to use up. With these tips, flying to Buenos Aires should get a bit cheaper, which means more funds for you and the rest of your Argentine travels.