Cheap Airfare to Copa America 2011 in Argentina

Even if you’re not a hard-core soccer fan you’re probably familiar with the World Cup, held every four years to determine which country sits atop the soccer world, but you may not be aware that there’s a similar competition that also happens every four years in South America. The Copa America tournament is contested by the national soccer teams of South America.

Argentina is hosting the 2011 Copa America in eight different cities around the country. The cities hosting games are Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Jujuy, La Plata, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan, and Santa Fe. While these cities are all in the northern half of the country, they’re not all right next to one another – so if you’re planning to see games in more than one city you’ll need to plan for in-country travel as well as your travel getting to Argentina and back.

In 2011, the countries participating in the Copa America tournament are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil (the reigning champions), Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. There are also a few countries from outside South America invited to participate each year. One invited guest for 2011 is Mexico – the other invitee, Japan, has withdrawn from the tournament and organizers are working on finding a replacement.

>> In 2011, the Copa America tournament runs from July 1-24

>> Look for cheap tickets to Argentina

Finding Cheap Airfare to Copa America

Although Argentina is in the middle of its winter in July, which would make you think that airfare to Argentina would be at low season rates, unfortunately the country is also a popular destination for ski holidays – which means there’s a bit of a high season spike in airfare during the winter, too. Keeping your trip on a budget, therefore, will require a bit more work on your part to find the best deals on air tickets.

Here are a few tips to help you find a good deal on tickets to Argentina during the Copa America tournament – and some of these tips will help you save money on flights nearly anywhere you’re going at any time of year, too.

• Be Flexible – This is probably the best tip for finding cheaper flights, regardless of the where or when parts of the equation. Because the price on airfare fluctuates throughout the week, the wider you can cast your net at the start of your search process the more apt you are to find the natural dips in price. If you limit yourself to only one day or (worse) a few hours on one day, you may miss a great deal you could grab by changing your departure date by one day. Many airfare search sites allow you to choose an option that says “my dates are flexible,” which means the site will do the work for you, offering you information on flights usually 2-3 days on either side of your target dates.
• Find Out When Flights are Cheaper – While the price fluctuations in fares through a given day or week are unpredictable to a great extent, there are a few days and times when flights tend to be cheaper. By starting your searches with those days or times you’ll have a head start on finding the best prices. The cheapest days to fly are usually Wednesday, Tuesday, and Saturday – and the cheapest times to fly are usually the first flights of the day and late night departures (including red eyes).
• Check Flights to All Area Airports – Not every city is blessed with multiple airports from which to choose, and when you’re coming in from overseas you may only have one choice for an international gateway, but if your flight requires a transfer at any poing along the way that’s a perfect opportunity to check on flights that may be available to secondary airports near your destination.
• Look at Budget Airlines – Again, your airline choices may be limited if you’re flying in from overseas, but if you’ve got a layover along the way you may want to check on your airline options from that airport to your final destination. Sometimes there are smaller, no-frills airlines that offer great deals on flights but only within a certain region (which is why you may not be familiar with their names).

photo by nica*