How to Find Cheap Airfare to Bumbershoot

Although some of the best music festivals have finished long before Labor Day rolls around, and although Labor Day weekend in the Pacific Northwest isn’t exactly always known for its gorgeous weather, there are way worse places to spend that last holiday weekend of the summer than in Seattle to enjoy the city’s fabulous Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival.

Luckily for anyone traveling to Bumbershoot, the fact that it’s outside the peak summer travel season does mean that finding cheap airfare to Seattle for the festival may be easier than it would if the festival took place in June. But because Bumbershoot stretches over the last three-day weekend of summer – which is the last chance many people have to travel until the holidays – then it’s still a good idea to do your research when you’re looking for cheap airfare. Airfare prices can go up on any three-day weekend, and you don’t want to be all prepared to go to Bumbershoot and then have to cancel your plans because you waited too long to find a deal on a flight.

Here are some tips to help you find cheap airfare to Bumbershoot in Seattle. And even though these are handy tips to keep in mind no matter when or where you travel, they’re especially important to think about when you’re traveling to a popular destination or at a popular time of the year.

>> Bumbershoot takes place each yer over Labor Day weekend 

Stay Flexible

This is the best way to make sure you’re increasing your chances of getting a good deal on airfare, regardless of when you fly or where you’re traveling. If you limit yourself to looking only at one potential travel day or – even worse – a short window of a few hours on a particular day, you may be missing out on lower fares as little as a few hours from your original target. Prices on flights go up and down throughout the day and week, so the more broadly you can cast your net when looking for airfare the better chance you have of finding one of those price dips.

You can search manually for several different dates and times, but it’s easier to use an airfare booking site that has a box near where you enter your travel information that says something like, “my dates are flexible.” Check that box and let the system return search results over a span of a few days to show you what your options are in terms of different price windows.

Do Your Research & Book in Advance

As soon as you know you might be going to Bumbershoot – or anywhere, for that matter – it’s a very good idea to set up an email alert with your favorite booking site so that you’ll get notified of the price fluctuations to your destination. This way, you’ll know ahead of time what the prices on those flights are like, and whether they’re trending up or down.

If you’re planning on booking a flight to Seattle just for Bumbershoot, then that advance research on ticket prices will come in especially handy – since it’s a holiday weekend and prices are likely to be higher. You can also sometimes luck out with last minute deals on flights, but that method can also backfire on you if it turns out there aren’t any last minute deals to Seattle by the time you need to book your trip.

Fly Budget Airlines

There are several budget airlines that fly into the Pacific Northwest, and they’re always worth checking if you’re hoping to save money on airfare. Some of them only have regional flights, while others serve airports all over the United States.

If you’re coming to Seattle from not too far away, you can get lucky with direct flight options on discount airlines – which is the ideal combination of budget-friendly and convenient. But if you’re coming from far enough away that you’ll need to change planes at some point, be sure to check on what your options are for discount carriers. You may not be able to fly the same airline all the way from your home airport into Seattle, but if you have to change planes mid-way anyway then why not look into taking a budget airline for part of the journey?

Look at All Area Airports

Since the Bumbershoot festival is in the city of Seattle, it’s not surprising that the closest airport to the festival is the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. But if you want to cast a wider net and see if there are cheaper options at other area airports, or if you’re planning to make a longer trip through the Pacific Northwest and it’s not critical that you fly into the closest airport to the festival, then it’s a good idea to check out other airports nearby.

After Seattle, your next best bets are likely to be Portland Airport in Oregon or Vancouver Airport in British Columbia. And if you’re in the mood for a more rural road-trip, there’s always Spokane’s airport in eastern Washington.

photo by Chas Redmond