Planning a trip to Hamburg

We are planning a 1st time trip to Hamburg to visit friends for two weeks in mid July 2006. What are typical airfares from Chicago to Hamburg that time of year? Right now they are about $1100 RT? Do they typically go down and when is the best time to buy?

Thanks for your help.

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You can can get better rates than $1100 RT from Chicago. You will probably fly direct to Frankfurt then to Hamburg. Summer is always the high season in Europe, you should expect to pay around 700-800. I use Travelocity to look for fares then I look at that airline%26#39;s web page to see if I can get a better rate, most times you can save a little by booking directly with the airline and they are more flexible with refunds. I%26#39;m going to Hamburg in June so I%26#39;ll start looking to book around March.

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Thanks Chentine, I also watch travel vendor sites and when I see prices go down begin investigating individual airline sites. We go to a resort in Mexico every year and I usually buy airfare 3-4 months in advance when it hits what I normally pay. Not having been to Hamburg, I suspected $1100 was overpriced, but I didn%26#39;t have a clue what normal discounted fares ran during summer. Thanks for your help!!

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It might be cheaper if you look for fares to Frankfurt (as with the most very big airports the tickets to there are often cheaper than to smaller airports) and take the train from Frankfurt to Hamburg.

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Thanks for all your help! It is much appreciated.