Trying to look for a better way to book cheaper flights and have some flexibility on which day to leave the country.
Also; not to be denied boarding because we don't have return tickets.
Hi,
We'll be travelling to South America (Brazil first) but contemplating on going to Uruguay and probably Bolivia as well.
We'd like to be flexible this time around and see were things go (pick and choose when were leaving). Does anybody have an idea if we were to book flights from Brazil to Uruguay, then from Uruguay to Bolivia. Would it be much cheaper if we bought them at the local airport counters? Or should we just pre-book them back here in Canada?
The other thing is I've been told by my travel agent; that most airlines these days are denying boarding of passengers that doesn't have return tickets. Does anybody know if this is true? I've seen a few blogs but don't know if its heavily enforced...
If it is, appreciate any suggestions that you may have?
Thanks
Reply to this Airlines are liable for a fine and flying you back to point of origin if you arrive without a return ticket, so they check. You are unlikely to be able to board in Canada without a return ticket.
Reply to this The return ticket requirement seems to be pretty patchy to us. We had some trouble getting on an Etihad flight out of Australia to fly to Singapore and Vietnam because we had no return from Vietnam. Eventually, we convinced them that we had a flight out of Singapore and that is all they needed to worry about. No problems or questions between other countries including Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, India, Turkey, Germany, UK, Egypt, South Africa, France.
Talking to others it seems that it is only the airlines that seem to worry. Border officials have never raised it.
We are also going to South America next year and notice that most of the countries say they require a return ticket. We wont be on planes so it is not a problem for us but, in all that we have read, we haven't seen the lack of a return ticket mentioned as a problem.
Our checking indicates that bus travel, provided you have the time, is much more cost effective than air but don't know how you would go getting from Uruguay to Bolivia by bus.
Reply to this It may, of course, be a regional thing and more enforced in some places than others. I can only answer for South America and flights from North America to there. You can always call your airline and check. There are two issues, one being the requirements of the country you are flying to (which the airline is responsible for seeing you fulfill) and the other is security. One way tickets raise all sorts of flags in North America. But, as I say, a phone call to the airline you will be traveling with will answer your question.
Uruguay to Bolivia is perfectly doable if a long journey. You can take a ferry from Uruguay to Buenos Aires and either travel up Argentina to cross to Bolivia, or you can travel through Chile and bus from Arica to La Paz or cross to the salt flats at Uyuni from San Pedro de Atacama. Long distance buses are very comfortable in Argentina and Chile with various levels of service and, as long as you are breaking your trip often enough, not too exhausting. Many long distance buses are night buses so you save on a night in a hostel.
Reply to this Thanks for the info folks...
Yeah, I guesswe have to play this a little smarter. Another thing that I'm thinking is just to book some tickets flying out of Brazil (either going to Miami or anywhere) then just cancel it as soon as we arrive at the airport in Brazil...
Hopefully it might work...
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