<p>What's the cheapest place to get plane tickets to Prefrosh Weekend? The acceptance packet mentioned Caltetch's travel agent Protravel. Should I use them or just use an online site like expedia or travelocity? Also, would prices change much between now and around April 1 when I hear from Stanford and Harvey Mudd? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>kayak.com is pretty good for searching a lot of airlines, and other sites (i.e. orbitz, etc.). </p>
<p>In my experience, although LAX is a bit further away than some (I think burbank and maybe ontario are closer), it's generally cheaper because it handles many more long distance flights, so less stops.</p>
<p>What about flying in to Long Beach? They don't mention Long Beach in the pre frosh packet, but it doesn't look as far away as LAX to me. And JetBlue flies to Long Beach!</p>
<p>When I contacted the travel agency they quoted me a fare of $362. I was able to find a fare for $300 on my own with 2 airlines. (United and Southwest) LAX was cheaper for me, instead of flying into burbank or ontario. I've found that it is usually better to go to the individual airline's websites for the best fares.</p>
<p>Supershuttle is also cheaper from LAX to Caltech than from Burbank (don't forget to mention that you're going to Caltech so you can get the Caltech rate on supershuttle).<br>
& I agree with momofchris that individual airline's websites have the best fares.<br>
Peter - usually the sooner you make reservations the better deal you can get. I don't know where you're flying from but I've found in making reservations for my son to fly from Oakland to LAX cheap flights fill up quickly and what is available one hour is sometimes gone in the next hour.</p>
<p>I agree with oakland mom. The sooner you book the flights the better. When I first started looking in January, I could have gotten flights for around $225. When I called super shuttle, the guy I talked to didn't know of any discount for Caltech. What is the rate from LAX to Caltech? I was quoted $19 each way.</p>
<p>$19 each way from LAX to Caltech sounds right.
momofchris - are you going too or is just your DS going to prefrosh weekend? we actually found that if I fly down with my DS for just a weekend its cheaper to rent a car than take supershuttle(car rental was about $20 a day versus 2 round trips on Supershuttle) . & I thought the drive from LAX to Pasadena was easy. Car rental is probably not an option for kids traveling alone as I think you've got to be 25 or older to rent a car most places. </p>
<p>Also the trip to Caltech is so short I didn't even have to add any gas to the rental car & still returned it with a "full" tank.</p>
<p>Delta to Ontario Airport is by far the cheapest.</p>
<p>Can any student tell me whether Long Beach Airport is a viable alternative for getting to Caltech?</p>
<p>Long Beach is about 45 minutes away from Caltech by car without traffic, and maybe 2 hours away if you take the Metro. They're all viable, but you should check the cost of the super shuttle first.</p>
<p>I travel quite a bit and generally find the best prices with <a href="http://www.kayak.com%5B/url%5D">www.kayak.com</a> (which is NOT a reseller but searches airline websites directly).</p>
<p>I've been to Long Beach once, though not the airport. I'm fairly confident in saying that the airport really isn't a reasonable alternative.</p>
<p>Booking as soon as possible is probably a good bet for this year's CPW because it's coming up so soon. However, booking tickets far in advance does not always guarantee the cheapest rates. When I tried to book Christmas tickets last September, everything was sky high. I called the local travel agency, through whom I booked tickets pre-internet. They explained that airlines save cheap tickets and release them in batches closer to the travel dates if the seats haven't been purchased. I ended up waiting until mid-November and found tickets for less than half the September price. </p>
<p>I've generally found that booking directly through the airlines yields better prices and schedules than booking through Expedia or Orbitz. I hadn't heard of kayak.com before, but that looks like a very helpful site. Thanks for the info, psb and Joe.</p>
<p>If your parents are coming, too, they may want to call the Saga Motor Inn. It's relatively inexpensive and within an easy walk from campus. Furthermore, your parents will find lots of other parents of potential Caltech students there during CPW. However, be aware that the "Caltech rates" at the Saga do not apply to parents or students. Those rates are available only when Caltech itself makes reservations.</p>
<p>Super Shuttle to and from Long Beach was about $50 each way when I checked it last. I fly out of there a lot for short trips, because parking tends to be decently priced, but it'd be an expensive trip for prefrosh. If I remember correctly, LAX-Caltech is around $18 with the discount. Burbank-Caltech doesn't have a discount and runs about $28. But check the prices before you count on that.</p>