8 Tips to Find Cheap Flights from Vancouver to Cancun
Follow these 8 tips from Hopper to find cheap flights from Vancouver to Cancun and you could save up to CAD$245 per round-trip ticket!
Hopper Editors - Thu Oct 26 2017
Vancouver has beaches, too, but locals might want to make their way to Mexico's party capital to escape the rain and the chills of the area's colder, wetter seasons – and perhaps to let their hair down in a way Vancouverites aren't really locally known to do. It's a long way from Vancouver to Cancun, and while those 6.5 hours (sometimes more!) might mean cramped knees and an unsettled sleeping pattern they don't need to mean extra dollars on the ticket price. In fact, it’s easy to find cheap flights from Vancouver to Cancun when you have a few smart booking tricks up your sleeve. And as always, the experts here at Hopper's are bringing you just such tricks. Follow these handy hints to get the lowest prices on your Vancouver to Cancun flight.
Photo via ME Cancun's FB page.
1. The cheapest day to fly from Vancouver to Cancun is on a Monday, saving up to CAD$50
While most Vancouver residents are getting ready to start back to the daily grind at the office, you could be speeding towards fun in the sun in Cancun. Vancouverites have an excuse to jet off on a Monday, as it's the cheapest day of the week to fly at CAD$50 cheaper than the most expensive option. This is ideal timing for those hoping to do business in Cancun, and it's a good day for pleasure travelers to arrive, too, allowing for a week of less crowded beaches and more reasonable rates on things like accommodation and tourist activities before the weekend revellers arrive and peak prices are introduced.
2. Save up to CAD$45 by returning on a Thursday
Returning on a Thursday might seem unfortunate as it means missing an extra weekend of Cancun-inspired partying. On the bright side, travelers will save up to CAD$45 on transport and will have a long weekend to recover in leafy Vancouver after the lengthy flight and, likely, the debauched beachside festivities.
3. The cheapest day to buy a flight from Vancouver to Cancun is on a Thursday, saving up to CAD$31
Stay ahead of the game by locking down that flight reservation on a Thursday – then you'll have the full weekend to revel in your preparedness without another menial duty hanging over your head, and you'll be saving CAD$31. Who needs any more reasons to avoid procrastinating until the weekend? Besides, that CAD$31 could be pretty useful of a Saturday evening, when you'll be free to enjoy yourself safe in the knowledge that your bargain flights to Cancun are secure.
4. The cheapest time to book a flight from Vancouver to Cancun is 40 days in advance, saving up to CAD$119
There's no sure-fire guarantee of a good deal for early birds on this particular route. Prices are about as up and down as an airplane in a storm, and so even the best prepared travelers might find themselves at the upper end of a typical CAD$54 variation in standard flight prices on the Vancouver to Cancun route over the course of a week – even over a month before departure. If you want to risk leaving it until the last minute, Hopper's experts found an anomalously steep decline in flight prices a few days before departure, on average, but on the date of departure the average flight price typically soars to above CAD$705. To be safe, book in the less volatile period around 40 days in advance.
5. WestJet has the cheapest direct flights from Vancouver to Cancun, while United has the best deals overall
The difference in prices between direct and indirect flight costs on this long-haul flight is considerable. Travelers hoping to travel direct should look at WestJet, whose tickets come in at around CAD$687. But travelers looking for the best deals, overall, should seriously consider catching a connecting flight on United to save about CAD$206.
Airlines offering direct flights from Vancouver to Cancun:- WestJet makes the journey in 6.5 hours for CAD$687 round trip, on average.- Air Transat makes the journey in 5 hours for CAD$718 round trip, on average.
Airlines offering connecting flights from Vancouver to Cancun:- United makes the journey in 9 hours via Houston for CAD$484 round trip, on average.- US Airways makes the journey in 9 hours via Phoenix for CAD$533 round trip, on average.- WestJet makes the journey in 8 hours via Edmonton for CAD$539 round trip, on average.- Air Canada makes the journey in 10.5 hours via Toronto for CAD$607 round trip, on average.
6. Frequent fliers on United can use 35,000 miles to book a round-trip ticket
Opting for the cheapest airline on the Vancouver to Cancun route, although indirect, could be a wise financial move for frequent fliers. United's MileagePlus loyalty program allows fliers to accrue points which can be spent on future flights. Indirect return flights on this route with United range from 5,500 miles to over 7,000 depending on the connection, so your Vancouver to Cancun trip could be the perfect time to sign up to the loyalty program. Or, if you're already part of the MileagePlus club, 35,000 miles will land you a round-trip ticket.
7. Check out Hopper’s When to Fly and Buy Reports for up-to-date information
These useful tips on the best approach to booking your Vancouver to Cancun flight come from our awfully clever data crunchers. They pooled information from almost 764,000 Vancouver to Cancun flight searches made each month. To make sure you have the most reliable, current information on flight prices before booking, check out the latest When to Fly and Buy Report from the experts, available for the Vancouver to Cancun route and many more.
8. Keep in mind that a cheap flight from Vancouver to Cancun is about CAD$485 round trip
The top 10% of best prices on this route fall around the CAD$485 mark. Travelers are most likely to nab a deal like this around early November, which is the cheapest time to fly, but are less likely to get such a reasonable price in the most expensive time of year for the Vancouver to Cancun route, which is late December – when all the NYE partiers are making their way to Cancun's beaches. For direct flights, a good deal falls within the CAD$597-$650 range, so travelers might find it worthwhile to sacrifice a couple of hours in exchange for potential savings of well over CAD$108.