Any advice on choosing a European destination based on flight cost?

Nothing beyond what you have done. However, my assessment is that you would be extremely lucky to anything under $1000 for May. Maybe a $950 but 6 to 700 is out of the question. Too many factors working against you and May is the beginning of the high season.

i got a ticket from seattle to slovenia then back from romania at the end of april to mid may for about under $1000 on expedia, which i think it's an ok deal. you probbaly can find $800-$900 from east coast. i think the websites are about the same - largely they get data feed from the same or very similar soruces, so it's very comparable. the trick is to test flight dates, and hope macro economics help you out, i.e. another european debt crisis we had with greece last year, when i bought my ticket for $700 including tax at the end of Auguest.

Christine, Use the code WAS when you check for flights. This gets you IAD, DCA, and BWI in your search. On Kayak, you can choose the option +/- 3 days of travel when you search to see if there is a lower price if you adjust your dates slightly. Usually London is the cheapest place to fly to since United, BA, and Virgin all fly direct out of Dulles. Use the code LON if you are searching for London. I have an alert set up on kayak for IAD to LON in May and have been watching the prices on this route for about 6 months. Unfortunately, you have probably missed the lowest prices and given the increase in fuel prices, I don't suspect they will fall back down. Last month, direct flights to London were around $730. In the last month, the price has gone up more than $100 on the direct flights and seems to be continuing to rise, although you can still find a connecting flight in the 700s. Recently, Turkish Airlines has been popping up as the low cost on the IAD to LHR route. This is a code share. The flight is actually operated by United. I've seen it occasionally listed for low 700s and then it will disappear. If you see a direct flight to London for under $750, I would consider that at outstanding price given the prices that I have been seeing.

Hi Christine, I booked a flight to Venice flying through Madrid with Iberia for $898. At the time, Iberia was the best and if you just fly to Madrid or Barcelona you get a great price. From there you can take trains, etc. But the $$ are going up every week. Hurry up! Europe is worth it!!! Good Luck,
Vivien

Kayak also lets you sign up for fare alerts with no dates. I also hang out on the Mileage Run Forum on www.flyertalk.com They ahd some decent fares posted recently (Saw a LAX to LHR for $600 for example) but they tend to be things that "pop up" and then disappear. At this point though you are running out of time... it tends to be higher the closer you get!

Hi Christine,
Have you looked at the "Explore" feature at www.kayak.com? It's located at the "More" tab then under "Tools." From DC for example, according to that search, you can get to some of the Scandinavian countries, Spain, and London in the $600-700 range for May. Now, I haven't actually tried to book the flights at those prices. ITA Software (Airfare Search feature) is another tool to use to see where the less expensive airfares are.

Turkish Air non stop to London Heathrow for $618 leaving 5/12 returning 5/19. Hurry!

Just checked. BWI-DUB 5/12-26, $700, Delta; you can get the same route for $665 w/Delta on 5/11, $10 more from IAD or DCA and then back to BWI. $656 with US Air on 5/10. www.itasoftware.com There are similar prices for a 6-night stay (not sure how long your trip is.) You can fly cheaply from DUB on Ryanair to many destinations in Europe, BTW.

Christine, in my opinion, all you need to do is follow Airfare Watchdog. You can follow them on twitter or Facebook, or sign up for email alerts for when fares to your top destinations drop. It's outstanding. I booked my recent trip from JFK to Paris after getting a deal alert from them. I paid $290 ROUND TRIP for a non stop flight. That was the TOTAL cost, including all taxes and fees. All you need to do is be ready to pounce when you see a deal, and be flexible on date and destination. I wasn't planning on going to France but when I saw that deal, I couldn't pass it up. I've been following Airfare Watchdog since about December, and since then I've seen RT flights to various European cities for $300 or so at least 4 times. Granted these are 'glitch' fares, and they don't last, but if you are quick enough to snap them up, you're good to go. Good luck!