changing return flight date

I would recommend booking the same flight to Europe as your brother, but book your return flight for the earliest date on which you possibly would want to return.

The airlines have different policies regarding changing a flight date, so you'll need to check with each airline to decide who has the best policy. And be certain that you get a type of ticket that allows you to change the return date.

Finally, are you aware of the Schengen regulations? Most European countries are part of the Schengen area, and you can stay in Schengen countries only for 90 out of every 180 days. You can search these forums for information about this. Government websites also have info.

The cheapest tickets to Europe usually come with the strictest conditions.

The ability to change tickets is considered by the airlines to be a privilege that you need to pay for. Here are the two commonest costs that you will have to consider when changing your return date:

1) An upfront change fee - this is the amount you pay each time the airline cracks open your ticket to make a change to your existing file. On my own tickets, these fees have tended to run at around $300 a pop, for example.

2) The difference in fare. As you get closer to a travel date, airfares tend to get more expensive. If you bought the original ticket months before and the return segment counted for $500 of your total fare, for example, and the new return date now prices out at $700 for that segment, then you will have to pay for the fare difference - adding another $200 to your immediate cost for changing the date.

This is the most common thing that happens when changing a return flight, AFTER you have left and BEFORE you are due to fly back. This comes into play each time that you change a ticket.

Make sure that you are completely and correctly informed of the fare conditions of the ticket that you buy and understand exactly how & what you need to do to be able to change your ticket, once that you are in Europe.

Here is from my experience having to change tickets: if you seriously think that this may be a possibility - buy from the airline direct or from a real person (brick and mortar) travel agent.

You need to be the direct client.
Buying through an online middleman will put you in the absolute worse position from which to negotiate a change with your return ticket.

Finally, if you really ** for sure ** know that you will be extending your trip, then 'open-jaw' your ticket (flying out with your brother), and choose for yourself a return city that is outside the Schengen zone. Your ticket will be different from your brother's, but would be on the same outbound flights.

This will allow you to figure out the Schengen staying rules and will give you a cushion for working around the length of your stay. Istanbul would be a pretty good option for that - especially for the end of the trip when your funds will start to run low... ;-)

A couple of considerations.

1. You MUST change your return flight before you miss the purchased flight. So let's say your ticket is to return home on July 10th and you aren't ready to go. If you don't change that flight before July 10th when you call to get a flight home you won't have a ticket!
2. Don't run too low on funds! On most airlines there's a signifcant change fee. (On Delta for a really cheap Europe fare it can be around $400, PLUS if your 'el cheapo' fare isn't an option you will be asked to pay the differece between it and the cheapest current fare. That can add up quickly!

Sad to say but the least expensive way to travel is to plan your budget and by a roundtrip ticket based on when you have calculated your money will run out. I once flew back standby from London with 35 cents in my pocket, but that was long ago. If spontaneity is important to you, estimate your return date, buy the ticket, but make sure you change the return date before the ticket expires (and there goes some spontaneity anyway).

The cost of changing a return date seems to run from $500 up to over a thousand if you have to buy a new one-way ticket.

Drawing some impressions from this question and the other questions you have asked, I am wondering if you have a very good handle on international travel. Changing tickets can be very expensive if you buy the discount tickets but buying a changeable tickets is probably just as expensive. You could have trouble with an immigration officer if don't have a good answer about your return plans. Might not let you in especially if he thinks you might try to work illegally or overstay your Schengen visa (assuming you are an Am citizen). They do not like the idea of you staying till you run out of money. You have a lot of homework to do.

thank you everyone for your helpful responses. its a good thing i asked because i didnt think it could be that much money to change the return date. i guess the best option would be to just book a later return date and just stick with it. i guess my next question would be, what would be the average cost per day for a single traveler? as it stands we are planning our trip is to begin and end in munich, starting on august 26 2016 and returning on october 2 ( for my brother). im not sure how much money i will have by the end of the time with my brother so i dont know how far away from munich i would want to get for fear of running out of money haha. i have heard that germany can be one of the more expensive countries in europe as well as it being the end of ocktober fest could add to the cost. ive never been to germany so im unaware of the average day to day cost of traveling around. i am also curious about what is the best way of getting around within germany and maybe some recommendations on places to go after munich.

thanks everyone

One sure-fire way to save money is to stay in hostels. They have laundry and kitchen facilities, which will also save you a lot of expense. The ones in Germany are excellent.

BOOK YOUR MUNICH BEDS as soon as your dates open on the hostel website.

After Munich, you could head to Budapest, Prague and/or Krakow. These are great cities for young, budget-conscious people outside of Germany (as you will be covering Germany well with your brother).

How much will it cost? No one can give you the right answer to that.

Here's a way to help figure if out for yourself:

1) Go to Hostelworld.com or Booking.com. Play around with your dates and see how much your nights will cost you.

2) What do you spend at home when you eat out? When you drink?
Do you eat lunch for $5? $10? $20? Whatever it is will be your 'normal' spending pattern. Your choices/tastes will likely be similar while traveling. Take that as your base amount for each meal that you will realistically be eating out and now times it by 1.5 - that will give you an idea of a budget that fits you.

3) Figure our how much getting around will cost you, i.e. train/bus tickets between cities. Use a date a couple of weeks from now on the various websites as your bench mark for that.

4) What do you want to see? Price out the cost of admissions for the stuff that you 'must see/do'.

Only your own diligent homework will give you a realistic budget.

I wouldn't be surprised if, once you've figured that out, that you will be able to set a definite return home date for yourself. ;-)

Also, you don't necessarily need to return home from the same city. Here's a big tip: avoid leaving for Europe on a Friday or Saturday, when airfares tend to be higher. I usually leave on a Tuesday, Wed. or a Thursday.

Have fun!

And if you haven't already, please buy (or borrow from the library) a copy of Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door. It will answer a lot of questions you don't even know that you have yet.
And maybe also a budget/student guide book such as Let's Go. (Are they still around?)
SharYn

If you are interested in the Iberian pennisula, Portugal is one of the cheaper countries to visit.
For example my next trip to Portugal for 15 days in March , my total cost for accommodation is less than 500 USD, and that is staying in nice B and B 's. Hostels are much cheaper, by several hundred dollars, but I am the age where I am willing to pay a bit more to not be in dorm room.

You can check train fares (at different pricing levels) online at the national rail sites - for Germany, it's bahn.de; Rome2Rio can give you an idea of different modes of transportation, although their costs are not that reliable). Guidebooks usually have rail information between major cities.