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Icy Hot May Fares to Reykjavik, London, Paris and More

Icelandair recently changed their booking system, and the new website reveals some marvelously low fares for travel to the land of the Blue Lagoon, the midnight sun and all-night parties.

The gist: thanks to Lucky Fares, Icelandair's version of web fares, flights from Boston, New York or Baltimore to Reykjavik for May dates can be as low as $298 plus tax (around $420 total.) Flights from Minneapolis are $448 plus tax, totaling $563.

That's an excellent deal, though you have to do something a little tricky to get these super low fares. First, search for your dates on Icelandair's website, www.icelandair.com. Then click the "Back" button that appears below the fare grid. On the "fare type" pop down, pick "Lucky fares." Then hit "Search." You should see $298 fares pop up -- if they aren't sold out by now. If the seats don't sell out quickly, these fares will probably go away by Tuesday, April 26, to be replaced with a new crop of Lucky Fares for different dates and locations.

If you can afford $100 more, you can go to Iceland in June and see the midnight sun. Between June 15-28 in Reykjavik, the sun goes down at just about midnight, and comes back up at almost exactly 3 AM. Head further north to Akureyri, Iceland's "second city" for a true day without night: starting June 5, the sun goes down there after midnight and comes back up before 2:20 AM. On the longest day of the year, June 21, the sun dips below the horizon only from 12:56 to 1:31 AM.

Doing the same "lucky fares" trick reveals other relatively low fares to European destinations for May dates, for instance an excellent $316 ($488 after tax) from Boston to Glasgow on limited May dates, which trounces the competition by at least $40. A $350 + tax ($518 total) fare from New York to Glasgow is equally compelling. All of these fares only require a 3-day advance purchase.

Make sure to shop around, though -- we found other airlines beat Icelandair for May flights from New York to London and Boston to Paris. And you'll get less love on summer fares to Icelandair's European destinations: June flights between New York and London are $578 ($747 after tax); that's beaten both by discounter www.1800flyeurope.com, which brings $679 fares, and by the typically rock-bottom $541 Air India fare sold on Expedia.com. So seize these May fares, and the Reykjavik fares, while you can.

For more on what to see and do in Iceland, check out our guide at www.frommers.com/destinations/iceland.


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