Help me plan my sister's Peace Corps end of service trip!

[bekkle]

Hello benevolent travelers!

Six years ago, members of this very forum helped save my sister & me $600 each in airfare through a simple tip-- to get to France, fly through Manchester England. Whoever it was gave me that advice, bless your darling heart, I will never forget it.

Well, it's six years later and my sister and I are planning another trip. Sis is ending her service with the Peace Corps (she's in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and yes, I visited her!) this August and wants to plan a "short" trip before she gets back to the US and moves to Chicago with me.

Here's the low-down:

I'm in Chicago. I could also fly out of MCO Orlando FL-- if you're curious, Orlando is my hometown and my pops works with the TSA there so I could tie it in with a trip home.

My sister is in Burkina Faso, whose capital city is Ouagadougou. She could get to Paris easily, or leave from Abidjan Cote D'Ivoire, or Accra, Ghana.

We would like to visit Prague, Czech Republic (6-8 days) -- Geneva, Switzerland (6-8 days) -- and Oulu, Finland (probably via Helsinki) (4-6 days). Sometime around July 27 - August 14 but we are flexible.

We are also happy to fly, train, bus, or hitchhike on camels.

Here are my questions:

1. When would be the best time to buy these tickets? Now? 3 months ago? A month from now?

2. What is the cheapest possible way we could do this trip? My initial search said "bekkle, your ass can get to Prague for $1097 via Helsinki." Maybe I could do an extended layover in Helsinki and get to Oulu that way? And get to Geneva from Prague... does that make sense?

3. Any general tips for getting good deals for these locales?

4. Any general tips for awesome things in Prague, Geneva/Alps area, and Oulu/Helsinki? We are meeting friends at each destination but it can't hurt to ask!

I sincerely appreciate any and all help you can give. Thank you!

[bekkle]

Uhh.. oops. I thought that red thumbs down icon was a red question mark icon. What the hell.

[expatben]

A Eurail pass could help you get around Europe cheaper. If your Sister can get to Paris easier than maybe meeting in Paris would be a good idea.