Question:
having secured a ridiculously cheap ticket to NYC, we would like to venture South to Peru, or Cuba,...whichever easier and CHEAPER. cant find cheapflights to peru+bolivia and Nothing to Cuba at all.
Am up for an adventure-could anyone suggest cheap flights/cost efective ways to trek South from North to S.America plzz???
intended period of travel is: mid Feb-March, max 3 weeks duration

Choices:
cheapflights

 

There is no easy way or any silver bullet for finding good fares. You need to research it.

First, try Booking Buddy to be able to check six major websites after putting all the information on just one. This one covers flights originating outside the USA, but you need the exact airport code.
 
The companies below seem worth a look. One of them saved me a bit on my 2001 trip to Belize and I have dealt with another on a number of occasions, which gets it first billing among consolidators. There are others you might try too. What is important to get the best travel deal and you probably won't get it by just trying one company.
 
If the regular agencies do not pan out, consolidators are a good bet to check with. One possibility to start with in the US is the Latin-American oriented consolidator, Mena Tours, but you will need to call to find the actual "bucket shop" prices for Central and South America and Mexico. There are other consolidators that you can deal with, such as Exito Travel which specializes in Latin America. Once you see what you can get with a consolidator, you might check with several companies below to see if you can do better. Consolidators will not necessarily have the best fares, but they are worth checking. Pan Express Travel also has some good fares, as does Airlineconsolidator.com.

One option might be to find the best deal above, and then if you are really want to try for a better price, maybe you could try Priceline for one.  If your trip is within the near future, you might want to try your luck at Sky Auction. You will have to wade past a lot of hotel offers, but there are some good opportunities for air travel.

Another possibility is to find a good price and contact the airline directly to see if there are any better deals, but if there is only a tie, it would be fairest to book with the online agency who steered you there.