Everyone has tips to offer when it comes to finding the best travel deals online. There are plenty of internet myths to go around in terms of when and where to buy, outdated information, and suspicious booking sites. For these reasons, it can be difficult figuring out the best methods in finding the cheapest flights possible to the destinations you want to travel to.
The following are a few actionable tips you can use to ensure you’re getting the best deals possible so that you can have a more flexible budget for leisurely activities at your destination.
Tip 1: Check Multiple Websites
There is not one perfect site for booking flights. Many of the more popular ones you’ll see commercials for charge higher rates than normal and are showing you just the top airlines. To see what’s available at the lowest price, use sites like Skyscanner or Momondo. While there are many other sites out there, these two typically have the best deals.
Whenever possible, check your local airlines and their websites directly to see if they have better deals than the search sites themselves once you’ve found information on a specific flight you want to purchase.
Tip 2: Don’t Always Try to Fly Direct
Sometimes, it may be wisest to fly the entire way to your destination. Other times, however, there may be a much cheaper flight to a nearby city where you can then find an easy bus or train ride the rest of the way. It’s difficult to know what all of the options are simply by only looking at the map.
For this, use a website like Rome2Rio. You can enter specific dates or leave it open to suggestions. First, enter your starting point and your end destination, and the site will show you multiple options for getting to your destination, including direct flights, connecting flights, buses, trains, ridesharing sites, and driving–with combinations of all of these–complete with price estimates and links to resources.
While their pricing isn’t always accurate, this does offer you a lot more information on your travel choices and is a great place to start looking for the cheapest way to get to said destination.
Tip 3: Search In Private
Yes, the websites are looking at cookies in your browser to see what you’ve been looking for and where, but they are adjusting what they display for the best prices based on that information. Certain sites want to instill a sense of panic that prices will continue to go up to make you more likely to purchase a ticket as quickly as possible.
To get around this, turn on incognito or private browsing mode in your browser. This will hide your search info and prevent it from being saved on the sites you visit. If you need to remember something, make sure to write it down or take screenshots so you can keep track as you research. This can be a highly useful tool when searching for the best deal.