From My World: The Real Secret to Finding Flight Deals
There isn’t just one tried and true secret to finding the best flight deals, there are several. And even the term “secret” can make it seem like frequent travelers know something that occasional travelers shouldn’t and that’s just not the case. Below are three simple tips to guarantee you get the best deal when booking your next trip.
Travel in Low or Shoulder Seasons
Low or shoulder season is the time of year when travel typically slows to a particular destination. During peak season, travel to certain locales is at its highest with bustling tourist populations and oftentimes exorbitant prices for airfare, accommodations, tours, etc. For example, most European cities experience peak season during the summer months and winter holidays due to weather and festivals while places in the Southern Hemisphere such a New Zealand and Australia experience their peak season during our winter months, which is their summer.
This tip will be hard, but not impossible, for parents whose kids are school-age. I have been hearing more and more positive stories of parents taking their kids out of school or getting alternative assignments while traveling so if you’re concerned about taking your kids from school, speak with their teacher and see what options you might have.
Travel During the Week
I know that it can be tempting to catch that red-eye on Friday night after work but it’s more economical to start your trip even just one day earlier. By choosing travel days on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, you can save big bucks on the overall cost of airfare. The formula is simple: supply and demand. Most people will be traveling on the weekend or at least the tail end of the work week and airlines respond to the demand by charging more. So save some of those coins and try and take the extra vacation day to travel during the week.
Your Search Engine Matters
Search engines and apps such as Kayak, Skyscanner and Google Flights are great resources for finding the most cost-effective option for air travel. For those that do not have a specific destination in mind, Skyscanner lets you see how much it would be to travel from your home airport to anywhere in the world during a given time frame. This is great for people who have to travel at certain times or even those able to schedule something relatively last minute. My favorite search engine is Kayak because I can choose my destination and their calendar tells me what the cheapest days to fly are. This works great for me because I almost always already have a destination in mind so I’m just trying to find the best time of year to go.
Pro-Tip
A flight deal or cheap airfare isn’t always a good thing. Be sure to research the destination and time of year that you will be traveling to. The last thing you want to do is visit Bali during monsoon season or The Caribbean during hurricane season.
These tips are so simple but surprisingly not very well known and I hope that you can use them to afford to travel to your heart’s content. Happy travels!
