When travelling to a new destination, you feel relaxed and have the time of your life. But before doing that, you have to deal with a necessary evil; finding the best prices for your accommodation and flights.
If you are not happy with the prices you see, you may spend endless hours finding a solution around it. To save you some time and anxiety, we have gathered the best booking tips so that you always find cheap tickets if you are flexible and know some tips for better offers.
1. Incognito mode
First things first. Always use incognito mode. When not in incognito mode, your browser keeps all your previous searches and preferences. When you keep searching for a specific destination, the prices seem to be increasing. That is the website or airline’s way to scare you into booking right now.
2. Check Everywhere
Let’s say you find a good deal in Skyscanner.com for your flight to Milan with Easyjet. Just to make sure, check the same ticket through the official page of Easyjet. Most of the times, you will get the same price, but sometimes you might find a cheaper one.
3. Flexibility in Dates
It would be great if you could be as flexible as possible with your travel dates. Then you can play with the dates and find the cheapest tickets. However, we understand flexibility is not an option most of the time. In that case, search for tickets before applying for your days off from work.
4. Flexibility in Destinations
This option is great for those who simply want to travel somewhere, without having a specific destination. All you have to do is go on websites, like Ryanair (Plan – Fare Finder). Just type where you are flying from and your budget. You will get all the possible destinations with dates and prices from cheapest to most expensive. Other great websites for that purpose are Skyscanner, Kiwi and Kayak.
5. Last-minute deals
Nope. Do not wait for them. They are not really last-minute. They just want you to think they are. If you know your dates and destination, then book your flight as soon as possible. Usually, last-minute deals are very cheap because they offer flights during an off-season that not many people will visit.
6. Check other currencies or countries
Websites that operate in many countries, will also have different currencies. If you have the time go through as many as possible. It may be more beneficial to book in another currency or through another country. For example, when I wanted to travel to London, I paid through the Greek version of the airtickets website, rather than the German one for a difference of 10 euros.
7. Midweek Searches
The slowest days for booking flights are between Tuesday and Thursday. People usually decide on a trip during the weekend and that is when they look for tickets when the prices are the highest. Airlines have sales or various offers, during these 3 slow booking days. So, take advantage of them. Be careful: Prices are lowest for all flights if you BOOK them during Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. But the cheapest days to travel are Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.
8. Always Book Return
It is not a secret that booking a go-and-return flight, will save you a lot of money. And I mean a lot.
9. Book a package
Sites like Expedia, offer great deals on travel packages. You book your hotel and flight for 1 or 2/3 of the price you would pay if you booked them separately. For my summer holidays, I made the mistake to book everything separately. As a result, I paid 400 euros more.
10. One at a time
When booking for more than 1 person it is best to look for tickets one at a time. There might be a sale or offer and 1 seat available. So, one person might book the ticket for 50 euros and the next ones for 70 euros.
11. Off-Season
Try to fly off-season for each destination. You will find the cheapest tickets and enjoy the country more since there will not be as many tourists. For example, Greece is best to visit from May-September. Try to visit in April or October. The weather will still be nice and you will get the best out of your trip.
12. First and Last Flight
Almost always, especially when you have to do with low-budget airlines, the first and the last flights of the day are by far the cheapest.
13. Six Weeks Ahead
The ideal period to book your flight is six weeks before. 1,5 month prior to your trip is the perfect combination for finding cheap flights and arranging your dates and destinations if it is not set.
14. Holidays
Do not be afraid to travel on the dates of the actual holidays. For example, If you travel on the 25th or 31st of December, you will most definitely find the most affordable tickets. You may be a bit late for the family gathering, but compared to the days prior or after these days, you will pay close to nothing.
15. Social Media
Most travelling sites along with airlines will post to their social media accounts offers and sales that last for a few hours or are available for the first few customers. So, follow them, turn on the notifications and choose to be alerted by email, because you do not want to miss these deals.
