Flights can take up a huge portion of your travel budget. Here's 5 tips to help keep costs down so you can spend your money on your actual vacation.
>> If you live in an area that has access to multiple airports, use the multi-city option to check nearby airports. I live at the Jersey Shore so I am less than 2 hours away from Newark, Philadelphia, JFK, and La Guardia. If I'm flying domestic, I also have access to Atlantic City Airport and Trenton-Mercer Airport. Don't pigeon yourself into your "favorite" airport, or the one that's closest to your house. Is your priority convenience or budget? Very often you can only choose one!
INSIDER TIP! I once saved over $600 on flights for my husband and I to go to a wedding in Florida. We flew in 4 airports in 5 days! Out of Atlantic City (1) into Fort Lauderdale (2) on a Thursday. Then out of West Palm Beach (3) into Newark (4) on Monday. We were able to get family to pick us up, but even using Uber or a car service would have cost less than the $600 we saved in not booking one roundtrip flight!
>> Befriend the layover. Nobody likes her but girlfriend knows where the deals are. Some quick words of wisdom:
If your layover is not in the US, you will have to go through customs in that country. Be sure to leave time for that (1.5-2 hours is the goldilocks layover time in this case)
Don't fear the long layover! Especially if the airport is nearby the city center (Zurich is a personal favorite of mine). A 3 hour layover is doable in Zurich but most other cities you'll need 5-7 hours minimum to travel into the city and have time to explore. Save money AND see another corner of the world?! That's a win!
>> Use a website that will compare multiple airlines at once. My favorites are Skyscanner & Momondo. They have great filters that make searching for your perfect flight even easier. Which brings me to my next tip....
>> Don't start with a location. Almost everyone does it and if your goal is cheap tickets this is the biggest mistake you're making! Google flights, Skyscanner and Momondo all have the "anywhere" feature and in my opinion, it's the most underrated filter available. Use this feature to search for flights anywhere in the world. Filter by continent, a price range, the possibilities are endless, and let the universe tell you where to go!
>> And finally, fly on a Wednesday. Seriously. It's the cheapest day to fly 🙃
