I’m a little different than a lot of people in this hobby. I don’t necessarily care about flying in a premium cabin (though I do admit that they’re quite nice).
I want to go everywhere. Some places more than others, obviously, but I have such varied interests and also enjoy discovering beautiful things in places that are sometimes considered to be less beautiful.
So, what do I do? I book the cheap fares. If there is a great fare to somewhere I haven’t been before, or somewhere that I can easily get other places from, and I can fit it into my schedule…. I book it. Almost every time.
Let’s take a look at some of the cheap fares I’ve booked over the past year…
- Cancun, Mexico – $180 round trip
- Panama City, Panama – $345 round trip
- Seoul, South Korea – $430 round trip
- Guatemala City, Guatemala – $360 round trip
- Milan and Tokyo – $150 one way
- St. Maarten – $320 round trip
My travel strategy this year has been pretty similar so far. I have a bunch of cheap flights lined up.
- Cairo, Egypt – $330 round trip
- Moscow, Russia – $395 round trip
- Dublin, Ireland – $460 round trip
- Iceland and Germany – $345 one way
- Mumbai, India – $291 round trip
A few times a year I throw in some miles-based trips to places that I have always really wanted to go, but I have discovered some great things by shipping myself off to places that were near the top of my list. Cambodia is a great example: the temples of Angkor have been somewhat on my radar for a few years, but the little seaside town of Kep stole my heart while I was there. I’m not typically in a rush to get back to places, since there are so many new ones to visit, but I was back to Kep just over 6 months after I made my first visit there.
I absolutely love this style of travel, and am so glad that my current work and school schedule allows me to book the cheap tickets as I come across them. I have discovered some great places over the past couple years and I can’t wait to discover more!
What’s your strategy for finding the cheap fares (non-mistake variety )?
I’ll be following up with a post on this, but in general, theflightdeal.com and faredealalert.com, Flyertalk Mileage Run and Good Deals Forums, and Google Flights.
Russia! That’s a fun visa to apply for.