Booking travel can be a daunting task…Where the heck do you start? There are so many travel sites out there that it can be overwhelming and, at times, debilitating. Flight prices can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up spending way more than you need to!
I’ve had several friends and family members ask me to help them book travel, so I thought I’d post some tips here. And I’ll keep it short: Going.com and Google Flights. For the average travel-booker, these are all you need to find the best flight deals.
Going.com
If you’re interested in traveling and are flexible with dates and locations, then I highly recommend checking out Going.com (formerly Scotts Cheap Flights). This is a deal-tracking website that does most of the research for you! It is how I was able to book roundtrip flights from California to Europe for under $400!
The website allows you to choose an airport (or five) and will show you current flight deals to various locations. There is a free version, as well as two paid options. The Premium option (a whopping $4/m) includes both international AND domestic flight deals, as well as “mistake fares” from the airports you choose. The Elite option ($17/m) is for those who like to “fly in the fancy part of the plane”. It will find you killer deals in Business & First Class!
I highly recommend to at least try out the 14-day free trial…definitely worth it.
Google Flights
To research and book flights, I think the best option out there is Google Flights.
Pros:
- Fast and easy to use
- Searches (almost) every airline, both domestic and foreign
- Doesn’t push a bunch of advertisements at you or try to sell you vacations
- You can search multiple cities, airports, arrival dates, and departure dates
- Tracks flight prices for you
Cons:
- Although this search engine covers most airlines, it does not cover Southwest Airlines, Air China, China Eastern, Thai Airways, or Philippine Airlines. So, if you’re traveling to the US or Asia, then you will need to do a separate search for these airlines.
When you go to Google Flights, here are some tips that I recommend:
- Select multiple cities or airports. You may find out that there is a better deal that leaves from a different airport (or arrives at a different airport). If you’re not familiar with every airport near a specific location, then just search the city itself. This will search all airports in or near that particular city.
- If your plans are flexible, click Date Grid. This will show you the cheapest flight options for departing/arriving on different days. (See second image below.)
- Use filters to refine your search. In the example below, I am using two filters: duration and stops.
- Click the “track prices” button if you want Google to remember a specific search.
In summary, do your research before booking travel. You don’t need to spend countless hours searching endless travel websites. Instead, let Going.com do most of the research for you and use Google Flights to finalize your research.
