$50 round-trip flights from Minneapolis (MSP) to Denver (DEN).Here are a few examples of the types of deals I have personally taken advantage of while traveling opportunistically: FOMO looks large when you travel opportunistically. And, yes, sometimes you will see phenomenal deals that you simply cannot take advantage of. Yes, sometimes the best deals mean you’re flying in coach on Frontier or Spirit. If you are looking to travel opportunistically, what might be reasonable expectations for the types of deals you might find? No, you are not going to subscribe to a deal website and magically find $30 airfares to Florida for spring break. If you are traveling to a destination, you likely have many options for lodging (everything from staying at a friend’s place to an Airbnb to cashing points at any number of hotel chains), transit (public transit, rideshares, renting a car getting shuttled by friends) and things to do (museums, coffee shops or game nights with friends) but travel over a long distance in a short amount of time almost always involves a plane. Reasons to Focus on Finding Cheap FlightsĬertainly airfare is not the only, or even the most expensive, cost of travel, but it is often the part that is least-replaceable. Everyone wants to go to Munich during Oktoberfest, but what about during December, when the snow starts? A trip off-season to Munich can bring an opportunity to visit Christmas markets, or to experience the city like a local when it is not overrun with tourists… and, of course, indoor attractions such as museums are less-crowded in the off-season. Many of the best airfares are to destinations not frequented by tourists or during off-season times. We don’t plan travel and then search for airfare we find good airfares and then plan our travel.įollowing airfare sales not only enables us to stretch our travel dollars, but also provides opportunities for off-the-beaten-path experiences. pops up, we’ll jet out for a weekend, see some friends and visit a Smithsonian museum. Petersburg, we’ll spend a week exploring parks, palaces and churches and enjoying world-class opera and ballet. In contrast, I and many of my friends in the travel hacking community often travel opportunistically we are fairly open on dates and destinations and let the airfares dictate where to go. There’s a reason why flights to vacation destinations during spring break and cities hosting large events are often sky-high the airlines want to maximize the money they make on every flight. Unfortunately for the traveler, airlines have entire departments dedicated to revenue management, focused on making flights as profitable as possible, which means charging higher prices to high-demand locations when people want to travel most and have minimal flexibility.
Planning travel this way often means paying the going rate for air transportation. If there is some flexibility, it might involve flying out a day earlier or returning a day later, or maybe shifting the entire trip by a week or two. Most people plan travel based on a desire to go to a certain destination at a certain time: A trip to Florida for spring break a visit to relatives during Thanksgiving a two-week summer trip to Italy. Here’s another secret: You can do this, too! How Most People Travel But for the majority of our travels, here is our secret: Is it because of our extensive knowledge of miles and points? Do we spend days on end looking for great airfare deals? Do we simply blow all of our discretionary cash on travel? There are probably elements of truth to all of the above. When my friends and colleagues see me and my travel friends jetting off to Asia for an extended weekend, or enjoying a first-class flight to Europe, they often wonder how we do it.
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