As this is a fairly active travel forum, I think it is missing an important aspect of the traveling process - flights and travel tools and deals.
These get occasional references in other threads, but no dedicated thread to discuss them (at least not an active one).
This isn't about racking up miles on a card etc. Global Entry already has a great thread on that here: thread-38140.html. (Cool guy, we hung out twice in Medellin last year).
This is about sharing directly obtainable sweet fares and packages, and how to find them.
There are so many fare deals, tips and tricks popping up daily, and these could be the difference between a mediocre trip and a great one. More so for guys traveling on a budget. If you could save $2-300 on a flight and put it toward a fancier and better located hotel/airbnb, it could make a significant difference in your "success rates."
As most of us on this forum tend to travel to the same places, one person's find could benefit a number of others. Ten years ago I had a travel forum, and a thread like this was useful to members.
So, let's get into it!
Personally, here are the basic tools I use when looking up flights:
1. Google Flights: For some reason, people don't take Google Flights seriously, but in my opinion, there isn't a better flight search tool out there.
What makes it stronger than most is its ability to show lowest rates for the entire year on a calendar. Others might show you a few days or a week, and require manually changing the dates.
This saves a significant amount of time in your search. However, Google Flights does not include some of the popular ultra-discount airlines like Ryanair, WOW etc.
2. Skyscanner: This is a great tool too. However, my biggest problem with it is the fares are sometimes expired. It only displays "lowest rates found in the last 15 days," not necessarily real-time rates.
It also has a calendar view, which is always nice.
My favorite feature is the "Everywhere" option. This is great when you're still trying to decide where to go. Entering your departure location and selecting "Everywhere" as the destination will organize a list of all destinations around the world, from cheapest to highest. It is significantly more detailed than Google Flight's "Explore" option.
The arrow drop-downs reveal the different cities in those locations, along with their fares.
![[Image: 5wjexw.png]](http://i67.tinypic.com/5wjexw.png)
3. Rome2rio.com: This is also good for checking more than just flight fares. It displays plane, train, bus, ferry and car options.
There are many web tools, apps and even blogs out there where we come across good fares. The point of this thread is to share and discuss them, so we all get the best "bang for buck" on our travels.
To set the ball rolling:
For anyone who travels in the fashion I do (flying one-way tickets to a place for 1-2 months), and is eyeing Brazil around the Rio Carnival (Mar 1 - 9). Here is a decent fare on February 9th. Fort Lauderdale to Rio for $245 one-way.
It is a long 36-hr flight with two stopovers in Bogota, Colombia (19 hrs) and Lima, Peru (7 hrs).
I like flights like that, because I get to visit additional countries along the way and have enough time to go fool around in the city. Or at least do a quick recon mission for a possible return.
Tip: Fort Lauderdale typically has the best fares to South American destinations.
![[Image: 2mgqp08.png]](http://i66.tinypic.com/2mgqp08.png)
Over to you.
These get occasional references in other threads, but no dedicated thread to discuss them (at least not an active one).
This isn't about racking up miles on a card etc. Global Entry already has a great thread on that here: thread-38140.html. (Cool guy, we hung out twice in Medellin last year).
This is about sharing directly obtainable sweet fares and packages, and how to find them.
There are so many fare deals, tips and tricks popping up daily, and these could be the difference between a mediocre trip and a great one. More so for guys traveling on a budget. If you could save $2-300 on a flight and put it toward a fancier and better located hotel/airbnb, it could make a significant difference in your "success rates."
As most of us on this forum tend to travel to the same places, one person's find could benefit a number of others. Ten years ago I had a travel forum, and a thread like this was useful to members.
So, let's get into it!
Personally, here are the basic tools I use when looking up flights:
1. Google Flights: For some reason, people don't take Google Flights seriously, but in my opinion, there isn't a better flight search tool out there.
What makes it stronger than most is its ability to show lowest rates for the entire year on a calendar. Others might show you a few days or a week, and require manually changing the dates.
This saves a significant amount of time in your search. However, Google Flights does not include some of the popular ultra-discount airlines like Ryanair, WOW etc.
2. Skyscanner: This is a great tool too. However, my biggest problem with it is the fares are sometimes expired. It only displays "lowest rates found in the last 15 days," not necessarily real-time rates.
It also has a calendar view, which is always nice.
My favorite feature is the "Everywhere" option. This is great when you're still trying to decide where to go. Entering your departure location and selecting "Everywhere" as the destination will organize a list of all destinations around the world, from cheapest to highest. It is significantly more detailed than Google Flight's "Explore" option.
The arrow drop-downs reveal the different cities in those locations, along with their fares.
3. Rome2rio.com: This is also good for checking more than just flight fares. It displays plane, train, bus, ferry and car options.
There are many web tools, apps and even blogs out there where we come across good fares. The point of this thread is to share and discuss them, so we all get the best "bang for buck" on our travels.
To set the ball rolling:
For anyone who travels in the fashion I do (flying one-way tickets to a place for 1-2 months), and is eyeing Brazil around the Rio Carnival (Mar 1 - 9). Here is a decent fare on February 9th. Fort Lauderdale to Rio for $245 one-way.
It is a long 36-hr flight with two stopovers in Bogota, Colombia (19 hrs) and Lima, Peru (7 hrs).
I like flights like that, because I get to visit additional countries along the way and have enough time to go fool around in the city. Or at least do a quick recon mission for a possible return.
Tip: Fort Lauderdale typically has the best fares to South American destinations.
Over to you.
![[Image: gf.png]](https://image.ibb.co/kTeGY0/gf.png)
