How I Saved Hundreds On My Flight To Europe

I put a lot of effort into finding the cheapest flight for my upcoming trip to Europe. I researched what days were best to buy, to fly, what months were cheapest, what airlines were cheapest....you get the picture. I think I've learned a few tricks to help find the best price:

1. Use comparison websites...

As I've mentioned, I'm quite addicted to Kayak.com. I've looked at a lot of different comparison-travel sites, but this one's my fav. It gives you ALL the options (from cheapo airlines to high-end) and lets you choose what you want to filter out.

One of my favorite features is the "flex month" option. It looks like this: 

However, this feature seems to work best for 8 or less days at a destination as it forces you to choose departure and return dates that are that close to each other.

For my longer Europe trip, I utilized the "+/- 3 days" feature much more.

This is for people who have a rough idea already of what their departure and return dates will be. This feature works equally well for those with short or long trips in the plans-definitely a pro.

2. Be flexible with when you travel...

Europe is a hugely popular travel destination and changing when you visit can help decrease the cost of the plane ticket (if not the whole trip entirely!). 

Peak travel season in Europe is June, July, and August. This is when they get the most tourists due to schools being out for the summer as well as the desirable warm travel weather.

Shoulder travel season refers to the "in-between" months that will be less crowded than the summer months, but not completely empty. These months include April, May, the beginning of June, September, and October.

Low travel season includes the remaining months: November, December, January, February, and March. And reasonably so because they are the coldest - no beaches or tropical getaways here. However, if you're goal is to save major mula...maybe a winter vacation is the answer for you.

I was able to save money by changing my trip from August to September. Weather wise, it may be a little colder, but still nice enough in some areas (like southern France and Italy) to keep wearing a few summer outfits and possibly take a dip in the ocean.

3. When to buy and when to fly...24 weeks out!

Here is the key to saving the maximum amount of money... What bugged me when searching for a ticket was watching flights and price alerts - I didn't understand how one day a ticket for a certain flight cost $900 and the very next day it jumped to $1050. 

Most of you have probably heard that Tuesdays are the "day to buy", but recently, that's become untrue. I had my whole family on research duty, and my dad found an interesting article from the ARC. You can read the whole thing here, but the takeaway is to buy 24 weeks out from your departure date. AND on a Sunday. 

I tried out this method, and it worked! Although I bought my ticket 26 weeks out (because I got nervous the price would rise!) for $836, the lowest price I ever saw for the same flight was on the Sunday 24 weeks out for $829. 

Yes, it was only $7 cheaper, but that is just one flight's example.

The Best Travel Apps & Sites

Recently I've been downloading and uninstalling travel apps left and right. I've checked out dozens of websites claimed by users to be "better than the rest". And I've even checked out every travel-pintrester's "must try" lists for travel websites. 

I thought I'd share with you today the apps & sites I've found to be my fail-safes over the last few months. 

KAYAK

I've become a bit addicted to kayak lately... If you haven't seen the thousands of commercials, then I'll tell you now: Kayak (website or app) compares prices among loads of other travel sites to find you the lowest price. You can search for flights, hotels, and cars and the best part is kayak doesn't upcharge you to use their site. I'm not doing it justice in this little plug, but just take my word for it: visiting kayak is a must for saving $$$.
For my upcoming Europe trip, visiting Kayak.com became part of my daily routine. I checked prices of flights and was even able to use their +/-3 day tool to really narrow down which days were the cheapest to fly.

HOSTELWORLD

This app is a must if you're booking your stay on the road. Search by your destination, date, and number of guests. This site and app compare tons of hostels in the area and present them to you. Filter search results by price, property type, or reviews. In any given hostel on the site most likely has thousands of reviews so you can be sure you're getting what you pay for.
If you're traveling somewhere where you won't have internet, reserve your bed. If you have internet on the road, then your phone is the key to convenient last-minute booking.

TRIPADVISOR

I'm a fan of both website and app and have used them a lot. In the search bar, type in a specific destination (such as "Rome, Italy) or just a general country (ex."Italy"). Of course this website also has it's search on for hotels, flights, etc. but I primarily use it to brainstorm which cities I want to visit most. For example, a search of "Italy" will give me the top 10 destinations as reviewed and rated by users.

GOOGLE TRANSLATE

My go-to, fail-safe translator. It's a must to download if you're traveling in a country where you're not quite fluent. My favorite feature is the "speak to translate". This would definitely come in handy when you're a bad speller or just have no idea what people are saying.

And a few apps I've tested, but have not committed to yet...

GOGOBOT

This app gives you a customizable travel experience and advises you where to stay, eat, and play in any location. This app gives you the ability to read reviews of attractions and check out the pictures before you commit.

TROVER

It's basically the baby of instagram and pinterest for travelers.

Hopefully these suggestions help your travels, happy adventures!