My Favorite Sites for Finding Cheap Travel Deals

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Finding great travel deals is a skill, but it can be honed: If you know where to find a good deal, you can be patient and flexible, and if you know you can take advantage of the 24-hour free federal cancellation policy to lock in an immediate opportunity.

Here are some of the best travel websites you can use to make your next trip affordable.

Use Skyscanner to find the cheapest flights

Yes, Google Flights is more user-friendly and has cool features (like the Explore tool that lets you see a map of potential destinations and their prices), but if you mean business and are looking for the cheapest flight options you can find, Skyscanner is the way to go. Here you’ll find flights that won’t even show up on Google Flights, and it even has a Google- like tool where you simply enter your local airport, select “whole month” for the dates, and hit “search” to find every possible low-cost destination for that month (I found a direct flight to Cancun from my home in Atlanta for $183).

You can also catch last-minute airfare deals and set alerts for cheap flights.

Use SecretFlying to set up “wrong fare” alerts

Airlines sometimes make mistakes, and as a seasoned traveler, you should be prepared to take advantage of them when you can. SecretFlying is a travel deals website that works the same as many others, but it also has a special tool for finding cheap flights that exist due to mistakes airlines make. (Last month, for example, there was a tempting round-trip flight from Chicago to London for just $58 .) Error fares add up quickly, and many of them may not be a good fit for you logistically, but if you ever snag one, you’ll be bragging about it for years to come.

Use the Travel Arrow extension

If you’re still only using Google Flights for your search, you may be missing out on some cheaper options. Travel Arrow is an extension you can install in your browser that will cross-reference your Google flight information to Skyscanner, Kayak, Trip and Expedia (all major Google Flights competitors). While it doesn’t always work, it’s a free tool that will more than pay for itself if you ever book a cheaper flight using it. Keep in mind that some flights may be cheaper because they have longer connections.

Use These Online Holiday Package Websites

There are many websites that sell travel packages that include flights, hotels, food, tours and even transportation (trains, buses, taxis, etc.) for much less than you would find if you tried to book each place individually. The catch is that these packages tend to be strict on dates and their cancellation policies are often less lenient. But you may be able to find great deals in places you might not otherwise be able to afford.

What are your thoughts so far?

Gate1 , for example, has been around since the 80s—my mom and my dad used it to visit the Eight Wonders of the World on a budget for years. Their best deals come from weekly specials (you can sign up for their email newsletter) and last minute deals , where you can find multi-day trips at deep discounts.

For example, you can take a 13-day trip to Thailand for $2,249, which includes all of this:

  • Round-trip flights from Los Angeles to Bangkok or Bangkok to Los Angeles.

  • Transfer from Chiang Mai to Bangkok

  • 11 nights in first class

  • Hotel taxes, fees, service charges and porters

  • 18 meals a day: 11 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 4 dinners.

  • Sightseeing along the route in a modern, air-conditioned bus.

  • Services of an English-speaking tour manager throughout the territory

  • Entrance fees along the route

Here are a few other websites similar to Gate1 where you can find great deals on packages for your next trip:

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