How to Get International Flights on a Budget

We have been preparing since January to go on a trip to Europe this summer with some of our friends. One of the biggest expenses was our plane tickets. After doing a TON of research, we were able to score some pretty cheap flights from the United States to Europe. Here I have compiled our best tips and tricks for scoring cheap flights around the world.

1. Use Google Flights:

I mentioned this before in our Top 5 Money Saving Travel Websites. Google Flights pulls all of the best prices from all the different airlines together in one place. They also give you calendars that show you the cheapest dates to fly. Once we put in where we wanted to go, Google Flights easily compared the airlines and we could see quickly which airlines were the best deals. 

2. Fly Out of Major Airports:

When looking for flights, we discovered that it was quite expensive to fly internationally from the Salt Lake airport (our home airport). So we looked at other major airports like JFK and LAX which were much cheaper to fly internationally from. We ultimately chose to fly from LAX because we knew we could get cheap flights from Salt Lake to LA. 

3. Look Into One-Way Flights:

For our trip, it ended up being much more cost effective to book one-way flights instead of round trip. This is especially true if you are planning on traveling around once you get to your destination. We knew we needed to get to Venice where we were going to be boarding our cruise around the Mediterranean. But when we looked into flying straight to Venice, it was too expensive for our budget. So we looked into other cities that we knew we wanted to see in Europe and Paris made the cut. We found a good deal on a flight from LAX to Paris where we spent a few days before flying to Venice. Our one-way ticket to Paris and our one-way ticket from Paris to Venice was a few hundred dollars less than flying straight to Venice. We found a good deal on a one-way flight to LAX from Venice. 

4. Have Flexible Travel Plans and Dates

This kind of goes with tip 3, but be willing to fly into different places than your final destination and be flexible within a few days for your trip. This alone saved us hundreds of dollars on our trip.

Our Top 5 Money Saving Travel Websites

I am always on the lookout for a good deal. This is especially true when it comes to travel. We have traveled quite a bit considering our very meager travel budget for our first few year of marriage, and I owe it all to the fact that we took the time to research our vacations and really look for the best deals possible. I have rounded up my 5 favorite websites that have helped us save tons of money.

1: Hotels.com

We have used Hotels.com from the very first time we traveled together. I love it because you can get awesome prices for hotels, they have very reliable reviews and you can set your own budget. My other favorite part is that by booking through them, you earn rewards towards free nights at hotels through their sight. Most hotels you book qualify. Just sign up for their rewards program and start earning your free night! 

2: Pinterest

While Pinterest has very little to do with shopping, it is probably my go-to source for finding activities to do at our destinations. There are lots of articles out there with lists of free or cheap things to do wherever you are traveling to. I also use Pinterest to find money saving tips for travel. Finally, I use Pinterest to find cheap, easy recipes for yummy snacks and meals we can take and eat during our travels. Make sure to follow us on Pinterest where you will find lots of pins on different destinations, travel tips, and other money saving travel ideas. 

3: Google Flights

When we were looking at international flights for our trip this summer (stay tuned for more info!), the first place I went was Google Flights. You can put in your dates of travel and they give you the best prices they can find as well as better prices on days that are near your preferred travel dates. The way I was able to find fairly cheap tickets was to book one-way tickets instead of round trip. 

4: Air Fare Watchdog

For flights within the U.S. I love Air Fare Watchdog. You can set your departure and arrival cities and they will send you alerts for when airline prices are a good deal. You can also further specify with dates and get the best deals for those dates that you plan on traveling. 

5: Amazon

When it comes to random travel things that we need, I usually look to Amazon first. While I don't always buy things straight from Amazon, they generally have the best deals on lots of things. I also use the prices on Amazon as reference points for if I'm getting a good deal on an item in a regular store. Currently some things on my traveling wish list from Amazon are these and this.