City Trips

With this life hack, you score the cheapest flight tickets

By Bo Geschiere | #!31Wed, 17 May 2023 11:00:59 +0200+02:005931#31Wed, 17 May 2023 11:00:59 +0200+02:00-11Europe/Amsterdam3131Europe/Amsterdam202331 17am31am-31Wed, 17 May 2023 11:00:59 +0200+02:0011Europe/Amsterdam3131Europe/Amsterdam2023312023Wed, 17 May 2023 11:00:59 +02000011005amWednesday=9#!31Wed, 17 May 2023 11:00:59 +0200+02:00Europe/Amsterdam5#05-17-2023#!31Wed, 17 May 2023 11:00:59 +0200+02:005931#/31Wed, 17 May 2023 11:00:59 +0200+02:00-11Europe/Amsterdam3131Europe/Amsterdam202331#!31Wed, 17 May 2023 11:00:59 +0200+02:00Europe/Amsterdam5#

I am not particularly blessed with extraordinary talents, but if there is one thing I am a pro at, it is booking vacations for a bargain price. For instance, I once managed to score a round-trip flight to Valencia (including luggage) for 40 euros – during the busiest period of the school holidays. I thought that was quite impressive at the time. Another find I am also proud of: for 120 euros with luggage back and forth to Crete in the height of summer. But let me not pretend that I can effortlessly find such deals, no, you do need some patience for that. You have to scour every airline and before you can blink, the tickets are gone or the prices have tripled. But there is a life hack for that and it saves you so much money.

Curious about what I'm talking about? Google Flights it is. They have developed an algorithm that allows them to find the cheapest tickets per destination. Besides the fact that it saves you a few hours of scrolling, you have more budget left for, for example, a nice accommodation. You would much rather spend your money on that, I think. Here are a few tips to find the most affordable flight tickets.

1. Select multiple airports
The more options, the better your chances of a good deal. So don’t just type in Schiphol, but also Eindhoven, Rotterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, and Frankfurt. You will see that the price of a ticket can quickly differ by hundreds of euros. You are a bit of a thief of your own wallet if you don’t do it.

2. Select a continent instead of a country
If you have no idea where exactly you want to go but want to browse around to see how much everything costs, it’s best to choose one continent, like ‘Asia’ or ‘Europe’. You will see the starting fare for a ticket to each country on the map. Nice and clear and quick to do, we like that.

3. Select an airport, but don’t type in a destination
Want to travel last minute for little money? Choose your departure location, for example, Schiphol and Rotterdam, and select the time frame in which you want to travel. Then do not fill in a final destination. You will then see all the prices from every place in the world. Just search well and maybe you’ll get lucky.

Is it too good to be true? Maybe a little bit. You will often have to deal with layovers, especially on longer trips. But hey, if you can fly to Bali for half the normal price, you just have to take that chance. Then an extra night in a city you would never otherwise visit is no punishment. And if you really can’t stand a layover, you can always just click the option ‘direct flights’ on Google Flights. You’re welcome.