Finding the best travel deals is a matter of timing.
A lot of people think travel is just expensive, but in reality, there are incredible deals happening all the time. They often don’t last too long, and you have to act quickly. That can sometimes be a problem when a deal requires jumping on a plane tomorrow (how many people can do that?).
Fortunately, most deals are for months in the future, giving you ample time to plan your schedule.
Often I will book a flight and then figure out my plans.
Since you can usually cancel a flight within 24 hours without incurring a fee, I lock in the deal and then figure out if I can make it work. Sometimes I can (like the $1,200 USD business-class flight from LA to Stockholm round-trip); sometimes I can’t (like the $400 USD New Zealand flights I had to cancel).
I am always looking out for deals.
Today, I want to tell you where I go for travel deals, tips, and expert advice. After all, these resources focus solely on this one aspect of travel, so why not use them? I can’t know everything, so I rely on specialists. If travel were a hospital, I would be your general practitioner.
Where to Find the Best Flight Deals
When it comes to finding flight deals, I use these four websites for last-minute deals. There are always finding new (and tempting) last minute flights — often for a fraction of what you would pay otherwise.
My go-to website for cheap flight deals is Going.com. Formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights, this is an awesome resource for finding flight deals from the US. They offer free flight alerts, and with a premium membership you get access to even more deals as soon as they find them. (New users can get 20% off Premium with the code NOMADICMATT20.)
Three other great websites to use are:
- The Flight Deal – This is a great resource for finding cheap flights from the USA. If you’re based in the States, start your research here!
- Secret Flying – This cheap flight website finds “error fares” (when airlines make pricing mistakes) to and from destinations all around the globe.
- Holiday Pirates – No matter where you’re based this is a great cheap flight website so be sure to always check here for more deals.
If you’re simply looking to book a flight, check out the search engines below. It’s important to remember that there is no one best online booking website. All the search engine websites have blind spots so it’s important to search a few different places before you book your flight.
Generally, the BEST booking sites are the following:
- Skyscanner – I always start my searches with Skyscanner. It’s a very intuitive platform that searches booking websites and airlines all around the world to ensure that no deal is missed. If you’re not 100% sure where you want to go (or when) then start your search with Skyscanner.
- Google Flights – A good all-around flight search website to include in your cheap flight arsenal.
Where to Find the Best Points & Miles News
When it comes to finding the latest in airline and frequent flier news, I turn to these sites. They give me the latest on the changes in the industry and loyalty programs, and any points and miles news that might be important:
- View from the Wing – This is where I go for airline and frequent flier news.
- The Points Guy – A great resource for credit card and points & miles news and information.
- One Mile at a Time – This is a great website for credit card, in-flight experiences, and frequent flier news.
For Australia and New Zealand, visit Points Hack.
For Canada, use Prince of Travel.
For the UK, Head for Points.
As a very, very, very avid traveler (and while I have my own special tricks and tips), when you’re overseas a lot, it’s hard to stay up to date on your own so I use these three sites to keep me in the loop.
READ MORE:
- Points & Miles 101: A Beginner’s Guide
- The Best Travel Credit Cards
- How to Pick the Best Travel Credit Card
Where to Find the Best Cruise Deals
In my mind, there is only one cruise deal website worth following: CruiseSheet. This site consistently has some of the lowest rates out there, and its interface is beautiful.
If I don’t find anything on CruiseSheet or want to double-check a price, I go to the second-best website, vacationstogo.com.
Where to Find the Best Transportation Deals
If you’re looking for budget transportation, these are the websites you’ll want to check. Cheap buses, trains, and rideshare apps can help keep your transportation costs low, giving you more time on the road. Here are my favorites:
- FlixBus – A budget-friendly bus company routes all across Europe and parts of the USA.
- Trainline – Offers a variety of discounted train passes for both individual countries as well as entire regions of Europe, including passes for the entire continent.
- Rome2Rio – A helpful resource for finding and comparing budget transportation options.
- BlaBlaCar – A rideshare app that pairs travelers with local drivers who are looking to pick up passengers for a small fee.
- RVShare – A sharing economy platform for renting RVs and camper vans directly from locals.
- Turo – A car rental app that enables you to rent cars for short periods of time from locals.
- Japan Rail Pass – A budget-friendly train pass exclusively for Japan. Comes in 7, 14, and 21-day passes.
- Discover Cars – A comprehensive rental car aggregator for destinations all around the globe. I always find the best car rental deals here
