Going on vacation is fantastic. The act of planning one, however, can be far less glamorous.
Finding a good deal on a flight on travel dates that work for your schedule is only half the battle. Pairing those flights with a hotel and activities that fit your budget adds another level of challenge.
But there are newsletters, apps and websites that can help make the process a little easier. Which tool is best for you depends on the kind of traveler you are.
• I’m game for going anywhere. Just get me a really cheap flight. If you’re spontaneous or just aren’t sure where to go, travel newsletters that alert you to cheap flights can be a great place to start.
Scott’s Cheap Flights is a newsletter that alerts people to cheap flights as they’re discovered, focusing mostly on international trips. It was launched eight months ago by Scott Keyes, who became a travel expert after booking several trips using rewards points and airline miles. Unlike other newsletters that compile multiple deals, Cheap Flights sends one for each sale, including recommendations for how quickly people should book. Keyes searches for many of the deals himself with the help of a partner.
About a quarter of the deals Keyes sends each month are mistake flights, meaning prices are much lower than what the airline intended. He recently found a $285 round-trip flight from San Francisco to New Zealand that he said normally costs about $1,100.
Many of the flights are out of major cities with large international airports, such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and users can’t specify which airports they want to follow.
Scott’s Cheap Flights has a free version, but people who pay for a premium subscription, at about $29 a year, receive more alerts and are notified about deals before free subscribers.
Another free newsletter to consider is a one offered by Airfarewatchdog.com. The alerts sent to travelers are a combination of discounts found through automated searches and deals curated by a staff of travel experts, George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com, said. Consumers can sign up to learn about cheap flights leaving from their local airports, allowing tracking of as many as 10 airports. People can rule out airlines they don’t like and can choose how often they want to receive the alerts: daily, weekly or every couple of days. The website also lets people know about travel date restrictions and other fees they might have to pay.
Unlike more conventional flight comparison tools that help people track the cost of flying a particular route, these newsletters can draw attention to trips that travelers might not already have on their radar, Hobica said. Some of the deals are time-sensitive, and rates can increase substantially in the next several minutes or hours.
• I know where I want to go but am flexible on timing.
The fare calendar on Fly.com can help travelers determine when a particular flight might be most affordable. The calendar is similar to the tools offered by some airlines that show travelers how fares might change if they left a few days earlier or delayed their trips to later in the week. But the Fly.com calendar aggregates flights for multiple airlines and shows how prices are expected to change in the next several months.
CheapAir.com has a similar “flexible dates” tool that lists cheap flights in the next several months for particular routes.
Kayak.com also shows people how the cost of flights might change but only by looking a few days before and after.
• I need a hotel at the last minute but still want a good deal. Sometimes, the travel tickets are booked, but you still haven’t found a place to crash.
The booking app HotelTonight caters to people who have every other part of their trip set but need a hotel at the last minute. Travelers can use the app to sort through nearby hotels to be booked that night or up to a week away. A recent search for hotels in San Francisco showed rooms available the next day for discounts of 15 percent to more than 30 percent off normal rates.
As The Washington Post has reported, the app might appeal to people who weren’t planning to stay at hotels during their trip but changed their mind or had other plans fall through at the last minute.
• I want the complete package. Those travelers who really want to take the work out of planning can buy a preset vacation package that includes both flight and hotel, and maybe fun excursions, but usually limits when the trip can take place.
Websites such as LivingSocial, Groupon and Travelzoo list discounts on travel packages that are restricted to specific dates.
One package promoted on Groupon.com recently listed prices starting at $449 per person for airfare and a four-night hotel stay at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, compared to normal prices starting at $629 per person. But the rates only applied for travel on select dates between April and August, and flights needed to depart from one of the cities on the list, including Baltimore, Miami, Newark and a few others.
• I want to do the planning but need help. Those people want to choose where they go and when can plan their own trips, but they don’t have to start from scratch.
A new tool from Google called Destinations comes up with various combinations of hotels and flights within a person’s price point. Travelers need to do a Google search on their phones for the name of the place they want to visit, followed by the word “destinations.” No app is required.
People who know they want to do certain activities, such as skiing or surfing, but aren’t sure exactly what cities are best can add those keywords to the search. The top results from a search for “Thailand destinations beach” turned up resorts in Ko Samui, one of Thailand’s largest islands, and Pattaya, a town on Thailand’s eastern Gulf coast. Users can see the estimated cost of visiting each place, about $1,300 per person for a six-night stay, and swipe right to see how the cost is expected to change in the next several months.
The tool also recommends certain travel dates that Google projects will offer the best value, but travelers can also research other factors that might influence their decision. They can scroll down to see when that destination is most popular, what the weather should be like at that time of year, and what the average cost of a hotel and flight is expected to be in the next several months. Users can also change the number of travelers going on the trip, the number of stops they prefer for the flight and the hotel class.
These are only some of the tools available for saving on travel. Keep in mind that many of these websites offer multiple services that cater to all kinds of travelers.
