If you want to travel successfully as a digital nomad, one of the things that you have to master is the art of finding a good flight deal. Being strategic with the way that you plan your flights will save you money, which will allow you to travel to more destinations for a longer amount of time.
Additionally, you will be able to strategically plan multiple trips that will allow you to see different countries and cities, which will give you more time to travel and extra money to put into accommodation and the experiences that you want to enjoy during your travels.
Finding cheap flights to anywhere isn’t as difficult as you would think. But you do have to be prepared to plan ahead and be ready to book once you find the perfect opportunity. Procrastinate on the opportunity and in a matter of seconds, the perfect flight deal that you have found may be gone.
In this post, you will get the insights to find cheap flight deals that will allow you to extend your digital nomad travels for as long as possible.
Skip to section
Conduct your searches in secret.
You want to go incognito and you also want to be wary about the IP that you are searching for as it can influence the types of deals that you are presented with.
Use a VPN to bypass the IP settings and use the incognito browser on Google Chrome to help you search for the best flight deals in secret.
Use only the best flight search engines.
Book your own flights.
The days of using travel agents to find you the cheapest flights is pretty much over. You can ask them to find out if they can match the deals that you find. But since they are working on a commission rate, they want to get the best deal possible and they are also restricted by what they can do because they are the middle person to the airline.
Therefore, you will either get better deals going through an online brokers that don’t have to pay overhead costs for staff and their business operations. And in return, they can pass on those direct savings to you as the customer.
Booking directly with the airline can also yield some good savings as well. You can simply sign-up to a loyalty program of theirs that will offer incentives to purchase discounted flights as they become available.
The airlines get to sell more of their flight seats, which means they will make more money and you get a good deal in exchange. Win-win!
Take notes of the cheapest days to fly!
This is really important because you will be scheduling your travel itinerary around these dates.
There are rumours that you can get the best deals on a Tuesday or Wednesday. But the prices are at the discretion of the people listing the flights.
A better approach is to either monitor or get alerted to good flight deals. Mark the cheapest days and make a note to see if alternative travel can be made to that airport to expand your digital nomad experience.
Consider flying out from different cities.
You don’t have to fly in and out from the same airport. You can travel overland by car, train, or bus and fly out from another airport that has cheaper flights.
This can also be factored into your travel journey and itinerary.
I’ve done this several times in my trip.
In one case, I flew into Malaga. Then I took the bus along Andalusia to Lisbon and then to Madrid. Then I flew from Madrid to London.
In another case, I flew into Hanoi in Vietnam. Took the train in from Hanoi to Nha Trang. Flew from Danang to Ho Chi Minh city. Took the bus through Cambodia to Thailand. Flew from Thailand to Myanmar and back. Then flew from Thailand to Sri Lanka. This all happened within a 3 month period.
Do not book your flights late.
There are myths about getting good airline tickets at the last minute or even picking up fares for cancelled tickets. I’ve personally never seen these opportunities and the later you book the flight tickets, the more expensive the tickets will become.
Try to book the tickets as soon as they are released so you can get the best deal possible. With flight deals, booking even a year out can save you quite alot of money.
Simple things such as planning to travel in a country for a month, and then booking the entry and exit ports for your stay in the country can easily save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars if you do it strategically and in advance.
Check the fare prices in different currencies and country sites.
You would think that everything would be equal. But it isn’t always the case. Before going ahead with the flight booking, check the price of the air fare in the local currency of the country that you plan to visit.
If you are travelling to a place that has a weaker currency than the one that you are using, you may be able to save some money due to the exchange rate.
Just be cautious of any hidden international transaction fees that may be applicable through the credit or debit card that you plan to use.
Look out for error fares.
There are fares that get listed in error, but one person’s mistake can be another’s fortune. So it is important that you are alerted to these as they come up.
When you do see them, you cannot hesitate. You have to act right away!
You can use the following 2 sites to get alerted to these types of deals.
Are there any other tips that you think should be on this list?
Share them in the comments below.
Thanks for reading!
Sign-up now!
Start your digital nomad journey today!
