While I love to travel, I do not exactly love paying for it. As a young person I felt traveling by plane was a luxury and when international flights were $1800 roundtrip in economy when I was 20 it was entirely out of my reach! These days, Michael and I look at flights the way we consider a food menu or restaurant for dinner. In some cases our flights are much less than we spend on dinner - really! When I say this to people they seem not to believe me or think it was a one time fluke, but I am here on my blog to share a few inexpensive travel tips for all of you to enjoy too. Let me know if you have any luck with any of these tips!

Obsess. I mean, really with anything, if you’re going to do it, commit. Otherwise suffer an existence in mediocrity. Harsh, I know, but I really think the reason Michael and I have been so successful with our travel deals is our obsession with it all! It has become a game, who can out-wow the other and of course Michael always wins. He’s a super seasoned Executive Platinum American Airlines frequent flier with likely near a million miles at this point. I am not that guy. I barely have Gold status on AA and have foregone grueling travel when I cannot go with Michael because I am spoiled with his perks. But these tips are not for those guys, they already know what they are doing. These tips are for you and for me. Make them a habit and I promise you will find a good flight in the next year worth taking and I’m sure it will be more!

Sign up for a couple of fare alerts. Not with Kayak (although I love this service, see below), but with (my favorite) Dollar Flight Club or (Michael’s favorite) Scott’s Cheap Fligths, where you get an email if an airline posts a mistake fare or if there is a major sale happening. I find this service helps if you do not have the time or skills (yet!) to find these fares on your own. I have booked Paris roundtrip and nonstop from Boston for $388 and Los Angeles from Providence with one stop for $105 each way. I mean. You just cannot beat that. 

Make your itinerary a circuitous route and enjoy sacrificing time for money. Sometimes I have all the flexibility in the world when it comes to travel and other times it has to be exact. When it is the former, I have a great time looking at Google Flights and selecting Explore Destinations. Pick a city, find the dates that are cheap and book it! The other idea Michael and I have loved more commonly is to find the most inexpensive international flight via Kayak (great search engine for just about every US airline) then book directly through the airline because we find it easier to deal with airlines if changes need to be made. Then we find our flights from the international hub to our destination on Momondo (I find this to be the best European search engine for flights) for usually 20-225 Euros each way depending on where you are headed. We stayed in Belfast on our way home from France for 31 hours just to get a $189 nonstop from Belfast to Providence and it was delightful! 

That’s all for today, but check back often as I will update this series with another segment soon. I have too much to share in just one post! Safe travels, bon voyage! XO Kristen

All Images: Kristen Coates