Travel Tips & Tricks
Have a read and start planning your adventure
Hi Friends,
While enjoying a delicious Melbourne coffee last week, I was telling a new friend about my great flight to Melbourne from Rome and how I only had one brief stop between the two flights, which together were 21 hours of airtime. Whew. This information share turned into a bit of a deep dive/masterclass on how I book my plane tickets. My friend told me that they “learned a lot” so it inspired me to share some of my tips and tricks here.
I’ve written about (Saving) Money and Travel and the steps I’ve taken to when traveling abroad and spending in different currencies. I’ve also written about my favorite technologies (I recommend this one for everyone traveling). And about how pay-for-play airport lounges changed my life (and also credit cards you can consider for non-airline related lounge access).
Since I started traveling consistently in 2019, as a lifestyle, I’ve learned some of my own travel tricks (I hate the word hacks) and have had some really interesting results.
One of the things I’ve discovered is really important to me: the journey matters just as much as the destination.
Learning how to make my journeys the easiest/fun/adventuresome they can be - even in these not-wonderful travel times - is my goal.
TODAYS TIPS AND TRICKS:
GOING (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights)
I think it was 8 years ago now (what is time?) that I first signed up for a free newsletter called Scotts Cheap Flights. I was living in Portland Oregon and knew someone who was friends (friendly?) with Scott and learned about his newsletter that had grown from something he shared with friends into a pretty big business. Now, I have explained to so many people that this platform isn’t “last minute fares” as in that you have to be willing to travel “whenever” or within a short timeframe. No, these are great deals or mistake fares that Scott (and now his team) spend time on the internet searching out and sharing with his readers. I think I had been a free subscriber for 3 months in October 2016 when a notice for January-March '17 London round trip fares were $450 from the Pacific Northwest. As my son was going to be in London during that time, I hopped right on that and I was hooked.
Fast forward to 2024, and Scotts Cheap Flights has rebranded as ‘Going’ but is still owned by Scott and you can choose free or paid memberships. I’ve gotten many, many good fares (US and International) just from free membership but there are definite benefits to being a paid member. You can check them out here.
BOOKING FLIGHTS:
Since I’m traveling for months at a time when going international, I have a 27-inch suitcase and that is a checked bag. Trying to limit the number of connections is my personal #1 priority when booking airfare, not only for the time savings but also for cutting down on the likelihood of my bag going astray. But it is always a fingers crossed and a prayer situation on any travel because I’ve had my bag go astray on a quick flight from Portland to San Jose (the one time I didn’t have a carry-on in the US in the last 5 years) so you never know.
I always use Google Flights to do my searches. Google Flights brings up multiple airlines and routes and fares to compare from. You can also set alerts on Google Flights for your travel to stay informed on fare increase/decrease if you are not booking quite yet. Google Flights is my go-to for all my travel planning.
Always - always search your flight on Google in incognito mode. Because prices will go up if they are tracking your activity. Which they are!
Flexible in your travel?
I suggest approaching your leisure travel with a playful and flexible vibe. What does this mean? If you can be flexible about your entry and exit cities you can have some good fun with a quick stop in a cool country or city before heading on to your main destination or heading home.
For example, I find London is a good hub to get to less expensively (not all the time but frequently) and no matter my destination in that part of the world (Italy, Denmark, etc.) I always check a flight from the US to London and compare fares. I enjoy stopping in London for a couple of days, eating at my favorite restaurants, and walking through charming neighborhoods. From London, fares to places such as multiple Italian cities can be less than $50! Sure, it may not pencil out to be cheaper than a direct or multi-connection (more likely) flight to your main destination but it can be close and way more fun.
I also check other major hubs such as Paris, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam and see what kind of flights/fares I can find and then decide on the next leg of the travel to my main destination if it works in my favor, money or time or experience-wise.
Finally, regarding flights: from the Pacific Northwest, I always check Icelandair as well as Google. I enjoy their service, and their planes and find many 1-stop (layovers in Keflavik) flights to the UK or Europe. Icelandair also allows you to stay in Iceland for up to 3-days for no extra charge. I spent a week in Iceland in 2014 and loved it and highly recommend a visit. A perfect “return flight” scenario for me would be to spend a night or two at the Blue Lagoon before heading home. On one of my return trips to the US, I spent the day at the Blue Lagoon, taking the wonderful waters, having a facial, and eating at the restaurant. I was glowing when I returned to the US!
A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES/STORIES OF FLEXIBLE TRAVEL OPTIONS:
First time using London as an in-between spot:
When I was in Kuala Lumpur in late May/June 2019 it was the last stop of my 4 months in SE Asia living a month each in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, and Malaysia. After Malaysia I was continuing on in my travel to spend a month each in Portugal Spain and South Africa. As I was planning my transition, I was looking for flights from Kuala Lumpur to Lisbon, Portugal in late June and they were very expensive. One way was averaging about $900-$1200 - none of them direct. One day I got the idea to just check on flights to London from KL. I found a direct flight (13 hours!) for $500. I ended up asking a friend if they wanted to go to London for a week before I went on to Portugal and he went to the US. Starting with the excellent flight, everything fell into place on that trip: I found the best Airbnb that was on deep discount because of some construction in the neighborhood (which didn’t bother us at all). Our location in Soho could not have been better and we had a grand time exploring all I love in London. My friend had never been so I took him to all my favorite places (see my London post here). My flight to Lisbon ended up being $60 and very easy.
Stop and see friends:
When I was planning my return from South Africa in October 2019, after being gone from the US since March, I was going to spend some time with my son in Arizona. Flights were crazy expensive, one way with multiple stops, from Cape Town to Phoenix, again about $900-$1200. I have good friends in several major US hub areas and started looking at other entry points. Dallas, where I have wonderful friends who have told me that I can stop at their house anytime (whether they are there or not), ended up being an excellent flight with only one short layover in Dubai for $450. The flight to Dallas was a winner all around in efficiency; that I got to spend several days with my friends and save a ton of time and money.
These examples are just some ways to approach your travel differently. Thinking about what is most important to me in each journey is something I take time with now. I used to only approach the journey with searching the fastest and/or cheapest way. While that isn’t wrong I now see if I can’t create a new travel story or experience and save money and/or time.
FLIGHTS AND UPGRADES: SOME THOUGHTS
Packed airports and airplanes are the norm for travel 2024. Unfortunately, the days of getting a row to myself in the back of the plane seem to be few and far between these days.
So, to begin, unless you are initially booking business or first-class tickets, you can inquire about possible upgrades to your economy tickets at the airport. Be sure to inquire to the airline gate staff politely and be kind and patient.
It is hard to think I have to make that the first point but that makes sense, right?
The first and most important tip all the way when inquiring or negotiating: BE. NICE.
I have rarely found an upgrade internationally that makes sense to me money-wise when I have called the airline before my departure date. However, I have found a couple of great deals at the gate, so I always inquire. For example, I was flying from Italy to the US with a long layover in Frankfurt. I do recommend starting your inquiry on your initial departure flight. At the Florence airport, I inquired at check-in about possible upgrades and they told me to check in Frankfurt. When I got to the gate in Frankfurt, there were several people having tantrums. I caught the eye of one of the airline attendants and he waved me over. Being nice, patient, polite, and empathetic about his situation (dealing with adult babies) helped me a lot. I was able to upgrade to first class for a 9+ hour flight for $300 - worth it on a tightly packed economy flight.
If there are no upgrades available I also inquire about aisle seats with no middle seat booked. I would be delighted to move further back in the plane to have more room on a long-haul flight. On one occasion, I was told at the gate there was nothing available. I sincerely thanked the gate attendant for checking for me and went back to my seat in the boarding area. About 10 minutes later I was called to the desk and he had found a good spot for me. Not only was there an empty middle seat, but it ended up being in the front of the economy section!
Finally, whenever talking about tips and tricks, I am forever linking back to my post on my favorite tech secret weapon because I just had another reader tell me that this helped them so much. Hearing that makes me very happy.
Let me know if you’re planning your travel for this year (or beyond) and how I can help.
I have some fun posts coming up soon that include a new Local Voyager (Italy!); some of my best Airbnb intel; features on traveling with intimate bespoke groups and more. Stay tuned.
Have a beautiful week.
Such great advice! I'm definitely going to think about how I can incorporate visits with friends into some upcoming travel. Thank you for getting the wheels turning!