Remember that dusty atlas from your childhood, filled with dog-eared pages and dreams of faraway lands?

I do.

But for years, those dreams stayed just that—dreams—because travel seemed impossibly unreachable and expensive.

That was, of course, until I discovered the magic of finding dirt-cheap flights.

Now, with backpack and passport in hand, I'm living proof that budget travel is real, and it's about to set your own explorer spirit free.

Read on to find out some of my top tips to finding dirt-cheap flights!

Flexibility is Key 

One of the first things to remember when looking for cheap flights is that strict schedules and determined destinations are your biggest enemies. 

What do I mean by that? 

Well, if you absolutely MUST go to a particular place on a particular set of dates, then you're going to have a way more difficult time finding cheap airfare than if your schedule is more open.

While it's most desirable to have flexibility in both dates and location, I understand that may not always be achievable. So, if you can't have both, I'd suggest prioritizing one as follows: 

• If you can't be flexible on dates, then be flexible on the place you go.
• If you can't be flexible on place, then be flexible with the dates you travel.

By doing so, you up your chances of being able to score that great deal on your next trip!  

Master the Search Arena

Using some expert searching strategies will also help you find those dirt-cheap fares. The following is the strategy that I follow:  

Google Flights 

First, I start with Google Flights. I enter in my departure airport, then I leave the arrival city and dates open. See how this looks in the example below.   

What does this accomplish? 

It lets me look at all flights available for the next six months and then I can just compare prices to find the cheapest. You can look at this in list form, or in map form. I like the map better because then I can just move around the whole planet and see the prices for all destinations quickly. This strategy is particularly awesome if you're just looking to score some great prices on flights and don't care when you go. Alyssa Ramos at MyLife'sATravelMovie often refers to looking for flights this way as playing Flight Roulette, which provides a fun visual. This is such a terrific way to look for flights and is truly one of my personal favorites. 

You can do this for roundtrip fares or one-way fares. The example below shows one-way fares. Take a look at those crazy prices. This is from Madrid to anywhere over the next six months and as you can see, you can fly to some destinations for as cheap as $8. That's completely insane! Once you find these prices, all you do is click on the price in the map or in the list and more details about the flight options come up. You'll find out on what date those prices are available and also what airlines are offering those deals. 

Skyscanner

Strategies that Work for Either 

Now, keep in mind that on either Google Flights of Skyscanner, you can also choose a specific date and then see what is available. This is handy if you have a particular weekend free and don't care where you go! In contrast, you can also select a destination (or arrival city) and leave the dates open and find out the cheapest prices for the next six months between your city and that destination. Once again, this is pretty handy if you want to go to a particular place, but don't care when you go. 

This chart shows you how to best handle each of the three scenarios using Google Flights or Skyscanner. 

Are Last Minute Deals for Real? 

Without a doubt, the farther in advance you book your airfare the better deal you're going to get. 

However, don't think that you'll never get a good deal last minute because sometimes those do happen, too. 

In November 2023, Delta was running a sale from my home airport for last minute deals to Europe. I could have bought a ticket for around $450 (basic economy) from SLC to AMS at 12:00 in the afternoon on the day of travel and literally have left 2 hours later on the flight. Those were seriously insane prices and I hope I'll see something like that again, but who knows if it'll happen. I also scored a really great deal on a flight in Europe after another flight got canceled. I only paid roughly $50 for a flight from Edinburgh to Marseilles at nearly midnight and the flight left the next morning at 5am. That one I was truly lucky because I needed a good deal and didn't have much wiggle room on when I traveled. 

I understand that these examples are certainly more the exception than the rule. But if they've happened for me, then I know they're possible. So, it's certainly worth giving a try and see if you can score some last minute deals, too. 

How do I suggest finding last minute deals? 

I would use some of the methods I described above on a periodic basis to see what comes up. I have friends who search daily for flights, and if that sounds like a fun hobby for you, too. Then, I say go for it! 

In addition to those methods, there are also some other ideas to try: 

• Consider contacting the airlines directly by phone to see if they have any last-minute deals for seats they'd like to fill. I've never tried this personally, but I think it sounds interesting enough to try.  
• Sign up for email lists. Some of the big ones out there are Pomelo Travel and FareDrop. These will send you flight deals that come up for your selected cities. The only caveat is that you must act fast because these emails are sent out to tens of thousands of people who now know about the same good deal and so competition could be tough. Keep in mind that if you rely on this method ALONE, you may not always score the best deal. Most of these email lists are subscriber based and you'll be required to pay an annual fee. 
• Sign up for email alerts. Google has email alerts where you can enter in your departure city and arrival city and then they'll send you deals that come up for that route. You can also do this for many destinations--I currently get emails for SLC to all over Europe and Asia. This is how I found out about those $450 flights to Europe that I previously mentioned! This is all free, so why not sign up!  

Pro Tips for Ultimate Savings

The most obvious way to get cheap flights anywhere around the globe is to take budget airlines.  But keep in mind, there will be very little offered with that initial cheap ticket price. You're going to need to pack super light (carryon and checked bags can cost more than your ticket!) and not care where you sit if you want the cheapest flight possible. 

I'm all about saving money and have flown budget airlines multiple times. I wrote an entire bog post about it, if you want to hear more specifics than what I say here. Click here for to check it out.

If you're the type of person who loves to brag about how much money you DIDN'T spend, then budget airlines are definitely for you! I mean, how cool is it to say that you flew from point A to point B for only $8? Obviously, I'm that kind of person who likes to brag about such things because I would take a flight like that just to say that I did! 

Keep in mind that you definitely get what you pay for on these budget airlines. Don't expect any extra treatment (no food, water, etc.) and you'll have to pay for every single thing. You'll also stand in tons of lines, feel like you're herded about like cattle, and will often fly to more remote airports rather than the main ones. As said, this is all talked about in greater detail in this blog post: Europe for Less: My Honest Take on Budget Flights. 

When you're calculating the total price, keep all of that in mind. That $8 flight really isn't going to be $8 when it's all said and done! 

NOTE: Google flights doesn't always show all of the budget airlines. So, I would also search on Skyscanner and even other websites like Kayak, Expedia, and Priceline to see if other options come up other than what Google shows. 

Attention Flight Warriors: What Tips Do You Have? 

So, do you have some great airfare hacking tips other than those I've discussed in this article? I'd love to hear them, and so would your fellow travelers. Please share in the comments below!