This post is all about Finding Cheap Flights To Anywhere.
Cheap flights are the backbone of budget travel and Skyscanner is one of the best ways to find cheap flights to anywhere, in fact it's my go-to!
Skyscanner is basically a travel search engine, which searches hundreds of airlines and travel agencies to bring you all the flight options in one convenient place.
I've been using Skyscanner for over a decade now and I swear by it, it's where I book 99.9% of my flights.
Over the years, I've managed to find some incredible flight deals and I've found that majority of the time, it is cheaper than going direct to the airlines or travel agencies.
So, here's my exact six step strategy on how I use Skyscanner to find my own cheap flights and how you can use it to find yours!
This post is a strategy on How To Find Cheap Flights To Anywhere.
Table Of Contents:
Tip One: 'Explore Everywhere' Feature
If you are an adventurous type who isn't bothered about going to a specific destination and instead, just needs a holiday to ANYWHERE, then you need to use Skyscanner's 'Explore Everywhere' feature.
It's super easy to use! All you need to do is go onto the Skyscanner website and when you go to choose your destination, a drop-down menu will appear allowing you to select the 'Explore Everywhere' feature.
Once you have selected the 'Explore Everywhere' feature and input your dates (more on that later!). Hit search and Skyscanner will give you a selection of possible countries you could travel to and the lowest price to each place.
Even when you click on the country of choice, you'll get another selection of the possible destinations within that country you could travel to, their price and whether they are direct or include stop-overs.
Skyscanner will also provide you with the cost of accommodation as well, if you are interested in booking this through Skyscanner.
Proof that it works... I can't recommend using the 'Explore Everywhere' feature enough! In fact it has helped me to pick my travel destinations including to Thailand when I found return flights for ~£300.
Tip Two: Multi-City Search
You'll need to conduct a bit of research before you use this next feature, the Multi-City Search.
Before you use the Multi-City Search, you'll firstly need to decide which place(s) you are going to fly to and fly back from.
Secondly, you'll need to research the cheapest specific departure date and return date for these places.
Then, once you've got all this information, you can input all of it into the multi-city search feature.
Proof that it works... I used this feature to book a flight to Quito in Ecuador and a return flight from Lima in Peru. I managed to get my flight for cheaper than flying direct to and from Lima and it also allowed me to travel through two countries.
Tip Three: 'Whole Month' View
If you can be flexible on your travel dates, then you need to use Skyscanner's 'Whole Month' view for finding cheap flights.
Instead of having to search specific dates, you will be able to check the flight prices to your destination over the entire month allowing you to find and select the cheapest flights.
You can switch to searching a full month by clicking on the departure date and switching from 'specific dates' to 'flexible dates'.
You'll then be able to select any month within the current year or into next year.
You'll know you are searching in whole month view when your departure and return dates are a month, rather than specific dates.
Once you hit search, Skyscanner will then give you a whole month of flight prices to your chosen destination. It's worth noting that when you select a specific date, prices may change.
Proof that it works... I travelled to Brussels at the end of October because I found flights for £30 return.
Tip Four: Include Stop-Overs
This is a controversial one because there's people out there who will be hell bent on flying direct to their destination and won't even consider a stop-over. That's fair enough, stop-overs can be awful so if that's you, feel free just to skip this step!
However, if you really want to find those unbelievably cheap flights, then you'll really want to consider including stop-overs in your travel plans.
To include stop overs in your Skyscanner search, then make sure you have unchecked the direct flight box.
This feature can make a HUGE difference in price, especially on long-haul flights! For the example below, a flight from London to Chennai direct costs £557.
However, if you include a stop-over it would cost £347, that's a saving of £210. You just have to work out whether it's worth it to you!
Proof that it works... I was looking at flying direct from Edinburgh to Jordan and it was going to cost me ~£300, but instead I included a 16-hour stop-over in Warsaw and this brought the price down to £48. It also gave me time to sightsee around Warsaw.
Skyscanner Include Stop-Overs - Price Difference Between Direct Flights From London To India (LEFT) Vs Flights With Stop-Overs (RIGHT)
Tip Five: Try Various Departure Airports
If you live in an area where there are multiple airports near you, then make sure you are searching flights from them all to find the best deal. You could find that one of the airports has got much cheaper flights than the other ones.
For example, I could fly from Glasgow or Edinburgh airport. Edinburgh usually has the cheaper flights, but I tend to search both airports just in case when trying to find cheap flights.
For example in the pictures below, flying from Glasgow to Dubrovnik direct in September is £351, whereas to fly from Edinburgh to Dubrovnik direct is £212. That's a saving of £139, so it's definitely worth it!
You'll just have to make sure that it doesn't cost a fortune for you to travel to the airport you've selected as then the cheap flight wouldn't be worth it.
Also, make sure you research whether there will be transport links to and from your airport at the time you are supposed to arrive or depart as this could also eat into the cheap flight price, especially if you end up having to get a taxi.
Skyscanner Various Departure Airports - Price Comparison Between Direct Flights From Glasgow to Dubrovnik (LEFT) Vs Direct Flights From Edinburgh To Dubrovnik (RIGHT)
Tip Six: Sign Up For Price Alerts
You can sign up for price alerts, which will notify you if your flight has increased or decreased in price usually on a daily or weekly basis.
This feature only works once you have worked out your destination and dates. So, make sure you do tips 1-5 on this list to find out all that information first.
Once you have searched for your flight on your desktop, then you will get the option to 'Get Price Alerts' on the upper left hand side of your screen.
Once you click on this, you'll be able to select whether you sign up for your price alerts through email, Google, Facebook, or Apple.
It's worth noting that this feature only works on desktop and not the mobile version of Skyscanner.
Let me know in the comments below if you manage to find any super cheap flights using Skyscanner!
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog post. If it has helped you, please consider subscribing to my blog to be kept up to date with new posts or sharing it to help others!
Kirsty x
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