I get asked a lot about which sites I use to book travel on and where to find the best deals on airfare. This is of course a fair question but there is no one site or place where you can simply find great deals all of the time. You need to look around a lot to find the best deals. You should subscribe to different travel sites so they can email you their specials as they come up so you’ll have a chance to capitalize on the fares before they sell out. Also, looking on individual airline sites and specialty sites and not just sites like Expedia and Orbitz can land better deals as they often offer good discounts online.
There are many other aspects that should and can be considered before booking a complicated flight itinerary. You need to determine whether your flight will be an around the world flight. If so, you should contact an agency like STA Travel that deals with these types of tickets and often offers discounts or a site like AirTreks that specializes in around the world tickets. You can often save a lot of money by using these types of tickets and you should shop them around as well.
Additionally, you should look into discount airlines when flying around the world, especially in Europe and Asia. Sites like OAG Flights and Amadeus are great for these types of flights. Also, if you happen to know the names of the discount airlines, just going to their website is great as well. These new airlines are popping up everywhere and can really save you some money, especially out of the UK.
Then there are sites like Travelzoo which comes out with its Top 20 deals every Wednesday, I suggest everyone to subscribe to these deals as they are often very good but they sell out quickly. A lot of times, even if I don’t use them for the time frame specified, they can give me great ideas for future trips and let me know new places to look for deals and new sites and hotels, etc.
Finally, bounce ideas off your travel partners because everyone has their favorite sites to look at and your friends might find deals that you didn’t see. Just yesterday, my friend calls me up and tells me of this great deal on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong and then onward from there. Who knows if we will actually go but it’s good to stay informed because it opens your options.
I know its a general site but Kayak is very good to use as well
Agreed, also check the airlines you are considering flying if you will be going around one region. I used Bangkok Air around Thailand and was able to use their DiscoveryPass which saved several hundred dollars that if I had booked each individual flight seperately.
I agree with Baumer as I did a similar pass in Brazil with TAM Airlines-it saved me a bundle buying the pass-I forget what its called but we had to book it in the Satates before we went down there.
I dont have time to search for these fares so I just use a travel agent and pay the extra. ALso that way I have someone to blame when things inevitably go wrong!