Hello friend! I hope you're having a thoughtful, interesting, productive day. The last several weeks zoomed by in a ridiculously rapid haze of writing, creating, clients, emails, & making moves. During all the hubbub, Fred & I looked for flights throughout Europe. I get a lot of questions asking how I afford to travel. My secret? I use Google Flights as my own personal flight scanner. 


Sinking House near Montmartre by the Sacre Coeur Carmen Varner Travel Influencer
Sinking House near Montmartre by the Sacre Coeur.


Google flights flight scanner tips London Canada

It's a strategic process. I used Google Flights to search for tickets to Paris last year. I used it to find the best prices to Portland, Oregon. I've used Google Flights for several trips & it's my favorite way to save money on flights. We used Google Flights to book our latest trip too. In October, I headed to Spain, Germany, & Norway using tickets found via Google Flights! 

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Play Around With Airports


Google flights flight scanner tips

In an ideal scenario, we'd fly out from San Diego International Airport since it's the closest airport to us, but sometimes you can save $200+ from flying from LAX.  It adds several hours of travel time but $200+ can make all the difference if you're on a budget or trying to travel affordably. Play around with the closest airports to you & to your destination to see price fluctuations. For example, roundtrip tickets from San Diego to Paris cost $560, whereas roundtrip Los Angeles to Paris is $360.




Keep Your Dates Open



You're less likely to get a good deal if you have to travel during a specific timeframe. If possible, keep your dates open. Check different dates & compare prices. That's why our winter trip to London was so affordable. Cloudy, frigid, with a dash of snow, but holy moly, Christmastime in London still warms my soul when I think about it. Because we keep our calendar open, we accidentally booked Bucket List moments every time we travel: Christmas in London, Autumn in Portland, Spring in Paris, Halloween in Oslo.

Check for One-Way Flights or Multi-City



We kept it simple by booking roundtrip flights the first couple Google Flights excursions. 7 nights in France. 9 nights in London (10, if you count the night we spent at London Gatwick Airport). If you're keen to explore multiple cities or countries on your trip, one-way flights or multi-city option is your best bet. It cost us a little over $29 for our flight from Barcelona to Berlin. $29. Less than a tank of gas & I'm off to a new country.

Be Aware of Flight Times & Layovers



The $506 roundtrip LAX to Amsterdam flight with a 3-hour layover seems perfect until you look at the fine print: you have one stop in London where you have to transfer from London Heathrow Airport to London Gatwick. You'd have to deboard the plane, take your luggage, get a ride to a completely different airport, go through customs & security in 3 hours?! Sounds like a missed flight to me! Be aware of flight times & layovers on Google Flights. You might find a great price but there might be some sort of weird layover or stop or time. After playing around with dates more, I found a $493 roundtrip LAX to Amsterdam flight with 1 hr 45-minute layover in Philadelphia. Now that's doable.

Book Directly With the Airline



Google Flights gave you affordable options & now you're ready to make a purchase. Heck yes! Save dollars when you book directly with the airline. Go to their website, search for your exact flight, date, & time, then make the purchase from there. Don't forget to sign up for any rewards to maximize potential savings.

Did these tips help you? 


Now that I booked my affordable flight tickets, time to find Airbnb accommodations, research things to do, eat, experience, & start my countdown! You have a trip planned? Have you used Google flights to find cheap flights? Do you use a flight scanner?

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