Best travel deals

[raeoflyte]

Hi folks--wondering if you can give me pointers on the best ways to find cheap flights to tiny towns in the middle of nowhere. I'm overdue to visit family in Arkansas and have to get out there this spring. (FYI I have the money saved, so no credit will be used, but I want to put the smallest possible dent in savings as possible).

TIA

[mpzsgds]

Point of departure being? General destination is?

[Apple]

I'm really not sure other than calling the hotel and asking about any kinds of discounts they have. I've used Expedia before and that worked out well for me, but when I used it it was for a large town.

[donnafreedman]

What's the closest couple of airports to you?
And to your family?

[debinwa]

I always search using two or three travel sites. When we are going someplace very small, we usually find it's much cheaper to fly into a major city, rent a car, and drive the couple of hours to the small town. Compare the airfare to the closest large cities vs. airfare to the small town. When you find a flight you want to book, do it through the airline's own site to avoid the travel site's fees. It may be only ten bucks a ticket, but I'd rather keep it.

Always get a discount for your car rental. Check rates through Costco. com or get a coupon from someone's Entertainment book. Alamo and Budget seem to have the best rates.

[blackcard]

I think Little Rock is the only place with an airport of any size. We have gone there a few times, it is quite neat around Hot Springs. They might have an airport?

[Agatha]

Feb 5, 2011 0:09:24 GMT -5 blackcard said:

I think Little Rock is the only place with an airport of any size. We have gone there a few times, it is quite neat around Hot Springs. They might have an airport?

Little Rock is the National Airport (i.e. regional) and right dab in the center of the state so driving to almost any area is pretty much equal in miles anyway. Going north into the Ozarks takes more time because of winding mountain roads.

Fayetteville has an airport in the northwest because of so many diehard (and well to do) Razorback fans. And, of course, because of close proximity to Springdale where Tyson headquarters is based. Hot Springs probably has one, too, but it is so close to Little Rock ( about 1.5 hours driving time) I would just rent a car in LR and drive. It's a beautiful drive when you get off the freeway and head into downtown Hot Springs.

I guess it all depends on where the family is located. I believe you will have to come to Little Rock first in any case.

[Deleted]

I agree on checking multiple sites. Once I got a round trip to Scotland for $200 per person cheaper on Orbitz than on Delta's site. Rare, but worth checking. Also keep in mind that Orbitz and Expedia no longer carry American Airlines so you'll have to check that separately.

People flying in and out of small airports generally get bad deals due to lack of competition but you can check different dates. Travel in the middle of the week is typically cheaper; it may also vary by time if you can avoid the hours the business travelers want to fly. You might also want to periodically check fares over a couple of weeks so you know what's "ballpark" and can recognize and grab a good fare when you find it. Don't get too close before your departure date to book, though or your may get stuck with the highest fares. It's basically a giant game of "chicken" with the airlines. When do you hit "Purchase"?

Don't forget to sign up for the frequent flyer program. There are plenty of ways to keep your account active so the miles don't expire (buying a $15 iTunes gift card through the airline's shopping portal will do it). And also check the fine print on the airline's site to make sure you know what you'll pay for checked bags, overweight bags and all the other little nuisance charges they add on.

[Deleted]

I second the check multiple websites suggestion. Don't forget that Southwest doesn't participate in the travelocity/expedia/orbitz -type sites, so you always need to check there separately.

[TrixAre4Kids]

I alway check to see if Southwest flies into my 1st choice airport, if not I'll check nearby airports for them. Their competition really keeps the other airlines rates down.

And, call the hotel direct, sometimes managers can give a better discount if they aren't full. Hotel specific websites can give better rates than expedia etc.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

No need to check multiple websites. Kayak.com will give you all the info for all the sites, other than Southwest airlines.

Flying into a small town is not going to be cheap, so your best bet would be to look at all the adjacent cities that have airports. You also need to look at what airports you can fly out of too.

For instance, I fly out Lexington KY to Seattle, so will check what prices are out of Lexington, Cincinnati and Louisville. Normally flights out of Dayton are cheaper still (especially to the east coast), but that's another 70 miles further up the road.

Generally, Tue, Wed and Thur are the cheapest flight days. If you start your searches with flexibility, plan from using those days first. You may be able to luck into another day for the same price.

When I look to fly, I check all the local airports for the mid week days. In Kayak, you'll quickly be able to see which airlines/sites will give you the cheapest flights and then use that site to do your more detailed searches. For instance, Delta may be the airline that is shown as the cheapest flight, so you go to Delta's website and you'll have more flight times available.

If you need to rent a car, check at both the airport and other sites as well. Normally we've been using hotwire.com for car rentals. A couple years ago, renting a car out of Miami airport cost about 2x the price of what renting at a site that was a $10 cab ride would cost. It's more of a hassle, but cheaper.

I usually use hotwire for hotels as well. You don't find out what hotel you're staying at, but you can get some very good deals.

[raeoflyte]

I appreciate the info--kayak.com was very helpful.

[sammi]

I search several sites, but also am on mailing list for

www.airfarewatchdog.com/

The best deals I have found are from there or Southwest. It's often cheaper to fly to a larger airport and rent a car, then to a smaller, closer airport. Of course, also you benefit by having wheels available every day.