Travelling is one of the joys of life that we can all revel in. There are so many ways in which you can get your fix, and there is absolutely no excuse for not taking that next flight out to your dream destination this season.

However, we all must think of the cost of travel from time-to-time, and it simply cannot be overlooked. When looking at flight deals online, you have to consider that what you see isn’t what you always get.

Here are some tactics you can employ if you’re a beginner flyer.

Beginner’s guide to cheap flights

These tips are best used by people who do not fly very often, don’t have air miles or frequent flyer benefits on their side.

The advantage of connecting flights

Look at the various one-stop, multi-stop, or nonstop carrier options for your destination, and you’ll be surprised at the prices. This is the advantage you have when looking at fights, as opposed to trains or buses, which almost always have one decided route that you don’t have much freedom.

Don’t forget the risks that come with the stops though and always consider how flexible or not your schedule is. If you’re not very good with your timing, also entertain the possibility that you might miss your connecting flights. Depending on how adventurous or not you are with your travel, this may prove to be tiring enough not to be worth the money you save.

Multiple carrier options

When you look at massive flight search engines, that say that they consolidate your cheapest and best flight deal options. However, they’re not being 100% honest with you. Anyone’s natural response is to look at one of these websites for the best deal, but that isn’t where you’ll find it. Some carriers explicitly restrict or avoid their fares from being seen on these websites, and hence you completely miss out on the best flight deals.

This is mostly because flights are looking to sell their fares directly. A good tip is to head over to various travel sights as well as airlines to look up the rates for your flights. This way, when do the needed research before booking, you’ll know which flights are being kept out of the search engine. Then you can compare all the prices and only pick the best one. Also if it’s multi-stop, then you might want to combine different flight carriers and get the best overall fare for your trip.

Flexibility is key

Being flexible with your dates and holiday schedule pays well. Weekends and even Mondays sometimes come with higher rates. So if you can fly on a weekday or the middle of the week even, you’d be doing your wallet a favor. Most airlines and carriers even let you search for the flight for different days, so that you can pick the day that’s priced the best.

Along the same lines, it’s best to stick to one-way tickets as opposed to returning ones. This might sound counterintuitive at first because booking tickets together have always been cheaper in the past. But now with the option of multiple carriers and flexible times and duration of travel, you’ll save a lot more if you book as you go.

Alternate airport options

Most major cities today have more than just one airport you can travel through. Some of them aren’t as far from the main city. Others might even be better in terms of service and what not. You’re also avoiding some taxes and fees at certain major high-end airports, as opposed to smaller ones which are more lowkey.

Regardless of how you’re traveling to the destination, it makes sense to consider the alternate airport through different flight deals. Public transport covers all airports, regardlessly. If you have relatives or friends picking you up, the difference in transportation cost might be close to negligible. The point is that you must not disregard the possibility.

Hidden taxes and fees

Is your carrier charging you a fee for some of the services that are automatically added to your ticket? When it comes to airline tickets, if the price seems too good for the services, then it probably is. So if you’re a traveler with, say some extra baggage, have a look at the extra baggage fees of airlines. The difference in cost will stagger you. You may even discover that flying at a slightly higher rate is still overall cheaper if you choose a good flight deal.

This is all the more applicable depending on what you carry as well. Some carriers charge extra for say, sporting equipment, while others consider it regular baggage and charge you nothing. It’s always a good idea to also just weigh your luggage at home and read the fine print beforehand.