Traveling internationally can be a stressful situation when you figure in passport and customs issues, exchange rates, the expenses of traveling abroad, culture shock and more. In order to make the most out of your trip abroad, you can start by saving as much as possible on your airfare. Knowing the cheapest time to travel, how to find deals and which airlines offer the best rates can save you time and money, and take some of the hassle out of international travel.
Knowing the best time to travel will help you save money and avoid the crowds. For example, the high season in Europe is in the summer. Not only will prices on airfare and accommodations be high, but it'll be crowded and the weather in certain places may be sweltering. While the winter is the cheapest time to go, you can also get good deals during the spring and fall. To determine the ideal time to get cheap flights and accommodations for other international destinations, and the potential downsides to traveling during the off season (namely, weather), contact the board of tourism for the city you're visiting, visit their website or pick up a travel book. Here are a few examples of popular international destinations and their high/low seasons:
Europe: April through May and September through November are good months to travel during the low season because the weather is good yet there are no summer crowds yet. The peak season is typically from June to July.
Mexico: April and October through November are good off-season months that are dry and less crowded. The high season is December through Easter weekend and June through July.
Caribbean: Spring months are good off-season times to visit, as the weather is warm but not too hot and hurricane season has not yet begun. December through March are peak times and very expensive.
Australia and New Zealand: If you are looking for a summer off-season vacation, this is the place. Summer months are the off-season here because it is their winter.
There are several ways you can subscribe to airfare deal news alerts, letting the discount come to you, rather than going out and searching for them. If you know where you want to go, most major airlines allow you to sign up for newsletters with your personal settings (where you are departing from and where you would like to go). You may also want to check the board of tourism site for your destination, as many major tourist destinations now offer similar news alerts. Some hotels in the area you wish to stay in may even advertise package deals (airfare and hotel) when you sign up for their newsletters. In addition to airline-, location- and hotel-specific e-newsletters, there are several travel websites that gather the best international deals from around the web each week, such as TravelZoo. Keep in mind that many of the e-newsletters offer somewhat last-minute deals, so you may have to be flexible.
Another option you may have is to fly a discount foreign airline. If you are flying in Europe, you have your pick of Easy Jet and Ryan Air, both of which offer dirt-cheap fares if you're willing to fly into slightly out of the way airports (on some flights) and sacrifice a little legroom. Liat is a popular discount airline in the Caribbean. If you are flying from the U.S., you may want to find the cheapest city to fly into that is serviced by one of these airlines, then fly it to your final destination. Compare to see which route would be the cheapest. For example, flights from New York to London are usually cheaper than other departure and arrival cities when flying from the U.S. to Europe. If your final destination is elsewhere in Europe, see if it would be cheaper to fly to London on a U.S. airline and then to your final destination on Ryan Air or Easy Jet.
