Absolutely Cheapest Airfares - How to Find Them?

Many people choose to fly when going on vacation, so I wanted to gather some tips here for finding cheap airfare to make it easier to take affordable family vacations.  

I really can't stress enough that one of the most important tips is to just be very flexible on your travel dates. I know that I have been guilty of this in the past, being very rigid about when I wanted to leave and return. But once I realized how easy it was to save on airfare with just a small change in dates, I tried to start being more flexible. It does pay off, so do keep this in mind! Travelocity has a flexible travel dates finder so you can try that, or just manually enter in the dates.

Don't forget, book your flight at least 2 weeks in advance for US travel, and 1 month for international travel for the best rates.

There has been a myth that staying over on a Saturday will help you save money, but I am reading more and more that this is not actually true. You can of course give it a try, but it seems like that may not be the case any longer.

Sign up for Fare Watcher with one of the online travel agents. When you receive an email about a discounted fare, waste no time checking it out. You MAY find a great deal. I have in the past found some super fares this way, but the problem is you REALLY have to be flexible about when you will travel because these are very limited seats. But when searching for absolutely cheapest airfares, this is one way to find a ridiculously low price.

Quite often, the most inexpensive days to travel are Saturday, Tuesday, or Thursday.

Fly in the middle of the week if you possibly can. Return midweek as well if possible.

Fly into neighboring city airports. You can often really chop some dollars off the fare by employing this practice!

In the past, it has been said to never fly one-way, and to always book round trip if you are looking for cheap vacation ideas. This again is not quite as true any longer. In the past few years I have noticed that sometimes you can actually save money by booking two separate one-way flights. So this is something to keep in mind because it may be the best way to get that absolutely cheapest airfare you are searching for.

Every airline would like to sell out every seat on the plane regardless of price. No matter how little they get for a seat, it's still better than nothing! However, they will not tell you this so that they can continue charging you outrageous amounts for last-minute tickets. If you have left your travel to the very last minute, try looking online at sites such as Lowestfare.com and Travelzoo. You may find a good deal if you are needing to go somewhere with less than a week's notice.