Tuesday, September 16

The Flexible Traveler.....



My sister moved to Key West Florida back in June...and she has been begging me to book a flight for my family and I to come down to visit!!! I miss her (and her family) like crazy....but what is also crazy is the ticket prices to fly a family of 4 from our home town to Key West Florida!!! I looked at a few sites on a few occasions and was sometimes shocked at just how much it would cost for us to get there....most instances a ticket is around $450 a person round-trip!!!

After a few months....I was to the point that I needed to get tickets to visit....Little Man has been asking several times when he will be able to see his cousins again....and Little Miss is always looking out the front door calling her "Titi" (My sister)!!

So for about 2 weeks I really started to devote a little time each day to checking airfare prices, checking days in the months we were interested in going, and trying to find the best deal to get there!!! I found that prices on airline tickets can change drastically is just a few minutes!!! It was pretty shocking!! I would see a great deal...then hubby would get home from a work a few hours later and we would go to book it, and the price rose sometimes drastically.

So we picked 2 months that were good for us, decided roughly how long we would go for, and then the search for the cheapest seats was on!!! We also knew that we preferred a non-stop flight...with the kiddies in tow....we thought it would make the trip a little easier than having to switch planes mid-way. We were very flexible on the days, airline carrier, flight times, and airport we flew into (Key West, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale)...just hoping to get the best deal!!!

About 2 weeks ago....I found non-stop airfare to Miami, Florida (about 3 hours away from Key West) for $164 round trip per person. Hubby and I decided on just renting a car for the day to get to Key West...and then renting a car for the day to get back to Miami Airport. The car rental would cost us just $38 a day x 2 days. Plus gas....roughly $60 or so both ways. This option would be much cheaper than flying directly into Key West Airport. Plus we also learned that in order to fly into Key West Airport we must have a connecting flight. Key West Airport is a smaller airport therefore smaller planes fly in-and-out of it.

Since we were very flexible with the times we flew, the airline carrier, amount of days we stayed, and airport we flew into we were able to get a great deal on tickets for a fraction of the price we originally thought we would end up paying!!! Remember also to check a few different sites to compare prices !! We ended up booking through Cheap Tickets, but there are many other sites out there as well (Priceline, Expedia, Orbitz......just to name a few) ! Also do not forget to check the airline carriers direct websites as well!! And remember....ticket prices rise and fall very quickly on most occasions....so when you see a good deal...don't wait...book it!!!

Have you booked a flight recently??Did you find an amazing deal?? Have any tips to share??


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