Airline tickets form a major chunk of any vacation plan, which would require us to spend less on the actual fun stuff that we plan. But if you manage to book your tickets really cheap, you can have the best vacation ever, all within your budget. All that is required is planning and some patience to dig through the numerous travel websites that offer deals to find the best rates.

Planning is key: Start your planning by deciding on your destination. Once this is done, mark your calendar for the tentative period of your trip, but not the exact dates as ticket prices can vary between days. If you stay flexible and mix and match your travel date with a weekday, the prices could be comparatively lesser. In this case, even during the holiday season, with some little effort, you would be able to grab very cheap airline tickets.

Check several websites for prices in different airlines using various permutations and combinations of your dates and timings to note the outcomes of the search engines. Search engines such Skyscanner and Trip Advisor are very user-friendly as these sites will also help you with a recommendation on your stay and things to do at your desired vacation spot, which would aid you to plan better.

Check closely on the terms of all the available options. Sometimes booking a full-cost carrier might be cheaper when you consider all the extras you will end up paying for the food on board the plane, luggage and so on, which would be covered in the ticket of your full-cost airline by default. When you check for the fares, do not choose only round-trip options. Check one-way tickets as well since sometimes you might end up with a cheap flight ticket by choosing the right one-way tickets for the to and fro journey. Similarly, if you don’t mind the stopover, check for options that has a layover at some point, especially on a long-haul flight. This would be a godsend to stretch your legs and relax while awaiting the next flight.

Stay on track with the latest updates: Join the mailing list of websites such as Airfarewatchdog, which sends you good travel deals. So, you can even plan a trip on a last minute basis, if you find cheap airline tickets and take an impromptu vacation. If you don’t mind visiting your coveted destination during the non-peak seasons, you might most likely get amazing deals on not just your flight, but also on the hotels and you can start ticking off your bucket list. But then again, if you wish to experience the holiday atmosphere of the peak period, with proper planning, by looking out for packages and deals, it is still possible to enjoy your vacation without burning away all your cash.

So worry no more about travel expense. Start planning, keep an eye for the cheapest airline tickets and go on a much-awaited vacation!