Tips to avoid a travel booking nightmare

Travel booking can sometimes be a very tricky thing to work with. This is also the reason why some travelers end up paying higher fares than others.
However, there are a few golden tips that may help you avoid this. Some of these are presented below.

Time it Right: The time of your travel booking is just as important as the time of your trip. The reason being that a lot of times making your flight reservations at the right time could save you a lot of money that you may otherwise use to buy antiques and other souvenirs on your trip. Most times, you can get a good deal on air fare if you book your flight about three weeks earlier.
In the same vein, if you wait too close to the time of your travel-like a week or less-then, you are more likely to pay a higher fare.  This does not however, mean that you should book it months before your scheduled trip as prices fluctuate and you may be able to get a better deal along the way.

Compare travel companies: In the age of the Internet, it is very wise to first compare the prices at different sites that do travel booking before you settle on one. This is because, the first one that you come across may not have the best deal for you. So, compare first and buy later. Who hates a good deal? 🙂

Be in the Know and do your own research: A lot of travel booking sites will offer to put you on their mailing lists so that they can send you periodical email updates about air fares, travel destinations, specials they are holding and more. This is one of those times when signing up for commercial email is not a bad idea. Who knows, you are most likely to be one of the first to get the scoop on specials for your route before anyone else.

Flexibility in your vacation plan and schedule: If you can, be flexible with your flight times and airports of choice. If you cannot get them to change your flight date, you may opt for an “anytime” flight schedule. This may result in cheaper air fares at times. Also, being open to using substitute airports where applicable can sometimes work out in your favor. This is considering the fact that the most popular airports in any country have an overdrive of traffic. The airlines will therefore, be more than happy if you will agree to use a substitute airport as this will work out in their favor. You may also benefit from this a lot of times.