Why I Always Try to Travel With Multi-City Tickets

Throughout my travels, I have developed a secret joy out of finding the best deals on multi-city tickets possible. My most recent accomplishment was finding a one-way multi-city ticket complete with layovers from New York City to Reykjavik, Reykjavik to London, London to Mallorca, Mallorca to Budapest, Budapest, Budapest to Istanbul. Istanbul to Moscow, and Moscow to Bangkok. This trip allowed me to see all of these places and make my way over to Asia for $850 with taxes.

Here are my secrets to finding the ultimate deals on multi-city tickets:

1. Consider Looking at Kayak.com: Kayak is where I found my most recent deal and it has provided me many amusing and affordable itineraries over the years. The key to using Kayak successfully is to allow yourself a few days to stop in each place if you are making a big trip to across the world. This will help you to encounter more unique flight paths that will get you better fares and more amusing layover opportunities. For example, I did not anticipate spending a couple of days in Iceland or Hungary this summer on my way to Thailand.
2. Book Your Flights Leaving on Tuesday Through Thursday: This is one of my best tips to get deals because on sites such as Kayak, they provide hacker fares that are even lower than usual if you are willing to make more adventurous stops. This could be a way to save a considerable amount of money on your ticket.
3. Multi-City Tickets Can Be Containing a Round Trip: For example, if you are going on vacation and are coming back to a different city, multi-City fares can sometimes be much less expensive. Thus, do not be afraid to play around with the dates in order to see if this will cut out a significant amount of money from your fare.
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Break Up Your Multi-City Ticket: Some of the best deals on multi-city tickets can be encountered when you go from Lisbon to Madrid, break up the ticket on a budget flight or train between Madrid to Barcelona and then continue the multi-city ticket from Barcelona to Istanbul, for example. If you take a budget flight in between and the reserve the multi-city ticket not including the missing leg, you can sometimes save a great deal of money on your fare.
5. Consider Making Your Own Around the World Ticket: Many of the airline alliances offer around the world fares. However, at times, you are able to get a better deal by shopping around independently with multi city tickets. For example, if I had continued my multi-city ticket to go back to America from Thailand this summer, I would have likely found a ticket that is cheaper than what the Star Alliance or One World Alliance offer for their around the world fares.
6. Always Look for Turkish Air and Qatar Air Flights: Every discount flight that I have ever found on a multi-city major global trip has involved Turkish Airways or Qatar Airlines. Thus, if you see these on the ticket, take advantage and get the air miles.

One of the best kept secret of backpackers and travelers on a budget is that they use multi-city tickets to have more unique layovers and to be able to see more cities in an extended trip or a short period of time. Thus, consider looking into these tickets because they allow you to see more of the world while helping your budget as well!