Top Sites for Finding Travel Deals

For me, I have 2 different moods when the travel bug hits. Either I'm open to traveling anywhere and just want to see good deals, or I'm set in stone on a location and just need to find the cheapest dates. Below, I'm starting with the top ways I find cheap flights when I don't have a specific destination in mind.

Of course, these are just the ones I have personal experience with. If you have others you love, please leave a comment and share!

Want to travel but don't know where to go? Need some travel inspiration?

1. Travel Pirates

I love this website because it's an actual team of humans putting together informative posts and best the travel deals. You can filter by where you're departing from and whether you want to see all deals or just flights. I set my filters and bookmarked the page. No need to scroll through endless deals that aren't relevant to you - just browse those leaving from your city!

Another great feature - posts are archived once the deals are no longer valid. They also revise the posts as necessary like if certain dates are running out or they found new dates at the same price.

There's also a Travel Pirates app but it's harder to filter by just flights so I don't use this much. Looking at their website is currently the way to go.

2. Kayak APP

Using Kayak's website is meh, fine. You can use their Explore feature but I find a lot of expired pricing which is frustrating when you think you've stumbled across a good deal. Their app though - that's where it's at!

I love that I can set up multiple Watchlists with different filters. Most of mine are set up under "Top Cities" as you can select a region/continent, a time frame like which month you want to travel, and any limits you have on layover stops. If you're open to anything, leave the filters off! It sorts by cheapest price first so this is a great app for all types of scenarios, like if you want to see all flights from your city or for something more specific like you want to go to Europe or Asia in December of this year.

My only qualm is again, sometimes you'll come across expired flight deals. I just like to check frequently so when prices refresh, I can make sure I'm looking at updated pricing.

3. Google Flights 

Google Flights is another favorite. I admittedly use this site more for when I know exact dates (will discuss more later) but their Explore feature is easy to use and to me, has more updated pricing than Kayak's Explore.

Once in Explore, you can type anything in the "Where to?" field, including general terms like "Europe" or a country and not a specific city or airport. You can also select dates or more general searches like 1-week within the next 6 months. I like having that flexibility because I don't always have a preference for travel dates.


You can also click around the map to see how prices compare from country to country or city to city. I love how interactive Google Flights is and if you select a flight, it will show you all the places to look through to get that exact pricing. For instance, Kayak will just show you Kayak's prices unless you're on web and select to compare to other sites, but you can't actually buy tickets through Google Flights. They exist to share information and will have links for you to book directly on the airline's website or any other sites that have the same pricing (Kayak, Orbitz, Expedia, etc.)

Also, when you click through to the other site, it will have all the info saved so you don't have to re-enter dates and things you just found.

4. Other notable mentions

There are a few other sites that I peek at occasionally, but the two I'm mentioning are very active on social media. I follow both @airfarewatchdog and @SecretFlying on Twitter. Reason being, AFWD's site is clunky to use. I don't like browsing it but I do like how frequently they find deals. Secret Flying's site is like a less-pretty version of Travel Pirates and the deals are usually similar so I just opt to receive SF's alerts on Twitter.

Of course on Twitter, you can't customize to just receive Seattle alerts so it's not a foolproof plan. It does provide for coverage for my bases though. I can see deals in my phone apps, Twitter feed, and on the web by going to my bookmarks.

Hopefully one of these tips will prove useful for you - happy deal hunting!

Iceland: The Land of Fire & Ice

Oh, Iceland! My first spontaneous travel adventure kicked off in March of last year. I found a flight deal for Copenhagen with a 3-day layover in Iceland. My only regret during that trip was not spending more time in this magical place. It was so calming and serene. I told myself I'd visit again soon and I'm keeping my promise... just booked a trip to Ireland & Iceland for May 2019! 

We just barely missed heavy snowfall (apparently the most they had in decades) but there was still a ton of snow remaining on the sides of roads and outside of the city. It was beautiful. Sure, winter is very cold in Iceland but the scenery was out of this world. Plus, winter is when you can see the northern lights!

The flight in from Seattle had us arriving at 6:00am, meaning we flew through dark skies on our way into Iceland. We were treated to the aurora borealis before we even landed! Each night we also managed to find the lights. There wasn't heavy visibility but it was still amazing to witness. 

Besides seeing the lights, the highlight of our short stay was driving the Golden Circle route. I came across this helpful blog post that detailed the route and stops. It took us about 7 hours to drive the route including stoppage time. With all the sights and sounds, the driving time didn't even seem long. If you drive this route, be sure to pack a swimsuit for the hot springs and pools! 

Secret Lagoon 

We opted to skip the Blue Lagoon as there weren't many tickets left (yes, you must purchase admission in advance) and the few that were left were around $75 USD per person. The Secret Lagoon on the other hand was about $25. It's not as blue or fancy, but the changing and shower area were very clean and there was a small cafe. We also purchased some beers to drink while in the hot springs. Maybe one day I'll visit the Blue Lagoon, but for now I'm pretty happy with my Icelandic hot springs experience. 

Below are a few other pictures from along the Golden Circle. The Ring Road on the other hand is the ultimate road trip, taking you around the entire country. I don't think I'll be able to commit to that on my next trip as it's not long either, but it's definitely on my bucket list. 

Kerid Crater Lake

Strokkur Geyser

If you're even considering a trip to Iceland, don't hesitate! I'll be posting some additional posts soon for what you should pack, top tips for saving money in Iceland, etc. 

An Intro

Hi all!

Revamp time! I used to run a YouTube channel and blog here featuring bargain fashion hauls. We’re talking like $2 shirts and that “never pay regular price” mentality. These channels were a huge part of my life in high school and college but after adult life started picking up, I completely fell off.

Now I’m in my mid-twenties and while bargain shopping is still 100% a part of my lifestyle, I simply don’t shop as much anymore or frankly, have the time to edit videos for YouTube. Instead, I’ve been filling my life with new additions like my 2 cats and French Bulldog, working fulltime, and traveling!

Through this blog, I hope to share some experiences with the places I’ve visited. A large theme you’ll see is how to budget travel! Before I go anywhere new, I do a ton of online research. I like visiting people’s blogs as opposed to the country’s tourism sites because I want raw and unbiased opinions. Though these posts may not reach many, even having tips one person in the interwebs finds helpful will be enough.

Along my journey, please feel free to comment and ask any questions you may have! I promise I’ll do my best and offer my own view.

Thanks for reading!