Flying and The Mistakes We Made.

I have a love and hate relationship with booking flights for our international travels. On one hand, it’s really exciting to sit down and plan it out, while on the other, it can be a little overwhelming. Especially, when you add in multiple stops like we did when we flew to Reykjavik and then London in an attempt to try to squeeze in Iceland at a discounted rate.

Now that we are actively searching again, this time for flights to Bangkok, I started thinking about some of the mistakes we made, and thought now would be a good time to share them.

Mistake #1: We spent more money than we should of on our ticket from Iceland to London because we waited to buy the ticket. After we bought our ticket from the states to Iceland, Beth and I decided to wait on our tickets out of Iceland, because we wanted to find the cheapest route that would allow us to see the most. Italy was the only place we had to be, so Beth and I had some flexibility about where and how to get there. Unfortunately, we went back and forth on the alternatives for about a week, and by the time we went to book our flight to London, it had increased by about $100 per ticket.

Solution: We should have powered through the alternatives and made a decision that day, or even better, immediately after we booked the first ticket. Our indecisiveness cost us.

Mistake #2: Our mostly costly mistake, though, was not buying a round trip ticket to Italy. If we were not on a budget, this probably would not have been a big of deal, especially because we got to see Iceland, London and Paris in addition to Italy. However, between our flights and train tickets, we ended up paying more than a round trip ticket from Boston to Rome would have cost us.

Solution: Because we are still on a tight budget, I would just buy a round trip fare and work in train trips or cheap European flights once we reach our destination. It’s easy to get sucked into a good one way fare, especially if you want to see a couple of other places. Though, it can be a real drag when your only option back to the U.S. is a one way ticket that cost almost as much as a round trip ticket.

We both like spontaneous travel and adventures; however, when it comes to booking our flights, Beth and I (and our wallet) now realize, at least for the major flights anyway, that we need to be a bit more Type A.

Do you have any advice or tips for planning air travel? Or, have you changed your traveling style over the years? If so, we’d love to hear about them in the comments below.

*Please remember all photos on this website are copyrighted and property of BeersandBeans.com, NarikosNest.com & Bethany Salvon. Please do not use them without my permission. If you want to use one of them please contact me first because I do love to share and I would be flattered. Thanks!

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