hints on how to find cheaper airfare
 

We will be heading to the Cayman Islands in April and are just looking for tips, or advice on how to find the best airfare. Last time we went, we did a package deal from Expedia and felt we did a good job of finding a good deal...this time, we just need airfare - it is coming down...and I've heard 90 days out is a good time to buy...are there any other things we can do to save ourselves some money on airfare?

We usually check Orbitz, Expedia, and the websites for specific airlines that fly the routes we're considering. The best prices are always during some kind of "sale," which may happen more or less than 90 days out.

One thing we've noticed: let's say you're flying in April and the airline announces a sale for flights through March 31. You may find April fares are lower too, even though it's officially past the sale dates.

For Caribbean destinations in April, you can save a lot if your schedule allows you to travel on weekdays. Even scheduling a weekday in one direction will help.

It's tough to know whether you're getting the lowest fare possible, so we try to estimate what a "good deal" would be for the itinerary we're considering, and if we see a fare at or below that level, we grab it. Maybe it'll drop another $30, maybe it won't.

Try hotwire.com. I find them to have the lowest prices most of the time.

Where are you flying from ? (then I can give you the best possible advice :))

Some of us are flying in from Detroit Metro...others are flying in from Boston. Thank you one and all for the hints!

cdt...thank you for the hint...

took your advice and went to Travelocity to check my farewatcher as they showed that the price went down for March...skipped forward a month, and voila...$465, which is the range we wanted to be within. We are traveling during the week, our children, however, are flying on weekends, so the price is almost double that. I think I'll watch for another day or two and then go for it, unless someone here can give me a clue as to how much to watch for airfare for.

I have never done anything with hotwire. Do they let your choose how many layovers you are willing to have? I have a friend who flew hotwire from Detroit to Tampa and had 3 layovers, making that trip 'a forever' to get anywhere, so I am a bit nervous on that one.

Has anyone used Travelocity and what is your thoughts on them, vs Expedia, Orbitz, etc?

Thank you...want to wait and see what y'all have to say before I go ahead and do this. Cayman Tom, I enjoy your posts and always learn a lot from them.

I use my travelocity farewatchers as a guide, then, once I see some good fares, I try all the other onlines to compare. Orbitz, Hotwire, Expedia, etc, as well as the airlines themselves.
I've booked on Travelocity, orbitz and expedia without a problem.

Tamara,

thank you, we did just that, and just booked with Travelocity. It is taking them a long time to send the e-tickets though. We generally get them within an hour or so. Hmmm, maybe they are just busy. I am an overthinker, so that may be part of the problem too!?!?!?