Anyone have any tips for finding a cheap flight without being too picky about the date? Most flight-search engines want a departure and return date, which aren't important to me at the moment. I'd rather just see the best deal in a general timeframe without having to re-search extensively.
Specifically, I'm looking for a cheap flight from Calgary or Vancouver to Fortaleza, Brazil. :mrgreen:
In al likelihood it will be cheaper from Vancouver, and Fortaleza... is far away from Rio and Sao Paulo so that will hit you.
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Sadly there are no open dates for international flights in the big search engines (Travelocity, Expedia) but sometimes the carriers' sites have the option surrounding a particular date (I know both Spirit and Lan have that capability). If not, it's a matter of common sense, trial and error choosing dates over and over.... :-\
:P
I've accumulated a lot of hotel points for Holiday Inn and related chains, and they offer what's called 'Point Breaks' on select hotels. Essentially, I have enough points for about a 3-week hotel stay if it's one of the hotels listed (they change every month or two):
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/c/2/content/dec/pc/0/en/points/us/hre/pointbreaks.html
Accommodations are the one part of the holiday that irk me the most. One can scrimp and stay for cheap in hostels and the like in most cases, but it still generally makes up a large part of your budget if you are trying to travel on the cheap. Having a clean, secure base of operations (plus a free breakfast in most cases!) is a bonus. I can always sniff out cheap meals one way or another, and if not, I am quite accomplished at hotel-room cookery if there is a market nearby (not that I'd EVER pass up a chance to get immersed in the local cuisine, but it helps fill in the gaps here and there).
Flights are always going to cost a goodly chunk of change, but there's also usually a pretty wide range in prices.
Sadly the cost of a seat on a plane depends on the date - ie. the flight date minus todays date ie. number of days or weeks until the flight. This is why most airlines web sites insist on a date. As Zono mentions, some airlines own websites are a more helpful, and sometimes the more expensive scheduled flights.
I haven't been on a train for years and was horrified to find out recently that trains here follow the same system. I did not even know one had to book, when I last used trains there was no booking. I truly hate what modern life means in terms of anything that costs money. And I hope it becomes unsustainable and there's a world crash and we all go back to barter - although I am not sure I have anything worth bartering :'(