Why not booking an affordable weekend trip to another country? You think it is not possible? It depends on where to look and how to manage all the little details to can be a little overwhelming for the first time.
I get it, and I know your problem. You have to work until Friday late it may be more difficult to get a cheap and short flight to a close, but not too close destination.
In the following steps I'll explain to you how simple it can be to spend a nice weekend somewhere else and to have exciting memories for the rest of your life. OH! And even better for all of you with a limited budget.
1ST STOP - BOOK A FLIGHT
Obviously this post is more for people who never ever booked a flight, but were thinking about it for a while of "how they can escape their routine". But it may be a nice little extra information for people who already have some experience.
KNOW YOUR SCHEDULE That means you should know what time it is best for you to finish school, college, university or work on a Friday and of course the time you have to be back on Monday. Because sometimes you have to start a bit later on Monday and that means you can book a return flight very early in the morning and you head straight to work. Be aware it's not for everyone, because you still should perform the best as possible in your job, even though you just slept a few hours.
I prefer to go straight to work after I just came back from a nice little weekend trip. Of course, it'll be very tiring and I don't really recommend it to someone who is not that experienced to work under pressure or to keep working under those conditions.
DON'T BE PICKY ABOUT YOUR DESTINATION And with don't be picky I mean it. Sure, you can check out some specific countries you always wanted to visit, but sometimes these are more expensive.
SECRET TIP! Check all the flights in Incognito-Mode. Otherwise it may be that all the active cookies that are always running in the background of the system, create connections and suddenly your favourite flight from yesterdays evening increased up to 50%. And be honest, no one likes that.
A SAMPLE: CHEAP FLIGHTS FROM DUBLIN/IRELAND
First of all, open your web browser and type in "google flights".
Because, let me say it is the easiest page to use so far with no big adds or anything. But other pages like "Skyscanner" or "Kiwi " work good as well. In the end it's up to you what websites you feel most comfortable with.
JUST A REMINDER You are looking for a flight at the weekend to escape the routine. So in case you chose a website you have to set up everything for the perfect catch.
In the left upper corner you see the date. It is pretty soon, but still some good flights available. The cheapest in my case are to Amsterdam and London. Madrid is not bad as well. There are some more, but maybe we try to find a good flight for one of these three destinations. LONDON.
Sometimes another weekend is cheaper. Just play a bit with the dates and you see different prices. Often I had the problem that some flights for Friday afternoon were already gone or there was no good flight for Sunday evening or Monday early morning. That’s why it’s always good to check different weekends.
Are you interested that I show you how these things work in short video tutorials? Just let me know in the comments below. Or send me a mail. Thanks! ♥
BUY AND FLY
A lot of people stop right here, because they don’t have experience how online booking works. Specially older people like my mothers generation feel way more insecure with those things than my generation. Like 90s hip girlz and boyz.
I even have to buy my mother stuff from Amazon with my account! But I love her and I don’t mind helping out.
But let’s go back to the real problem: Buying the tickets online.
Sometimes google.flights is showing you different offers from different companies. Even though the templates of the websites are not the same, it is still not complicated to follow the instructions. It’s a bit tricky to figure out about the luggage.
But pages like Ryanair or Air Lingus are advertising with “more luggage for low costs” for the flight while you get your ticket, which makes it easier to see how much you are actually allowed to carry with you.
Normally you don’t need that much of clothes when you are just gone for the weekend. Except you want to go somewhere cold or like me to take some more camera equipment with you. But even that is manageable.
In the following I show you with a photo story how you book a flight step by step. With that I assure you it’s super easy to book a flight on your own.
BOOK A FLIGHT – STEP BY STEP Add the nearest Airport and the Destination. Next to that the days you like to be on a trip. Don’t forget to add more passengers in case you don’t fly alone. The same whether it should be a Round Trip or just a Single Flight.
NOW YOU HAVE TO CHECK WHAT TIME FITS BEST To London are in general lots of flights. I kinda like it, because that means you won’t have a problem to decide when you like to fly. Specially people who need to work or still go to school have problems with booking a flight in the early morning. Therefore, I added two flights that have nearly the same price. One is in the early morning and the other in the late evening. There would be even some time for a nice dinner before checking in.
IT IS THE SAME FOR YOUR RETURN FLIGHT
After you decided what flight is good from your nearest airport to your favourite destination another page appears for the return flights.
OVERVIEW OF YOUR FLIGHTS
Just check if everything works out and you are ready to buy the tickets.
A LITTLE BIT ANNOYING From Google Flights you’ll be directed to the airline for your tickets. BUT pages like Ryanair or Air Lingus don’t really save your flights and therefore I advise you to write down the times you have chosen before. With that it’s easy to keep track.
CHOOSE YOUR SEATS Of course you can get some seats now and I would say go for it in case you travel with a friend. With that you make sure that you can sit together. Otherwise, just skip that part and continue without booking seats. Just do the “check in” one day before your actual flight and you can get seats for free.
A LOT OF ADVERTS
Sometimes a little bit over the top with all of those pop ups, but sometimes you need to book priority boarding, rent a car or book a hotel. I never did one of those, except to get more luggage than just a cabin bag.
READY FOR CHECK OUT – BUY YOUR TICKETS
Now the only thing you have to do is to click on CHECK OUT and you’ll be directed to the next page where you have to add all your details to buy the flights. It’s good to have a credit, debit card or PayPal to buy them otherwise ask a family member or a friend if you could use their card and give money back in return.
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Time to “check in” and add all the relevant details. PS: Don’t forget to donate a Euro down below in the green area to support less pollution. Always a thumbs up!
AND THAT’S ALL! CONGRATS FOR YOUR FIRST BOOKED TRIP!
Enjoy your weekend. Don’t forget. It is just one sample of many ways where to look for cheap flights. There are plenty other websites to search for the perfect flight. But in my opinion the one I explained to you is the easiest to get what you want.
That wasn’t super duper complicated right? Let me know in case you still have some questions, and I am happy to help.
I hope you enjoyed reading the article and that it has been helpful. Don't forget to share this post on Pinterest or visit me on any other Social Media pages.
Give me a shout, in case you need some more advice and leave a comment below to let me know! I am always happy to help out. :)
Thank you so much and see you in the future,
Sina
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Disclaimer: This post contains #affiliatelinks. It only means, in case you decide to purchase something through my links, I might earn a tiny bit at no extra cost to you. :)
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