Where to find cheap flights

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Cheap flights are available from many vendors and there are a few options to search for these. We all want a bargain flight and with a lot of research on the Internet, you might just be lucky.

So, one of the first things to do after you have decided that it is time to take that next trip is to book your flight. As this often is one of the more expensive parts of travelling, it is important to find a good deal. Where would you buy your tickets? Do shop around but more often than not the following conclusions are worth taking into consideration so that you don't have to spend too long finding that bargain.

1. If you are travelling within Europe andRyanair will take you to your destination, it is without a doubt the cheapest option to book with them directly. That is if you buy your ticket well in advance, mind you not too far away though as that can prove expensive too, don't travel with baggage and hold a VISA Electron. Travelling with Ryanair deserves a few blogs on its own so I will return to the subject.

2. If you are planning a trip further afield, then it will be cheaper to go trough brokers or travel agents rather than buying directly with the airlines. Shop around little but as there aren't that many good cheap sites out there, it won't be too much work. The standard brokers that I would use are Expedia, Ebookers, Lastminute and Gohop. There is one Irish agent however that always come up trumps for me and that is Travelpaths. I have booked many of my flights with them simply because they offer me value for money.

3. There is a 3rd option to consider if you don't mind being kept in the dark about the flight operator etc and that is to go and check out Hotwire. Hotwire provides flights, hotels and car rentals cheap but the snag is that you don't find out all the details until you have actually paid. I haven't yet tried it for flights but the hotel option works brilliantly.

Do you have any other recommendations? I would love to find out...

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