It’s gearing up to be a big travel summer as newly vaccinated folks emerge from their Covid cocoons. High demand is fueling ever higher airfares. But we found a good deal to Europe using Google Explore, allowing us to resume our roving retirement without breaking the bank.
What Is Google Flights and How is Explore Different?
A quick hop over to Google Flights opens up a fairly easy-to-use and informative travel search engine. I prefer it to other Online Travel Agencies (OTA) because Google Flights provides the information succinctly and allows you to book through the airlines directly, which makes reservations easier to manage than booking through OTAs.
Explore is a Google Flights feature that facilitates seeing pricing on many different destinations all at once. Explore makes it easy to see possible inexpensive locations if all you really want to do is just getaway.
Where Do I Start?
Once you get to Google Flights, click on the Explore button on the left-hand side of the page. Then, you can enter your origin (LAX in this example), fare class, and what type of trip you want (I used a 2-week trip in July, but specific dates work, too). I also set my max price to fares under $1000.
I further chose some filters in the upper part of the resulting map. I decided I didn’t want more than 1 stop and under 20 hours to avoid any really long layovers. I found I could go to Miami for $157, but I’m sure I’d die from the humidity there in July. Bozeman for $88 RT looks pretty good, too.
But my heart these days belongs to Europe, so let’s move the map over there. My filters really start to kick in now. There’s a modest selection of places that meet the criteria. London looks good at $502, but I’m not sure when they plan to open up, so let’s keep looking.
Unleashing More Explore Power
Easily switching to a new origin is a great feature of Explore. It allows you to see fares if you are willing to leave from a different airport. Let’s try Denver since I might be in the Rockies for a stretch this summer. Why not leave from there? Oh, even fewer choices.
Ok, how about SFO? I have seen some good deals from there in the past and I have reason to be there periodically. Now Lisbon pops up as a leading contender at $387. I think they have a better chance than London at being open and I’ve never been to Portugal. Clicking on Lisbon shows me some sample flights from SFO on the left. That KLM flight isn’t bad, let’s click on it and check it out.
Following Through To Booking
Once I’ve selected a flight, I’m taken back to the standard Google Flights interface. I can see the flight times and layover in Amsterdam. The economy seat has a USB port and On-demand video. I could book through Delta for points accrual if I want.
Still, departing on Friday may not be what I want. Clicking on the Date Grid button in the upper right shows me more options. I could save $5 and not use any vacation time (if I was still working) by leaving Saturday.
Continuing on with Saturday, I find the same flight through Air France, too. Note the bag fee. An extra $120 on my $378 fare for a checked bag is a lot. At this point, I could go back to the Explore engine and add the filter for 1 checked bag, and review results. There may be another option that is cheaper overall.
Quick Check On Higher Fares
We usually choose to fly Biz class for long haul flights, so let’s see what that is running. My first attempt is a fail because I’m still set for fares under $1000 round trip. It’s no surprise I can’t find that for Biz class during summer. So let’s pump up the fare max to $3000.
Now Porto looks best. Under $2000 for summer Biz class is a good deal. Even if I choose not to stay in Porto long, I can get an inexpensive onward flight/train elsewhere in Europe.
Final Thoughts
Google Explore makes it easy to discover different options for upcoming trips. Using the powerful options, you can quickly find some great destinations with palatable flights while not breaking the bank.
Where do you want to go?
