Hostels offers different sleeping configurations.  Most common are 4 and 8 bed dorms comprised of 2 or 4 bunk beds.  However, very many hostels now offer single rooms with private baths, as well as family rooms, usually comprised of 4 beds and 1 shared bath.  Still others offer dorms as large as 16 beds. ​

Hostel booking websites like Hostelworld, Hostel.com and HostelBookers.com, make it easy to find a hostel that meets your budget and needs.  Aggregate sites like Hostelz.com combine offerings of several hostel booking sites allowing for a side by side comparison.  Many traditional hotel booking sites, such as Booking.com also lists pricing and availability of hostels.  

Maximize your vacation budget by using hostels whenever possible.  Hostels can help  you to save money, enable you to travel more frequently or for extended periods,  and allow you meet others who share your love for traveling.  Your vacation dollars should be spent on experiences, not hotel rooms.  Contact Booked & Ready Travel to book the best hostels worldwide, with features and amenities to meet you personal needs and preferences.  

What interesting experiences have you had while staying in Hostels?  Share your experience in the comments below.

3. Search for budget airlines
Since most search engines do not include budget airlines, you will need to perform a separate search to locate them.  Budget airlines offer significantly cheaper tickets than their full-service counterparts.  For these significantly discounted fares, expect  compromise some comforts, such as leg room and free food/drink on-board (which is normally covered in your higher-priced ticket with full-service airlines).

​If you plan on using a budget airline, which is a great way to save money while traveling, we recommend that you do the following: 

1. Check the airport location.  Some budget airlines fly to airports outside of hubs and metropolitan areas. 
2. Ensure you’ve booked & paid for your luggage allowance.
3. Adhere to restrictions on weight, height, and number of bags allowed.  Some airlines  will charge hefty fees if you’re over. Remember, paying only for the exact luggage space/weight you need is how budget airlines keep their prices lower than traditional airlines!
4. Read the fine print.  Some budget airlines will charge a fee if you do not print your own ticket or adhere to their strict luggage weight and dimensions. A warning of this fee is clearly stated in the first sentence of your e-confirmation.     Always read and follow instructions!

Remember, if you want to book the cheapest flight possible, be adaptable, do your research, and know the budget airline’s requirements & restrictions.

Below is a comprehensive list of budget/low cost airlines around the globe. ​​

First, do your research.  Are there budget airlines unique to the country that you are flying to and/or from?  Kiwi.com and AirWander are both great search engines for revealing cheaper routes that involve multiple airlines.  You can even book your own multi-day layovers, essentially allowing you to see two destinations for the price of one.   Rather than spend a day sitting in the airport, you can spend multiple days exploring the city you are laying over in.   AirWander is a specialized search engine for doing exactly this. Put in your origin, final destination, and number of days you want to stopover. AirWander will return a list of places you can visit on your stopover, often even cheaper than a regular flight search engine!

5. Search for airline error and sale fares
Airlines sometimes make mistakes when posting their fares, leading to seriously discounted flights. This can happen for various reasons – currency conversion mishaps, technical glitches, or human error. If you’re in the know-how on where to find airline error fares, you can save yourself some serious bucks on a ticket.
AirFare Watchdog and Secret Flying are great resources to stalk for finding mistake and sale pricing as they compile slashed ticket rates all in one spot.   Another great approach is to search for flights for an entire month using Skyscanner  This will allow you to easily spot a significantly reduced fare against what’s displayed that month.
8. Search for local airlines
While the above search engines are great, they do not always include small airlines, especially in less popularly booked routes and/or in remote regions. If you’re flying somewhere obscure, Google search and ask around if there exists a local airline.  When you do find small airlines, even if they are listed in search engine results,  it often pays to check the company site which may reveal exclusive online offers not found in a regular search engine. 
9. Don't wait to book 
Rarely ever do airline tickets get cheaper as your departure date gets closer.   Budget airlines typically offer low rates as a baseline price, and as these tickets sell, the remaining ones increase in cost. This is very typical in Europe and Australia. If you know when and where you’re going, don’t wait on an unknown sale. More often than not, your biggest savings come from booking far ahead when you can.
10. Check Currency Exchange Rates 
Before booking a flight, consider if the rate is cheaper if paid in another currency. Often budget airlines will make you pay in the currency of the country you’re departing from, but this isn’t always the case.  An important note when doing this: make sure you’re using a credit card that is free of foreign-transaction fees, otherwise your attempts to save money will be lost! 
11. Consider hidden city ticketing
Sometimes a flight that connects in a city you want to go to, is cheaper than flying directly to that city.  So instead, you book that cheap flight which connects in your desired city and hop off there, not taking the ongoing connection.
Here are some factors to consider:

• If your luggage is checked, it may go on to the final destination. For this reason, with hidden city ticketing it’s best to have carry-on luggage only.
• You may not be allowed off the plane (if the same plane is continuing onward to its final destination).
• Airlines may detect that you did not take your connection. The consequences of this are hard to say, especially since people miss flights all the time.

There is now a web search engine which finds hidden city tickets for you. It’s called Skiplagged and is currently being sued by United Airlines who is angry about this debatable hack.  This hack could mean considerable savings for you.  Use at your own risk!

12. Use flight points when possible
If you’ve inadvertently forgotten about those Aeroplan or Air Miles points you’ve been racking up for years, now’s the time to use them! For Canadians using Air Miles, the best bang for your buck is to use your points for in-country travel, as this uses the least amount of points for the distance, though if you are swimming in points (company credit cards can be a goldmine for this), this is a good way to save serious bucks

When all else fails... contact Booked & Ready Travel.  Just tell us where you want to go.  We employ all of the strategies listed above to ensure that we book the cheapest flight possible for our clients!  Leave the leg work to us!
What time and/or money saving tips do you use when searching for flights?  Let us know in the comment section.

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