CHEAP CANCUN AIRFARES - CHEAP CANCUN FLIGHTS
Looking for cheap Cancun flights? Why? |
That's right - FREE. We haven't paid for an airline ticket for years! Sound too good to be true? It's not. It's very real, and we've been proving it for a long time. The most expensive part of your vacation could be gone, just like that. If you are reading this, it's probably because you're looking for cheap airfare - which means you need help! To find out the first step in getting free flights and vacations, see How to Fly For Free. For a more in-depth discussion of how to fly for free, you'll want to pick up one of the books below that outline in detail for you how you too can fly for free.
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Why Not Fly Free? Untapped Strategies for Free Travel |
OK. That being said, there's help for the rest of you too. We'll outline a few strategies that we have for getting the best airfare available all the time.
Rule #1 Pick the Right Time to Go.
This is the single biggest factor in finding the biggest Cancun airfare discounts. For example, when we flew to Cancun over the Millennium, it cost us $1200 per person! However, if we were to fly today, it would only be $350. Quite a difference! How do you know when the right time to go is?
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Fly to Cancun during off-peak seasons (fall and late spring are best).
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Fly to Cancun mid-week instead of on Mondays, Fridays, or Weekends.
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Make sure to include a Saturday night stay in Cancun.
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Avoid holidays at all costs, especially Christmas.
Rule #2 Shop Around!
We ALWAYS search the dates we decide on with all the major discounters before making any reservations. If you search the net, you'll find hundreds of websites offering fare searches. If you haven't heard of them, it's probably because they are just affiliated with the major discounters, and it is very unlikely that you'll see any better fares from them. There isn't usually a tremendous amount of difference in airfares these days now that airlines no longer pay commissions, so a search of the major travel sites will usually find you the best deal. The sites we use are:
Booking Buddy - This is a great site for comparing tons of other sites all in one convenient place. They also have some pretty cool vacation specials and airfare specials, basically consolidating all the offers in one easy place.
Expedia - We've found that Expedia is rarely the cheapest option for airfare from most cities. They usually come in just a few dollars more than the others, however, we just found a great deal on there last time, so maybe things are changing! Expedia has the advantage of the most flexibility of any website.
Funjet - Often you can find charter fares, if you're from a city that has charter flights, from as little as $99.00 round trip. It doesn't always work, but it's great when it does.
Hotwire - We like Hotwire a lot - you can often find excellent deals here. The best deals are to be found if you can be a little bit flexible on your flight schedules or routes. You'll usually save about $30 each if you use this option. One hint - if your search says no "hot fares were available for your dates" - search the surrounding dates. These hot fares are by far the best deals.
Priceline is famous for it's name-your-own-price feature. We've used this feature on a number of occasions, and most of the time our price was not accepted. However, we just used Priceline for a trip to Los Angeles this summer and our price was accepted and we made a killing. You just never know until you ask.
Sky Auction
is the leading online travel auction house. You can sometimes find great
airfares all over the world here, particularly to less popular
destinations than Cancun. We've yet to win an auction here, but we
know people who have and say they saved a ton.
Travelocity no longer offers it's biggest advantage - the ability to search flexible dates internationally. However, it is still a good way to search for airfares.
TravelZoo is a weekly newsletter that has some awesome deals. We always check it to see when the next unbeatable deal is being offered. Very comprehensive, and has lots of good stuff.
We've booked with all of them at one time or another. It just depends.
Rule #3 Consider a Cancun Vacation Package.
Cancun Vacation Packages are often a great way to save money on your Cancun trip. Many hotels will offer their rooms practically for nothing if you buy airfare and/or a rental car with it. All the big discounters listed above offer Cancun vacation packages. On my last trip to Denver, I booked a hotel package through Travelocity, and actually paid less than I would have paid for just the airfare alone! If you have a timeshare or scored a great deal on a hotel, then maybe you don't want the full vacation, but often you can book a vacation to a cheap hotel for less than just the airfare. Just don't show up at the hotel, and count your savings!
Rule #4 Reserve Early
It is a gamble to wait until within 60 days to book airfare, particularly in high season. If the flight you want is not a hot-ticket flight, and it is not likely that it will fill up, there is some benefit to waiting until within 60 days to book airfare. Sometimes there are sales, or even clearance fares. However, the gamble can backfire on you if the plane starts to fill up, and you're only left with the highest fare coach class seats, or even worse, the plane gets totally full and you can't get a flight! It's up to you to decide if the savings is worth the risk - for us, on international flights, it's never been worth the risk - we usually book early.
Rule #5 Travel Auctions
Sky Auction
and our Auctions here at Cancun Discounts are the primary travel auction sites out there. Each
can occasionally get you an excellent deal on a flight or vacation
package. Watch the fine print like a hawk though, these deals aren't
as good as they seem. Often, after adding the taxes and fees, if you
bid more than $100 for any item, it can cost more than it would through a
conventional source. However, you can score very good deals here on
occasion, so make sure to keep an eye on them.
Rule #6 Air Hitch
OK, here it is. If you want the absolute low-down and dirty, cheapest air fare to Cancun or anywhere else, Air Hitch is the place to go. It's a lot like flying Standby, actually. The Sun Hitch program is like hitchhiking in the air. You pick your resort destination in your target country, and give a 5-day window of when you'd like to travel. You may end up where you want to go...or you may end up in a different resort destination altogether. Of course it will be good too. This is usually used by younger travelers that are really looking to save a buck. If your looking for something this cheap, you may also be interested in our Cancun Hostels selection. Average fares to Cancun are for $117 from the South, $199 from the Northeast and $169 from California. Unfortunately, in 2009 the founder of Air Hitch passed away, and the status of Air Hitch is now in doubt. The website has been taken down, and we are not sure if or when it will return. There is reportedly an AOL Instant Messenger Chat Room dedicated to Air Hitch but we haven't seen it so can't comment.
If you follow these guidelines, chances are you'll have an excellent trip to Cancun and save a lot of money. If you have a Cancun airfare discount or rule you'd like to share with us, please Contact Us. We'd love to hear from you!
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