Okay, so I’ve been planning this big family reunion, and let me tell you, getting flights for everyone? A total nightmare. We’re talking about people coming from all over, different dates, different budgets – the whole shebang. I spent hours, seriously hours, comparing prices on different websites and trying to keep track of everything in a messy spreadsheet. It was driving me crazy!
I started by, you know, the usual way. I opened up a bunch of tabs in my browser – one for each of the big travel sites. Think Expedia, Kayak, Google Flights, the works. I figured I’d just compare everything manually. I quickly realized this was a terrible idea.
Then I tried using different apps, downloaded some of the popular apps.
- Expedia
- Kayak
- Google Flights
I thought maybe the apps will do better, but it is really hard to search many flights.
Digging Deeper and Finding (Some) Solutions
So, after pulling my hair out for a bit, I started searching “best tools for group travel flights” and things like that. Found some articles, some blog posts, some really unhelpful “top 10” lists. But I did find some decent tips.
I played around with the “flexible dates” options on most of the sites. This helped a bit, especially for the folks who weren’t too picky about when they arrived or left. It showed me price differences across a whole week, or even a month. That saved me some time, for sure. The best tools for this are Google Flights and Kayak. They have the feature to compare prices very easy.
Then I set up price alerts. Most of the major sites and apps let you do this. You basically tell them your route and dates, and they’ll email you if the price goes up or down. This was a lifesaver! I didn’t have to keep checking manually every five minutes. Got a few emails about price drops, which was awesome.
For the people who were really budget-conscious, I looked at flying into smaller, alternative airports. Sometimes, flying into a smaller airport a little further from the main city can save you a ton of money. It takes a bit more research, but it’s worth it if you’re trying to keep costs down. I used a website I found, can’t remember the name right now, but it listed alternative airports near the destination.
I did use the spreadsheet, but only used it to arrange the members of the group, so I can remember and manage easier.
What I’m Still Working On
Honestly, it’s still a bit of a work in progress. I haven’t found one single “magic bullet” tool that does everything perfectly for large groups. It’s more about using a combination of features and strategies. And, let’s be real, a lot of patience!
I am still working on it.
