How to Find Cheap Flights as a Digital Nomad

Flight costs can make or break your nomad budget. The difference between booking smart and booking lazy can easily be $500+ per trip. After years of nomad travel and analyzing thousands of flight deals on NomadFast, here are the strategies that actually work.

1. Be Flexible With Dates

This is the single most impactful tip. Flying on a Tuesday or Wednesday is consistently 20-40% cheaper than Friday or Sunday flights. If you can shift your travel by even 2-3 days, the savings are significant.

Pro tip: Use Google Flights' date grid view to see prices across an entire month at a glance.

2. Book at the Right Time

The "sweet spot" for booking international flights is:

• 6-8 weeks before departure for most routes
• 2-3 months ahead for peak season (December, July-August)
• Last minute can work for budget airlines within Asia or Europe

Avoid booking more than 6 months ahead -- prices are usually higher because airlines haven't released their promotional fares yet.

3. Use the Right Tools

Not all flight search engines show the same prices. Here is what works:

• Google Flights - Best for route exploration and date flexibility
• Skyscanner - Good for finding budget airlines not on Google
• NomadFast Flight Deals - We track the cheapest flights to all 50 nomad cities from major hubs

Set price alerts on routes you care about. Prices fluctuate daily, and alerts catch the dips.

4. Consider Nearby Airports

Flying into a secondary airport can save 30-50%. Examples:

• Instead of Bali (DPS), check flights to Surabaya (SUB) + cheap domestic flight
• Instead of Barcelona (BCN), try Girona (GRO) with Ryanair
• Instead of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (BKK), try Don Mueang (DMK) for AirAsia

5. Mix Airlines and Book Segments Separately

A round-trip ticket is not always cheapest. Sometimes booking:

• Outbound on Airline A
• Return on Airline B

...saves 20-30%. This is especially true for routes between Asia and Europe, where budget carriers compete on one-way prices.

6. Use Points and Miles Strategically

If you have a credit card that earns travel points:

• Transfer to airline partners rather than booking through the card's portal (usually 50% more value)
• Business class awards offer the best points-per-dollar value for long-haul flights
• Position yourself near award-friendly airports (Singapore, Tokyo, and Seoul have excellent award availability)

7. The Budget Airline Strategy for Asia

Within Southeast Asia, budget airlines are game-changers:

• AirAsia - Hub in KL, covers all of SE Asia
• VietJet - Incredibly cheap Vietnam domestic + regional
• Scoot - Singapore-based, good for longer routes
• Cebu Pacific - Philippines and regional

Book directly on airline websites (not aggregators) for the lowest prices. Sign up for their newsletters -- flash sales happen monthly.

8. Consider Overland Alternatives

Sometimes the cheapest flight is no flight:

• Bangkok to Chiang Mai - Overnight train ($20 vs $60 flight)
• Vietnam north to south - Reunification Express train
• Europe - FlixBus and trains can beat budget airlines when you factor in baggage fees

What to Avoid

• Clearing cookies myth - This has been debunked. Prices are based on demand, not your browsing history
• VPN trick - Rarely works for flights (it does work for hotel bookings sometimes)
• Booking too early - The cheapest fares are released 2-3 months out, not 6+
• Ignoring baggage fees - A $200 flight with $80 in baggage fees loses to a $250 all-inclusive fare

Track Deals Automatically

On NomadFast, we track the cheapest flights from 5 major hubs (Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, London, New York) to all 50 nomad cities. Check flight deals for your destination, or browse all routes on the city pages.