I used Google Flights for two years before I realized I was using maybe a third of what it actually does. I was searching specific routes on specific dates like I would on any other booking site, getting prices, and moving on. That’s fine, but it’s the most basic possible use of a tool that’s actually much more interesting than that once you start poking around.
Here are the features that changed how I search for flights, most people have no idea they exist.
The Price Calendar
This one more people know about, but not everyone uses it properly. When you search any route on Google Flights, look for the calendar view that shows prices across an entire month. You can see at a glance which days are cheapest, which weeks are expensive, and where the dips are. If your dates are even slightly flexible, even by a day or two in either direction, this view is invaluable.
The less-known version of this: click “Flexible dates” and you can see the cheapest prices across multiple months at once. Looking for the cheapest week to fly to Portugal this year? That view shows you the answer in about ten seconds.
The Explore Map
This is the feature I wish I’d found earlier. Instead of searching a specific destination, click “Explore” from the Google Flights homepage and a world map appears showing cheap flights from your home airport to everywhere Google has fare data for. You can filter by region, budget, and travel dates. It’s the best tool I know of for the “I want to go somewhere but I don’t know where” problem, and it’s surprisingly good at surfacing deals you’d never have thought to search for.
I found a $340 round trip to Iceland this way while I was planning something else entirely. I wasn’t looking for Iceland. I just happened to hover over it.
Price Tracking Alerts
Search any route and toggle on “Track prices”. Google will email you whenever the price changes meaningfully for that route and date combination. You set it once and forget about it until you get an email saying the price dropped. For trips you’re planning weeks or months out, this removes the need to check manually every few days.
You can track multiple routes simultaneously, which is useful if you’re deciding between a few destination options and want to see which one becomes cheapest first.
The Flexible Dates +/- 3 Days Feature
When searching a specific route, click on your departure or return date and look for the option to view prices plus or minus three days from your chosen date. This brings up a grid showing the cheapest combination of outbound and return dates in a range around your original search. Sometimes the cheapest outbound is one day earlier. Sometimes the cheapest return is two days later. Sometimes the combination that saves $80 per person is leaving Thursday instead of Friday. The grid makes this obvious instantly.
Nearby Airports
In the origin and destination fields, Google Flights can show fares from and to nearby airports. Turn this on in the settings or just type a city name instead of a specific airport code. Google will often show you fares from multiple nearby airports automatically. Flying into a secondary airport and taking a train or bus can save meaningful money, especially in Europe where rail connections between airports and city centers are often fast and cheap.
Filtering for Direct Flights
Under the filters menu, you can filter for nonstop flights only. Obvious once you know it’s there. Less obvious: you can also filter by number of stops, maximum flight duration, maximum layover duration, and preferred airlines, all at once. If you have a connection you’re worried about or a hard limit on how long you’re willing to sit on a plane, set these filters before you start comparing fares rather than after.
The “Any Destination” Trick
Type “Everywhere” in the destination field. This isn’t always available depending on your settings and location, but when it works, it shows you the cheapest possible flights from your home airport to any destination Google has data for, sorted by price. Different from the Explore map in that it’s a ranked list rather than a visual display, sometimes easier to scan quickly.
Baggage Fee Information
Google Flights now shows carry-on and checked baggage fee information directly in the search results for most major airlines. This matters because a fare that looks $40 cheaper than the competition sometimes isn’t once you add two checked bags. Look at the luggage icon next to each fare and hover over it, the fee information pops up without you having to go to the airline’s site to find it.
One Thing Google Flights Doesn’t Do
It doesn’t always surface the absolute cheapest fares, particularly on budget carriers like Spirit, Frontier, or some international low-cost carriers that don’t participate in its system. If you’re targeting budget airlines specifically, check them directly after you’ve used Google Flights to get a sense of the market. But for the vast majority of routes and travelers, Google Flights is the starting point for any flight search. I haven’t needed anything else for a long time.
