How I use the 'dartboard method' to find cheaper flights

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Whenever I’m scoping out a flight to check another item off of our family’s travel bucket list, I utilize one strategy to save money and pack in more adventure. Instead of hunting for flights to the exact place I’m keen on visiting, I use what I call the “dartboard” approach.

Yes, the bullseye is important, but if you zoom out a bit, you’ll see there are many more options in the surrounding area.

Let’s take a real-world example: Lake Tahoe. This gorgeous freshwater lake sits in both Nevada and California, and the surrounding area is known for legendary hiking, fishing, skiing, and dining (among many other superlatives). I had a personal goal of making it around the entire lake and hiking at a few spots along the way.

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I began my flight search by typing “Lake Tahoe” into Google Flights. That guided me to Reno–Tahoe International Airport (RNO), which is the closest major airport near the destination. Next, I opened up a wonderful website called TravelMath, which offers a simple “Airports Near Me” feature that has become a staple of my travel hacking strategies.

When you punch Lake Tahoe into TravelMath, you’ll see four international airports within 300 miles and four additional domestic airports within the same radius.

From here, I opened up several Google Flights tabs in my web browser and began to cast a wider net of price searching. Instead of narrowing my search to RNO, I also searched for flights to Sacramento (SMF), Oakland (OAK), and Fresno (FAT).

If you have flexibility in when you fly, this simple approach can save you big bucks. For example, a sample one-way flight between Raleigh and Reno was $268 and up for a recent search.

However, I could fly into Fresno for as low as $214.

The cost savings is only the beginning. Turns out, Fresno’s airport is on the doorstep of one of America’s most beautiful national parks: Yosemite. What was once a trip to see one wonder of the USA can now be a road trip to see even more. More memories, more places, fewer dollars.

While this trick may not be ideal for those with tighter travel windows, it’s always worth a quick glance to see if you can save money — and spur on even more adventure — by flying into a nearby airport.

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