There are few things more thrilling than having a travel itinerary where you travel to multiple destinations in a single trip. Not only is it an enriching and exciting experience, but it also allows you to explore a wide range of attractions, landscapes, and cultures on a single trip. Does planning and booking a multi-destination vacation sound daunting? It can be, but it doesn’t have to be, especially if you involve Trip.com. Booking multi-city flights on Trip.com doesn’t involve any complexity, whether it is choosing the ideal destinations and finding the best deals for flight tickets or managing logistics before and after booking an itinerary. Read this useful guide, which provides you with a detailed approach to planning and booking a hassle-free multi-destination adventure on Trip.com.
Also read: Why Trip.com Is Perfect For Last-Minute Bookings.
Choosing Destinations
The first and most important step in planning a multi-destination vacation is to decide where exactly it is that you want to go. Trip.com helps immensely with that, especially since it has a separate section titled “Travel Inspiration,” with further tabs for “Destinations” and “Top Picks.” You can browse a multitude of destinations by considering what interests you the most, such as adventure, nature, culture, or history. What’s more, Trip.com also has a map option, which allows you to see and choose destinations that are relatively close to each other so as to minimize travel costs and time.
Additionally, some destinations are more affordable than others, allowing you to narrow down the number of destinations on the list. Finally, you can research the best weather and season to visit every destination. Even if you don’t want to travel in the peak season to avoid crowds and high prices, you need favorable weather conditions.
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Finding Cheap Flights on Trip.com
Next, you need to know how to find cheap flights on Trip.com. Firstly, arrange your travel dates in a flexible manner. Since the prices of airlines can often fluctuate, you might end up saving a ton of money if you can travel one or two days later or even earlier. Next, you need to compare the prices of different airlines on Trip.com, as booking certain flights with budget airlines could end up reducing your costs, especially if you’re light on luggage. Additionally, consider loyalty programs, as participating in some airlines’ frequent flyer programs could earn you points, which you can use to redeem for discounts on flights to more cities than two or three.
Specifically, follow these steps:
- Check out Trip.com’s “Flexible Date Flights.” After you click search, click the option “Show cheapest days per leg.”
- Can you begin your journey from a major hub? You might end up finding a lot more flight options due to more competition.
- Finally, don’t forget to check ground transport for bus and train prices.
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Multi-City Flights: Booking Process
Multi-city flights refer to flights from one city to another, with one or more stopovers in between. So, instead of going back and forth between two destinations, you do a route with multiple destinations, such as Istanbul → Kayseri (Cappadocia) → Izmir → Antalya → Istanbul. Using this method is a fantastic way of visiting multiple destinations on a single trip.
To book multi-city flights, head to the Trip.com app or website, click on the “Flights” option, and select the ‘multi-city’ option. Next, you need to enter your origin city, destination, specific travel dates for flying out and return, seat class, and the number of passengers. Then, you need to choose ‘Add Another Flight,’ which allows you to include up to as many as six segments in your itinerary. Once you’ve filled in all the details, hit ‘Search’.
When the search results come up in front of you, they could be sorted in multiple ways: duration, prices, direct flights, and more. Finally, choose the flight timings that best fit your needs, requirements, and schedules before proceeding to the final booking and payment.
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Useful Tips and Tricks
There are many factors you can consider and need to remember when it comes to booking multi-city flights in a hassle-free manner. Firstly, consider traveling during the not-so-touristy off-peak seasons. Not only are the sights less crowded, but the fares are lower. Secondly, look for and make use of airlines’ discount events and promotions to reduce costs any way you can. Next, compare the prices offered by different airlines on Trip.com to find the most economical options for you. Also, ensure that your travel schedule is well-planned, allowing for sufficient time in every destination in order to verify flight schedules carefully. Finally, consider stopover options that allow you to stay in transit cities for a specific period.
Don’t forget to check luggage rules, which depend entirely on the airline and the route you’re flying. For instance, if the airlines for all your travel legs are the same, then a single allowance covers the entire trip. However, other situations might not be so simple. For instance, mixed major airlines might all have the Star Alliance rules, but throw in regional/budget airlines, and you might not have any free baggage at all! Pro tip: On Trip.com, luggage rules for every flight are shown before payment, so make sure you screenshot it.
That’s not all. Make sure you book overseas flights together, as one-way international flights cost a lot more when done alone. Secondly, do check whether you can book shorter flights separately, as sometimes budget airlines could charge more. Don’t forget to check visa regulations for intermediate stays in transit airports. Last but not least, ensure that your flights involve just terminal changes and not airport changes (for instance, it’s a 1.5-hour drive from London’s Gatwick to Heathrow Airport!).
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Trip.com’s AI Planner
Do you want to begin your multi-city trip planning but aren’t able to find the time amidst all your work? Fret not, there’s TripGenie to the rescue! Trip.com‘s savvy travel assistant is just like its name — it’s like having a personal travel genie in your pocket! Available only on the app, TripGenie offers customized itineraries and tailored travel advice rather than generic recommendations. In fact, it’s even able to book complicated flight itineraries; all you need to do is tell it what you need.
That doesn’t mean that the website is far off — it has its own AI planner. Head to the trip planner page. On the left side of the page is the details of the itinerary that the planner will build for you, including the starting destination, duration of the trip, and any preferences for the holiday type. Additionally, there are even options for whether you want the AI to plan the trip for you or if you’ll be doing the planning, with assistance from the AI. Meanwhile, there’s a map on the right-hand side, which shows all the destinations close to you (or the starting destination), allowing you to actually see where and how far you can go.
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Booking Hacks on Trip.com
There are no booking flights without booking hacks, is there? According to Trip.com, you need to combine “open jaw” + regional flights for the best booking experience. How open-jaw works is that the price of open-jaw tickets is roughly the same of a round-trip air ticket between the same two destinations. For instance, say it costs roughly USD 1,200 to book a flight plan that looks like this: Mumbai → Zagreb + Zagreb → Athens + Athens → Mumbai. However, the Dubrovnik to Athens ferry costs USD 50 as opposed to a Ryanair flight, which is USD 35. In this case, you need to see whether the flight meets your requirements (luggage, extra pay for a seat, etc.) or whether it makes sense to take the ferry across the Ionian Sea.
Last but not least, don’t forget to set price alerts for your route. Additionally, check out the “Deals” tab or check flight promo codes on Trip.com before booking multi-city flights.
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How can I manage my multiple-city flight bookings on Trip.com?
Log in to Trip.com with your account and head to the “Manage my booking” or “My Trips” section on the app or the website. From there, you can choose the flight booking you want to see or edit the details of, depending on the available policies and options of the booking.
What information do I need to provide when booking multiple-city flights on Trip.com?
For flight details, you need the origin, destination, dates, and number of travelers for every leg of the journey. For booking, you need standard information such as the complete names of all passengers as they appear on their government IDs or passports, contact details like e-mail address/phone number, age, etc.
Can I book multi-city flights with different airlines for each leg?
Yes, Trip.com supports multiple-city bookings with a mixture of airlines.
Some images in this article are copyrighted by Trip.com.
