Cheap flights to
Fort Myers (RSW)

There is no cheapest time to book a flight, exactly, but there sure is a sweet spot. Waiting until the last minute can mean running up against 21-, 14-, and 7-day price hikes, but you don’t need to book a whole year in advance either. The best time to book is during what we call the Goldilocks Window: 1-3 months before domestic trips and 2-8 months before international ones.

The exception to this recommendation is peak season travel, like flights in June-August or around the winter holidays. In those cases, you’ll want to book a little sooner. Buy tickets in June or July for winter holiday travel and December or January for summer flights to score the best deals.

Sometimes playing around with your flight route can lead to some major savings, which is the idea behind this trick. The idea is to find the cheapest possible flight that gets you in the vicinity of your destination, then take an additional flight (or bus or car ride) to finish up the journey.

When headed to Fort Myers, for example, keep an eye on flights into Tampa and Miami, as well as RSW. Sure, either way, you’d be looking at a 2+ hour car ride to get all the way to Fort Myers, but if you’re saving a few hundred dollars, wouldn’t it be worth it?

You can also experiment with different flight routes by changing which airport you fly out of. If you live in New Jersey, for example, search for flights to Fort Myers that leave from JFK and LaGuardia as well as Newark Liberty. We’ve even seen shockingly low flight prices worth adding a domestic flight for, so don’t limit yourself to your home airport!

We know summer is an ideal time to travel, but it’s also peak season as people take advantage of school breaks or lower workloads to explore the world. That means airlines hike up prices, and the chance of finding a good deal goes way down. The same is true if you’re looking at flights that depart around the winter holidays.

Booking flights during shoulder or low season as opposed to peak season is a great way of saving money, but it’s not always possible. If you have to travel during the summer, try looking at flights for the first two weeks of June or the last two weeks of August to beat the crowds. Another idea is to look for flights departing on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays rather than Fridays or Sundays.

We know all too well how much work goes into keeping tabs on flight prices. Luckily there is enough technology out there to shoulder some of the burden for you. To give yourself the best shot at finding a great deal, set up email alerts before the Goldilocks Window, and you’ll get notified when prices go down. Remember, you may need multiple alerts if your travel dates are flexible.

Sixteen different airlines fly out of Southwest Florida International Airport, headed to over 60 nonstop destinations in the US, Canada, Germany, and Cuba. That means you have plenty of opportunities to see the world from southwest Florida.