Cheap flights to
Montana

While it would be nice if there was a certain day of the week when airline ticket prices dropped, that’s not the case. There is a time period when prices are likely to be cheapest, though. We call it the Goldilocks Window because it’s not too far ahead of your departure date, but it’s also not too close. It’s about 1–3 months before a domestic trip and 2–8 months before an international trip.

However, if you plan to travel during a peak season or for a trip that requires specific travel dates, you should start looking even earlier. If, for instance, you plan to travel to Montana to ski in January, you should start looking for flights in August or September. Whatever you do, don’t wait until the last minute to book. Fares regularly increase at the 21-, 14-, and 7-day points before a trip, so if at all possible book before those dates.

One of our favorite tricks for getting to the Greek islands can also work around the US. The Greek Islands Trick involves getting as close as you can to your final destination for the cheapest price, then finding a low-cost airline ticket or other mode of transit for the final leg of your journey. If you want to fly from St. Louis to Glacier National Park in August, prices could be more than $600. Instead, look for flights to Bozeman, Spokane, or Boise, sometimes found for $300. From one of those airports, you could then search for a low-cost flight, or you could rent a car and make a road trip out of it. Yes, it involves more work and logistics to plan this kind of trip, but it could save you a few hundred bucks on your summer vacation.

Similarly, you can save money by searching for flights outside of your home city. Again, if you live in St. Louis and you want to fly to Montana but flights are out of your price range, you might want to consider other airports. You could look at flights out of Kansas City, Indianapolis, or even Chicago. We see incredible deals from airports all over the country every day, some of them almost too good to believe. If you see an amazing deal, it could be well worth the drive or train trip to another city.

People love visiting Montana in the summer and the winter, which makes sense. The state has some of the most impressive mountains—and therefore some of the best hiking and skiing—in the world. But more people wanting to visit during set seasons means airlines can charge more for flights.

That’s why we like traveling during shoulder seasons, just before and after the high seasons. These periods, like April–May or October–November, have lower prices and fewer crowds. Plus, Montana is still beautiful in the spring and fall, just not as warm or as snowy. If traveling outside the peak season isn’t an option for you, be sure to look at fares on what are generally the cheapest days to fly: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Avoid Fridays and Sundays, the most expensive days to fly.

Keeping track of constantly changing airfare can feel like a full-time job. Luckily, you can set up technology to do the work for you and forget about it until it’s time to book. Set up fare alerts for your travel dates, and you’ll get an email when prices drop. If your dates or airports are flexible, set a few alerts, and set these up before the Goldilocks Window we talked about above to see the best deals.

Montana is a large state with several small airports. It is decently connected to the rest of the US, though many visitors will still need to make one connection. If coming from outside of the US, you will have at least one, likely two, layovers.