Cheap flights to
Ohio

After years of paying close attention to airfare trends, we’ve found that there’s a period of time before a flight when great deals on tickets are most likely to happen. It’s 1-3 months ahead of departure for a domestic trip and 2-8 months before an international one. We call this sweet spot the Goldilocks Window—it’s not too early, and it’s not too late.

As with every “general rule,” though, there are some caveats to the Goldilocks Window. If you’re planning a trip during peak season or over a holiday, you should add a few months to the numbers quoted above. The same is true when you have little to no flexibility on your travel dates. And, while there are very occasional last-minute deals on flights, they’re not common. In fact, airlines almost always raise prices 21, 14, and 7 days before departure, so you should book before those dates if at all possible.

We all love a good travel hack, and we think our Greek Islands Trick is an especially good one. Rather than biting the bullet on a ticket that’s more than you hoped to pay, the Greek Islands Trick is all about finding the best deal on a flight that gets you pretty close to (but not exactly) where you want to be. Then, you’d close the remaining gap with another transit method, which could be a train or boat, another flight, or even a road trip. Don’t be fooled by the name, either—the Greek Islands Trick works for places all over the world.

If you’re not having much luck finding a deal on a flight into Cincinnati, you might want to check on flights to Indianapolis or Louisville. From either one, it’s less than two hours by car to Cincinnati. For alternatives to Cleveland, you might peek at flights into Pittsburgh, about two hours’ drive away. Before you book your flights, it’s always a good idea to take another look at your options—because even if this kind of itinerary requires more logistical planning on your part, the savings can sometimes be substantial.

This travel hack works like the Greek Islands Trick in reverse. The idea here is that while you can certainly book an itinerary from your home airport to your destination, that doesn’t mean you’ll get the best deal. We see surprisingly low fares on flights departing from both big and small airports all over the US, and some of them are so cheap you’d still be saving money even if you had to book a second roundtrip flight.

Travelers in San Diego could book a trip to Cleveland for around $350-400 for an itinerary that includes a layover, or they could drive the roughly 2.5 hours to LAX and get a nonstop flight to Cleveland for under $200. Even people who don’t live near multiple big airports should get in the habit of looking around for low fares to their chosen destination, just in case there’s a cheap fare that’s too good to pass up.

This may sound like an obvious point, but it’s a little more nuanced than it may seem. You may know that airfare is usually more expensive during the peak tourist season and that planning a trip in the shoulder seasons (or even low season) is a big money saver. But not everyone has that kind of flexibility with scheduling vacations.

If you can only travel during the busy summer season, for instance, you may still be able to save a little bit on airfare if you try to book during the first two weeks of June or the last two weeks in August. Flexibility with regard to days of the week can also yield savings, too. The most expensive days to fly are usually Fridays and Sundays, with the cheapest usually being Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Try to avoid the former and aim for the latter when scheduling your travel days.

We track the frequent changes in airfare all the time, but it’s not exactly a fun hobby most travelers want to do. Luckily, there are a couple of ways to automate the search. You can sign up for fare alerts for the trips you’re considering, and then you’ll get emails when the price drops. If you’re looking at a few different trips or dates, though, keep in mind you’ll need to set up multiple fare alerts. You can also simply join Going and let us put all of our resources to work for you.

The three biggest airports serving Ohio, Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE), Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), and John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH), all have direct service from dozens of airports around the United States. Cincinnati has the most inbound direct domestic flights at 49, but Columbus and Cleveland are close behind with 45 and 39, respectively. Cleveland is an operating base for Frontier Airlines and United Airlines, and Cincinnati is a focus city for Delta Air Lines as well as an operating base for Allegiant, Endeavor, and Frontier.