Finding The Best Cozumel And Cancun Flights

We are often asked about booking flights to Cancun, Cozumel and the Riviera Maya. As one of the most famous and trusted travel search engines, we think Kayak gives visitors the largest variety of flight options and some of the most complete search filters available, including numerous options not available elsewhere. It’s an ideal place to start.

Kayak is a travel price “aggregator”, meaning the site does not book tickets itself. Instead, it searches dozens of airline websites, booking engines, and OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) and compiles the results in one accessible location. Think of it like a “Travel Google”. You can then sort, filter and click through the search results and find what works best. While sites like Orbitz, Expedia and Travelocity allow you to book directly within the site, they mark up the prices to give you that option.

Kayak can be used to book flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages, among other things. This travel search engine can also be used to explore potential destinations for future trips and review the latest travel restrictions. Here is our guide to help you search Kayak like a pro and find the best flight and travel deals for your needs.

Using Kayak to book your travel is a very solid choice if you want to save time or use one travel platform to search flights, hotels, and car rentals together. The filters and sorting options are second to none (more on this below). Kayak is a convenient way to compare flight prices from many airlines and travel agencies, so you can easily pick the best flight for you while simultaneously making price comparisons.

Pros of Using Kayak

• Convenience: Guests can view, sort and compare flights from dozens of airlines in one location
• Filter: The amount of filters Kayak offers is second to none including baggage needs, layover cities, plane type and more.
• Hacker Fares: These can save you money (more below)
• Price Alerts: These are great for price changes in fares

Cons of Using Kayak

• Flights aren’t booked through Kayak directly
• Kayak doesn’t offer a loyalty program itself (but allows you to filter flights by airline or “alliance”)

 Choose Your Baggage Needs

The first step when searching flights on Kayak is to enter the details of your itinerary; the number of passengers, departure and arrival cities, travel dates, a preferred class of service, and baggage needs. Be sure to select the number of carry on and checked bags you are traveling with so Kayak can work its magic and factor in any additional amount the airline charges for bags. This helps sort through special fares, such as basic economy, that may not include baggage. Kayak will then allow you to compare the REAL total price of flights including baggage. No baggage surprises!

 Wait For Page To Fully Load

It’s essential to keep in mind that since Kayak searches so many options across the web, you’ll want to be sure to wait until your search page fully loads. This can take up to a minute, but it’s worth the short wait to have so many options.

 Use The Filters

Once the travel search engine pulls up your results, you’ll have numerous options to filter the results based on your criteria. Kayak’s filters include stops, duration, landing times, layover cities, in-flight amenities, and even aircraft type. It also has a filter that allows you to factor in “alliance” type for loyalty programs.

 Set Up Price Alerts

Kayak also offers travelers the ability to receive free price alerts. This is an excellent option if you’re patient and waiting for a better price for a flight to your destination (keep in mind prices may go up as you near the departure date). After setting up your free Kayak account, the service can track specific flight prices over time, even if you don’t want alerts.

 Take Note Of Airline Booking Site

It’s important to note that if you need a refund or a cancellation, you will need to contact the travel booking site directly, as Kayak is just a travel search engine.

Kayak’s Hacker Fares are for travelers looking for price over convenience. The Hacker Fares don’t book as a round-trip itinerary. Instead, you’ll book two separate one-way flights, most likely on different airlines. This is a great way to find the lowest fares. However, it may complicate things if you’re looking to travel with just one airline.

While Hacker Fares definitely aren’t for everyone, they sometimes may get you the lowest prices on airfare. When Kayak finds a candidate, you will see two or more airlines listed together in the search results and “Hacker Fare” below the price. You may need to use two different platforms to book your departure and return flights.

Trying to decide where to go? The Kayak Explore feature is a fun open-ended price comparison tool showing prices between your home airport and numerous destinations worldwide. Just enter your departing airport (and a departure date if you want) and Kayak will show you results for numerous popular destinations and prices to visit them. It’s very fun to play with.

Kayak also allows you to use filters within its explore feature, so you can choose a number of stops, budget, or even the type of trip you’re interested in such as a family vacation, a romantic getaway, or beach destinations.

Kayak is an excellent tool for finding, sorting and filtering flight deals from across the web. Since you won’t be booking directly on Kayak, there’s no reason NOT to check out Kayak and see what’s out there.