Don’t care where you go, as long as it’s cheap? Here is how to find $20 flights.
We live in an era of decision fatigue. Every day, we are bombarded with choices—what to eat, what to watch, and, notoriously, where to go on vacation. The paradox of choice often leaves us paralyzed, scrolling through Instagram feeds of Maldives bungalows and Swiss chalets, discouraged by the price tags and the sheer pressure of planning the “perfect” trip.
But what if you flipped the script? What if, instead of picking a destination and hoping for a cheap flight, you let the price dictate the destination? What if you decided that the act of traveling was more important than the where?
Enter the “Everywhere” trick. It is the digital equivalent of spinning a globe and stopping it with your finger—except this globe guarantees you won’t land on a $2,000 ticket to Antarctica. By utilizing a specific, somewhat hidden feature on travel search engines like Skyscanner, savvy travelers are securing international flights for less than the cost of a tank of gas. We’re talking $20 one-way tickets to Europe, $40 hops to the Caribbean, and domestic flights that cost less than a movie ticket and snacks.
Here is the comprehensive guide to mastering the art of reverse-destination planning and booking your next adventure for under $50.
The Philosophy of Reverse-Search Travel
Before we dive into the buttons and filters, we need to address the mindset shift required for this strategy. Most people plan travel like this:
- Choose dates.
- Choose a destination (e.g., “I want to go to Paris in July”).
- Search for flights.
- Cry about the price.
The “Everywhere” strategist plans like this:
- Set a budget (e.g., “I have $100”).
- Open the search engine.
- Ask: “Where can I go for $100?”
- Book the trip.
This method requires flexibility. You might not end up in Paris. You might end up in Porto, Krakow, or Bogota. But the thrill of the unknown, combined with the massive financial savings, makes the destination almost secondary. You are exploring the world on your terms, unburdened by debt.
Step-by-Step: The Skyscanner “Everywhere” Tutorial
While other search engines like Google Flights and Kayak have similar “explore” features, Skyscanner remains the gold standard for this specific hack due to its user interface and comprehensive budget airline data.
Step 1: The Setup
Open Skyscanner on your desktop or mobile app. Enter your home airport in the “From” field. This is standard.
Now, click on the “To” field. Usually, this is where you’d type “London” or “Cancun.” Instead, look for the prompt that says “Can’t decide where?” or simply select the option that pops up: “Explore everywhere.”
On the mobile app, this is often the very first suggestion. On desktop, typing “Everywhere” will autofill the field with “Everywhere.”
Step 2: The Time Machine
Now for the dates. If you select specific dates (e.g., “July 12 to July 19”), you are limiting the algorithm. You are telling the engine, “Find me the cheapest place only on these specific days.”
To get the $20 flights, you need to be broader. Click on the date field. instead of selecting a specific day, select “Whole Month.”
- Option A: Select a specific month (e.g., “March”) if you know you have time off then.
- Option B (The Jackpot): Select “Cheapest Month.” This tells Skyscanner to scan the entire year and find the absolute rock-bottom prices for every destination from your home airport.
Step 3: The Reveal
Hit “Search.”
The results won’t look like a standard flight list. Instead, you will see a list of countries sorted by price, starting from the cheapest.
It might look like this:
- United States: from $19
- Mexico: from $45
- Canada: from $60
- Puerto Rico: from $75
- Italy: from $180
This is your menu. You can now shop for countries like you shop for groceries. Suddenly, a trip to Mexico sounds a lot more appealing than a staycation.
Step 4: The Drill Down
Click on a country—let’s say, the “United States” option starting at $19. The drop-down will reveal specific cities.
- Las Vegas: $19
- Denver: $24
- Orlando: $29
Click on “Las Vegas”. Now you will see a calendar view of the month you selected (or the cheapest month). The prices will be color-coded:
- Green: Lowest price.
- Yellow: Moderate price.
- Red: High price.
Spot the green numbers. You might see a Tuesday departure for $19 and a Wednesday return for $19. Select those dates.
Step 5: The Verification
Click “Find flights.” You will see the specific airlines offering these fares—usually budget carriers like Spirit, Frontier, Ryanair (in Europe), or EasyJet.
Crucial Check: ensure the flight is direct (unless you don’t mind layovers) and look at the flight times. Sometimes the $19 flight leaves at 5:00 AM. If you’re okay with that, proceed.
The Hidden Costs (And How to dodge Them)
You found a $38 round-trip flight. It feels illegal. But before you enter your credit card details, you must navigate the minefield of budget airline fees. These carriers make their money on ancillaries, not the ticket price. If you aren’t careful, your $38 ticket can turn into a $200 ticket.
1. The “Personal Item” Only Rule Most sub-$50 fares are “Bare Fare” or “Basic Economy.” This means you are entitled to one personal item that fits under the seat in front of you. A backpack is fine; a carry-on suitcase is not.
- The Fix: Learn to pack light. Buy a dedicated “under-seat” travel backpack (usually 20-25 liters). If you can fit your clothes for a weekend into that bag, you pay $0 extra.
2. The Seat Selection Trap During checkout, the airline will aggressively ask you to pick a seat. “Don’t get stuck in the middle!” they will warn, charging you $25 to pick a window seat.
- The Fix: Skip it. Let them assign you a seat at check-in. Yes, you might get a middle seat, but for a 2-hour flight that cost less than a pizza, isn’t it worth it?
3. The Boarding Pass Print Fee Some ultra-low-cost carriers (looking at you, Ryanair and Frontier) charge hefty fees if you need them to print your boarding pass at the airport.
- The Fix: Always check in online 24 hours prior and download the mobile boarding pass to your phone.
Real-World Scenarios: Where Can You Actually Go?
To prove this isn’t just theory, let’s look at typical results found using the “Everywhere” trick from major hubs.
- To Nashville: $39. Perfect for a weekend of music and hot chicken.
- To Miami: $45. A quick beach escape.
- To London: (Yes, really) occasionally drops to $150-$200 one way during off-peak times like November or February via carriers like Norse Atlantic.
From London (LHR/LGW/STN):
- To Milan: £15 ($19). A pizza lunch in Italy is cheaper than a train to Manchester.
- To Barcelona: £22 ($28). Tapas by the sea.
- To Morocco: £30 ($38). A completely different continent for the price of a t-shirt.
From Los Angeles (LAX):
- To Las Vegas: $29. A classic quick trip.
- To San Francisco: $39.
- To Vancouver: $60. International travel on a budget.
Why You Should Travel This Way
The “Everywhere” trick is more than a budgeting hack; it is a cure for the “someday” syndrome. We often put off travel because we are waiting for the perfect time, the perfect budget, or the perfect destination. We wait until we can afford the $1,500 trip to Hawaii, and in the meantime, we go nowhere.
By utilizing the “Everywhere” search, you lower the stakes. If a $40 trip to Cincinnati isn’t the life-changing adventure you dreamed of, it doesn’t matter—you only spent $40. But more often than not, you will be surprised. You will find that the coffee in Seattle, the architecture in Chicago, or the street food in Mexico City offers just as much wonder as the expensive destinations you were saving for.
This method turns the world into a menu of possibilities rather than a list of restrictions. It rewards the spontaneous. It rewards the curious. And most importantly, it rewards the thrifty.
So, open a new tab. Set your destination to “Everywhere.” Select “Cheapest Month.” And let the algorithm decide your fate. You might just find yourself packing for a place you never thought to visit, with enough money left over to actually enjoy it when you get there.
