Google Flights, Skyscanner and Kayak: A Step-by-Step Fare Tools Tutorial

Google Flights, Skyscanner and Kayak are free tools that can show you in minutes which dates and destinations are cheapest from your Canadian airport. Used together with price tracking, they replace hours of manual searching. This step-by-step tutorial shows exactly which features to use, in what order, and how to avoid their blind spots.

Quick answer

• Start broad with Google Flights Explore or Skyscanner’s Everywhere search when your destination is flexible.
• Use the date grid and price graph to find the cheapest days once you have a destination.
• Turn on price tracking so the fares come to you by email.
• Cross-check on a second engine before booking, because results can differ.
• Book directly with the airline when the price is the same or close; it simplifies changes and refunds.

Set up Google Flights for Canada

Before your first search, open the settings at the bottom of the Google Flights page and confirm three things: language, country (Canada) and currency (CAD). Showing prices in Canadian dollars avoids nasty surprises from exchange rates and card fees.

Sign in with a Google account. You need it for price tracking, and it lets you save searches across your phone and computer.

Step 1: Use Explore when you don’t know where to go

Explore is a map that shows the cheapest prices from your home airport to destinations around the world.

1. Open Google Flights and click Explore.
2. Enter your departure airport. You can add several, such as Toronto, Hamilton and Billy Bishop, to compare them all at once. Use our airport codes lookup if you are unsure of a code.
3. Choose flexible dates, for example “1 week in February” or “weekend trip in the next six months.”
4. Filter by number of stops, maximum price, airlines or flight duration.
5. Zoom and pan the map to reveal more destinations and their lowest prices.

Pro tip: Explore prices are cached snapshots. Always click through to confirm the real fare for specific dates before getting excited.

Step 2: Find the cheapest dates with the date grid and price graph

Once you have a destination, run a normal round-trip search and open the date tools.

• Date grid shows a table of prices for combinations of departure and return dates. Cheaper combinations are highlighted, and you can shift the grid forward or back a few days at a time.
• Price graph shows the lowest fare for a fixed trip length across several months, which is ideal for spotting the cheap season.

Read the grid diagonally: if you are flexible by a day or two on either end, you can often save a meaningful amount without changing the length of your trip.

Step 3: Read price insights and price history

On many routes, Google Flights shows a price insights box stating whether current prices are low, typical or high for that trip, along with a chart of how prices have moved. It is a useful sanity check, but it is not a guarantee. Fares can still fall during a sale or rise as cheaper seats sell out.

For general guidance on when to buy, pair this with our best time to book guide and our best time to book tool.

Step 4: Track prices

1. Search for your route and dates.
2. Switch on Track prices near the top of the results.
3. For flexible plans, choose the any dates option where it is offered; Google will alert you to significant drops across upcoming dates.
4. Manage all your tracked flights from the Tracked prices page.

Track a handful of routes, not dozens. Too many alerts and you will start ignoring them.

Step 5: Use the filters that matter for Canadians

• Bags: Add a carry-on or checked bag to the bag filter so prices include those fees where data is available.
• Exclude basic economy: Google offers a filter in Canada and the US to hide fares that come without seat selection or a carry-on.
• Connecting airports: Exclude airports you want to avoid, such as tight US connections in winter.
• Separate tickets: Google labels some itineraries as separate tickets. These carry missed-connection risk, so read the warning.

Google has also introduced an AI-assisted Flight Deals page in Canada, where you can describe a trip in plain language. It can be a good idea generator, but verify every result with a normal search.

Skyscanner: Everywhere and Whole Month

Skyscanner is strong for flexible trips and includes many smaller booking sites.

• Everywhere: Leave the destination as “Everywhere” to see a ranked list of countries and cities by price.
• Whole Month / Cheapest Month: Pick a whole month or the cheapest month instead of exact dates to see a calendar of fares.
• Price alerts: Set an alert on any search to get emails when prices move.

Kayak: Explore, price forecasts and Hacker Fares

• Explore shows a map of destinations within your budget.
• Price forecast gives a simple buy-or-wait suggestion on some routes, based on historical trends.
• Hacker Fares combine two one-way tickets, sometimes on different airlines. They can be cheaper, but they are separate bookings, so a missed or cancelled first leg does not protect the second.

Why the engines disagree

Tool	Best feature	Watch out for
Google Flights	Speed, date grid, price tracking	Not every booking site is listed
Skyscanner	Everywhere search, many smaller sellers	Some sellers have weaker customer service
Kayak	Explore map, price forecasts	Hacker Fares are separate tickets

Results differ because each tool partners with different airlines and booking sites, caches prices differently and handles fees differently. A fare from a little-known booking site might be slightly cheaper, but booking direct usually makes changes, refunds and passenger-rights claims easier.

How CheapFly’s flight-search launcher fits in

Running the same search on three engines gets tedious. Our flight search launcher saves the typing: enter your departure airport, destination and dates once, and it opens that search on several major flight search engines in new tabs so you can compare them side by side.

CheapFly does not sell tickets or see your booking. The launcher simply builds the search links for you; you then book with the airline or site you choose.

Example: Planning a March trip from Calgary to Cancún? Enter YYC, CUN and your dates in the launcher, then scan each engine’s results and calendar for the lowest fare before deciding where to book.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Trusting the first price you see. Cached results can be out of date; always click through to the booking page.
• Ignoring bag fees. A basic fare plus a carry-on can cost more than the next fare up with a bag included.
• Booking unknown sites on price alone. A small saving through an unfamiliar booking site can cost far more in time if your flight changes.
• Tracking too many routes. Focus on the few trips you are genuinely likely to book.
• Forgetting nearby airports. Add every airport you could realistically use to each search.
• Assuming a “low” label means book now. It is a useful signal, but sales can still undercut it.

Heads up: Search engines display fares from airlines and booking sites, but the terms of your ticket come from whoever you book with. Read the fare rules on the final booking page before paying.

A 10-minute fare-hunting routine

1. Use Explore or Everywhere with flexible dates to shortlist two or three destinations.
2. Check the price graph for each to find the cheapest weeks.
3. Use the date grid to find the best departure and return combination.
4. Open the same search on multiple engines with the launcher.
5. Compare the lowest fares, including bag fees.
6. Book if the price is low for the route, or set tracking and wait.

Want someone else to do the scanning? Join CheapFly deal alerts for sale fares from Canadian airports, and read our error fares guide to know how to act fast when a rare mistake fare appears.

Bottom line

Google Flights is the fastest place to start, Skyscanner and Kayak are valuable second opinions, and price tracking turns all of them into a passive deal radar. Use them to research, compare across engines, then book where the price and protection are best, usually directly with the airline.