"Did I just unlock a cheat code or did everyone know about this??" reads the overtext in a TikTok that recently went viral. Personally, I think the TikToker who posted the video unlocked a cheat code—and did us all a great favor.
In the video, the poster guides viewers through the seemingly secret "Anywhere" feature on Google Flights. All you have to do is head over to Google Flights, select your departure location, and type "anywhere" in the destination section. Leave dates blank too, and make sure you're looking for roundtrip flights. Once you press enter, a map of the entire world will appear, showing you oh-so-many cheap flights from your selected departure hub to, quite literally, anywhere.
Of course, we had to see it for ourselves—and the rumors are true. Apparently, what the search engine does is show you the cheapest roundtrip flights it can find at the moment for roughly a week-long trip (unless you specify a different trip length before starting the search). As a result, it might show you flights for next month or two months from now. Basically, it seeks out the cheapest period of time to get to any destination, and once you click on a specific one, it gives you other options too. Pretty cool, right?
We played around with it too, and found some interesting deals. With NYC as our departure hub, we could find flights to Miami via Frontier Airlines for only $48 from December 9 to December 15. If you're feeling quite adventurous and don't need much planning, instead, you should consider flying over to Brazil's Rio de Janeiro from November 9 to November 17 for only $667. From December 2 to December 9, instead, heading to Paris will only set you back $371. And if you're thinking about next year, there are deals for that too. You could think about Tokyo, Japan from January 14 to January 23 for $1,071, or you could head over to Mumbai, India from February 1 to February 8 for $712.
The key to unlocking these deals, as you may have guessed, is to be super flexible with travel dates and, to a degree, destinations. But if you're feeling wanderlust or even a bit indecisive or uninspired, it's a great place to start your search for your next vacation.
To try the tool and book your super-cheap flights, you can head over to Google Flights.
