When I first decided to make it my mission to explore all 50 states in the United States, I knew right away it would be an expensive adventure. Of course, that wasn’t going to stop me! Over the past few years of traveling around the country I have learned a thing or two about how to save money. I used to spend hours on the internet, spiraling down into a black hole of airline pages and search sites, trying to find the best deal. Now, I head straight to CheapOair. Not only have I found some incredible deals right off the bat (like almost $500 off a flight to Alaska!) the different tools available make it even easier to save.
What I love about CheapOair is that they are totally dedicated to flight deals. While bundling airfare, hotels, and rental cars together used to be a great way to save money on a trip, it’s no longer feasible for a lot of travelers. I personally use AirBnBs as much as I stay at hotels, and often forgo a rental car for Uber rides. By staying “flight focused” CheapOair finds creative ways to offer fantastic deals without unnecessary bundling. Their Fusion Fare Technology can even combine more than one airline into a single itinerary, significantly lowering the overall ticket price.
I’m also signed up for the Fare Predictor, so when the cost of my ticket goes down, CheapOair lets me know it’s time to buy. They offer suggestions for alternative dates that can lead to big savings if your schedule is flexible. That’s exactly how I saved on that pricy Alaska fare. By moving my trip by only one day, the price went from over $1000 to $500. If it wasn’t for that suggestion, I would have never tried altering the dates by a single day to try and save some money!
My secret to really save though, is to have a few different alerts on at once. I will pick a few cities I want to see, put them all in for my travel dates and let the deals guide my vacation. That is one of the ways I was able to visit so many states so quickly.
One of the top 15 states people traveled to with CheapOair in 2019 was my home state of Ohio! I was so excited to read that along with New York, California, Texas and D.C, people were visiting Ohio. For those of you that have yet to visit my state (or want to come back!) here are the top 5 sites worth traveling to Ohio to see.
1. Cedar Point Amusement Park
Sandusky’s Cedar Point Amusement Park is the largest amusement park in the world. The 364 acre park features 72 rides, including 18 roller coasters. In 2018, Cedar Point opened Steel Vengeance, the tallest, fastest and longest hybrid roller coaster in the world. Its 30 seconds of airtime, the most of any roller coaster in the world, makes it one you can’t miss. For those who aren’t keen on flying through the air at record speed, there is also a water park, golfing, adventure park, and plenty of family activities for the kiddos.
2. Hocking Hills State Park
I’ve long since lost count of every time I heard someone say “That’s in Ohio?!” when looking at pictures of Hocking Hills. Over 25 miles of trails snake though the park and hikers are rewarded with stunning glacier-etched rock formations, caves and waterfalls. The waterfalls at Cedar Falls and Old Man’s Cave are two of the most breathtaking must sees.
3. Lake Erie Shores and Islands
Everything you could hope to find on the coast is waiting for you on the Lake Erie Shores and Islands. Beaches, fishing, boating, they have it all. After a morning soaking up the sun on a pristine beach or spotting wildlife during a nature hike, explore one of Ohio’s hidden gems, like Crystal Cave. Located on South Bass Island, Crystal Cave is touted as the world largest geode. The small cave is covered in Celestite crystals, some up to 3 feet long.
4. Yellow Springs
There is always something new to find in the artsy town of Yellow Springs. Originally settled as a utopian community, Yellow Springs is now filled with independent coffee shops, book stores and boutiques. Bright and colorful buildings decorate the streets and telephone poles wear hand woven sweaters. This open minded and tolerant community was once a final stop on the underground railroad and the smallest municipality in the U.S. to pass legislation banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.
5. Wine Country
I bet you didn’t expect that did you? In 2018, Travel and Leisure magazine named Coshocton, Ohio as the top wine destination in the country. There are nine wineries and vineyards to visit, each with an average wine score of 98/100. The star of the show is Heritage Vineyards, a small batch winery crafting every bottle onsite from their own estate grown grapes. Their portfolio contains everything from sweet to dry, and even fruit wines, so there is something for every wine lover to discover.
This post was sponsored by CheapOair. As always, all opinions are my own.
I am always looking for deals on flights and have never used Cheapoair! I will definitely look into flights from there especially since we have a United States! Cannot wait to watch your journey through the 50 states!
Ohio is on my list! Especially Cedar Point and the vineyards!! Pinning for future reference.
That’s not easy to explore many states for treveling with less of money. To find package of ticket plus where to stay and how to travel around by rent a car are very important. That’s very great package for traveler from CheapOair to provide all of what I mentioned above in one time payment. To wrap up all expense during travel will get more cheaper. Such a good time for you to travel follow your dreams. For ohio where you were mention about ash cave in hocking hill is amazing. The water falls ( at Cedar falls ) and old man’s cave are very interesting to visit.
Hello! I am also based in Ohio in the heart of it all – Columbus> I feel like people who have never been just think of Ohio as boring and full of corn fields… but we definitely have the best amusement parks you can find! Great picks!
Ash Cave is picture perfect. I would love to visit this place. apart from that, Cedar point looks like a fun destination to go unless it is too crowded like Universal Studios.
I haven’t these attractions in Ohio yet but nevertheless Ash Cave in Hocking Hills looks something out of a fictional movie. And this makes me want to visit it, even more, I have learned about Cheapoair a few years ago but I would surely try it again soon.
I’ve been using many different search sites for cheap flight tickets, but it’s the first time I heard about CheapOair. I may try it in the future, but as I can see there is no option to chose flexible dates (+/- 1-3 days), which I find very useful. Also, thanks for the great tips on Ohio! The Hocking Hills state park and Lake Erie Shores and Islands look really amazing, I would also love to stop in Yellow Springs.
I’ve only ever visited the outskirts of Ohio, and never knew it had all of these attractions to offer. I bet wine country is really good there as the great lakes in Ontario have great wineries in the southern part of the province. I will definitely check out CheapOAir and see if there are any deals for my upcoming travels.
My grandparents live about five minutes away from yellow Springs. I love going to visit in wandering through the town.
I’m so glad I happened upon this post! We are often on that side of the world, whether in Canada or in the States. And I’ve always wanted to go back to Ohio. We’ve been to Cedar point before and it was so much fun – can’t wait to bring the kids. This time, I’ll def look into CheapOAir for Travel.
Reading this article reminds us of the moment. We are maybe not looking for cheap air tickets because our travel is a road trip. But of course, it is interesting to us how to save money as well. We like the idea of Fare Predictor a lot. The reason is we want to take some breaks and go to Mexico for 1 or 2 months. Your approach reminds ours. And the places visited, too. Mainly I would like to visit Yellow Spring because of those coffee shops and book stores. Another beautiful place is this winery in Ohio. We are big fans of excellent American wines, so it seems to be the perfect destination for us.
Ash Cave looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing!
I was just in Ohio a month ago, yet I did not have the time to experience any of these areas, I was in Cincinnati. If I were to travel back however, Hocking Hills would be on my list to visit for the great outdoors. Then have the time to explore the little town of Yellow Springs, seriously the way you have described it sounds like a bit of a fairy tale town. I can imagine sitting back and enjoying a cup of coffee (then finding my favorite java spot in the whole town) all while exploring the little shops and finding the perfect souvenir.
Yay for another Ohio blogger! 🙂 I am from Ohio too! I also am a huge fan of saving money! I’ve used CheapOAir before and also recommend using them for traveling! I love that you can save money and it makes spending that much on a flight easier. 🙂
So many great attractions! We are hoping to visit Ohio very soon!
I never knew about Cheapoair but it looks great with so many affordable flight options. Fare Predictor is a good option to know when the cost of ticket goes down and also CheapOair lets you know it’s time to buy. Even they offer suggestions for alternative dates that can lead to big savings if our schedule is flexible is the biggest advantage of purchasing air tickets through Cheapoair. Ash cave in Hocking hills look stunning
I haven’t used Cheapoair. I usually stick with google searches but that was a huge savings on the Alaska flight so I will for sure try it out. I was surprised Ohio is a top site to visit until I saw your image of Hocking Hills State Park, it’s gorgeous! And I didn’t know Ohio has a wine country, fun
I had always been a google flights user myself util that Alaska fare! Give it a try next time you are looking for a flight.. hopefully you can save even more!
I have been flying with cheapoair for many years, but it’s great to see Ohio highlighted here. I only visited Cincinatti once but now I know there is so much more reasons to visit Ohio. I had no idea that Ohio had wine country.Also the Ash Cave in Hocking Hills looks beautiful. That must be a great park to go hiking in.
Wow! Ohio seems beautiful. Its so great to know that you have decided to visit all the states of US. I have also decided something of that sort, but it is all the states of India. Cheapoair looks like a good site offering deals on flights. I would love to check it out.
The waterfall at Ash cave in Hockings Hill looks just fabulous!
Never visited Ohio and im definitely be taking note of the recommended places to visit. I love art and wine so am definitely making those two attractions as a stop for me once i get to visit Ohio.
Since we have never visited Ohio, this was a good post for me to read for some ideas. Especially if we can pick up a cheap flight from Toronto. We do love amusement parks. And the state parks look lovely. A stop in Yellow Spring would definitely add some sunny colour. But the biggest surprise was to learn that there was wine country in Ohio. Thanks for opening my eyes.
Linda, thank you for letting me teach you about Ohio! It is full of surprises.