the Cost of Online Travel Agents

It's a seat-filler service that finds odd routes that crisscross the country on whatever flights are available. Sometimes the seats are available on direct flights, but usually not. The minimum and maximum layover times and number of flights can be specified as can a "no repeat" feature that keeps you from doubling back to a previously visited spot on the trip. Our total per ticket price was $25, and there were no explicit charges for the service.

For the sake of cheap seats we flew from Phoenix to San Francisco, SF to Seattle, Seattle to New York City, NYC to Boise, Boise to Dallas, Dallas to Jacksonville, Jacksonville to Indianapolis, Indianapolis to Miami, Miami to Atlanta, Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale. On the way back it was even stranger with layovers in Detroit, Toronto, Boston, Denver, and others I can't remember. We racked up a preposterous number of frequent flier miles, enough to pay for our trip several times over.

If you want to do this, plan on not being in a hurry as your journey may possibly take longer than simply getting in the car and driving to your ultimate destination. Expect someone, somewhere to lose at least part of your luggage along the way so take everything you need as a carry on. For a cheap adventure vacation you can specify a couple hours layover at each stop -- enough time for a meal or a nap or a quick something somewhere in the city you've stopped at, or at least a walk around the airport -- and a dozen or more flights, ultimately starting and stopping in the same city.