Traveling This Year?

Traveling this year? Book early because planes will be packed to the hilt which means the airlines don’t have to compete to fill seats. There was a time when you could start checking flights and fares two months ahead of your scheduled trip; not so today. In order to get any type of decent fare or schedule, that two months is now three or more. The good news, if you’re traveling you can keep check on those fares on sites like airfarewatchdog.com or farecompare.com. You’ll be able to recognize the deals as they become available. At the same time, you could try booking your hotel further in advance since most have a cancellation policy of 72 hours, should it become necessary to bail out. And, if you are traveling this year try using backbid.com, a website that will forward your rooming needs on to others hotels in the vicinity of your destination. You could get a counter offer that will save you as much as 20% and/or a better room or amenities for the same money. Tingo.com will check for lower rates even after you’ve booked and if prices go down for any of the nights that you’ve reserved – there is a refund in it for you. There’s nothing like getting a refund while traveling.

If you are traveling this year, another thing you might want to try – look for package deals at family resorts. A lot of them are still hurting from the slowed economy and there is opportunity to take advantage. Try renting a vacation property; you’ll get more space and at a lower price. However, you may be required to stay three or four nights Last year an average hotel room in San Diego went for $165 but you could rent an apartment while traveling for as little as $89 a night in one of the Little Italy tourist’s area by going to flipkey.com, airbnb.com or homeaway.com. The cost of fuel and the recovering economy have pushed prices higher, but deals are out there – all you need do before traveling is devise a new strategy which can easily be done online these days.

Credit:  Money Mag (Traveling)