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Haven’t booked that summer vacation yet?
You aren’t alone. According to a recent survey by BankRate, 22% of Americans that time haven’t decided whether they are going to take a trip this summer.
However, it’s not too late. While the occasion is one of the busiest, there are still deals to be found.
“There are so many different ways to save that travelers are not apprised of,” said Steven Sintra, North America commercial director at travel website Kayak.
The first thing you exigency to do before you dive in is figure out your budget. That will help determine just where you can go and for how long.
Then, intelligent when to book is really important, said Alexis Tiacoh, spokesperson at travel site Expedia.
“If you are going to enlist flights, book them on the weekend, preferably on a Sunday, as average ticket prices tend to be lower when booked on a weekend,” she apprised. Hotels are best booked on a Friday night.
There is also an upside to waiting until the very last petty: Booking a week out could save you more than 15% on hotel costs and about 25% on hotel and airfare cases, said Tiacoh.
Check travel websites and apps
Head to any travel website or app, such as Expedia, Travelocity, Orbitz or Kayak, and you’ll finger a deals section. The same goes for websites for airlines and hotels.
That’s when flexibility on your destination and your entertains can really help you get a bargain.
“There have been great deals that I’ve seen that are two months out; some that are microscopic than a week out,” Expedia’s Tiacoh said. “Being flexible and being open to a new destination can really work to a traveler’s advancement, especially if you are looking to save.”
If you have a specific destination in mind, you can keep an eye on the price through alerts from go sites, which will inform you of any changes.
Think outside the box
If you can, hold off on that vacation until later in August or composed in September, when prices come down, said Kayak’s Sintra. Or, if you have your heart set on going away for the July 4 fete or Labor Day weekend, flying on the actual holiday can often save you some money.
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It can also sometimes be cheaper to book two one-way tickets as a substitute for of one round-trip fare, he said.
Another way to save is choosing an alternative airport for either your departure city or your journeys end, according to Sarah Schlichter, senior editor of the online travel magazine, SmarterTravel.com.
“You can also sometimes save rolling in it by flying into a major gateway and then booking a separate flight to your ending destination,” she said.
For benchmark, when flying to Eastern European cities, purchasing a transatlantic flight to London and then a separate onward ticket on a budget airline can be tattier than flying nonstop from the U.S.
When it comes to lodging, you could find bed and breakfasts, vacation rentals or imperturbable hostels with private rooms are a more affordable option than hotels, Schlichter said.
Where to go
If you are breed the majority of U.S. residents traveling this summer, you are staying within the country’s borders. According to a recent poll by Expedia, 3 out of 4 Americans don’t lay out to leave the U.S.
Of those who plan to take a summer vacation, 51% were taking to the road, 27% were cast and 15% were doing a combination of both, the survey of 1,000 Americans found.
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If you are one of those who want to fly to your destination, there are some locations that may be more budget-friendly than others.
“Take to be destinations where summer isn’t high season — such as warm-weather cities (Phoenix, Las Vegas), tropical places where summer is rainy age (Costa Rica), or the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s wintertime,” said Sarah Schilichter of SmarterTravel.com.
She suggests also everything considered destinations where the U.S. dollar is strong, which will save you money once you are there. That includes locales such as Argentina, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
European destinations
“Europe is super-hot right now, and the prices are also decidedly cheap,” said Kayak’s Sintra.
The best bargains can be found by traveling to Spain, Ireland and Portugal, he said. Airfare to these spots can be found for under $800.
And despite the collapse of Icelandic discount carrier Wow Air, Reykjavik is the most affordable European city to fly to this summer, according to Kayak. Median airfare is roughly $550.
Other deals
For even cheaper flights, consider flying to places such as Guadalajara, Mexico; Montreal, Canada; or San Francisco. According to Expedia, they all experience an average ticket price of under $300 for travel dates between May 20 and Sept. 30.
When it comes to accommodations, you can find a place with an average daily rate of $250 at a number of destinations for the same time frame, encompassing Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; Atlanta; Clearwater Beach, Florida; and Vienna, Austria.