Three Tips for Planning Last Second Summer Getaways

I am planning a summer getaway now and was looking forward to getting away from my office and having fun. The problem is when you go away in the summer, especially in the summer, flights are expensive, hotel reservations are expensive and food is generally very pricey. What I have learned is the way to avoid most of these high costs is to not be a follower, but be smart about how you plan your trip and where you go to avoid high costs.

When to Travel

Always travel on a Wednesday in the summer. That is the travelers rule if you are looking to spend the least on your flight. The reason for this is that most consumers travel on Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays to maximize their time off at their destinations and most employees travelling for business travel on Sundays/Mondays.  Airlines all know this and crank up the prices on these days of the week all the time. This leaves Tuesdays and Wednesdays as the only 2 reasonable days to travel, and Wednesday usually happens to be cheaper.

Also, as Labor Day is approaching, you can imagine that many people will be travelling then, because they will want to take advantage of the additional day off work. Airlines are fully aware of this as well and therefore hike up all prices during that time period. Travel day should also be Wednesday.

Where to Travel

This is also a key component in travelling. I think most people try to travel to an exotic location/beach in the summer where the weather is great and they can relax. What I try to do is find locations that no one is travelling to in the summer and take advantage of the cheaper tickets available. Places that are very humid and hot are terrible tourist attractions for people looking to get away from it all. The cheapest destinations are locations that no one is travelling too. Keep that in mind when planning your summer getaway.

What to Eat

People on their vacations choose fancy locations at their destinations to “enjoy” their getaways. The problem with this is that restaurants all know exactly when tourists are coming to their cities and change prices/menus just to lure tourists into spending more money on restaurants. I think one night out at a fancy places is fun, but past that, choosing a chain restaurant will cut costs. The reason for this is that chain restaurants can’t adjust prices unless they do it across the country.

Conclusion

The bottom line is these are the questions people should be asking when planning their vacations if they’re focused on cutting costs on their getaways!