Cheap Summer Vacations: Should You Wait for Last Minute Travel Deals

Are you gearing up to start planning your annual summer vacation? If so, you may be in a financial bind. The current state of the economy has many Americans completely foregoing their summer vacations or significantly cutting back. Luckily, you don’t have to. By looking for moneysaving travel deals and discounts, you can easily reduce the cost of your summer trip.

As previously stated, you can reduce the cost of your summer vacation with travel deals and discounts. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation that floats around concerning these deals. Many first-time travelers or discount shoppers believe the best deals are only offered at the last minute. Is this true? Should you really wait until the last minute to plan your summer vacation? Yes and no; honestly it all depends.

Last minute travel deals come in a number of different formats. It all depends on the company in question and their views. For example, one Jamaica resort may classify last minute travel deals as making your plans two weeks before your trip. On the other hand, a Hawaii hotel may expect you to wait until two days before. If you do intend to wait and book your trip at the last minute, just keep your eyes and ears open. Regularly visit online travel websites and the websites of hotels and airlines. See what deals are available to last minute travelers, if any are at all.

Speaking of which, not everyone offers last minute travel deals and discounts. You would think most would. After all, an airline loses money each time a seat is empty. A hotel loses money each night a room sits unoccupied. Yes, this is true, but that still does not push everyone to offer last minute travel deals and discounts. If you are counting on these deals and discounts, spend time browsing online travel websites and forums. Learn from other internet users who is likely to offer last minute travel deals and monitor them.

In most cases, the availability of last minute vacation deals depends on location and time. You are planning a summer vacation. Florida is a popular summer vacation destination. Most airlines rarely have problems filling up seats to Miami and hotels near Disneyland rarely go empty. Since these companies do not have a problem finding full-price paying customers, they are less likely to offer last minute deals and discounts. The key is to think outside of the box. Instead of Florida, why not Colorado? Their peak travel season is in the winter due to skiing. You are likely to find cheaper flights and hotels during the summer months.

Last minute travel deals and discounts are nice, because they save you money. Unfortunately, they aren’t guaranteed. You could spend days waiting for a last minute deal for a Jamaica all-inclusive resort only to never see that deal appear. What happens then? Are you left paying more because you waited until the last minute? Can you even get a hotel room? Did you already request vacation time at work? For many travelers, there are just too many what-ifs. If you need to have everything arranged ahead of time, don’t wait until the last minute. Luckily, hotels, airlines, car rental companies, and popular attractions offer special discounts all year round. You may get lucky and find one of these.