January 14,2007
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Vacation Tips 1: When, and Where, to Go
If you are planning a vacation, odds are that you are planning on investing quite a bit of time and money into your trip, to say nothing of the months of work involved in banking enough time away to go somewhere! Travel is expensive, and it is way too tempting to say: "well, I need a break," and charge, charge, charge with abandon. This series is intended to help you maximize your vacation fund, and travel smart. No-one wants to come home from a relaxing holiday just to be stressed immediately when they get the bill!
Step 1 is planning where you go, and when to do it. If you live in a touristy area yourself (say Cape Cod or anywhere in Florida or Hawaii), you have certainly learned that key times during the year are "high season" – highest volume of visitors, and highest premiums on accommodations and airfare! If you can be flexible with when you travel, you can pick and choose your destination. Conversely, if you have your heart set on Disney World, you may want to be firm about a summertime getaway. Research your options, and try to establish when the busiest times of year are for the places you want to go – and then, make plans to go sometime else! For example, New England teems with poetic sorts wanting to take in the fall foliage, so travel is likely to be more expensive in September/October. As previously mentioned, Central Florida is mobbed with snowbirds in the winter – if you can stand the sweltering August heat, you may find the theme parks virtually abandoned! Be as open-minded as you can, and you are more likely to save on booking the major components of your trip – travel and accommodations.
Continue on to Part 2 of this series.