Smart Holiday Travel Planning
Tuesday November 15, 2005
Thanksgiving can be an expensive time to travel. Take heart if your student travel plans involve flying around the holiday: use some smart tools to plan your travel and it may be a breeze.
Let's build the toolkit:
- Start with Hotwire's holiday travel calendar. The calendar shows us that November 22, 23, 27 and 28 are peak travel days ($$$); November 20, 21, 25, 26 and 29 are "off-peak" holiday travel fare days ($$) and November 13-14, 24 and 30 and December 1-4 are low / normal fare days ($). Great - choose one of those "normal fare" days to begin and end your travel.
- About's Guide to Budget Travel, Mark Kahler, tells us that you may find a great deal at a smallish airport. He uses a Cincinatti-Birmingham example -- by driving 100 miles to Lousiville, KY, instead of using the Cincinatti airport, he saves $218 (from $306 to $88 round trip). Wow - drive a little and save a lot.
- If neither of these tips does the travel cost trimming trick, try a student airfare finder. Student Universe is running a special called "Go Deals" (changing daily discounts) -- with luck, you may nab a good deal there. And if you're feeling adventurous, go standby with Airtran's $59 each way standby X Fares (available to 18-22 year-olds only).
A final travel tip: don't let the travel get you down -- you'll be home, tucking into Mom's turkey, before you know it.
- • Hotwire's holiday travel calendar
• Mark Kahler's "airport shopping" budget flight planning
• Best student travel discount airfare finders
- Start with Hotwire's holiday travel calendar. The calendar shows us that November 22, 23, 27 and 28 are peak travel days ($$$); November 20, 21, 25, 26 and 29 are "off-peak" holiday travel fare days ($$) and November 13-14, 24 and 30 and December 1-4 are low / normal fare days ($). Great - choose one of those "normal fare" days to begin and end your travel.
- About's Guide to Budget Travel, Mark Kahler, tells us that you may find a great deal at a smallish airport. He uses a Cincinatti-Birmingham example -- by driving 100 miles to Lousiville, KY, instead of using the Cincinatti airport, he saves $218 (from $306 to $88 round trip). Wow - drive a little and save a lot.
- If neither of these tips does the travel cost trimming trick, try a student airfare finder. Student Universe is running a special called "Go Deals" (changing daily discounts) -- with luck, you may nab a good deal there. And if you're feeling adventurous, go standby with Airtran's $59 each way standby X Fares (available to 18-22 year-olds only).
A final travel tip: don't let the travel get you down -- you'll be home, tucking into Mom's turkey, before you know it.
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