| Interview: Five Ways to Find Travel Bargains |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-109 |
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Everyone loves a bargain -- and you should be able to find one readily when you plan a vacation, Ask DIY Travel expert Mark Orwoll says. Orwoll, who is also the managing editor of Travel & Leisure magazine, shares these five ways for ferreting out the best travel deals: - Sign up for online or e-mail discount-travel newsletters. The Internet is a great place to find out about last-minute discounts. Many travel magazines, for example, offer online newsletters with hot deals. If you belong to a travel club such as AAA, they'll provide travel newsletters geared to letting their members know about travel specials. And go to the airlines' Web sites. Many of them include a newsletter you can print out, which tells about their lowest fares, low-cost destinations and when the special low rates will be in effect.
Frommer's guidebook is a name most people recognize when it comes to travel information. They offer a daily online travel newsletter, but you must subscribe. Online booking sites, such as Travelocity (see Resources, below), offer links to travel specials and give you ideas of places to visit that you might not think of on your own. You'll generally need to sign up to use these sites, and you can usually personalize the information you'd like to receive. You specify your preferences, and they'll let you know when your kind of deal is available. - Travel in the off-season when the prices go down. Many people don't realize they can save a bundle by traveling to a destination when it's not peak time. The idea is to think when a destination has its "high season" and then flip that on its head. In the Caribbean, for example, their peak is our winter. But just because the "high season" rates change on April 30 doesn't mean the weather changes that second. Right then is a good time to travel to the Caribbean and save as much as 40 percent off peak rates. Summer's another promising off-peak time in the Caribbean. Fall is also off-peak season there, but you'll want to keep in mind that it's iffy, weatherwise, due to hurricanes.
Diminished demand in the off-season also makes ski resorts a great source for warm-weather vacations. Those places are packed in winter, but the mountains are still there in the spring and summer, ready for hiking and sightseeing -- and you won't pay nearly as much to stay there in the warmer months. More ski resorts are also trying to adapt for year-round visitors, and a lot of them have great golf courses. - Consider travel "packages" from airlines or tour operators. These are not necessarily guided tours. Instead, travel packages typically include airfare and hotel together, for less than you'd pay to purchase each separately. They may also include a rental car, activities or some sort of "build your own" package. The nicest thing is that you typically save around 10 percent, and you can make all your plans with one call. To tap into these package deals, check out the Sunday paper's travel section. Also get on the Internet, starting with the airline Web sites to check out any special tours they're offering.
This is also where a good travel agent comes in handy. Being in the travel trade, agents get information about any special packages the airlines or hotels are offering, which can sometimes save you 20 to 25 percent. Make sure any travel agent or tour operator you deal with is associated with ASTA, the American Society of Travel Agents. - Get better deals by dialing direct. Instead of dialing a hotel chain's 800- number, pay for the long-distance charge to call an individual hotel directly. Ask them for the best deal available. This is also the time to ask whether they have any special rates if you belong to organizations such as AARP or AAA. If you suspect this isn't a busy time for them and they have a lot of empty rooms, don't be afraid to ask, "Do you have a better price?"
- Book an all-inclusive resort. This is one of the great trends of the past five or 10 years, particularly in the Caribbean, Mexico and Hawaii -- resorts that include accommodations, meals and many activities in one price. You can usually save about 25 percent of the cost of purchasing each item separately. It's important, though, to clarify just what's included in the package. Also, make sure you're comfortable staying at the same place the entire vacation to realized the savings.
Web site resources for Travel Bargains: For information on Travel & Leisure Magazine, click here. Travelocity.com Budget Travel from Frommers.com World Travel Bargains from All World Travel Bargains.com Bargain Airfares from Bargain-Airfares.com International Airfare from Economy Travel.com Travel Tips from USA Today.com Article on Bargain Travel from Find Articles.com Books: Air Courier Bargains: How to Travel World-Wide for Next to Nothing
By Kelly Monaghan
ISBN: 1887140085
The Intrepid Traveler (1998)
P.O. Box 438
New York, NY 10034
Phone: 212-569-1081
Fax: 212-942-6687
Web site: www.intrepidtraveler.com
Frugal Globetrotter: Your Guide to World Adventure Bargains
By Bruce T. Northam
ISBN: 1555912494
Fulcrum Publishing (1996)
16100 Table Mountain Pkwy.
#300
Golden, CO 80403-1672
Phone: 800-992-2908 or 303-277-1623
Fax: 303-279-7111
E-mail: fulcrum@fulcrumbooks.com
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