Cruise bargains can also still be found for holiday travel. Travelzoo's Thanksgiving deals site post

If you've been on a commercial airliner lately, chances are it was a pretty full flight. The airlines kenny chesney tour are operating at their highest capacity in a long time. And with the holidays right around the corner, things look set to get more hectic and overbooked than ever.
According to American kenny chesney tour Express Travel's consumer booking data from September, holiday kenny chesney tour travel is up 11 percent for domestic flights and 16 percent for international flights over the same period last year. Additional data from the company shows that some 40 percent of consumers plan to travel this holiday season (during kenny chesney tour Thanksgiving and Christmas season), with 88 percent of them staying within the U.S.
Still thinking about booking a flight kenny chesney tour somewhere or planning a last-minute hotel stay or cruise? The good and somewhat amazing news, considering the circumstances, is that with a little insider knowledge and foresight, there are still deals to be had -- even over the crazy holiday travel period.
Have you booked your holiday travel yet? Yes, I've had my tickets for months. 1023 (32.9%) It's next on my to-do list. 561 (18.0%) No, I'm going to wait until the last minute. 527 (16.9%) I'm not traveling over the holidays. 999 (32.1%)
Being as flexible as possible with your travel dates, kenny chesney tour says Jaime Samuels, publisher of Travelzoo's Weekly Top 20 and Newsflash, is key to getting the best airfare over the holidays. She recommends looking for fares on metasearch engines (which send requests to numerous search engines) like Fly.com kenny chesney tour , where you can use a calendar function to view various travel date options to find the lowest possible fare.
For the best fares leading up to Thanksgiving, she says the best days to travel are the Monday and Tuesday before the holiday and the best day to return is Thanksgiving itself or the Friday and Saturday kenny chesney tour after. "Everyone is going to be flying home that Sunday kenny chesney tour and Monday kenny chesney tour after Thanksgiving," she says, "The stress of the airport is reason enough to wait."
Samuels advises that for the best prices on Christmas travel, travelers should plan to travel the Tuesday and Wednesday kenny chesney tour before Christmas, or even Christmas day itself. "For the return, Tuesday or Wednesday after Christmas is where you'll find the lower fares," she says.
Charles Leocha, Director of the Consumer Travel Alliance , an advocacy group in Washington that works on consumer issues, agrees that waiting kenny chesney tour until the last minute to book holiday airfare is not a good idea. "The airlines have really cut back on capacity and planes are now flying at higher load factors than probably any other time in airline history," says Leocha, "This means the airlines have control of their pricing. The advice kenny chesney tour I give is to make sure you reserve your tickets as soon as you can; don't wait till the last minute. There just aren't kenny chesney tour going to be deals at the last minute."
And in a move that might seem counter-intuitive, Leocha advises travelers that the low-cost carriers might not always have the lowest fares for holiday travel, so it's important to check all your options.
"A lot of the low cost carriers with point-to-point service are actually kenny chesney tour selling tickets at a higher price than legacy carriers since they offer nonstop service to destinations where the legacy carriers have to funnel flights through a hub," he says. "Even the low cost carriers are fairly confident they are going to fill their planes kenny chesney tour for the holiday season, so they aren't starting out at low prices. They are starting at moderate prices because people are willing to pay extra money to go nonstop."
If flying nonstop isn't a priority for you, says John DiScala of JohnnyJet.com , there are often substantial savings to be had -- even during the busy holiday travel dates. A recent kenny chesney tour search DiScala kenny chesney tour made on travel with Delta Airlines for a Christmas kenny chesney tour Eve flight from Los Angeles to New York was nearly $60 cheaper with a stopover as opposed to going nonstop.
Another tip that DiScala has for finding cheaper fares over the holidays is to consider flying on New Year's Eve. "To me, New Year's Eve is overrated," he says, "I'd rather save my money and fly that day and spend my money on travel.
Travel writer Kristin Luna found that to be true when she and her husband were booking return flights from Tennessee to San Francisco on American Airlines after the holidays. "Scott and I were going to fly back to San Francisco from Memphis after the holidays on December 29 or 30 and had just about booked our tickets, but then he had the epiphany to check airfare for New Year's Eve," she says.
"A 6 p.m. flight that gets us in at 11 p.m. was over $100 cheaper than the days before. We're not the type to go out big on New Year's Eve anyway, so why not save money? Plus, that gives us a little more time back home with the family."
Luna also advises looking at all airport options when searching for the cheapest holiday airfares. "We had planned to drive four hours back to Nashville from Memphis to catch a flight, as we assumed it would be cheaper kenny chesney tour given that it's a much bigger airport," she says. "But surprisingly the better deal came from Memphis, so from now on I'll be checking flights from smaller, nearby airports kenny chesney tour before I book."
While snagging the cheapest possible airfare over the holidays definitely involves some finagling and research, for people looking for cheap hotel stays over Thanksgiving kenny chesney tour and Christmas the news is more encouraging -- even if you've waited until now to think about where to go.
Samuels kenny chesney tour from Travelzoo agrees: "On the hotel side of this, major cities in the U.S. are majorly discounted over the holidays. Getting a really kenny chesney tour great deal in New York in the fall or in between the holidays can be really hard to find. But over Thanksgiving Day and Christmas week we're seeing really great deals at hotels in New York, Chicago , San Francisco; even Orlando has some great deals over Thanksgiving."
Among the deals listed on Travelzoo's Thanksgiving site are: $119 per night at the oceanfront Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach in Florida over Thanksgiving weekend and other dates; $220 per night over Thanksgiving at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge (regularly $409 per night) and $89 per night at the AAA 4-Diamond Fairmont Dallas on dates that include Thanksgiving and Christmas.
While Samuels says Thanksgiving and the month of November in general show the best deals for escaping to warm weather destinations, the good deals should continue through mid-December. "If you're trying to decide which holiday to get away, Thanksgiving is really the better option for hotel deals," she says. "I've seen really good deals to Jamaica, kenny chesney tour Cancun, the Riviera Maya...and Thanksgiving has not been blocked out, so it's a good option."
Cruise bargains can also still be found for holiday travel. Travelzoo's Thanksgiving deals site posted a special on seven-night cruises to the Eastern Caribbean over Thanksgiving from $524 per person, with kids sailing for free. And American Express's cruise site shows a five night Western Caribbean cruise over Thanksgiving on Celebrity Cruises from $329.
Charles White, an American Express Travel Consultant, kenny chesney tour urges that flexibility in all things -- from flights to hotels stays and cruises kenny chesney tour -- is key to getting a deal over the holidays. kenny chesney tour "If you're cruising, be open to different cabin types," he says. "This is also true for hotels -- be open to booking a different room category than you typically would."
Involving a travel agent in your plans will go a long way in helping you get a last minute deal, says White. "Travel agents often have access to airfare deals that aren't available on the internet," he says. "Travel agents kenny chesney tour also have first notice when seats become available on a full flight. However, deals can be hard to come by because limited availability typically means higher pricing."
Leocha, the consumer advocate, agrees that involving a travel agent is a good thing to think about if you hope to land a last minute travel deal this holiday season. "You never know until the time comes. But if you're going to find any deals, it would be from people who are booking airlines and hotels together," says Leocha,. "When it comes to putting together a dynamic package like that, the online travel kenny chesney tour agencies and mom-and-pop agencies have more leeway in terms of price than when you're dealing with only the airlines."
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