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thrifty traveler
Mark your calendar to take advantage of sales, slower periods, and more productive offers.
By Élaine Glusac
Elaine Glusac is a columnist for Frugal Traveler, focusing on travel and tight budgets.
Traveling out of season, booking in advance, betting on flexible dates and thinking outside the beaten path are economical strategies on show.
But the year brings its perennial traffic percentage and sales patterns that can tell savvy travelers when to book electronically and when to travel.
Regardless of the timing, it will be worth purchasing trips well in advance to places where demand is low on the calendar; This usually means electronically booking domestic air tickets 30 to 60 days and foreign ones 3 to five months in advance. Also book your hotels in advance, but make sure they are refundable so that if prices drop, you can rebook at the lower rate.
Caveats notwithstanding, the following are key times to put on your calendar for the best buys in travel.
The year begins with two of the cheapest months to at least get out of ski destinations.
Most travelers are returning from vacations and kids are back in school, giving those with flexible schedules plenty of freedom to know where to spend their budget.
“Prices are some of the lowest you’ll see year-round,” said Hayley Berg, lead economist at electronic travel booking app Hopper, “and it’s a time of year. ‘Year where you can even electronically book a last-minute plane ticket and still get a deal.
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