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Frugal Traveler
Mark your calendar to take advantage of sales, slow periods and the best travel deals.
By Elaine Glusac
Elaine Glusac is a columnist for Frugal Traveler, which focuses 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 and when to travel.
Regardless of the timing, it will be worth buying well in advance for trips to places where demand is low on the calendar; This usually means electronically booking domestic air tickets 30 to 60 days in advance and foreign tickets 3 to five months in advance. Also book your hotels in advance, but make sure they’re refundable so that if prices drop, you can rebook at the lower rate.
Despite the caveats, here are the key times to include in your calendar to make the most productive purchases.
The year kicks off with two of the cheapest months to travel — outside of ski destinations, anyhow.
Most travelers return from vacations and kids are back in school, giving those with flexible schedules plenty of freedom to take advantage of the cheap.
“Prices are some of the lowest that you see throughout the year,” said Hayley Berg, the chief economist at the travel booking app Hopper, “and it’s a time of year where you can even book last-minute airfare, and still often get a deal.”
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