Planning a trip months in advance can be quite fun – choosing the destination, what attractions you want to visit, restaurants and local foods you want to try, accommodation, and so on. Sometimes however, you have last minute vacation time or just need to get away and have to find a getaway, quick.
While booking a trip last minute can end up being extremely pricey if your dates and destination are locked, but if you are flexible and open to travelling pretty much anywhere there are plenty of deals and inexpensive ways to make that happen.
The following are a few ideas for planning a last minute trip.
Look at One Way Flights
When looking into flights, people tend to always search for round-trip tickets, but that’s not always the best way to go about it. Usually when you look at a return ticket it has to be with the same airline or alliance. Booking two one ways allows you to find the cheapest flight to/from your destination on that specific day regardless of the airline or partnership rules.
Find the Deals and Discounts
If you are flexible as to where and when you want to travel, there are so many sites geared toward booking a short-notice trip. These websites pull together last minute deals, promotions, sales and so on for the traveller who wants to just get away and for cheap but is not overly fussed about where to. Often these sites will let you subscribe for updates so you can be notified when a sale becomes available.
Try A City Break
A vacation doesn’t necessarily mean flying across the ocean. Often we forget to look at the amazing experiences and adventures in our own backyard. Many cities or regions will have a local blog with suggestions on what you can do in that place. With a bit research you might just find a festival or experience that is only a short drive, bus or train ride away. You feel like you’ve taken a vacation from home but haven’t gone so far that you break the bank doing it.
Off Season
There may be four seasons in a year but most destinations have three seasons when it comes to tourism. High season, shoulder season, and low or off season. Off season is when a place receives it’s lowest number of visitors and this is where your opportunity sits. Because hotels aren’t booked and attractions aren’t as busy, these places often offer incentives to get more visitors to come. Yes, Rome is much more wonderful to visit in the hot weather of summer, but there is always something lovely to do and you can save big bucks travelling in this way.
Tap the App
There is an app for everything, including last minute getaways. Some help you find a hotel the day of, others will show tours and experiences with discounts, or restaurants with a special. Make use of these by finding deals that are based around spontaneity.
Hopefully these tips and suggestions help you arrange a getaway that leaves you revitalized and rested, without breaking the bank.
What’s the best way you find discounts and last minute deals for travelling adventures? Share them in the comments below and happy trails!