In the seasonal surge to the skies and roads, spring break promises a recharge — and a financial pinch. That’s especially true this year, when flight prices are up 20 per cent compared with last March and April, according to travel booking app Hopper, and hotels in the United States are averaging US$316 a night, up 64 per cent in the same time frame.
To help families stretch their vacation budgets, agents, analysts and bloggers offered the following 12 tips for saving money.Conscientious spending allowed Antonia Grant, a Minnesota-based publicist and writer for the blog Families Love Travel, her husband and eight-year-old to spend a month in Italy last summer. They are planning a similar trip to Scotland this year.
“I set up price alerts when I get the school calendar,” said Kate Williams, the chief communications officer for travel search platform Kayak and the mother of three boys, referring to a Kayak tracking tool that notifies users when prices drop or rise. Her latest tracked flight recently came down US$65 a ticket for an April trip to Arizona.
Read the fine print on budget carrier sites. Their ticket prices often don’t include things like carry-on bags or seat assignments, as do most fares from larger airlines such as American, Delta and United, except for basic economy fares. Add those fees in when comparing prices.As with flights, be flexible about your destination, advised Lauren Doyle, president of the Travel Mechanic, an agency based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Mexico, of course, is among the closer international destinations for US travellers, but it has experienced a recent wave of violence that is deterring some travellers. Still, it was the top international destination in the Americas among families, according to the association’s 2022 survey. Be sure to check the State Department’s detailed travel advisory when planning a trip.
In a recent survey of 1,000 Americans commissioned by short-term rental service Vacasa, 65 per cent of respondents said renting homes offered the best value. The service identified its best domestic bargains in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, , and the Great Smoky Mountains . “The best way to save on a cruise is going on an older, smaller ship,” she said. “You can do a smaller ship with fewer bells and whistles for a third of the price of a new ship.”
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