BEIJING, CHINA – OCTOBER 28: Chinese and foreign toursits walk on a section of the Great Wall of China on October 28, 2014 in Mutianyu, near Beijing, China. MINNEAPOLIS — Declan Halloran’s family considered traveling to popular Algarve region spots Albufeira or Lagos in Portugal last summer, but he knew those cities would be hot and packed with British and Irish tourists.
“Ideally, you’re planning a year ahead of time,” she said. “That’s not to say you can’t plan three to six months out.”A1 Travel agent Monique Delph books flights six to nine months before departure.Check your cellphone coverage and consider texting and calling free via WhatsApp, a widely used international messaging app. You can pay extra to still use your plan’s data coverage, just plan to use free Wi-Fi or purchase or rent a portable Wi-Fi to use while in the other country.
As prices easily climb well more than $1,000 for a roundtrip to Europe, other locations farther afield are often even costlier. Traveling to Africa will be double a Europe trip from New York, said Georgina Lorencz, owner of African Travel Seminars. Consider whether you want to go to your destination in its high season, which will be more expensive. For a first-time trip to Europe, Snyder recommended going in fall or winter when your money goes further, and crowds are more sparse. Want to go to the Olympics in Paris this summer? At this point, you’ll need lots of money or lots of flexibility. Probably both.
“Planning tours in advance and skip-the-line tickets, all of those are things travel professionals can help with,” Snyder said.“I still believe in travel agencies,” Curtis said. “I have built travel agendas myself. That takes a lot of work. Travel agencies can do a lot of that work for you at a small premium.”