Planning a summer trip? Prepare to spend up if you need to fly or drive there.
Travelers are facing fare increases of Olympic proportion come early july even if they have no plans to watch Michael Phelps take the plunge london. Rising fuel costs, followed by airline mergers, mean higher ticket prices all around and fewer flights on some routes. And a lot hotel rates are up around 5% because operators expect stronger summer demand.
To find the best deals this summer, travel experts suggest checking out discount travel sites and daily-deals sites and being flexible about travel dates and locales. Occasionally, it's more about how you book a visit than the actual destination.
It's the "year of alternatives," says New York-based travel expert Valarie D'Elia.
Seeing the U.S.A.
Domestic travel is about the package deal in many spots august, as hotels and resorts throw in extras to alleviate the sting of the higher fares, hotel rates and gas prices.
For example, Marriott's Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa in Florida offers a package starting at $209 a night that includes a free rental car from Enterprise plus a $100 gas credit. The deal, which runs through July 1, has some restrictions.
In terms of flying, low-cost carriers such as JetBlue Airways and Frontier Airlines could be your best bet now more than ever. They've expanded service on many routes to fill gaps left with the consolidation of routes by larger carriers which may have merged, says Clem Bason, president of Hotwire Group, a travel site owned by Expedia.
Heading South
Head south with the border-really far south-for the best deals. Many countries in Mexico and South America are experiencing a tourist boom-for eco-travel in particular-thanks to your slew of new hotels and cheap package deals. And your dollars will go a good deal further than in the U.S. and Europe.
In Peru, as an example, all-inclusive eco-lodges, often known as Refugios Amazonas, typically cost around $500 for four-day accommodations, food, excursions inside Amazon and transportation to and from the airport. (Airfare, which is separate, will run about $900.)
An expanding trend, especially for those operating groups, is to rent a property or apartment, says Henry Harteveldt, co-founder of research firm Atmosphere Research Group. It has been a cheaper option in bigger cities such as Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and San Jose, Costa Rica.
Going East
Japan is as simple as no means cheap to go to. But if you have always wanted to tour the land from the rising sun, this summer is the time to do so. Japan is still reeling from its natural and nuclear disasters last year, causing hotels and tour operators to lure tourists with price drops. Despite fuel surcharges, summer airfare is down about 13% from last year, according to Orbitz.com.
Tour operator Friendly Planet Travel can give packages starting at $1,599, which include a round-trip flight from Chicago to Tokyo via Singapore Airlines (a flight ticket to Los Angeles, if needed, is extra), five-night hotel stick with breakfast, airport transportation and city tour. The cost is good for travel between July and November.
Europe
Summer time Olympics are in London. But airfares across The european union are up due to the Olympic effect as well as fuel prices.
A cheaper options to fly into a less-crowded airport, including in Dublin or Copenhagen, and then take a connecting flight on a low-cost European carrier, for example easyJet, airberlin or Ryanair, to your destination, suggests Gabe Saglie, senior travel editor of TravelZoo.com.
And check out Eastern Europe. Cities like Prague and Budapest offer history, architecture and culture like their western counterparts. Croatia has beautiful beaches around the Mediterranean. But flights about bat roosting locales are cheaper and hotels rooms average below $100 a night, says Jeanenne Tornatore, senior travel editor at Orbitz.com.
Taking to the Water
If the Costa Concordia accident didn't make you gun-shy, now's the time to cruise the Mediterranean.
Cruising in the region is the cheapest many experts have in at least the last 3 years, thanks to travelers' concerns amid the cruise liner's crash over coast of Italy in January along with the continuing economic malaise in Spain, Italy and Greece-whose port cities cruises set sail from.
To entice travelers, cruises are offering free or reduced airfares, cabin upgrades, ship spending credits or discounts on booking another cabin.
Author Resource:
When tourists come the first time to see Mediterian Shoreline in Croatia, they want to investigate Croatia real estate and buy a few property.
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