Thanksgiving brings family and friends together to kick off the holiday season. If those are the same family and friends you travel with for summer vacation, then while you’re passing the turkey and cranberry sauce, go around the table asking everyone what their favorite travel experiences have been and brainstorming where you want to go next summer. It’s a safe conversation topic, it’s a reminder of things you are thankful for, and if you can figure out where you and your family would like to go next year, it can even save you money.
That’s because you can take advantage of December’s great availability of summer airfares and summer mileage-award seats. And you can reach out to the right destination specialist before the January onslaught of travelers making summer plans. Family summer-vacation options with limited inventory—Amalfi Coast villas, Alaska cruises, African safaris, Galapagos expeditions, Grand Canyon rafting trips, Inca Trail hikes—sell out months ahead. By starting in December, you can lock in the best experiences, the in-demand hotels and resorts (though villas in popular spots will already be booked), the savviest private guides, the hottest tables, and hard-to-get-into activities, performances, and sites. And you can avoid the time-consuming struggle a few months from now to pull together a logistically sensible trip. Wait till April or May, and you’ll likely have to pay more and get less.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.
This is a really smart trip planning strategy. Plan early, be flexible, save money, time, and stress.