Holiday Travel: Timing is Everything

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Thanksgiving Travel Takes Off - fotopedia.com
Thanksgiving Travel Takes Off - fotopedia.com
Do you know the best day to book a flight? Or even the best time of day? Plan your Thanksgiving travel now with these secrets from the experts.

Halloween just ended and now holiday decorations are already starting to spring up. We have had a debate around my office about how soon to start putting up your decorations. I say wait until the calendar reads "December."

The kind of holiday planning you need to jump on right away is travel plans. In fact, it looks like a lot of us are procrastinating with this. Travel website Hotwire.com says as of November 1, 82 percent of U.S. adults haven't booked yet. If you are planning to fly, time is running out.

"So far, Thanksgiving prices have been pretty consistent with last year, but we're expecting increases to begin now as the 21-day countdown to Thanksgiving begins," said Clem Bason, president of the Hotwire Group.

Timing when you buy your ticket has always been key to getting your best price. Travel experts do recommend you buy your ticket at least 14 to 21 days before you fly.

But, there's also a best day of the week to buy – travel expert Peter Greenberg says it's Wednesday! Smartmoney.com says this is how it works. Airlines set their fares over the weekend. Then, in the coming days, competing airlines try to match it. And they go back and forth. The result is late Tuesday, early Wednesday morning, they hit their lowest mark. In fact, Greenburg says 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday is the best time because that's when at the airlines usually reload their computers with the latest low-cost fares. And the worst time to buy? Greenburg says avoid booking over the weekend.

And Hotwire.com says there are some other ways to save. Check out nearby airports for better deals. Avoid flying the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after the holiday. Those are notoriously busy travel days.

When it comes to booking a hotel for Thanksgiving, hotwire.com says you still have plenty of time. In this case, last minute is best. The discount website says many people will stay with family for the holiday, so hotels in big cities will have lots of rooms to unload at deep discounts. Hotwire.com recommends booking three days before arrival.

Take this advice and you might be able to pull off a stress-free and low cost holiday vacation. Now, you just have to get through Thanksgiving dinner without any family fueds. Maybe you should look into that hotel now?

Juliet Bickford, Juliet Bickford

Juliet Bickford - Juliet Bickford is a broadcast journalist with more than 10 years experience in the business. Her specialties include consumer and crime ...

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Nov 3, 2011 8:39 PM
Guest :
I find the greatest ideas and help all over the web on websites like these and I am grateful especially for those who are willing to share their experiences and help others. I also fly the “friendly sky’s” quite frequently so having the ability to have options to keep myself occupied aside from work is very important to me. You hit the nail on the head with the element of timing and saving so I am recommending my non-flying friends to read your article. One of the biggest things I hear is stress overtaking a lot of people and I can feel their pain but there are creative ways to overcome all the anxiety as well. Again, we go back to timing I have my film blog at home, which has always been a passion for me, but I also love taking little adventures during off hours, which allows me to see places I might not get to see. Some of these extra outings need to be set up and prepared in advance and some do not but it is better to be prepared then stressed out. It is a big improvement on previous years. My research for my blog makes a huge difference on my mind during travel in general but especially during the Holiday rushes. I have gotten luckily this year as my resources have increased. When talking with a colleague of mine who also works for Dish Network about the October 1st launch of Dish Network’s new package The Blockbuster Movie Pass I was thrilled as this was just another way they are making my life easier and more fun. Welcome live streaming! It seems like they are always coming up with fantastic ideas especially for individuals like me who have to travel frequently for work. Yet, still must maintain a passion that is very important to me that I would usually do at home. The Blockbuster Movie Pass will now be a combination of two of Dish Network’s prestigious packages the Dish Platinum and the Blockbuster by Mail package allowing me to stream thousands of movies with my laptop or my Dish receiver. How fantastic! I also now have access to thousands of DVD movies, TV shows and games by mail with unlimited exchange necessary for the elegant movie blog I have been hosting for years. It remotely streams directly to my laptop for TV if need be expanding my resources by a huge amount. Therefore, I can research the information I need from the film standpoint while looking into the media aspect as well which covers all the research necessary for the blog, $10 a month seems like a small price to pay for so many people’s enlightenment. My boyfriend is thrilled with the amount of video games available in this new package so that also makes me happy. Upon returning home, I can be at peace knowing that I can just write the blog entry to stimulate the new conversation topic, which is always, relaxing for me. With the Holiday’s, here business travelers are such great folks to turn to for good information on traveling tips and either by web or acquaintance get the knowledge especially if you are a novice at business travel during the Holiday’s. It makes such a difference to have other things other than work to feast my mind on and I’m not sure how many other folks utilize these types of getaways but I would recommend it highly. Get out and see the beauty around you once you are at your destination, which usually will not cost you a dime. Fill your soul so your stress is not doing it for you.
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