Mostofushavetobooktravelatsomepointoranother,whetherit’sforwork,tovisitfamilyandfriendsorjusttogetawayfromitallonvacation.
Theveryfirstthingyouneedtodoistomakeaplan.Itcanbeassimpleorasinvolvedasyouwantittobe.Somepeoplelovetoflybytheseatoftheirpantsanddominimalplanning,whileothersliketohaveeveryminuteofanitineraryaccountedforbeforetheyleavethehouse.
Bookingflightshascomealongwaysincethedayswhenyouhadtocallatravelagentortheairlineitselftobuytickets.Now,thereareliterallythousandsofplacestoturntobookaflight.Sohowdoyoufindthebestprice
“GoogleFlightsshouldbethefirstwebsitetovisittosearchdomesticandinternationalairfaresbeforeyoujumpovertoaspecificairlinetobookaflight,”accordingtotravelexpertClaraBosonetto.“Withitsmanyfilters,it’sthebestsitetousewhenyoumustflyonaspecificairline,musthaveanonstopflight,youhaveamultiplecitytrip(flyingintoonecityandoutofanother)oryouwanttobookone-waytravel.”
Whenyousearchyouritinerary,GoogleFlightswillshowyouoptionsforyourselecteddatesandletyouknowifthepricesarehigher,loweroraboutaverageforyourroute.Thesitealsoletsyouexplorefaresonalternatedateswithitscalendarandpricegraphfeatures.
Still,somepeopleprefertostayinahotelwhentheytravel,andClarkhasathree-stepprocessforbookingagreathotelroomonabudget.
Doingthisleavesyoutheoptiontocanceltheroomifyoufindabetterdealinthedaysleadinguptoyourtrip.
SeeClarktalkabouthisthree-stephotelbookingprocessinthevideobelow.
Whetheryougetasedan,SUVorvan,youneedtomakesurethevehicleyourentmakessenseforyou.Importantquestionstoaskyourselfinclude:
Onceyou’veestablishedthelowestpriceyoucangetonyourdesiredvehiclethroughAutoSlash,it’stimetocomparepricesontheothersitesthataggregaterentalcarrates.Someofthemostpopularandtrustworthyare:
Generally,withcarrentals,you’rejustreservingthecarandnotpayingupfront.Thatmeansyouwon’tevenhavetogiveupacreditcardnumbertolockinyourreservation.Italsomeansthat,unlikemostairlineticketsandhotelreservations,youwon’tbepenalizedifyouneedtocancelorchangeyourreservationlater.
Finally,sinceyou’renotlockedintoyourreservationwithacreditcard,youhaveonemoretrickupyoursleeve,andit’soneofClark’sfavoritetraveltips.
“WhenIbookmyflightweeksormonthsbeforetheactualdateoftravel,Ialsobookmycarrentalatthesametime,”hesays.“Thenaweekbeforemytraveldate,Ire-shopthecarrentalrate.Atleast90%ofthetime,IfindthatIcanbookanewcarcheaperatthelastminute,soIjustletmyoldreservationgo.”
Thereareanumberofinternetresourcesforbookingbustickets.Goonlinetothefollowingbustravelsites:
Ifyouwanttopurchasetrainticketsatthelowestpossibleprice,keepthesethingsinmind:
Asthepandemicwaxesandwanes,sodoestheavailabilityofcruisesanddeals.“Nowyouhavetodoalotmorepickingandchoosing,”Clarksays,addingthatbeforeyoucanfindagoodcruisedeal,youneedtomakeacoupleofadjustmentsregardingyourmindsetandtravelplans.
“Youhavetoadjusttotoday’srealityandadjusthowyoubookwiththeflexibilityoftheshipyougoon,andparticularlywhenyousailtogetthebestdeal,”hesays.
Keepinginmindallthosecaveats,Clarkhasthreeprimaryrulestofollowwhenitcomestobookingcruises.
“Therearecertaincyclesthroughtheyearwhencruiselineshavetroublefillingalltheircabins,andthat’swhenyoustealthegreatdeals,”hesays.
Sowhenistypicallythebesttimetobook
“AfterThanksgivingbutbeforeChristmaskicksoffisabargaintimeforanykindoftravel—andcruisesarerightinthemidstofthat,”hesays.
Comparisonshoppingwillgiveyouabetterunderstandingofwhatpricesshouldlooklikeatcertaintimesoftheyear.
Somepeoplearereallyloyaltocruiselinebrands,butthatcanabsolutelykillyourbudget.
Clark’sadviceiswhenplanningyourtrip,ventureawayfromwhatyouknowandexploreothercompaniesandwhatthey’reabout:“Lookatthingslikeexperimentingwithcruiselinesyou’renotthatfamiliarwith.”
Clarkdoesofferthisonecautionthough:“Neverbookadealonacruisejustbecauseit’sadeal.Youneedtoreallybecomfortablethatthatshipisgoingtofityourlifestyle,thethingsthatyou’reinterestedin.”
Thepricewon’tmattermuchifyoufindyourselfonacruiseshipthatdoesn’tmeshwithyourexpectations.Dotheresearch.
Clarkrecommendsasitewhereyoucantakeadeepdiveintocruiseshipspecsaswellasdealsandbookingtips.
Anotherreallyhelpfultipistoaskfamily,friendsandcoworkersiftheyhaveanyrecommendations.Andtravelagentswhospecializeincruisessometimeshavetheinsidescooponparticularshipsanditineraries.
Nowmorethanever,itisimportanttoconsiderpurchasingtravelinsurancebecauseofthestill-changingtravelconditionsrelatedtoCOVID-19.Therearemanydifferenttypesoftravelpoliciesavailable,buttherearetwotypeswerecommendthatwilllikelycovermostofyourneeds.
Evenbeforethepandemic,ClarkrecommendedgettingCFARinsuranceforthesefourtypesoftravel:
InadditiontoaCFARpolicy,youmayalsowanttoconsidertravelmedicalinsurance.
“Thethingwithinternationaltravel,whichalmostnobodyknowsuntilit’sabigproblem,isthatyourhealthinsuranceusuallydoesn’tcoveryououtsidetheUnitedStates,”saysClark.
Overtheyears,Clarkhasusedatrip-planningstrategythathasallowedhimtovisit49statesandalmosteverycorneroftheglobewithoutspendingalotofmoney.Hissecretissurprisinglysimple.
Inordertoaccomplishthis,Clarkdoesthreethingsthatyoucando,too.
Yousimplyselecthowmuchyou’rewillingtopayandavailabledestinationsinyourpricerangepopuponaworldmap.Youcandrilldownfurtherbyseasonandmonthoftravel.
Anotherwaytoapproachthequestionofhowtotravelonthecheapistosignupforanyofavarietyofcheapflightservices.Clarklikesandsubscribestoallthreeofthesetogettheearlywordaboutthebestairfaresales:
GoingandDollarFlightClubbothoperateonafreemiummodel.Youcanuseabasicversionoftheirservicesforfree,butyouhavetopaytoupgradeinordertoaccessamorerobustversionoftheservice.Clarksaystheupgradeisworthitifyoureallylovetotravel.
Farealertswillletyouknowwhenthepriceonaparticularroutedropsandbyhowmuch.Thiskindofpricingperspectivecansaveyoualotofmoney.
“They’llbeabletogiveyouhistoricalaverages,tellingyouthisfareislowerthannormalbyXnumberofdollars,”Clarksays.
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