Travel Deal of the Day (June 9, 2008)

When going on vacation, most people select a location and then search for fares. If one of your primary goals is to save money, you should switch the order of those tasks. If you are looking to take a vacation on a budget, it is now more important than ever to let the good deals decide where you will vacation rather than deciding where you want to go and then looking for an airfare. With high gas prices, most airfares are going way up – but there are still deals. When those deals occur, you may only have a few hours to grab the deal – but that is the best way to go on a vacation on a budget.

The Deal:
Airlines (for a variety of reasons) often lower fares in individual markets to very, very low prices. For instance, at the time of this post, various airlines were offering a Baltimore to Orlando fare for around $58/way. These kinds of deals come and go. This fare may be around for weeks or it may be gone by the end of the day. Since most fares are increasing, it is now a smart move to take advantage of great deals and use those deals to determine your vacation destination (rather than deciding where you will go and then trying to find a good deal).

How:
There are a variety of websites that can help you find the good deals that may be around only for a few hours. One very good website is airfarewatchdog.com which allows you to select a city and it will show you the best fares from that city. Other major travel agent websites such as Travelocity.com will allow you to sign up for email alerts when fares between certain cities drop.