When is the Right Time to Book Summer Travel?

If you are like me, you like to book your travel in advance - make sure you get the flight you want, in the seat you prefer, to the destination of your choice.

But is that necessarily the best way to go this summer?

Columnist and travel guru, Ed Perkins, suggests that you might want to consider waiting until the last minute.

If you're planning an extensive trip this summer, my advice is that you should hold off buying air tickets and making hotel reservations until two or three months ahead of time. Just about everyone who follows the economic picture is predicting a continued slowdown or recession. In response, I look for overall travel demands this summer to be sharply weaker than last year, and the traditional supplier response to weakening demand is price-cutting. Given the cost pressures on airlines and hotels, however, their promotions are apt to have fairly short windows—both to buy and to travel.

So what should you do if you are planning travel far afield from home this summer?

Sign up for one or more of the free email newsletters from SmarterTravel: Weekly Last-Minute Airfares and Deal Alert, bi-weekly Cruise News, and monthly Student, Senior, and Family travel bulletins.

Sign up with one of the big online agencies' fare notification programs: Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity all offer one or more free fare-tracking and deal-notification services.

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