Summer Vacation Travel Hacks For an Ultimate Holiday
Plan your 2024 summer smartly with these top travel hacks 🧳
Save money 💰
Enjoy the process 💻
Be creative and flexible ✈️
Let’s goooooo !!!!! 🔥
By: Sally Golan
May 3rd, 2024
Guys, summer is upon us. Again. The Great American eclipse has come and gone, the sun has risen and dipped and spun around, winter turned into spring and well spring is soon….summmeeerrrrrr. (I’m no David Attenborough).
‘Tis my favorite time of the year. Lemme just put my sandwich down and finally work on that “summer bod”. This may take a while.
Millions of travelers plan ahead of time, booking up hotels, Airbnbs and flights, jacking up prices for the months ahead. Your summer travel plans are still doable with my personal little hacks. You’re welcome, by the way.
Got travel hacks of your own? I want to hear them! Comment below or send me a note.
Follow me on IG @sallygolanofficial and as usual, I am always here to help you plan your fantasy vacation.
Tip #1: “Flight Trading” 24 hour cancelation
I loooooooooooooove flight trading. This kind of shit gets me high. It makes me feel like the Gordon Gekko of flight hacking. It’s impossible to know when prices might drop, but believe me, they do. It’s better to have a booked flight than not, so choose a ticket with a free 24 hour cancellation policy and watch closely for price changes in that time frame.
If you search that same platform (or others) on a private browser during off-peak hours, you might get lucky with a drop. Cancel your ticket and book the new one. If you are happy with your ticket, then keep it. If you want to keep looking past the 24 hour mark, then cancel the ticket and just keep searching. Sometimes, it’s worth the risk.
Tip #2: Don’t fall for the “cheap tickets” and beware of hidden costs:
Cheap tickets can end up being a scam. We are all attracted to those initial low costs until you start to add everything up. Read the fine print. Once you add up the cost of checked bags, a carry-on, choosing your seat, meal selection, taxes, fees and maybe paying to board early, you are not getting a “cheap ticket” at all.
Instead, opt for larger airlines flying larger sized aircrafts that factor all of those costs into one final tally. Save yourself the time calculating and know that it’s pretty much the same cost with a lot less hassle.
Tip #3: Consider traveling in early or late summer
There is something special about the peripheral season and getting to experience a popular destination when it’s not packed with hairy dad bods and screaming babies. That being said, August is the suckiest time of summer to travel, while September offers better prices, availability and spectacular, late summer weather. The early or later summer season is still pumping in most European destinations, so if you can avoid the mid season, I suggest it.
Tip #4: Point Hacking
If you’ve got both points on credit cards and belong to multiple airline membership rewards programs, then trying to maximize your rewards from various providers can get overwhelming. That’s why “point hacking” has become a service on it’s own. Understanding the dollar value of your points, how to transfer points to an airline and if you should use your points for flights vs hotels vs rentals is an insane, time consuming task. When it comes to summer travel, point hacking can really save you serious money. I highly recommend using a concierge service like Point.Me, where you can search and book travel using a combo of miles and points all in one place. Check out more info on how this platform works here: https://www.point.me/faq
I’ve used a service like this before when I wanted to book a business class trip from Africa to the Middle East using a combo of credit card points, airline membership miles and cash. I submitted all of my reward membership info across multiple alliances and told them my desired itinerary. Within 24 hours, I was presented with a bookable route using my points and miles, that would have taken me weeks to figure out on my own. They presented me with the most cost effective option and most desirable route. How cool is that? As for Point.me, I have yet to give them a shot, but I know that companies like this are on the rise.
I also recommend following The Points Guy, as he’s got all the latest and greatest info on point hacking. The best travel credit card for accumulating travel points is the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It’s virtually unmatchable when it comes to travel offers.
Tip #5: Mind International Holidays
I have unknowingly booked travel during the EID holiday in Turkey when I was headed to Bodrum from Istanbul. When I missed my flight, I was totally screwed, because there were no flights left for the next coming week. I had to stay in Istanbul until I finally found a flight taking off from a further away airport. Run a quick google search for holidays happening in your desired destination and make sure you know are not landing on a national holiday or about to do so. Research what stays open and what’s closed. Nothing’s worse than arriving in a country when the restaurants and grocery stores are closed after a long haul flight.
Tip #6: Pay for checked bags online
This may seem like a no brainer but people forget to pre-pay for their checked bags online and get price gauged at the check-in counter. Every country and airline has their own price, but I can assure you, it only gets worse internationally. You can pay as much as $30 less when paying online vs at the airport. Set a reminder in your phone to do so before your flight.
Tip #7: Compare roundtrip prices with multiple one way routes
Roundtrip tickets are not always worth it. Unless you know exactly what dates you wish to depart and return, try researching multiple one way tickets and compare those prices to that of a return flight. I almost never book roundtrip flights. Firstly, if something happens, changing the flight will cost me anyway. Secondly, I have become so good at finding amazing last minute flights, that roundtrip tickets are now a rip off. Be flexible, be creative. Certainly, it all depends on the destination and how far you are traveling. For example, it’s probably more worth it to book a round trip flight (with rebooking flexibility) when traveling during peak season and overseas as two one way, overseas tickets will simply cost double. But sometimes, it’s better to book individual one way tickets when traveling short distances or locally. Play around and compare!
Tip #8: Travel on a Saturday
Most travelers are looking to optimize their weekends and will choose to fly on Thursdays or Fridays. Saturday flights tend to be cheaper because you are cutting right into the weekend. Research flights that take off on a Saturday (evenings would be even better) and compare those prices to a Tuesday or a Wednesday ticket. Most travelers headed to summer destinations are looking to use the weekend as a vacation starter, so against the grain;)
Tip #9: Learn about the golden window
This takes experience, but there is such a thing as the “golden window” when it comes to booking a flight. If you research this online, the so-called “experts” will tell you that booking 1-3 months out is optimal and even as much as 8 months out. First of all, who plans travel that early? Secondly? I call bullshit. So much has changed in the travel industry thanks to Covid. All the “rules” have flown out the first class window and it is now a free-for-all-shit-show.
The golden window is all about booking not too far out, but not too close either. It all depends on the season and the destination. I have booked international, hemisphere hopping, continent changing travel, just three weeks out and still managed to get a respectable deal. Sometimes booking too far ahead will land you with a bad deal. Just know that once you get to the 2 week mark, you are looking at extortion prices for the summer season. Do plan earlier than normal but don’t head to the pressure.
Tip #10: Look for packaged deals and go with the wind!
Those flight and hotel bundle packages are a true steal! Sometimes, it’s really fun to just leave it up to the travel gods instead of trying to plan each step of your trip by yourself. If the deal includes your flights and hotels combined, you are mostly getting a true discount. Just look at the flight details closely as they may include stopovers or unsavory travel times. It’s all about comparing the package deal to everything a la carte. It’s especially tempting when booking a package for an all inclusive resort. The cost of food alone has gone up at least 200% globally, so all-inclusive might be a worthy consideration.
Tip # 11: Opt in for price alerts
I was originally skeptical of this hack because I don’t like being followed when making a booking, but opting in for price alerts is the perfect hack for someone who is too busy to keep researching. Get notifications from a few platforms and be prepared to book something soon as your desired price range pops up. You have a max of 24 hours before those prices change again.
Tip #12: Consider Alternative Routes
Going to a popular destination like Paris or Barcelona? Those mainstream airports will automatically cost more this time of year. Consider a nearby airport or even a nearby country that might not be as busy. You can always get to your ultimate destination by train, car or boat and get the chance to explore multiple destinations. When it comes to travel, it’s about the journey, the joy of getting there just as much as being there.
And finally, here is a list of my favorite travel booking sites for flights and hotels with a few notes beside each one. Happy summer everyone!
The best for finding international flights and usually better prices than Expedia, skyscanner also allows you to search comparative prices for a month at a time.
Expedia is awesome for “flight trading” because of their free 24 hour cancellation policy. Expedia is great for booking within the USA but not so great for international flights.
Super competitive pricing on hotels and stays and they even offer extra discounts for solo travelers.
I still recommend booking airbnb’s if you are traveling with a group and want to stay together in a house, villa or apartment or if you want more space to spread out rather than a 2 foot hotel room.
Great last minute offers, wide selection, trustworthy and good customer service.
Great members program and members pricing, huge selection and last minute offers.
“There’s no time to be bored in a world as beautiful as ours” -unknown.
