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Planning a summer getaway? These travel hacks will help you save some serious money

Wait until August or September for international travel, experts say

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It’s officially summertime, which often means the best time of year for barbecues, beaches and vacations.

To anyone who’s still planning a trip, or thinking of organizing a getaway, it’s not too late!

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In fact, Kayak, best known as the search engine that you might have used in the past to scour for the best deals on flights or hotels, assembled some tips on how to best book your summer travel.

Here's some of the advice:

  • If you’re traveling around holiday time, fly in or out on that holiday itself.
  • Or if that idea stinks (let’s be honest, who wants to fly on a holiday?), here’s another way you can do it while still saving money: Fly into your destination the Sunday before the holiday and fly back home the day after the holiday.
  • If you’re going to an international destination, wait until August or September if you really want to see prices drop. Crowds will also be smaller, so that’s a fun bonus.
  • Another note on international travel: Kayak said it’s more expensive to travel during the week, so shoot for weekend flights.
  • If you’re staying in the U.S., airfare will stay pretty consistent, with one major exception: avoid Sundays. Avoid weekends altogether and aim for weekday flights, if possible, but if you must book a weekend, it’s probably smarter to pick Saturday instead of Sunday.
  • Some dates to avoid: “We generally hate to hardline, but we found that the most expensive departure date is June 25 for domestic travel and June 30 for international travel. If you can avoid those days, then do so.”

Finally …

Traveling for the Fourth of July?

Fly into your destination on July 2 and fly out on July 5 if you want to save money (and yes, we realize this is just around the corner, so prices could be even higher, due to this now being a last-minute trip).
The most expensive combo is departing June 30 and coming home July 7, Kayak said.

Traveling for Labor Day weekend?

In years past, Aug. 31 has been an expensive day to fly. Avoid that one, if possible!

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