Page 1 of 1

Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:52 am
by investing1012
How do you find good deals for Christmas/ New-Years Vacations?

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:54 am
by b4nash
If you are flexible, your best bet is to take the vacation a couple weeks before or after Christmas.

If not, traveling on the holidays (e.g., Christmas Day and New Year's Eve) often yields lower flight costs.

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:54 am
by dbltrbl
Look for them in January. :D :D

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:30 pm
by dm200
investing1012 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:52 am How do you find good deals for Christmas/ New-Years Vacations?
Usually the popular places are more (or much more) expensive during this time.

What kinds of vacations are you cosidering? Children?

Sometimes - air travel on Christmas day is slow. Used to be, anyway - not sure now.

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 2:28 pm
by Edie
We drive to the beach. Growing up in California (close to Oregon), I'm used to cold ocean, so am perfectly happy with 50 degree days and cold water and no people :) No (other) people is the best part. We spend time as a family, there's plenty of traipsing about, and I don't need to constantly watch out for my teenagers since there's nobody around to bug them.

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 2:43 pm
by ThankYouJack
+1 on going non-peak. Even if it's January 2-8th. I've looked into this extensively for Florida and plane tickets, rental cars and hotels are often 2-3x more during the holiday week. And crowds/traffic is so much smaller

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:26 pm
by renue74
I'll offer something different.

I follow many travel tips websites on twitter and every few days they'll share really low airfare deals. (The Flight Deal is the one I see most).

But the deal is:

• You have to be super flexible. Only a few flights at X discount.
• You have to jump on the deal quickly.
• You can't be picky on location or days.
• You may have to end up burning up some air miles to get to a larger airport where the deal originates from.

Even during Xmas, there can be some deals.

This is what I usually do, after I see the deals on twitter, I'll go to Google Flights and plugin the departure and arrival locations. Google has a grid that will give you the lowest price for that departure day....so you can see the "deal."

Sometimes, the air fare website will only show a few deals, but you can look out in the future months to see how long the deal lasts on Google Flights.

For retired folks who like to travel, I would imagine this is a unicorn of perfect times. You guys can go anywhere, any time.

I typically only day dream about those good deals, but last year, I did hit a good flight from NYC to Honolulu during our kid's spring break week. $300 RT. Of course we did burn up air miles to fly from Charlotte to NYC, but it was OK. We spent one night in NYC and I took the kids to Manhattan for the day. Then a week in Hawaii.

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:41 pm
by Alexa9
Go somewhere less desirable but warm: Arizona or Texas. I would imagine Puerto Rico is itching for tourists.

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 8:58 pm
by Watty
Try to find something within driving distance especially if you are traveling with more than two people.

Flying in the prime holiday season is crowded and packed if things go well but if a flight is canceled finding alternate flights for a group of four or more people will be hard. A young kid will likely have a rough time with an unplanned 12 hour layover at an airport.

The weather in late December is often bad and can delay your flight. Even if it is not bad where you are at a snowstorm on the other side of the country can delay the incoming flight that your plane has. Try to fly early in the day with non-stop flights to avoid delays.

Try to get a condo with a kitchen since few restaurants will be open on Christmas day.

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:08 pm
by livesoft
Backcountry skiing with camping on the snow in a tent.

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2017 10:04 pm
by spammagnet
Alexa9 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:41 pmI would imagine Puerto Rico is itching for tourists.
Shipping costs for potable water would put a damper on your vacation budget. :)

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 7:40 am
by dm200
I gave a quick look at cruises - the "bargain" prices are much higher over that two week period.

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 8:05 am
by djpeteski
spammagnet wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 10:04 pm
Alexa9 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:41 pmI would imagine Puerto Rico is itching for tourists.
Shipping costs for potable water would put a damper on your vacation budget. :)
Potable water is only necessary if you are a carbon based life form. Everyone has limitations.

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 8:32 am
by dm200
spammagnet wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 10:04 pm
Alexa9 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 3:41 pmI would imagine Puerto Rico is itching for tourists.
Shipping costs for potable water would put a damper on your vacation budget. :)
Are any parts of Puerto Rico available for tourists yet?

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 8:42 am
by lthenderson
For the last seven or eight years, we've been driving down to the gulf coast and renting a beach side house for the week between Christmas and New Years. The price has always been cheap since the water is considered too cold to swim but there never are any crowds.

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2017 9:45 am
by JupiterJones
The period after National Finals Rodeo right up until Christmas is typically one of the cheapest times to go to Las Vegas. (Although many of the shows are dark.)

Re: Christmas Vacation on a budget

Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 5:56 pm
by dm200
Many years ago, when our children were small and grandparents still alive, we went North every Christmas/New years to visit them in two different places - all cold in late December. One year, we went to Cooperstown NY - and stayed overnight - to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. Needless to say, that was during the VERY SLOW season there...

"Who's on First??" :sharebeer