Travel Hacks 3 of 12-Choose a Vacation Date

Planning a dream getaway? Save a boatload of money by being flexible with your vacay dates. Let’s take a look at how prices can change with flexibility, and how to be open-ended with your vacation plans.

Why flexibility matters

Airline tickets, hotel stays and other vacation costs are established according to these variables:

• Supply
• Demand
• Randomness
• Number of options

If your plans include specific dates, you instantly constrain the last variable, making the costs dependent on the first three, which are all out of your control. You’ll have no choice but to pay whatever the cost is to travel during the time you chose. 

For a quick way to see how flexibility with your travel dates can bring down the price of your vacation, try a Google Flight Explore search. Tell it the locations for your departure and destination, and then provide the search engine with specific dates. You’ll be provided with several choices. Now try the same search, but give a vague description of your travel timing. For example, you can state “within the next three months” or even “in the next year” and see what Google spits out for you. Compare your choices. How much can you save by being flexible with your travel dates?

How to be flexible with your travel plans

If this all sounds wonderful but not very practical, remember that you don’t need to be completely open-ended with your dates. You can search for flights and hotel stays during a specific season, or even during the last two weeks of your chosen month, and still enjoy discounted prices. 

To increase your chances of landing bargain-priced airline tickets, you can also be flexible with your destination. For example, instead of searching for tickets to France during Independence Day weekend, you can look for tickets to landmark cities in Europe during the summer. 

Tech tools 

Google’s Flight Explore is an excellent way to find low-cost airline tickets for the time you want to travel. But also check out other travel apps like Kayak, Orbitz and Hopper for exclusive deals on airfare. Some apps offer the option of signing up for alerts, which is a great way to ensure you don’t miss out on any fabulous price drops. 

Happy travels!