Finding Last Minute Travel Bargains

[Ken]

A piece in one of the ezines I receive had an article on finding travel bagains. Since it recommend some sources that I wasn't famaliar with, I thought it might be of interest to others as well. So here is the pertinent portion:

"Weekend getaways: Get a list of current Web specials offered by every major airline at Smarter Living. Just type your departure city into the search box. Most fares are good for upcoming weekend departures (Saturday to Monday or Tuesday). Extended international deals are often available as well. Shop by destination: If you want to travel to a particular destination and you're flexible on dates, try the low-fare search engine at Travelocity. Choose your destination but don't enter travel dates. You'll receive a list of low- cost options with applicable rules and dates.

"Last-minute tours and packages: Tour operators such as Zolotrips often list last-minute imminent departures at a discount rate to fill space on a trip. You won't be charged a penalty fee for a late purchase because the tour operator obtained airfare through contracts with the airlines. View a consolidated list of tours and packages at Site59.com. Choose a specific date and destination: Finding last-minute deals for specific dates and destinations is difficult. If Smarter Living isn't offering any travel deals to your destination, try searching Orbitz. Some airlines have a three-day advance purchase policy so you may be able to make a purchase on a ticket just under the wire before prices inflate.

"What happens if you can't find a deal? If you're willing to leave your travel days open and you don't mind the hassle of ambiguity, try Hotwire or Priceline.com as a last resort. Hotwire gives you a fare based on the criteria you enter. Priceline requires that you bid on a fare and notifies you whether or not it was accepted within an hour. The sites will save you money but you won't know the name of the carrier or exact schedule until you purchase tickets."

[Jane J.]

Thanks for your info, Ken. Next time, however, post this sort of thing in the Travel section, where you are more likely to reach an audience interested in....travel.

[kjdrga]

I also stumbled across a website yesterday that lets you bid for the vacations...sky auction

I have never heard of this nor heard of anyone taking any of these vacations, but I was thinking about using it to book some rooms for a weekend in Aug. There are fee's involved like a base fee of $39 per person per night... which as many of us know is what a room might cost anyway, so in the end it might not be too good of a deal...

Anyone out there use this site before???

[NoMoreSnow]

to keep our posts in the correct categories ... maybe you can move this one to Travel as per JJ suggestion, where it will get the full audience recognition that it deserves.



NMS

[Hlywud]

www.sunholidays.ca has some excellent last minute deals and deals from 1 to 2 weeks in advance.Save some cash!!! to an exotic place