Are you planning a family vacation before school starts again?
Or just looking to get away from the daily grind?
In my life, I have lived in Michigan and I have lived in Florida. It’s actually kind of funny to see the very different travel plans between these two states.
In Michigan, the winters get incredibly snowy and cold, so what do us Michiganders do? We travel to where it’s warm; most of the time to Arizona or Florida.
If you live in Florida, the summers get dreadfully hot and sticky, so this is when the majority of Floridians take their vacations. They escape the heat and head north!
When you read the title of this post, your mind probably went to where mine did initially.
Instead of Michiganders traveling south in the winter to warm up, they could save a bunch of money by postponing their travels until the summer time.
Sure, Florida’s nearly 100 degrees and has 100% humidity, but you could travel there for extremely cheap!
If you happen to survive the heat, then the trip will have been a success!
Lucky for you, this is NOT what this post is about. After all, who wants to travel somewhere to be uncomfortable?
There are two great ways to save money when it comes to travel in the off-season.
Saving Money on Local Travel
My parents love to go to a local bed and breakfast for their vacations. In the state of Michigan, everything is incredibly expensive during July and August because these are the most sunny and warmest days of the year!
It only makes sense though right? When demand is high, prices will skyrocket because there is only so much demand. It’s just simple economics.
Who says you have to travel in July and August? There are some other months that are great for trips as well.
May and June are lovely times to travel, and if you love to see those leaves change color, September is also a great time to experience your vacation.
Book your travel dates during these months and you’ll receive a discount on your stay and you’ll still have a great experience.
There’s just no reason to spend twice the money to vacation in July or August.
Saving Money for the Long Trips
If you’re going to hop on a plane and head overseas (or across the state), you’ll have to be a bit more strategic with your travel plans.
The peak periods for travel are typically in the summer time and around the holidays. So, between June and August, plane tickets can be pretty outrageous.
The same is true around Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you can avoid these time frames, you’ll more than likely save quite a lot of money.
So the question still stands then, when should you travel to these far off places?
That’s actually pretty simple: when no one else is.
If you can find a time frame where travel is very light, that’s when you’ll find your greatest deals.
You don’t have to wait until the blizzards come either. You could plan a wonderful spring trip, or a fall getaway.
Either of these options could work out wonderfully. Your vacation spot won’t be nearly as busy and you’ll keep quite a bit of that green stuff in your pocket.
Have you ever traveled during the ‘off-seasons’ and saved money on your trip? Where to?
Photo credit: Werner Kunz via photopin cc