5 Ways Americans Are Saving on Summer Travel in 2024

Summer is just around the corner, and that means now’s the time to start finalizing any travel plans — or making those last-minute changes.

But the cost of travel has gone up over the years. Thanks to inflation, roughly 25% of people who initially planned to take a trip this summer have decided not to go after all, according to a recent GOBankingRates survey. That still leaves 75% of people who are planning to travel, just with rising costs in mind.

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Unless you’re someone who isn’t worried about money, you might want to save up more for any trips on the horizon. There are plenty of ways to go about this, but here are some of the big ones along with the pros and cons of each.

Book Your Trip Early

“We dream of visiting Europe or going on cruises, but with the cost of everything going up, how can we afford it? Planning is the key!” said Gary Knode, president at Safe Harbor Financial.

Planning your trip early, buying plane tickets, and making those reservations can help you spread out the cost of your trip. You might even score some better deals on things like accommodations, airfare, or even events by taking advantage of early-bird specials or other deals.

There are a few downsides to booking early, though. For one, it limits your flexibility. Say something comes up that makes it where you have to skip or cancel part of your trip. The money you’ve spent, unless covered by insurance or a cancelation policy, is gone.

Sometimes, you can also find better deals on airfare or discounts on a certain events before they happen. If that happens and you can’t make any changes to your current reservations, you’ll miss out on those last-minute deals.

Then again, if you’ve already paid for the key things in advance, you don’t have to worry about prices going up.

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Create a Vacation Budget

Having a travel budget is another key way of making sure you don’t go overbudget for an upcoming trip. The sooner you create your budget, the sooner you can start setting aside money and planning out your actual trip.

But how much money should you have for your trip?

According to BudgetYourTrip.com, the average cost of a weeklong trip to the United States of America costs $1,991 per person or $3,982 per couple. This includes everything except airfare. Overseas trips can cost much more or less, depending on where and when you go, how long you plan to stay there, the activities you’ve got planned, and so forth.

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Your budget will depend heavily on your financial situation, including your goals and needs. You might only be comfortable with spending $1,500 or $2,000, or you might have a bit more wiggle room in your budget. Whatever the case, it doesn’t hurt to have a travel budget.

“Make a budget and stick to it,” said Knode. “Take time to do some research and establish how much you’ll need each day for things such as meals, excursions, and gas, and don’t deviate from that.”

Once you know the approximate costs of everything, you can plan out your savings goals. Take the estimated cost of your trip and divide it by the number of months you have leading up to the trip. The result is how much you should ideally be saving up each month to reach your goal.

Keep in mind that you might still go over your travel budget — it’s not a foolproof system, after all. It’s also not easy to plan for every possible cost ahead of time, so you may need to have a little flexibility in your budget just in case.

Look for Travel-Related Deals

There are always travel deals, discounts, and the like — you just need to know where to look. One option is to book all-inclusive trips.

“If you know you want to focus on one thing and one main kind of experience, all-inclusive resorts can provide great value,” said Scott Lieberman, founder of Touchdown Money. “Your food and entertainment is already paid for, limiting the extra expenses. Cruises can work similarly if you plan properly.”

The main downside of all-inclusive trips is that you might not have as much flexibility in where or when you go. But if you don’t mind that, you could end up saving money while having a great experience.

If all-inclusive isn’t for you and you’d prefer to book everything separately, set up real-time price alerts to help you get the best deals possible on things like flights.

“Flight alert websites can notify you of price drops,” said Echo Wang, CEO and founder of Cool Travel Vibes. Consider installing an extension like Skyscanner or Google Flights into your browser so you’ll know whenever prices change and can book your trip then.

Another option is to travel off the beaten path. You could save money and potentially find better deals on airfare, accommodations, or events.

“Choice of destination can certainly impact the wallet,” said Knode. “National parks are wonderful and cost much less to visit than other touristy destinations. If you must go somewhere touristy, consider the less-traveled version. For example, instead of Las Vegas, perhaps you could visit Reno. You still get to visit casinos and see some shows, but it costs much less than Las Vegas and is less crowded too!”

Travel During an Off-Season

You’d be surprised at how much of a difference timing makes in terms of the cost of your trip. If you’re trying to save for a trip, avoid ultra-popular times like holidays. Try for right when summer starts or ends instead.

“Be open with your travel dates and destinations,” said Wang. “Consider shoulder seasons (just before or after peak times) for better deals.”

The main advantage here is the savings, of course. However, if your schedule doesn’t allow for as much flexibility, you might have to look for other ways to save money — like using a low-cost or smaller airline, sticking with budget-friendly hotels with complimentary breakfasts, and eating in as much as possible.

Use Travel Rewards Cards

“Use credit cards with travel points or miles to offset flight costs or hotel stays,” said Wang. “Some cards even offer free airport lounge access for added comfort on long layovers.”

Check the terms of your credit cards to see if it comes with any travel rewards. If you do decide to go this route, just make sure you can reliably pay off your balance so that you don’t end up getting charged high interest fees or taking on unnecessary debt.

If you’re wary of the idea of charging your card, you can always look for other discounts.

“Another way to make travel more affordable would be to utilize discounts through your memberships with associations such as AAA, AARP, USAA, and even some credit unions,” said Knode. “[This] can help bring down the cost of your trip.”

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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Ways Americans Are Saving on Summer Travel in 2024