Clark Howard's Tips

Travel deals still available

June 30, 2008

Looking for a great deal to Hawaii this summer? Clark was looking at VRBO.com for a relative who wants to go to the Aloha State. This site -- offering vacation rentals by owner -- was surprisingly packed with availabilities at great prices.

Why Hawaii, why deals? Recall that both Aloha and ATA Airlines failed this past winter, so that drove up the cost of air travel to the Islands. But fewer travelers has meant less demand for accommodations. Fortunately, the drop in price of hotel and resort bookings is outpacing the rise in the cost of air travel. So you can still win on a weeklong vacation in the long run -- even if you are paying more for the flight.

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Try finding a fare on Kayak.com, SideStep.com, FareCompare.com or Mobissimo.com (for international travel). They are all "screen scrapers" and search hundreds of sites to find the best deals. You'll probably find better deals than you would on Orbitz, Travelocity or Expedia. Kayak is now testing an option to calculate the true "fly-out" price for a ticket. Their beta actually factors in baggage handling fees, the price of an in-flight beverage if you select that option, etc.

But what if you're driving rather than flying to your vacation destination? Some hotels are offering free gas card deals. You may, however, still be better off with a condo or a cheaper room rather than opting for the lure of a free gas card.

So for those who can afford a vacation, they are more affordable. Clark's golden rule is when you see a deal, grab it. Then figure out why you want to go there!

More Clark Howard Travel Tips Hotels deals, baggage warning for travelers  Frequent flyer miles an increasingly bad option  Travel deals still available  Cruise crime remains a persistent problem  CouchSurfing.com may appeal to low-budget travelers  Travel substitution the key to cheap international vacations  Hotels offering gas incentives  Bolt Bus, Mega Bus offer bus travel on the cheap  Slow economy, soft travel means globe-trotting deals  Orbitz responds to complaint  Full list