Last Minute
Vacations
By Linda Thompkins
Many
savvy travelers take advantage of last minute deals by scheduling
their vacation time as normal, and within a two week period of
their travel date start looking for their perfect budget vacation.
All of the most popular destinations have hotel rooms that have not
been filled, and many air flights are not fully booked.
These deals come when hotels realize they still
have inventory, and airline seats are still available within two
weeks of any travel date, or less. At this point, both hotels and
airlines are willing to offer deep discounts for those who can take
advantage.
Lets say you have
your vacation time scheduled, are on a tight budget, but want a
fabulous beach vacation somewhere in the sunny Caribbean. Your
vacation is just two weeks away, and when you start looking through
the last minute vacation offerings, your main dilemma may be
choosing from the vast array of vacation choices.
If you have your
heart set on a particular destination, last minute vacations may
not deliver what you desire. However, occasionally you can hit the
jackpot and get your desired vacation, along with a great savings.
Last minute deals offer at least 60 or more vacations from any
major departure city for deals in the Caribbean, U.S. along with
many international destinations.
Most deals come
packaged with roundtrip airfare, hotel and include all taxes - so
the price you see is the price you will pay. Many travelers have
found great destinations at the final hour they would not have
chosen otherwise.
Scheduling your
vacation time, and waiting to within two weeks of travel to find
the best deal is not for the faint of heart, or the hard core
vacation planners. If you are the type that has to know exactly
where you are going, and which particular hotel you will be
staying, last minute trips are obviously not for you. However for
the more adventuresome and budget minded, just viewing all the
available trips you can take can be quite exciting.
A young couple
recently had tentative plans of a vacation in Toronto, Canada, and
ended up in Paris, France for the same amount of money they had
originally planned to spend. Another group of friends thought
Mexico would be the perfect destination, but ended up saving over
$350 per person on a great vacation in Aruba. Two longtime friends
had their limited budgets set on Jamaica, and one week before they
were scheduled to go on vacation, the lucked out and found the
perfect Jamaican hideaway.
Another target
group for last minute vacations are the people that love last
minute vacations. Many of the vacation time frames fit perfectly
into a long weekend, and getting away at the spur of the moment
with a great savings is quite an attractive proposal. Its
refreshing to take Thursday and Friday off from work, and spend
three or four days on a mini vacation, and come back to work
completely refreshed the following Monday. Other vacationers save
all year long, and take three or four mini last minute vacations
within a year. These travelers know the value of a dollar, and they
stretch what some travelers pay for a typical one week vacation
into three or four mini vacations, all in exciting
destinations.
Other great
excuses for last minute trips are job stress, just plain boredom,
or Spring has not arrived soon enough for those who have endured
the snow and ice. Others take off right before the holidays with
extra days off from work, providing the perfect opportunity for a
mini vacation.
So while there
are many reasons last minute trips are popular with travelers, they
all share one common goal - savings up to 70% on their
vacations.
Linda Thompkins
is a Caribbean travel consultant, and owner of Travel 2 the
Caribbean online agency. Linda has traveled extensively throughout
the Caribbean, and has been in business for over eight years.
Travel 2 the Caribbean offers last minute vacations, custom
vacations, resorts, cruises, along with being an information site
about the islands of the Caribbean.
Visit the site
at: http://www.travel2thecaribbean.com
BLOGS:
My Barbados Blog - http://barbadostravel.squarespace.com
Caribbean Travel
Blog - http://caribbean.braveweblog.com
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