What are the best money-saving booking tips for domestic locations this summer?

According to Kayak data, the cheapest departure date for summer 2017 is June 3 (for domestic travel) and August 23 (international travel). We also spotted that some of the most expensive departure dates are on Sunday for domestic travel, but for international travel it's more expensive to travel during the week. The most expensive domestic departure date is June 25 for domestic travel and June 30 for international.

Is it true you save when you book on a certain weekday/time of day?

The best time to book a flight is when you see a price that works within your budget—don't wait. Kayak recommends that as soon as you see a flight within your budget to book it.

Should you book earlier for international than domestic? What's the difference there?

Our data shows that historically, travelers have found the best deals when booking at least 2 - 4 weeks ahead of time for domestic flights and approximately 2 - 3 months for international flights.

What's a fun summer destination that is not necessarily a beach?

Given the strong dollar, now is a great time to plan a trip to Canada–our Northern neighbors are celebrating their 150th anniversary with several summer events planned.

What are the the top family-oriented destinations, and are there any money saving tips for traveling to them?

  • Offering a wide variety of kid-friendly beaches and activities, Honolulu, HI was ranked as the second most popular family-friendly destination according to Kayak's 2017 Travel Hacker Guide, behind Orlando. And, while booking two months ahead will typically help you score a great deal for most international and domestic destinations, our historical data shows you can expect to get the most savings to Honolulu when booking three months ahead.

  • Coming in at #3, Los Angeles is a great destination for a family vacation. June is a great time to go when both flights and hotels are relatively low compared to the rest of the summer (median airfare is $292 and hotel is $189).

What about international/Europe destinations? What are the top 3 locales and why?

  • Kayak is seeing that flights to several major European cities are 20 – 30% less than this time last year, including popular hotspots such as...
  • Amsterdam: Flight prices have dropped by 36%
  • Paris: Flight prices have dropped by 34%
  • Dubrovnik: Flight prices have dropped by 31%



Photo: Courtesy of Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea

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