Here's how to score holiday travel deals, experts weigh in
December holiday flights are still available at good prices, but you better book fast
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The pandemic is slowing down, so travel is looking up, but what will it cost you to take that trip?
7 On Your Side's Michael Finney asked three experts: Kelly Rizzo, host of Eat Travel Rock and spokesperson for Hotwire, Willis Orlando from Scott's Cheap Flights, and Bay Area-based travel blogger, Lia Garcia, from Practical Wanderlust.
All three say it may seem like prices are skyrocketing, but they really aren't that bad.
"I've noticed the prices have been down for about the last year or so," says Lia Garcia, "and so it could be the prices are going back to normal levels and we've just all gotten used to them being dirt cheap."
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Willis Orlando agrees with that assessment.
"It feels high because prices were so rock bottom in the middle of this thing," Orlando says, "but prices are still depressed a little bit from where they were, though rising."
Orlando says domestic flights are going up quickly but international fares remain a bargain.
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Kelly Rizzo says that's because demand is being meet with supply.
"So many places are opening up right now and, for instance, like United Airlines just announced at least 22 new international routes, starting in early 2022," she says. "Prices, I think, at least for flights, are going to still be pretty reasonable because demand is increasing tremendously, but also they're adding back all those routes."
The US Travel Association keeps track of prices and predicts the cost of travel will increase less than 7% in 2022.
If you want to book a flight to get home with your family for Thanksgiving, it is going to cost you... the flights are filling up fast. However, if you want to head to a Mexico beach you can get a round trip flight for $275. You can go to Europe for one or two hundred dollars more.
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December holiday flights are still available at good prices, but you better book fast.
And for winter travel, spring and summer here's how our experts say you can land a deal.
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Garcia tells 7 On Your Side, "My favorite way to save money on travel in general is by traveling to the places that people don't want to go, or traveling to places that people do want to go during the time periods that they don't want to go, so that's called traveling in the offseason."
Rizzo says to remember that hotels can be the largest part of your travel budget. She says use a service like Hotwire and search for last-minute deals.
"Which is really cool," she says, "because you can save up to 60% on these hotels and you can get a four or five star hotel for like a two or three star price."
"We're in a really golden moment for booking flights to Europe, it's a great time to do it," says Orlando. "How do you get a deal? You have to be vigilant. Be prepared and be ready to jump on it, you know, the lower the price is, the faster it goes away."
Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.
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