Last minute travel deal...any legitimate resources for those without a specific plan?

[Sunny]

So we have a travel budget and a desire to travel....but no specific destination. Oh, we have a LOT of places we want to go to. Oregon and the NW, Canadian Rockies, Alaska, Virgin Islands, Scotland/Ireland/UK, Europe, Australia, Yellowstone, and countless others.

But other than a warm weather place in cold months, we don't have anything like a bucket list place to make us lean towards one destination over the next. So I was wondering if we could let the eight ball decide?

Are there any legitimate resources out there for last minute travel deals?

I could see us taking several trips, letting a "good deal" take us to a destination since we don't have anything specific in mind.

Otherwise, I have no clue how we pick other than pull out a map and throw a dart.

 

[Nemo2]

....other than pull out a map and throw a dart.

Nothing wrong with that method...let the fates be your guide!

 

[Cap_Scarlet]

So we have a travel budget and a desire to travel....but no specific destination. Oh, we have a LOT of places we want to go to. Oregon and the NW, Canadian Rockies, Alaska, Virgin Islands, Scotland/Ireland/UK, Europe, Australia, Yellowstone, and countless others.

But other than a warm weather place in cold months, we don't have anything like a bucket list place to make us lean towards one destination over the next. So I was wondering if we could let the eight ball decide?

Are there any legitimate resources out there for last minute travel deals?

I could see us taking several trips, letting a "good deal" take us to a destination since we don't have anything specific in mind.

Otherwise, I have no clue how we pick other than pull out a map and throw a dart.

Have a look https://www.travelpirates.com/?utm_medium=internal&utm_source=urlaubspiraten.de&utm_campaign=nondeal_header

They always seem to have a decent last minutes deals and they are global

 

[sengsational]

You have the right idea. Clark Howard suggest that technique....you find a destination that you can get to real cheap, stay cheap, and that's where you go!

For flights you can start with Kayak/explore.

 

[brett]

That is exactly what we do. A few years ago we grabbed a late booking Med cruise.

Then we scored a great one way air fare to Porto, Portugal. We had never been in the Douro Valley before so we spent a wonderful week driving through the valley and staying in small family run hotels,B&B'etc After Porto we took a low cost airline to Rome and picked up the cruise.

We have found that if you are retired, have no time constraints, and are web savvy that often the best thing is to find a good offer and go. One way tickets are fine but you can always bookend air and then work the discount airlines etc. as required. The last discount air trip we took in Europe was Palermo to Rome in order to board yet another last minute cruise-this time to Barcelona. From there we had one way cruise air to our home at a very attractive cost. The air fare was one third of the rail fare and was a much better trip. Lots and lots of choices. We use matrix it , google air, and kayak for air as well as check directly for in country discount air providers.

Once you arrive at your first destination just take it a few days or a week at time. We have spent the last three winters in SE Asia/Oz doing exactly that and it has always worked out just fine. But.... this is not for everyone. You have to be flexible and go with the flow sometimes.

We have signed up with cruise lines in order to get late booking specials emailed to us. Same with several tour companies (travelzoo, etc) and travel sites that highlight travel offers/airfare specials It translates into a fair amount of junk mail but we turn it 'off' from time to time. We may find an offer on a travel site but we always attempt to book direct. We absolutely avoid Expedia. We found their customer service on air to be abysmal so we simply do not bother with them.

We also watch the news. So, when everyone seemed exited about the demonstrations in Athens we decided that it would be a good time to go to Greece. And it was. We check on tripadvisor with a local expert and his description of the demonstrations etc. was greatly at variance with what we saw on the media. So we went, had a great time in Athens, the Pelop. and on the islands. Prices we low, people were so happy to see tourists. Just about every restaurant we were in came along and provided us with either a free liquer to start or a complementary dessert. We got primo accomodation at great prices and there was never a problem booking a ferry at the last minute.

 

[marko]

Slightly off track but several years ago a co-worker was thinking about visiting family in China (from SFO). At the last minute (like the plane was leaving the next day) he booked a first class seat via Priceline, round trip for something like $400.

We tend to look at Travelocity and have had good luck. No great deals but generally get a few free hotel rooms covered.

 

[Bamaman]

I closely monitor websites like RickSteves.com and ClarkHoward.com--and keep watch in many big city newspapers.

2017 is the year to go to Europe with a diminishing Euro and airfare reductions.

We consider ourselves perpetual travelers, however we can take 2 trips for what most couples spend on one.

Right now, the only last minute travel deals you'll see are on cruises leaving within a few days. I keep watch on VacationsToGo.com but will often book with a Avoya Travel independent agent that showers us with freebies. Throw a bargain European cruise and European budget airlines together and you can really, really get your money's worth in travel.

 

[DrRoy]

One thing that DW and I are doing is, if a particular destination seems more physically demanding for whatever reason, go there earlier rather than later. This year we went hiking in Norway. Not likely to be up for that in our 90's.

 

[Bamaman]

So we have a travel budget and a desire to travel....but no specific destination. Oh, we have a LOT of places we want to go to. Oregon and the NW, Canadian Rockies, Alaska, Virgin Islands, Scotland/Ireland/UK, Europe, Australia, Yellowstone, and countless others.

But other than a warm weather place in cold months, we don't have anything like a bucket list place to make us lean towards one destination over the next. So I was wondering if we could let the eight ball decide?

I've been traveling heavily since going to college in Austria 46 years ago. And I was fortunate to have a career that took me all over the U.S.

Go international 1x per year and take a multi-week tour of the U.S. 1x per year. And have some weekend trips lined up within 5 hours of your home to keep life interesting.

International Trips:
For the winter, take cruises out of San Juan.
In Spring & Fall, our favorite trips of Europe have been:
London, take Eurostar to Paris and a fast train to Barcelona (or Amsterdam.)
Rome, Florence, Venice.
Budapest, Vienna, Prague.
Amsterdam, Rhine River Vally in Germany, Munich.
Ireland by car, fly to Scotland.
Cruise from Rome to Greek Islands, Turkey and back to Rome--cheap trip.
Summer cruise to Germany, Estonia, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and back to Copenhagen.

It's all a matter of setting your goals and feeding the piggy bank.

 

[brett]

We live in Canada. We were looking at some fabulous fares on TAP from Toronto- Lisbon in mid Sept. Very tempting.

 

[Nemo2]

We live in Canada. We were looking at some fabulous fares on TAP from Toronto- Lisbon in mid Sept. Very tempting.

TAP has some good fares all over.....before catching the westbound transatlanic from Barcelona in November, we might fly TAP Toronto to Paris, or Toulouse, or or....

 

[Sunny]

I've been traveling heavily since going to college in Austria 46 years ago. And I was fortunate to have a career that took me all over the U.S.

Go international 1x per year and take a multi-week tour of the U.S. 1x per year. And have some weekend trips lined up within 5 hours of your home to keep life interesting.

International Trips:
For the winter, take cruises out of San Juan.
In Spring & Fall, our favorite trips of Europe have been:
London, take Eurostar to Paris and a fast train to Barcelona (or Amsterdam.)
Rome, Florence, Venice.
Budapest, Vienna, Prague.
Amsterdam, Rhine River Vally in Germany, Munich.
Ireland by car, fly to Scotland.
Cruise from Rome to Greek Islands, Turkey and back to Rome--cheap trip.
Summer cruise to Germany, Estonia, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and back to Copenhagen.

It's all a matter of setting your goals and feeding the piggy bank.

Now that sounds like something we need to do...outline some trips. Or at least have a barebones sketch such as you describe with an international trip per year, etc....thanks!

 

[brett]

I think that one of the keys is to be flexible. If you are the type of person that needs a day by day schedule before you depart then a late booking cruise or guided tour might be right. We have seen last minute specials on GAte1...you can get on the mailing list.

We found ourselves in need of a one way home from Australia two years ago. Rather than paying a king's ransom on the majors we booked a flight to Honolulu on a discount airline operated by Qantas. Once in HLN there were lots of competitive one way fares home. What we saved easily paid for our two day stay.

 

[dtbach]

Glad I found this topic as my wife is retiring next month and then we will be free to do last minute vacations. Is there any issue with getting Visa's or that kind of stuff when traveling internationally at the last minute?

 

[brett]

Yes. We considered a last minute cruise from SE Asia to Dubai, with stops in India. The requirement for, and process of getting an Indian visa made us reconsider. I believe that this changed last year. Some countries have different time visits and charge extra if you overstay. Vietnsm and Thailand do this. Obtaining a longer visa for Thailand was simple for us as we live close to a consulate. Keep in mind that some countries have different regs, visa fees, and entry fees for various nationalities. Australia requires a pre entry security chech which is done on the web. Canada now requires the same for non US travellers.

 

[Palmtree]

So we have a travel budget and a desire to travel....but no specific destination. Oh, we have a LOT of places we want to go to. Oregon and the NW, Canadian Rockies, Alaska, Virgin Islands, Scotland/Ireland/UK, Europe, Australia, Yellowstone, and countless others.

But other than a warm weather place in cold months, we don't have anything like a bucket list place to make us lean towards one destination over the next. So I was wondering if we could let the eight ball decide?

I don't have any advice but this exactly describes me and my wife also. I've enjoyed the responses so far.

 

[Red Badger]

HotWire is good for last minute bookings, but kind of limited to 4/5 star properties. Not unusual to score rates that are 1/2 the street price. It's not so good with mid-range or budget hotels as they don't have sufficient margin to discount much.

 

[gretah]

I echo the other posters' advice about using Clark Howard's tips
Travel | Clark Howard

Norwegian Air has cheap flights. Check them out at Norwegian.com

 

[GusLevy]

BeatofHawaii.com is a wonderful site for last minute deals and packages to the various Hawaiian islands. The guys have a easy to follow website and are passionate about finding deals.

I wish they expanded to include other dream destinations...

 

[ShortInSeattle]

If you want to check on travel options to several different locations, Rome2Rio has a neat tool. Or you can put your current location in Google Flights and explore the costs of different destinations.

Or if you're watching flight costs to certain locations, AirFare Watchdog will send you alerts when flights get cheap.

SIS

 

[EastWest Gal]

Europe is decidedly cheap these days.