by J. Van

Created on: March 05, 2009

Getting there may be half the fun, but does it have to take up half of your travel budget? Depending on your destination, your plane ticket may be the biggest single expense of your vacation. By planning ahead, shopping around, and doing your research, you can stretch your travel dollars a little farther.

Book Early / Book Late

Low-priced airfare deals sell out quickly, so it's a good policy to shop for your ticket well in advance. Passengers booking months in advance often pay a lot less than those who wait until a few weeks before their departure date. Alternatively, if you're not too picky about dates and precise destinations, you can grab last-minute deals on the cheap from bidding sites like Priceline.com.

Be Flexible

If possible, wait to book your time off work until after you have made your travel plans. This way, you can choose flight dates during low-price windows. Check one-way tickets as well as round-trip fares. You may find you can save several hundred dollars by shifting your arrival or departure dates by a matter of hours, or by extending your stay from 7 days to 8. Who wouldn't want to save a little money by taking a longer vacation? Prices fluctuate; if you see that you've just missed the cut-off for one seat sale, hang on a little longer, and another discount will be available shortly.

Shop Online

The web-savvy can take advantage of a host of online trip planners at any of the major travel sites (such as Travelocity and Expedia ) or on the web sites of the airlines themselves. Most of these planners have a function to search for flights within a range of dates. Play around with these options. When you're ready to buy your ticket, deal directly with the airline; the travel sites are useful for comparison shopping, but will charge you a booking fee if you make your purchase through them.

Travel Off-peak

Paris in the springtime or New York City at Christmas make for idyllic destinations, but you will pay through the nose for the privilege of travelling during the peak tourist season. You'll find wonderful deals on hotels, attractions, and flights if you choose to arrive during off-peak times of the year. Try Spain and Portugal in April, for example, or Hawaii in late September. Many airlines also offer lower prices for flights during the middle of the week, while weekend travellers pay full fare.

Check Other Airports

You can sometimes find cheaper flights if you fly into or out of an alternate airport. Planning a trip to London? After you see the price to Heathrow, investigate flights that land at Gatwick. Spending a weekend in the Big Apple? See if arriving at LaGuardia is less expensive than going through JFK.

Be A Frequent Flyer

If you return again and again to a particular destination spot, or if you favor a particular airline, you can save money by registering as a frequent flyer. Most of these programs are free, so there is no downside to taking part. Beware of specialized point collector credit card programs; while these will help you accumulate frequent flyer points faster, the annual fees can often offset the money you save.

Corporate Discounts

Even if you're not travelling for business, some airlines offer discounted rates to employees of certain large firms. Check with your employer to see if you are eligible for these discounts.

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