Travel

According to travel search engine Hipmunk, the best time to book flights for summer vacation travel is the week of April 23. The savings to your vacation budget could be significant.

“U.S. travelers should book their summer travel the week of April 23 to maximize domestic flight savings — do so and you can save up to 12 percent compared to those who wait until mid-June, when booking prices for summer peak,” the site’s study states.

Where are you planning to head this summer — grandma’s house, the beach, the mountains, or abroad?

Here are just a few of the summer vacation travel stats that the Hipmunk website shares:

• The most expensive day to fly in the summer is Sunday, June 10 at $386
• Least expensive is Sat, Aug 25 at $224
• If you miss the April 23 “buy-by” week, the general rule of thumb is to book three weeks in advance of departure for summer flights to save up to 14 percent.
• Eight percent of all summer vacation bookings are for Fourth of July
• Three of the four busiest summer departure days revolve around Fourth of July:
  • Friday before Fourth of July (June 29, 2018. At $322 avg., it’s also the most expensive departure date for those traveling for the Fourth of July)
  • Saturday before Fourth of July (June 30, 2018)
  • June 22, 2018 (the Friday the week preceding)
  • Thursday before Fourth of July (June 29, 2018)

Travel & Leisure chimes in with their own tips for saving money on your summer vacation. Their 6 tips are:

1. Be flexible.
2. Know your travel apps.
3. Be open minded.
4. Be skeptical.
5. Stay somewhere new.
6. BOOK EARLY.

Notice a trend? Okay, Travel Lovers, it’s time to get online and book your summer vacation travel!

Don’t make your summer vacation stressful, which defeats the point of the trip.

Life is always better when you are only a few hours drive away from the coast. And when you live in one of the southeastern cities – like Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery, or Dothan – you are within an easy drive of the 30A section of Walton County, Florida.

What lies along this short strip of beach road (between Panama City Beach and Destin) are several ‘jewels’ — Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach, Seacrest, Watercolors, and Seaside, to name a few of the more well known. Each of these communities represents a step back in time… when everyone moved a bit slower.

The Seaside community has actually been a movie backdrop for its idyllic feel – serving as the pristine community in the film, The Truman Show, featuring Jim Carey.

Though all communities along 30A have lots to offer a family on vacation, our family found and adopted Rosemary Beach as our ‘home away from home’ about 10 years ago. Since that time, we have returned there twice a year… once in the spring to kick off the summer, and then again in the late fall to bring the family together for a holiday escape.

For a lazy, family getaway, 30A makes for the perfect destination. Check out 30A rentals for more details.

An inviting getaway courtesy of Expedia.