How to save on flights, length of stay?

[Disney2012]

I don't fly often, and never been to Disney World - are there cheaper days to fly on, or do you save by booking 7-day stays vs. 6, for example? I know the park tickets get cheaper the longer you stay, but I wondered about flights and stuff. Any info would be appreciated.
Disney 2012

 

[traveljunkie2]

We fly from the west coast and generally fly on Saturday and Tuesday. Trying to return on Sunday or Monday is much more expensive. Generally, if you rent a condo you do not have to pay the cleaning fee ($75 or so) if you stay 7 nights or more. You also get a better rate on rental cars if you book a week or more. Some companies consider 5 days a week, but others require 7 days. As you mentioned, the cost for additional ticket days past 5 is very little.

 

[bootleg89]

Yes, it is cheaper to fly during the week. It's hard for us fly during the week, but I found that it's cheaper for us to fly if we leave on friday night verses saturday morning even with an extra night at the hotel. It ends up saving us about $50 after adding in extra hotel night.
Just price it out by changing your dates. Most airline sites also offer the option to see what dates offer a lower fare around the time of your travel.

 

[Earstou]

Generally, flying on a Tuesday or Wednesday will get you the cheapest fares.

We now schedule our vacations to start in the middle of the week. (DH's boss thinks we are nuts for not leaving on a weekend!)

 

[njmom47]

You can always sign up for notifications from websites about prices. I get one from Hotwire and many others but can't recall at the moment. I don't know if that will help but you may be able to see trends. Trip Advisor may be another. There are also some sites where you can see a calendar or move your days back and forth to see where the best deals may be.

 

[Marionnette]

You can save money by bringing only carry on luggage. Or book with an airline that doesnt charge for checked bags. Like Southwest. Fly during the week. Fly really early in the morning or really late in the evening. Sometimes its cheaper to fly to orlando on one airline and out of orlando on a different one. Check different airports to see if its cheaper to fly to or from another one. Sanford isnt too far from orlando. Use a website like kayak.com or sidestep.com to search for cheap airfare. Bing.com has an airfare predictor that tells you whether they think the current price will go up or down in the future.

 

[Taja]

And you'll usually find higher fares if you make your reservations on a weekend, holiday, and sometimes Monday--for travel on any day of the week. Most of the airlines seem to release their reduced fares some time on Tuesday.

A lot of these things don't make sense--you just have to learn to play the game. It's a bit like the old days when you had to stay over a Saturday night to get an airfare discount, but the hotels charged a higher fee. Depending on your family/group, one could be a better deal than the other.

 

[ancestry]

Avoid traveling anywhere near or around any type of holiday (this includes school break times).

The cheapest fares to and from my home airport (PWM) are usually on a Tuesday, Wednesday, and sometimes Saturday.

Start pricing airfare way in advance. Instead of worrying about the cheapest possible fare determine what you are willing to pay - i.e. what is a reasonable fare from your airport - and book it when it hits that rate. Certain airlines, Southwest, JetBlue and sometimes Air Tran will give you a credit (not a cash refund but a credit to be used in the future) if the air fare drops.