How to save on vacations

Summer is a prime time for travel, whether you're taking a much-needed vacation or your presence is required at your college roommate's wedding.

Unfortunately, this is a time when everyone else is on the move, too, so even the simplest trip can bust your budget. But there are easy ways to save money, even if you're buying tickets at the last minute, says Anne Banas, executive editor of consumer Web site www.SmarterTravel.com.

"You can save a lot by being flexible," Banas says. "If you don't have kids in school, postpone your summer trip until after Labor Day. You get fewer crowds and the best of everything but the prices drop like crazy."

Here are some ways to save:

Flights

If you want to save money on airfare, book your flight in the middle of the week. "I like to start looking Tuesday and buy on Wednesday," Banas says.

Many airlines release their sale fares on Tuesday, and by Tuesday night and early Wednesday, competing carriers will start matching the new prices, Banas said. This is also when airlines release last-minute fares for the upcoming weekend, and possibly the following weekend. In the travel business, these seats are known as "distressed inventory."

The more flexible you are, the better your chances of getting a great last-minute deal. But if you have to be somewhere specific at a certain time — like your best friend's wedding — - you will not have as many options. If that's your situation, it's a good idea to book more than 21 days in advance for domestic routes, and three to six months for international flights, especially for the summer peak season.

Driving

Be creative when you're comparing rental car rates. Renting a car for a full week may cost less than four days, but make sure there's no early drop-off penalty. Rental car agencies are notorious for tacking all sorts of unexpected charges to your bill, so read the fine print on your contract. If you're planning to drive across the state of Texas, for example, you'll want unlimited mileage. Find out whether you can rely on your own auto policy or supplemental coverage from your credit card instead of buying pricey insurance from the rental company.

If you are under 25, shop carefully; some agencies won't rent to you at all and others will charge a steep premium.

Hotels With hotels, the cheapest rates come with the most strings attached. Check cancellation policies carefully, and find out if parking is included; some big city hotels charge $25 a day or more for parking, so take that into account when comparing rates. Check the local calendar to see what major events are happening during your trip. An arts festival can dramatically inflate room rates in an ordinarily sleepy seaside town.

Business travel drops during the summer months, however, which makes this a good time to visit major cities. You can get a lot of luxury for less by booking a bargain summer weekend at a hotel that normally caters to business travelers. Meanwhile, weekends at traditional summer destinations can be ferociously busy, so consider a midweek stay.

If you like traveling with a group, either a crew of friends or a multigenerational family, vacation home rentals can offer big savings. A number of Web sites offer these listings; one of the biggest is Vacation Rental By Owner, www.vrbo.com Having a kitchen where you can cook your own food can help you save money on meals. Many require a weeklong stay, but you can negotiate this and other points with the owner.

Shop around

There's no shortage of travel Web sites to help you shop for airfare, lodging and rental cars. The "big three" booking sites are www.orbitz.com, www.travelocity.com and www.expedia.com You can also comb the Web's nooks and crannies with Meta sites like www.kayak.com, www.sidestep.com and www.mobissimo.com. Other services, such as TravelSmarter's Booking Buddy, can help you search multiple sites at once.

Some sites, like www.priceline.com and www.hotwire.com, operate on the premise that they have such reduced rates, they can't tell you the provider. Banas prefers these for rental cars rather than hotels and airfares. "They don't tell you the agency, but it doesn't matter," Banas says. "A car is a car."