With Labor Day weekend only days away, this hot and crowded summer is finally coming to an end — or at least, its unofficial end. But pulling off one last summer getaway, even last minute and over a holiday weekend, is still possible.
It’s important to set expectations. This may not be your cheapest vacation, nor should you count on visiting a bucket-list destination. But if you’re flexible with your itinerary, plenty of fun — and a bargain or two — can be had.
Here’s how to go about planning a down-to-the-wire trip, focusing on the apps and websites you’ll need.
Booking flights
All good travel sites provide a common search functionality from the get-go, with fields for destination, desired origin, dates of travel and number of travelers. A few very good ones have dedicated functions, and offer specific deals, for last-minute travel.
Tools like Google Flights, Skyscanner and Fareness (available only by app) allow you to search for flights from your home airport without selecting a specific destination — “Anywhere” or “Everywhere” is either a default or an option in the “To” field. Kayak also has an Explore feature: On its website, type in the departure airport, leave the arrival field at the default of “Anywhere” and then type in your specific dates. After you click Search, a map appears of possible destinations and their costs. Click on a city — say, Richmond, Va. — and flight prices, reasons to visit and other information, including public transportation advice, appear. On the app, the map appears automatically, based on the home airport set in your profile defaults.
Fareness also has an advanced date search, with flexible or fixed date choices, length of stay, day-of-the-week departure preferences and other options ($4.99 a month).
Meanwhile, Orbitz has a last-minute section, with specific searches for hotels, flights, cars, packages and things to do.
Clint Henderson, managing editor of the Points Guy, a travel website that covers airline and vacation deals, suggested investigating packages offered by major airlines, such as United Vacations and American Airlines Vacations. A recent search on American showed flight-and-hotel combinations from New York’s Kennedy International Airport to Chicago
O’Hare, for a four-night stay in a four-star Loop hotel, starting at $760 per person. (Yes, you need to connect in Cincinnati, but look at that price!)
This is also a great time to consider using those credit card points or miles, Mr. Henderson said.
“Using points or miles last-minute on an expensive cash vacation is a great way to get extra value out of them,” he said.
Finding accommodations
If you found a flight but aren’t purchasing a package, you’ll most likely need a place to stay. HotelTonight is a great resource for discount hotel rooms, with the home page search defaulting to “Tonight,” though you can book 100 days out. Unlocking the Daily Drop feature, available once a day for only 15 minutes, offers further discounts — but nonrefundable rates — on a specific hotel. (Like many travel websites, HotelTonight says many of its best deals are found only on its app.)
Hot Deals is a feature on Hotwire’s hotel results page after you have entered your search specifics. Click on the Hot Deals tab, and the page shows a list of hotels with their daily rates, ratings, location and amenities, but the traveler does not see the name of the hotel until booking. All sales are final.
Hotels.com shows deals directly on its home page, showing a range of destinations but limited to the upcoming weekend. (The company offers steeper discounts to members of its free loyalty program.) It’s also worth checking Roomer, an online marketplace for verified nonrefundable hotel rooms that other travelers are looking to unload.
For budget-minded travelers, consider a camping trip. On Tentrr, where you can search by region or type of location (think lake or river), campers can get $25 off on accommodations booked through Sept. 4. Hipcamp has a dedicated Labor Day weekend section, or try your luck on ReserveAmerica and Recreation.gov, the booking site for the National Park Service and other federal lands. If you plan on camping regularly in the next year, consider signing up for the Dyrt’s Pro Plan ($18 a year), which grants access to campsites, offline maps and discounts, or for Harvest Hosts, a membership platform that allows self-contained campers like camper vans and R.V.s to park at wineries, breweries, farms and more (from $99 a year).
Getting around
Maybe you don’t feel like rushing to grab a last-minute flight this weekend. In general, Labor Day weekend centers on domestic travel, or three-day-friendly destinations, said Katy Nastro, a travel expert with Going. And more people drive, she added, than fly.
Mr. Henderson agreed.
“You can get a taste of travel without investing in a last-minute flight or last-minute hotel,” he said. “Look at the state parks and local attractions. There are probably things you’ve never done.”
For those hitting the road, Roadtrippers can help you plan your itinerary, including where to fuel up, stay, eat and explore; the premium version allows for longer trips, R.V.-specific tools and the ability to collaborate with friends ($35.99 a year, with a free seven-day trial). Cross-reference your route with GasBuddy, which uses members to crowdsource the cheapest gas stops on your route. A Better RoutePlanner can help map out necessary charge stops for E.V. drivers, with options to customize your route based on the make and model of your vehicle, and the length and number of stops you’d like to make.
IPhone users may want to download the Roadside America app (starting at $1.99) to navigate to quirky roadside attractions, while iExit can direct you to gas, food and hotels near the Interstate highways (for $29 a year, you can opt in to iExit Rate Saver to gain access to hotel discounts).
Want to avoid driving? Take a look at Amtrak for a quick city break by train — fares from New York to Boston recently started at $111 this Friday — or a longer-distance, multistate rail journey, like the California Zephyr from Emeryville (near San Francisco) to Denver through the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains ($269 for a coach seat, $730 for a private room). Once you’ve arrived, Citymapper can help you navigate public transport, complete with maps and real-time arrivals.
And save Europe for another trip
But if you’re seeking a deal, don’t count on a last-minute trip to Europe, which has been plagued by high prices, record crowds and extreme weather all summer.
“We’re seeing the final explosion of the extraordinary demand we’ve seen all summer this Labor Day,” Mr. Henderson said. “I expect it to moderate after this weekend.”
He suggests looking for deals in places where the U.S. dollar is currently strong, including Turkey, Peru or Colombia.
“If you can find a cheap enough plane ticket to some of these international destinations, there are still, even at this late date, deals to be had,” he said.
For domestic travel, Ms. Nastro suggested urban destinations like San Francisco, Chicago or Denver. These cities stand out for decent flight and hotel prices and good weather.
“The days will be warm and the nights will be cool; you can really squeeze the last of the season out,” she said.
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