Vacations cost more than most people think they will. The typical American vacation now totals $7,249, according to a 2025 survey from travel insurance marketplace Squaremouth. That’s a real chunk of money, and spending it without a plan is one of the most common ways travelers end up feeling like the trip wasn’t quite worth it.
Getting more from your travels isn’t about squeezing every dollar or turning your holiday into a spreadsheet exercise. It’s about making smarter choices before you leave, and knowing where real value actually hides. The strategies below apply whether you’re chasing beaches, cities, or mountain air.
Travel During Shoulder Season to Unlock Serious Savings
There’s a peak season for nearly every vacation destination, when crowds are largest and prices most expensive. There’s also an off-season, when weather may be less appealing and hotspots temporarily close. Shoulder season falls between these two periods, usually during autumn and spring. It’s a practical sweet spot that many travelers overlook.
Airfare to Europe during shoulder season is currently around a third lower compared to peak summer months. A study from Radical Storage found that in Paris, hotel rates plunge from around $866 per night at peak to about $344 in shoulder season, a saving of over $500 per night. Those aren’t small differences. They can fundamentally change what kind of trip you’re able to have.
Book Flights at the Right Time and on the Right Days
Booking your flights at the right time leads to major savings. Expedia’s 2024 Air Travel Hacks Report suggests aiming to book domestic trips one to three months in advance, and international travel two to eight months ahead for the best prices. Booking too early or too late tends to cost more either way.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are particularly good days to shop for flights. Multiple flight attendants in travel press interviews report that airlines roll out new sales early in the week, competitors match by midweek, and weekday demand is generally lower. Early morning or late-night flights often cost less, too, so a little scheduling flexibility can pay off meaningfully on both the booking and the travel day.
Consider Alternative Airports and Less Obvious Destinations
Flying into smaller, nearby airports can cut costs significantly. If you’re visiting Colorado, flying into Colorado Springs instead of Denver could save money. Similarly, travelers heading to the Pacific Northwest might find cheaper flights to Bellingham compared to Seattle. These alternate airports are often just a short drive from the main destination.
Rather than heading to the most popular destinations trending on social media, consider more alternative locales. A Tripadvisor survey found that the top trending destinations for 2024 were Tokyo and Napa Valley. Unless you have a specific reason to travel to a current hotspot, consider going somewhere more under-the-radar and within your budget. Quieter destinations often offer richer experiences at a fraction of the cost.
Stretch Your PTO by Planning Around Public Holidays
Over the years, seasoned travelers have found the sweet spot of planning trips around major holidays. With a little strategy and advance planning, standard long weekends can turn into real, meaningful travel time without burning through your entire PTO bank. It’s a simple calendar game that anyone can play.
According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American employee in the private sector gets eleven days of PTO for vacations per year. With a bit of scheduling, Americans can turn those eleven or so days off into 44 or more. Mapping your time off strategically against federal holidays is one of the highest-leverage things you can do with the vacation time you already have.
Use Travel Rewards Cards to Fund Trips You’d Take Anyway
You can get solid value from points or miles without learning every nuance of travel hacking. Playing the points game on easy mode, such as booking a flight directly with an airline or using your travel credit card’s redemption portal for accommodations, still delivers real savings. You don’t need to become an expert. You just need to use the card consistently.
Chase Ultimate Rewards is NerdWallet’s 2026 winner for best credit card points for travel. The transferable currency offers an impressive roster of airline and hotel partners, as well as plenty of ways to rack up points. Transferable points usually give you the most value per dollar, especially when you take advantage of airline partnerships, allowing you to use them for international business and first-class flights that normally cost thousands of dollars.
Choose Accommodation That Works Harder for Your Budget
Weekly or monthly stay discounts are widely available, with over two-thirds of hosts on Airbnb offering them. Staying a bit longer in one place rather than hopping between locations is often both cheaper and more relaxing. You also get to actually settle in somewhere rather than spending half your trip dragging luggage through airports.
One of the best strategies for finding a great stay is to read reviews carefully to uncover unique features and amenities that enhance the experience without breaking the bank. Mentions of features like a chef’s kitchen, on-site laundry, or proximity to public transport can help identify listings that provide better overall value. These details matter more than star ratings once you’re actually living in a place for a week.
Let Your Spending Habits Shape Your Destination, Not the Other Way Around
Around one in three people expect to spend less on travel this year than they did last year, with those cutting back citing increased costs of living, the overall state of the economy, hotel prices, and tariffs as key factors. Adjusting where you go, not just how you get there, is one of the most powerful levers you have.
Many popular places in the Yucatan Peninsula, including Cancun and Tulum, are priced at essentially Western levels as they are geared entirely towards tourists. Tulum became so expensive that tourism there collapsed in 2025 with some of the lowest-ever occupancy rates. For greater affordability, looking beyond the beach tourism hotspots pays off. The world has no shortage of places where your money genuinely goes further.
Use AI Tools to Plan Smarter and Find Hidden Value
Over half of Americans have used or plan to use AI to plan or enhance their travel, such as getting real-time recommendations for restaurants or attraction suggestions. These tools have become genuinely useful for surfacing deals, comparing itinerary options, and saving the hours typically lost to manual research across a dozen different booking sites.
Smart travel tools like KAYAK’s AI-powered search can help travelers lock in the best deals even without a destination locked in. You can simply describe the vibe and budget you’re looking for and the tool does the searching. It’s a shift in how planning works, and it tends to surface options that fixed destination searches would never show you.
Prioritize Experiences Over Transactions
Despite cutting back on vacation spending, many Americans believe travel is fundamentally important. Close to half say the memories they make while traveling are priceless, while roughly a quarter prefer to see travel as an investment in themselves rather than focusing on cost. The research consistently points in the same direction: what people remember most isn’t the hotel, it’s what they did.
Expedia Group’s data for 2025 and beyond predicted that many vacation rental travelers would embrace JOMO, the joy of missing out. JOMO travel means doing less on vacation to escape the hustle of everyday life, staying at cozy cabins or peaceful beach houses to boost relaxation and reconnection. Packing fewer obligations into a trip, and giving yourself space to actually be somewhere, often turns out to be the best value of all.