AUSTIN (KXAN) — While everyone is focused on finalizing traveling plans for the 4th of July weekend, this may be good practice on how to plan that trip, as well as other potential trips happening by the end of the summer.
That includes by flying or driving, according to going.com. KXAN spoke with Katy Nastro, with going.com, on where Americans are headed during holiday season, as well as where are some other places to travel to towards the end of summer season.
July 4 travel
Whether those traveling decide to do so by flying or by driving, it’s important to keep in mind the number of people planning to travel for the 4th of July weekend. A record amount of 61.6 million people plan to travel by car this year, according to AAA. That is up more than 2% from last year.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R15ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R25ekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframeNastro said some of the most popular places people like to travel to include cities, like Chicago, San Diego, Seattle and New York.
“These are really the domestic cities that we are seeing the most searches for, but also in the mix are some European cities, like London,” she said.
Nastro said this might be the fact that July 4 lands on a Friday this year, which has been “almost a decade” since the holiday landed on a Friday.
“It’s going to be a busier week, because people are really looking to extend those trips — not just domestically, as well as internationally,” she said.
For anyone looking for a last minute trip, Nastro said some travel destinations that are slightly less popular are Las Vegas, due to it being a hotter region of the country. That means there is more availability for other cities with hotter regions, like Orlando and Miami. But at this point, she said it would be better to try and leave on July 4 due to lower flight prices, which average around 20% less than while trying to leave on Wednesday or Thursday.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R1bekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2bekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe“So if you can be a little bit flexible and try to leave on [July 4] you’re going to see not only better prices, but also less people in the airport,” Nastro said.
When is a good time to take a trip after July 4
For those who may have missed the opportunity to travel for July 4, Nastro said there are other options, since summer prices for travel are lower this year.
“It is still the golden summer of cheap flights,” she said.
Some of the flights available include a trip from Austin to Dublin for the last two weeks in August. Others include places across the country, as well as even down to South America.
On the going.com app, Nastro said a roundtrip flight from Austin to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil is $388.
AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R1jekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe AdvertisementAdvertisement#«R2jekkr8lb2m7nfddbH1» iframe“That’s the lowest we’ve ever seen from Austin,” she said. “That is incredible for this late in the game, to be able to travel to places like that in August or even at the end of July.”
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