August Is the Season For Travel Bargains

Expedia USA

by Arthur Frommer

It's late July, the very peak of the peak season, when every bed, seat and berth is supposed to be full.

Thanks to the heat, all of Las Vegas, including Caesar's Palace, is cheap in August.But travel falls off sharply toward the end of August (when many school years have already commenced, and children have returned to their homes from camp or vacationing). And even on some earlier dates in August, softness is found in travel bookings, and bargains begin to emerge.

Last-Minute Cruises
I find many top opportunities listed on VacationsToGo.com and the other big cruise discounters, even to such places as Alaska (www.frommers.com/destinations/alaska). Here are five last-minute openings:

Aug. 18 and Aug. 25 aboard the Island Princess, seven nights in Alaska, $535.

Aug. 10 aboard Holland America's Vaandam, seven nights in Alaska, $605.

Aug. 29 aboard the Carnival Spirit, seven nights in Alaska, $599.

Aug. 14 aboard the Carnival Victory, four nights from New York City to Canada, $449.

Aug. 30 aboard the Carnival Liberty, seven nights to the Caribbean, $479.

Last-Minute Vegas
Travel to Las Vegas (www.frommers.com/destinations/lasvegas) always slumps in late August and early September because it's beastly hot there, convention activity hasn't resumed after the summer hiatus and no large groups are coming to this city of big meetings.

Late-summer bargains announced on the newsletter LasVegasAdvisor.com start with rooms for as little as $19.99 at the off-Strip-but-quite-serviceable Palace Station Hotel. And right on the Strip in late August and early September, you can enjoy weekday stays at the Tropicana for as little as $39 per room per night, the Excalibur for $50 per room per night and at the cushy Luxor for $65 per room per night. You'll get the best rates if you register with various hotels directly on their Web sites and invite them to e-mail their best offers to you.

Last-Minute Barbados
The extraordinary Best of Barbados (www.frommers.com/destinations/barbados) program, flagrantly subsidized by the Barbadian government, offers its very lowest prices in September, when one-week air-and-land packages start at $326 per person from Miami, using Bayfield House Hotel.

Remember that prices shoot upward by $100 to $200 the moment October arrives. All the major tour operators - Liberty Travel, Vacation Travel Mart and Cheap Caribbean - offer these rates and feature them on their Web sites.

Gas Rebates
And finally, keep in mind that most accommodations search engines - such as Hotels.com, BookIt.com and BedandBreakfast.com - are giving valuable gas rebates to people who book a weeklong, late-summer stay using their services.

By late August, the cost of vacationing declines all over the U.S.