CHARLOTTE, N.C. — January and February are generally slow travel months with time and budget being the two big reasons.
But if you're using these months to plan ahead for spring break or summer travel, WCNC Charlotte has some ways you can travel more without having to ask where's the money.
Instead of picking a place you want to fly to and then looking for flights, Katy Nastro from Going said let the deal determine the destination.
"You can find deals from the Charlotte area down to New Orleans say for $187 round trip. or, maybe you want to head out to Denver and catch a little bit of a ski season, $197 round trip all on full-service airlines," Nastro said.
She also suggests trying to maximize the time you already have off.
"For example, you know, Memorial Day weekend, sort of bundling in a day or two on either end can really maximize the fact that you have a day off already built in," she said.
Nastro said the ability to work remotely, even for part of your trip, can also help stretch your time away. Another tip, use a long layover as an opportunity to see a new city on the way to your final destination.
"So for example, Iceland Air will let you stop in Reykjavik for a set number of days before going onwards," Nastro said. "So onwards to say, somewhere throughout Europe."
If good prices, decent weather, and smaller crowds are what you're looking for, Nastro said to consider traveling outside of peak travel season.
"Sort of that fall and spring seasons, regardless of whether it's the northern or southern hemisphere is when prices are relatively great compared to those peak seasons, when they're shockingly high," she said. "And everybody's looking to travel at that time period."
House sitting or pet sitting, where you stay at someone else's home to watch their house or pet in exchange for free accommodation may not be for everyone, but Nastro suggested it can be a fun and more affordable way to explore another place.
"It can really be a nice alternative, sort of, to those home booking sites, that might have quite a few costs that add up, you know, say cleaning fees, and taxes and fees and whatnot on top of it," she explained.
Finally, Nastro said it's worth looking into your credit card's rewards programs. There may be ways to apply your points to getting free flights and only have to pay taxes and fees. The bottom line, it could be possible to fit your bucket list within your travel budget if you get creative.
WCNC Charlotte is always asking "where's the money?" If you need help, reach out to WCNC Charlotte by emailing money@wcnc.com.
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