<div><p>There's no place like home for the holidays. The only trouble, often, is getting there at an affordable price.</p><p>With the economy sagging and fewer people traveling, airlines are cutting back the number of flights and raising fares to try to sustain revenues. To make matters worse, many holiday travelers booked their trips in the summer or early fall, making it now more difficult to find a cheap ticket home.</p><p>For the diligent, though, there are still deals to be had.</p><p>"Fares are higher on average, but one can find spot sales here and there," says George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com.</p><p>It might not be easy, but you CAN get home for the holidays without blowing your budget if you stay flexible with your travel plans, watch the Internet for sales and consider alternate modes of transportation.</p><p>Here are five strategies with the holidays fast approaching:</p>1. Snag an Affordable Flight<p> <em>Don't fly on peak days.</em> You can save money if you're willing to travel several days in advance of the holidays or on Thanksgiving day or Christmas day. If your schedule permits, avoid Friday and Saturday Flights. Almost 80% of the cheapest flights fall on Mondays this year, Hobica says. Avoid flying the Saturday and Sunday before New Year's Eve -- they will be the most expensive days for return flights.</p><p> Travelocity has an easy-to-use flexible-search option that finds available domestic flights over a range of days. Farecast.com, which predicts whether fares on 2,000 domestic routes will go up or down, also has a flexible search option that lets you see not only a range of prices for flying on different dates but also into alternate airports. Enter your itinerary and the site will say if you should buy your ticket now -- or if an even better fare is probably on the way. For international flights, try ITA Software's flexible search (click "Search airfares," log in as a guest, then do a month-long search).</p><p> <em>Watch the Internet.</em> "When the airlines lower fares during the busy holiday season, they will typically offer just a few seats at a time at the lower price, holding back the bulk of the seats to sell later for a higher price," writes Farecast fareologist John Rauser in the Farecast Blog. "So, when prices drop, you are in competition with everyone else interested in your itinerary to get what might be just a handful of discounted seats, and the fastest clickers win."</p><p>Sales for off-peak flights usually pop up two weeks before Thanksgiving and Christmas, Hobica says. To find bargain flights, check Airfarewatchdog.com. It posts low fares on selected flights or itineraries -- and it does so faster than other Web sites. To take advantage of these time-sensitive flukes, you must book them right away. For fare deals from the airport nearest you, sign-up for Airfarewatchdog.com's airfare alerts. Another good source: Kayak.com gets fares (plus hotel rates and other travel products, if you ask) from more than 400 sources.</p><p>Be sure to check more than one travel search site. Not all airlines participate on Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia, so it's a good idea to check them all, including discount airlines' Web sites. Carriers such as Southwest Airlines advertise fares only on their sites (however, Airfarewatchdog.com will list deals from these carriers when its team of searchers finds them).</p><p>If price matters more than departure times and layovers, try looking on Hotwire.com or bidding for a seat at Priceline.com. You might find a cheaper fare, but this is sort of like flying blind. Both sites tell you the day of the flight, but withhold the departure time and name of the airline until after you buy. And if you just can't find a ticket in your price range, sign up for free e-mail alerts from Orbitz or Travelocity, so you can act quickly if fares drop into your comfort zone. For more, check out our list of the 30 Best Travel Sites.</p><p> <em>Consider alternate airlines and airports.</em> You can save by flying on smaller airlines, such as Allegiant Air and Spirit, Hobica says, or out of alternate airports. For example, we found a flight from Baltimore-Washington International Airport to Nashville, Tenn. , for $130 less than a similar flight (same airline, in fact) from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.</p><p>One final tip: If you fly home regularly, join a frequent flier program. You could score a free flight. Just don't overpay for a ticket to earn a few miles or you could end up paying for your "freebie" yourself. And don't overlook programs at discount airlines.</p>2. Get behind the Wheel<p>Hey, this is how people used to go over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house. If you don't think your clunker can make the trip home, however, consider renting a car. There are some definite advantages to renting: If the car breaks down, you don't have to pay for it, and you can typically get another car fairly quickly. If you already have auto insurance, you're covered for a rental, too. Don't pay for the added coverage the sales clerk will inevitably pitch.</p><p>If you rent an economy car for a week and drive from Chicago to Dallas and back, you would pay about $200, not including fuel and meals along the way. Plus, you have wheels when you get to your destination. On the downside: An 800-mile trip will take you more than 14 hours (one way).</p><p>To get the best price, rent on weekends and choose an off-airport location to avoid additional charges. But watch out for extra fees if you intend to cross state lines. And if you're under age 25, a rental gets more expensive. A few companies, such as Alamo, won't even rent to you except for select corporate contracts. Hertz, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, and Thrifty will, but they may charge an extra $10 to $25 per day for drivers age 21 through 24. The surcharge is even higher for younger drivers in New York state (up to $110).</p><p> Orbitz fetches car rental rates and displays them in a table that is uniquely easy-to-understand. The site also discloses total pricing, including all taxes and fees, unlike many rival sites.</p>3. Share a Ride<p>If traveling by car, a big expense will be gasoline, now averaging about $2.25 per gallon nationally. If your car averages 20 mpg, you're looking at a total round-trip expense of $90 on an 800-mile trip.</p><p>What to do? Why not find someone to come along. Sharing the costs and the driving with a travel partner or two can make your road trip more appealing.</p><p>You can match up with someone planning to travel along your route on eRideShare, Craigslist or AlterNetRides.</p><p>If you live in a college town, make use of campus bulletin boards where students often request or offer rides to their hometown.</p><p>But your best bet -- particularly if you aren't comfortable driving long-distance with a stranger -- is to try out your networking skills. Ask friends, or check with coworkers and members of your alumni club.</p>4. Hop on the Bus, Gus<p>It may not be the most glamorous mode of transport, but if you're really pinching pennies, the bus is your ticket home. Right now you can travel Greyhound's Northeast regional routes to and from New York City for as little as $12 one-way. Blackout dates may apply. Or you can travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco , Oakland , or San Jose for just $39 one-way. If you book seven days in advance and travel on a weekday, you can take advantage of Greyhound's Go Anywhere fares that start at $29 one way.</p><p>Be sure to check out regional routes offered by economy bus lines such as Megabus and BoltBus. The bus lines really aren't much different than Greyhound, but they don't have terminals, so you might have to wait outside for your ride. Megabus offers one-way trips on the East Coast and Midwest for as low as $5.</p><p>If you're traveling within the West Coast, East Coast or Midwest, your best bet to nab a cheap ticket is GotoBus.com, an aggregate that compiles schedules and fares from more than 200 bus lines.</p><p>Here are other ways to snag a good bus rate:</p><ul> <li>Travel on a weekday.</li> <li>Book your trip at least seven days in advance, and buy a round-trip ticket.</li> <li>Buy your ticket online for discounted rates.</li> <li>Travel with a friend. When you buy one adult ticket, you get 50% off for a companion.</li> <li>Get a Student Advantage card ($20) to save 15% on Greyhound tickets purchased the same day of travel.</li> </ul>5. Don't Forget the Train<p>There are few bargains on the railways during the holiday season. Amtrak isn't even offering any special fares this year. But if you don't mind waiting until the last minute to book a ticket, you could still land a weekly special.</p><p>Unlike the airlines, Amtrak does offer discounted rates for children. You pay half-price for kids ages 2 to 15 traveling with an adult. Travelers age 62 and older get a 15% discount, as do students with a Student Advantage card.</p><p> <em> <em>SEE ALSO:</em> Kiplinger's Holiday Buying Guide </em> </p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=39423133&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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