Travel Tips

Travel Tip: Booking Holiday 2012 Travel

Believe it or not, it’s time to start planning your holiday travel. Normally, you should book your tickets 45 days before your planned departure. This Christmas, you need to book 60 to 75 days out, which is right now.

You have to think like a contrarian and think alternate airports, creative routes, and…most important, talking to a human being!

What if you can’t score a great holiday deal? Think about going when everyone else isn’t. Booking site Hipmunk analyzed its data and found that you’ll save the most by traveling well before Thanksgiving…as in, early November.

That’s no surprise, but here’s what you didn’t know: Once you get into mid-November, those rates can jump as much as 700 percent!

And there’s always the dead weeks of travel, known as between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and just after the New Year.

Planning a niche vacation, like barging in France or adventure travel in Costa Rica? You may want to consider calling a travel agent.

Agents who specialize actually have preferred supplier relationships. Even if a resort or hotel is oversold, they may be able to unlock the inventory that isn’t necessarily available to the public.

Watch Peter’s latest CBS: This Morning report on the 2012 holiday season.

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