Where To Find The Best Summer Vacation Deals
BOSTON (CBS) - With warmer temperatures and longer days, it's hard not to think about summer vacation.
After a tough winter, Dennis Murphy of Weichart Realtors/Donohue Partners of Falmouth is seeing Cape Cod rentals being booked at a brisk pace this year. "It's is significant increase. We are up 24% this year versus 2014. April alone was up 52%."
So far rates seem to be holding relatively steady. Murphy estimates they are up about 4% from last year.
Travelling overseas can be a great deal this summer. The dollar is up about 25% against the Euro from the same time last year, making everything over there that much cheaper.
Laura Barber of Brighton just got back from Paris and admits she bought a lot of chocolate. "It was really great. I've been in London before and the exchange was terrible before, but I was able to buy more stuff because of the good exchange rate."
Italy and France remain popular choices, but Glenn Harper, a vice president at Vantage Deluxe World Travel, says other, lesser known destinations offer even better deals when the strong dollar is factored in. He cited the Croatian coast and Greece as two examples.
Outside of Europe, Harper believes Vietnam and Cambodia are worth consideration. "That part of Southeast Asia is getting a lot of interest. The other place we are seeing is South America, the Amazon."
Finding a cheap flight, at home or abroad, might be a challenge this summer. Demand is taking off. "You're not going to find a last minute air deal. There really isn't that much extra capacity in the system, so if you find someplace you want to go to, I would advise you book it," advised Harper.
Day trippers will get a break at this summer. Gas is expected to be about a dollar less a gallon than it was a year ago. Michael Green of AAA said, "There's a good chance that the average household will save more than $700 dollars on gas this year."
That windfall can be stretched at local attractions that offer summer promotions.
The Franklin Park Zoo charges everyone the child's rate of admission on the first Saturday of the month.
Coupons for $4 off a weekday ticket at Canobie Lake Park can be found at places like McDonald's, Tedeschi's, Market Basket, and Rite Aid.
Admission at the Boston Children's Museum is just $1 on Friday night.
If the allure of a traditional Cape Cod getaway is still appealing, Murphy said there is still time to make that happen. "It used to be that if you didn't book by St. Patrick's Day, you were out of luck. Now we are fielding calls from people on Friday who want to come in on Saturday, so we are still booking up into August."
