“Peak” and “off-peak” travel: have you been wondering what these words really mean? These terms are often thrown around by travel experts, travel agencies, hotel, and airlines. Taking a little “peek” into the subject, we will find that there are just as many exceptions to the rules as there are rules themselves.

 

So….here are the five words you need to remember when considering when to fly: day, time, season, holiday, and destination. Day is the day of the week, time is the time of day.  Season is obviously the season you are planning to fly, summer, winter, spring or fall.  Holiday – are you traveling before or during a holiday?  And lastly, your destination: where are you going?  All of these five issues will affect the price of your ticket and other things like how crowded the plane will be and if there will be long lines at the ticket counter.

 

The best and most comfortable time to travel is at the off-peak times.  Armed with this knowledge, you can enjoy your flight more and pay less!

 

So you are probably wondering: what day-time-season-holiday-destination is the best?

 

Monday afternoon to Thursday morning is the time considered off-peak for flights. Saturday, too, is considered off-peak during the summer.  Prices generally go down during these times and the smart traveler flies when prices are down.  Likewise, the prices typically go up the rest of the time.  Of course, there are some popular destinations where this rule changes a bit, especially during vacation times.

 

The smart time to fly is during the morning hours.  Late afternoon and evening flights are more crowded and more expensive.