Fly on Monday, repent on Tuesday?

The giant travel aggregator site Kayak has some advice for consumers on the best times to book travel in order to snag the cheapest airfares.

Drumroll please…

Don’t book too early, and don’t book too late.

OK, that’s slightly glib. But that’s basically what the site — which says it averages 100 million search queries a month — concluded after sorting through a year’s worth of data. Among its recommendations:

• Book domestic trips 21 days before departure. Those who went searching for airfares way early — like six months before their departure date — found prices to be 19 percent higher than the average of all U.S. domestic fares clicked within six months of departure ($406 vs. $342). When clicked five months prior to departure, fares dropped a tad, but were 18 still percent higher, and then dropped further with each successive month. But those who clicked 21 days before departure found fares averaging 8 percent lower than the average ($342 vs. $370). And the poor souls who waited till one week before departure to click? Their fares were 30 percent higher than the low.
• Book international trips 34 days before departure. Folks who clicked on airfares a little over a month out found fares averaging 4 percent lower than the average of all U.S.-international fares clicked within six months of departure ($977 vs. $1,016). That’s about as good as the savings got. Obviously, timing is not as critical here.
• Try to depart on a Saturday and return on a Monday for domestic trips of up to a week long. Kayak says fares are 16 percent lower than average on those days. For domestic trips longer than a week, try for a Tuesday departure and Wednesday return, as fares are 10 percent lower than average then.
• For international trips, the Tuesday-departure, Wednesday-return advice also applies. The site says you can also save a bit by departing on Fridays or Saturdays and returning Mondays.

In my own experience, these tips ring true — although nothing about airfares is ever logical, really. But I have generally found Tuesdays and Wednesdays to be the best days to fly internationally. Domestic flights are more of a crapshoot. As for when to buy, most sites these days have an “Are your dates flexible” feature, which I strongly recommend using if you can. It’s amazing the difference a day or two can make in airfares.

Readers: What’s been your own experience? Got any tried-and-true tips on the best times to book travel, and best days to fly?

Image by photosteve101 via Flickr

Be ready to take off anytime.

I was resigned to spending my last week of vacation in the backyard. Then I got a call from a friend whose husband had suddenly hurt his back and couldn’t go with her on their long-planned trip to Scotland. Would I like to take his place, accommodations included? And oh yes, she was leaving in two days.

I thought it over for about five seconds before saying yes.

I tell you this not to brag (although woo hoo!! I’m going to Scotland!!!!) but to say that if I hadn’t done a few key things beforehand, I wouldn’t be able to take this trip on such short notice. So: Be ready to go, because you just never know. Here are four things you should consider doing right now, while you have the time:

1. Buy a cellphone you can use overseas. It’s nice to be able to keep your regular phone number when you travel so that family and friends can more easily contact you in case of emergency. Since I have an iPhone 4S, my carrier, Verizon, was able to activate my SIM card over the phone, and the agent walked me through the steps I need to turn my data roaming off, thereby avoiding steep fees. Costs are reasonable: $1.29 a minute for phone calls, 50 cents to text and 5 cents to receive a text. Plus, there’s free 24/7 email support. The verdict from this technophobe: Thumbs up.

2. Apply for a credit card that lets you accumulate frequent-flier miles without commiting to one carrier. No way could I have afforded to buy a ticket for this last-minute trip, so I had to use miles. Luckily, I’ve been accumulating them on my Capital One card, usable on any airline — enough to buy a ticket on Delta, which is offering the best deal to Edinburgh right now.

3. Pack a credit card that doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. Many cards charge as much as 3 percent per purchase when you use them abroad. Capital One and  Bank of America are two companies that offer cards with no international fees (no annual fees, either). Bonus: The Bank of America Travel Rewards card has the built-in computer chip that’s required more and more when charging purchases in Europe.

4. Make sure your passport is up to date. And by up to date, I mean make sure you have at least six months left before it expires. Many countries require this, so if you’re six months or less from your expiration date, renew now — not right before you set off on your trip. Passport rules and regs here.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, gotta go look up the difference between a burn and a brae.

Photo by mikeclogh via Flickr.

Your flip flops may be out to get you.

My flip flops are trying to kill me.

They look so cute and innocent. But as I just learned the hard way, wearing the minimalist rubber footwear can be hazardous to your health. If you’re heading to the shore, pool or theme park in these last few weeks of summer, know that your choice of shoes just might cut your vacation short.

My moment of truth came one afternoon last month when I slipped getting out of a friend’s SUV. True, it was raining and I was juggling purse, keys and leftover pizza — not the best recipe for a graceful exit. But the real reason I ended up ass-over-teakettle in the middle of the street? As the ER doc later explained, my cheap flip flops provided minimal support or traction, so when the rubber hit the wet road — splat.

I was lucky. I didn’t break my wrist, merely sprained it, and got off easy with just two weeks in a soft cast. But I shudder to think what might have happened. And it occurs to me that, at age 61, I need to start taking accident prevention a little more seriously. Even on vacation.

Does this mean I have to give up my cute flip flops for *gulp* sensible oxfords? Not at all, says Dr. Ben Pearl, a podiatrist in the Washington, D.C., area. He likes what he calls “ergo flips” — ergonomically designed flip flops that feature molded footbeds and outsoles with lugs and treading, made by companies like Sole, Orthaheel and Chaco.

“If you’re walking the boardwalk in ideal conditions, it’s not like you can never wear the cheaper flips,” Dr. Pearl said. “But I wouldn’t wear them myself. Anybody can have a fall, even if they’re agile. You’re just going to be more stable in more stable shoe gear. A good closed sneaker is the most stable, but I feel there is a niche for the ergo flips.”

Bottom line, I don’t think I’ll be packing my drugstore flip flops on my next vacation. Instead, I’m considering these, these or these.

Any other flip flop horror stories out there? Or recommendations for supportive yet nondorky ergo flips?

Photo credit: Bermi Ferrer via Flickr.