Cheap Travel This Fall

This summer has been the most brutal high season for travelers in recent memory, but I'm still relearning the hard way that, come the end of August, it's a whole new world out there. We're currently planning a last-minute trip to Southern California, and I have to admit for someone who not so long ago wrote Finding Hotel Rooms: No Vacancy? No Problem, I had a heckuva time finding a decent flight and an affordable place to stay during the penultimate weekend of August.

The only seats available on our preferred outbound flight were in first class, so we burned up a bunch of miles so as not to drop four figures on the flight -- and I had to do some major detective work to find a place to stay, ending up as far afield as craigslist.

It became clear, however, that if we could wait a few weeks, an empty aircraft cabin as well as an affordable oceanfront cabin could be ours for a fraction of the cost. This is because fall is a great time for travelers, particularly forward-looking folks who are already thinking about autumn opportunities in the middle of August. If you can get your toes out of the sand long enough to think a few weeks and months into the future, here are five money-saving opportunities for your fall travel.

Opportunity #1: Travel When They Ain't

I have written extensively about the concept of the travel "Dead Week"; these are the three or four one- to two-week stretches each year when the volume of travelers, particularly leisure travelers, goes way down -- and prices reliably go with them.

Typically September's Dead Week is the first weekend after Labor Day, but this year will be a little tricky, in my estimation; with Labor Day falling on September 3, some summer stalwarts may linger into the first few days of September, and the airports and hotels might take a little longer to clear out. By the following week, business travelers with no-nonsense itineraries will be back on the road. However, if you plot your attack carefully by trying alternate airports and outlying hotels (think Carlsbad if traveling to San Diego, Paia if traveling to Maui, San Clemente if traveling to L.A. -- you see the trend), you could do very well.

Opportunity #2: 'Tis the Off-Season

When it comes to coastal communities and the cottages, B&Bs and resort hotels that serve them, Sept. 30 is D-Day for summer and summer prices. Research almost any vacation rental or package deal, and you'll notice that come Oct. 1, prices fall by as much as 30-40 percent or more. This is particularly true of luxury resorts and other extremely well-situated properties; beachfront is cheap once summer is over, whether officially or unofficially.

The water may not be as warm, but beaches are often even more alluring in the fall; I'll take a temperate autumn afternoon in soft light and a long-sleeve over a sunscreen-slathered summer swelter any day. Long lines at attractions and restaurants are often long gone; beaches are uncrowded; the weather invites long walks, bike rides and open windows without air conditioning; and the kids are away so the adults may play.