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| It all starts by taking advantage of the low-travel long weekends… |
Happy New Year! I’m kicking off 2012 by discussing ways to Fit More Travel into Your Family’s New Year, with a post on the topic each week this month. Please share your thoughts and suggestions, too!
I’ll start with an often overlooked way to work in a little extra travel for your family, whether it’s a quick trip close to home or a chance to take advantage of an extra day off from work or school for a longer vacation. It all starts by taking advantage of the low-travel long weekends, such as:
January 14-16: Martin King Luther Jr. Weekend. The holiday itself is observed Monday, January 16th this year, when most families are winding down from holiday travel or at least catching up on their post-holiday budgets.
February 18-20: President’s Day Weekend. The holiday is observed Monday, February 20th this year, which still tends to catch many bleary-eyed, wintering families off guard (we should have planned to go somewhere! Guess we’ll shop the sales instead…). I’m already seeing airfare specials offered for this weekend!
September 1-3: Labor Day Weekend. The holiday is observed September 3rd in 2012, when many families are finished with summer travel and just beginning the new school year, which can make it the perfect time to snag a deal at family resorts or theme parks (and while the weather is still great!).
October 6-8: Columbus Day Weekend. For some families, Columbus Day (observed October 8 this year) offers an extra 3-day weekend in one of my favorite mid-season travel months: October. Early October is a fabulous time to visit many destinations across the country and around the globe, from early fall in the north to early spring in the south.November 10-12: Veteran’s Day Weekend. And let us not forget: Veteran’s Day in November, observed on Monday, November 12 this year by most institutions. While only two weeks later, Americans see the highest travel prices of the year for Thanksgiving, this often overlooked 3-day weekend begs for a bargain family getaway.
If you’ll find yourself with a 3-day weekend from work and/or school in any of these cases, you may be able to catch a great deal at popular family destinations and resorts, enjoy lower gas prices or airfare to get you there, and avoid the crowds and congestion of much more popular long weekends like Memorial Day and 4thof July.
What’s your favorite long weekend for travel?
And where would you like to spend it this year?
Click comments below to share your thoughts (email subscribers click here for the post online). To see all the posts in this series, click here.
Safe journeys,
Shelly Rivoli
Author of the award-winning Travels with Baby guidebooks
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Bronze Award Winner in Travel Blogs from the North American Travel Journalists Association
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