Spring Ahead on Planning Your Summer Trips

January 1 may be the official start of the New Year in the US, but I’ve always felt it should happen in spring. Spring, to me, seems a better time to launch the start of a new year. The trees start budding, flowers begin to poke out of the newly thawed ground, and all those new year’s resolutions we made – like losing 10 pounds – and then promptly forgot about take on a whole new urgency (it’ll be bathing suit season in a few weeks!).
Spring seems like a time of possibility; the whole summer stretches out before us, promising warm days, long weekends, and for travelers, the chance at an unforgettable summer trip. Spring is the time when many people really start thinking about their travel plans for the rest of the year, particularly for summer.
While it seems like many people prefer to wait until the month before to finalize their trips plans, there’s a lot to gain from planning sooner rather than later. By booking early you can often find better deals on flights, especially if you can afford to be more flexible further out from your trip. In the case of cruises and tours, you can often get early-bird discounts for booking in advance. And in some cases, you simply have to book early or risk missing out. For example, if you plan to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, you’ll need to apply for a permit four months ahead of your visit!
Not sure where to go this summer? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

If a summer trip isn’t in the cards, think about timing your trip for shoulder season – that little slice of time between peak- and off-seasons when a destination offers fewer crowds, lower prices, and pleasant (if not ideal) weather. To find the right destination for a spring trip, read about five shoulder seasons around the world or check out where to go in May. You can even chase beach season around the world, finding summer any time you want it.
Here’s what the Travel Blog Mob had to say:

Photo by rkempjr