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With the symbolic end of summer just around the corner, it might be time to start thinking about the upcoming ski season—and booking your holiday or winter ski vacation. For powder lovers like myself, the changing leaves and crispness in the air makes me eagerly anticipate the first snow fall and gets me all too excited about the upcoming ski season. And, while skiing is certainly not an inexpensive sport and ski vacations tend to be on the pricey side, a great way to save money is by booking your winter travel plans far in advance to maximize on deals at resorts (like 50% off at Vail and the 4th night free in Sun Valley). Think Snow! Great Ski Deals. Book now on Expedia!

Unless you’ve been living under some really big rock for the past 10 months, you’ve probably noticed that travel to just about everywhere has been pretty cheap. Airfares are way down, and with 17% fewer traveler expected to take to the air this Labor Day Weekend, you’d imagine that the airlines have been offering up some pretty sweet fare sales and package deals to encourage travelers to hit the road. There are a few destinations that are offering up some especially good deals this fall—and Vegas is certainly one of them. Southwest Airlines is offering up some Vegas vacation deals that include midweek credits at some hotels and other special offerings.

Labor Day is just around the corner, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late to score some great last-minute travel deals for the upcoming holiday weekend. In fact, waiting until the last minute to name your own price on sites like Priceline often offers up the best opportunity to score the best price on cheap flights and hotels at the last minute—making it possible for you to still getaway for the long weekend without doing too much damage to your back account. Up to 50% off Labor Day travel (ends 9/7)

In the era of super cheap airfares, airlines have been looking for other ways to squeeze more dollars out of their customers. Last week Continental and US Airways both upped the already much hated checked bag fees, making the fees as much as $50 for a second checked bag on some trans-Atlantic flights.

The rising fees angered many fliers and some analysts are now saying that the checked bag fees are becoming unfair and the government may just be asked to step in and regulate the airlines. However, not all airlines are charging customers to check bags—and JetBlue is still offering the first checked bag for free on all of their flights (including some really great fare sale prices too).

With the symbolic end of summer just around the corner, you may be suddenly filled with an a sense of sadness about all the great things you wanted to do this summer and never got around to actually doing. If you aren’t quite ready to have summer end (like me), then you can prolong those warm days, sunny skies and beach time well into fall by booking a trip to often sunny San Diego. Especially with so many airlines offering up great end-of-summer fare sales and hotels offering deeply discounted rooms, now is the time to take advantage of all the great travel deals and head for somewhere beachy. Top Hotel Deals in San Diego

Last fall, I had the opportunity to sit down and interview a spokesman for Hawaiian Airlines, who let me in on all the greatest hints for finding the best deals to Hawaii. Keoni Wagner at Hawaii Airlines filled me in on not only the best times to find the best deals on cheap tickets to Hawaii, but also when you would be free from crowds of tourists and could find the best deals at the many resorts and hotels on the islands. Wagner also informed me that fall (a shoulder season) is a great time to find big discounts on everything in Hawaii, which probably explains why United is now offering $250 off on many of their Hawaii vacation packages. SAVE up to $250 to Hawaii!
Use promo code HAWAIISALE & Book by 9/15/09.

I have always had a love for Latin America, so when I was offered an opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic last winter, I was all too eager to take it. An island of beautiful beaches, clear Caribbean waters, a rich and vibrant Caribbean culture and an obsession with baseball, there wasn’t a whole lot not to like about hanging out on this island for a bit in the middle of the rainy Oregon winter. This is exactly why I jumped to tell y’all about Expedia’s featured deal of the week in the Dominican Republic. Save up to 50% off a flight + hotel vacation package to the Dominican Republic! - Expires 8/31/09

Labor Day is just around the corner, and for those who have been putting off booking a trip for the long weekend, it’s not too late to score a great last-minute travel deal for the upcoming holiday weekend. Whether you’ve been putting off booking a trip over labor day because you’ve been procrastinating, or were not planning on going anywhere and are having a sudden change of heart, there are plenty of opportunities to still get a great deal on a labor day weekend trip. Especially with many airlines (including Southwest) offering great fare sales with the end of summer just around the corner, there is no reason you shouldn’t be able to score a great deal for a labor day getaway. Labor Day Weekend Sale!
Book flight + hotel of 3 nights or more starting from $62 per person, per night. Book 8/7 - 8/31/09.

Jet Blue recently caused a big stir in the travel industry when they announced they would be offering an all-you-can-fly pass for $599 that would allow travelers to fly an unlimited number of times from September 8-October 8. The pass sold out before the promotion ended, leaving many industry insiders left wondering if other airlines would follow suit and offer a similar unlimited air travel pass. However, if you did not score a deal on one of Jet Blue’s all-you-can-fly passes, then you may still be on the lookout for cheap airfares to many of their destinations—including one of my very favorite cities, Austin, Texas. Best Flight Deals to Austin

I have always been a bit of a procrastinator. Much to my mother’s dismay, I always wait until the last minute to do a lot of things—like pack my bags (she’s always packed at least a week in advance), plan my next trip, write that term paper or do my taxes. While my strategy of waiting until the last minute to do things usually induces a little more stress than necessary, it has never actually bitten me in the ass too bad. Even when it comes to travel, I’m usually pretty good at scoring a great last-minute deal on everything from airfare to my hotel (especially in today’s buyer’s market travel world). Despite my procrastinating habits, I do realize that sometimes it pays to plan ahead. Especially when planning ahead can save you 40%. Travelocity Early Bird Sale! Plan Ahead and Save up to 40% on Hotels!