Time to begin saving and planning for summer trip next year

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — KSHB 41 News anchor Caitlin Knute is interested in hearing from you. Send her an e-mail.

The summer days are dwindling, and for some of us, so is the cash flow.

But if you don't have the time or money to travel now, that's not an insurmountable problem.

Travel agents like Kelly Marchand with Shelton Travel  say now is the time to begin planning for a big trip next year.

"Now is a good time to start planning for Europe," Marchand said.

So when is the least expensive time and how far in advance should you plan to make sure you're getting the most bang for your buck?

"September and October are great times, because it's the shoulder season in Europe, and you do get a price break, usually with the hotels and the airfare as well."

Marchand adds the travel period between peak and off-peak seasons typically sees smaller crowds, too. 

"Start planning, the sooner the better, at least six-to-nine months in advance."

Marchand said ideally you'd want to book a European vacation 331 days out.

And where does she suggest as possible destinations?

"Italy is one of my favorites," she said "Spain, and Portugal. Those are great hot spots right now. Portugal, you can go to Porto, Lisbon, all these beautiful places."

Of course, the big question is how much will it cost?

Marchand says there's no one-size-fits-all budget.

For a couple, she'd recommend planning to spend around $10,000 for a nice seven-to-nine day trip.

She says a family of four should plan on spending up to up to $20,000.

To make the most of that money, she says consider a travel agent who can help you personalize your trip.

"Then I can kind of customize it toward their particular likings," Marchand said. "I just did a shopping spree for a mother daughter in Rome and it was great! They had an amazing time!" 

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