Most people love to travel and everybody likes to save money. This is especially important when it comes to vacations. Any money you save on your two major costs – your airfare and your hotel reservations – can be spent on activities or additional days away on vacation.

When you find the right sources and can get discount hotels rooms and dirt cheap airline tickets your savings will really add up.

Your search can start on the internet.

In addition to sleuthing around, your ability to find a choice of discount hotel rooms, airfare deals and prices for car rentals, will be determined by your flexibility. It can have a major impact on your bottom line.

When you’re traveling there are certain things you can control and other things you can’t. Some of the things you can control will have a big impact on the price you pay.

Those are:

How far in advance you make your reservations. The time of day you are flying. The day of the week you are flying. The days of the week you need a hotel. The days of the week you need a car.

One of the biggest factors when it comes to booking discount hotel rooms and dirt cheap airline tickets is when you make your reservations. This can be a little like gambling because hotel rates and airfares are always in flux.

Many travel agents and other experts in the travel industry will tell you to book your airfare and hotels as far in advance as possible.

You’ll often get rewarded with better prices and substantial discounts when you do.

Also, if you make your reservations early, you’ll be able to relax. You won’t have that fear of not getting what you want and the responsibility for making your reservations hanging over your head.

But if you’ve done some traveling you also probably know that sometimes when you book your flights or hotel rooms at the last minute you will save a hefty amount of money.

Keep in mind that too many people who waited to make reservations until the last minute at their favorite hotel found that there was a convention in town. So even if they were able to get dirt cheap airline tickets it just didn’t matter because not only was that hotel unavailable, even all the discount hotel rooms were already booked solid.

But all is not lost.

Even if you wait too long if you are flexible enough to change destinations you might not have a problem.

Just choose a different location and there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll find dirt cheap airline tickets and discount hotel rooms for somewhere you’d like to go. Of course it goes without saying that if you need to be in a specific place on a certain day you should book in advance, confirm your flight and hotel, and just pack and relax.

Another thing you should do is find a good travel agent.

Often travel agents have information available to them that is not available to the non-travel-professional.

If all else is lost they might be able to get you the discount hotel rooms and dirt cheap airline tickets you’re looking for.