Going on vacation this summer? Going to fly? You’re going to need this: 1. Make a Plan Sounds obvious, right? But a lot of us DON’T plan, and this year, more than ever, it’ll pay off to plan and plan early. Fuel surcharges are only going up; the sooner you make a plan, the sooner you will “lock in” the price — and save. 2. Be Flexible on Destinations Want to go “Destination A” but it’s just too expensive? Then don’t go to “Destination A”! Seriously, summer travel pricing is going to be very sensitive to where you live; some cities will get clobbered (smaller towns without low-cost airline service) and some cities will see higher-than-usual prices (bigger cities without low-cost airline coverage). Look for a cheaper alternative — or, be prepared to pay more than you want. The choice, after all, is yours. 3. Try Florida Keep reading and I’ll tell you why — and give you the rest of my tips.

Why Florida? It’s relatively cheap this year — partly because of the usual “hurricane-season-is-almost-upon-us” jitters, and — well, it’s HOT in Florida. The good news is, that means there are decent airfares to the Sunshine State (and it works both ways — there are decent airfares to get OUT of the Sunshine State).

Here are examples of mid-summer roundtrip prices (all-in)I found for Florida and elsewhere (note: cheap airfares, as always, go quickly and these may not be available by the time you read this, the price listed is all-in and is the average price for departing most days in the month, prices are good both directions).

Miami to New York City - July $200

Tampa to New York City - July $180

West Palm to New York City - July $210

Miami to Denver - July $350

New York City to Los Angeles - July $360

Los Angeles to Chicago - July $420

Chicago to Seattle - July $430

Houston to Minneapolis - July $300

Dallas to New York City - July $275

New York City to Denver - July $340

4. Fly the Cheapest Dates and Times

Again, this is not new advice in this forum, but it’s more important to bear in mind than ever before. Airlines will charge you a hefty premium for the most popular times and days.

DO fly the cheapest (least popular) days — Tuesdays and Wednesdays — and DO fly the least popular times (if you’ve never considered it before, you might want to try a “red eye” — you will save).

Bottom line: you will have to make sacrifices (some small, some not-so-small) to get the very best airfare. Once you recognize this, you can make more intelligent buying decisions.