BUFFALO, NY — With back-to-school around the corner, most families are hoping to get a final slice of summer by traveling over the next few weeks.
We spoke to some travel experts who gave us tips on how to make it affordable:
- Choose places that are one flight away, or a few hours drive
- Get to your flight and on the road early to avoid traffic
- Cities like Nashville, New York City and Washington D.C. can provide family fun
Kelly Khatib with the NFTA said the best and cheapest flight options from the Buffalo Niagara International Airport are to New York City, Nashville and Washington D.C.
"Most people, they don't think about those would be necessarily good for families, but you can really take those turning around and it's really great because you just have that one flight," said Khatib.
With a New York State license, you get into the museums in NYC for free, or at a discounted rate.
According to AAA, Overall domestic travel over Labor Day weekend is up 9 percent compared to last year, while the cost to travel domestically is down 2 percent.
"Here locally, what we're also seeing is people taking those weekend road trips, last camping trips, people going to the Finger Lakes, the 1000 Islands, maybe out to the east coast beaches. But some people still trying to squeeze in those last family vacations before school goes back," said Elizabeth Carey with AAA.
Carey said travelers should plan ahead to avoid traffic jams and even airport delays.
"Washington D.C. or Tampa, Florida are expected to see traffic increase by about 40 percent compared to a regular day, which is already busy in some of these metro areas. So plan ahead for that. Everyone wants to head out on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and come back on Sunday, Monday," said Carey.
