Who doesn't want to save money while traveling — even for the most luxe of trips? Here's an idea: Check out travel packages, which are designed to save you money. Read on to learn why now is the best time to book a travel package.

Save on Airfare (Which is Crazy Expensive Right Now) 

The resurgence of travel, and a need to recoup revenue, have resulted in a significant increase in airfare to just about everywhere in the world. Today, those once-super-cheap pandemic rates are a thing of the past. With packages, travelers can often get a better rate on flights than if you were to book individually. An example: Great Value Vacations is currently offering a 3-night getaway that includes round-trip air, an upscale hotel, transfers, and daily breakfast — from $485. If you were to purchase each component individually, a round-trip flight for this period is already $309; the price per person for the hotel stay is $225; and daily breakfast and transfers are at least another $100. When you take all this into consideration, you'll enjoy a savings of at least $150 when bundling everything together.

Take the Guesswork Out of Planning

Some destinations require a lot more planning than others, which a lot of folks would rather leave to the experts. Think of packages as your sort of new-school travel agent. These companies know where to go, work with top-rated hotels on where to stay, offer the best tours, and sometimes throw in extras like transfers — all of which are bundled into a convenient package that can save you hassle and money. For example, Indus Travels offers a five-night tour of India starting at $999 per person. This package includes round-trip air to Delhi, breakfast, transfers, hotel stays, and tours. To break it down, flights alone to Delhi from NYC cost $1,055 (as of the time of publication). All of the above is included in this package, which starts from $999, a rate lower than what travelers would need to pay just to get there.

Bundles = Big Savings 

Would you rather pay for a single plane ticket or spend less money on flights, accommodations, and more? While it all sounds too good to be true, these companies work together to pass along the savings to the customer. Consider this: Tripmasters is offering a 6-night London and Paris package for $1,049, which actually costs less than the price of the round-trip airfare (which, at the time of publication, was $1,451) — and that's even before factoring in the price of hotel accommodations if you were to book your flights and hotel stays separately. In our opinion, it's a travel no-brainer. 

Take Your Bucket List Vacation

The trip of a lifetime should be perfect, and there are tour operators that can help you make it nothing short of that, whether you're planning a honeymoon, babymoon, or multi-gen vacation. A recent Air Tahiti Nui package offers round-trip flights from LAX to PPT for $889 per person — not a bad price for an exotic bucket-list destination. Included in this is a two-night stay at the new Hilton Hotel Tahiti, all of which adds up to more than $750 in savings compared to booking all the components yourself. 

Visit Destinations That Have Recently Opened Borders

As more counties open their borders to travelers, tour operators are responding with packages that help visitors navigate the new normal, all while taking the guesswork out of traveling. For example, Exoticca has created a package to welcome international travelers back to Indonesia (including Lombok, one of our 2022 Budget Destinations) with a 12-night package from $1,899 inclusive of round-trip air, tours, breakfast, transfers, and more. Additional destinations, including Australia and New Zealand, are anxious to regain tourism dollars, and packages to these already-expensive destinations are significantly minimized with travel packages. 

Customize Your Trips

Sure, travel packages often include airfare, hotel, and tours, but this doesn't mean that you're limited to a particular hotel brand or tour selection. Fortunately, many travel packages allow you to choose a hotel that suits your style. Love a boutique property? No problem. Fancy a five-star hotel? Done. Also, you can often select tour types, flight routes, and property location, allowing for easy customization.  

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