According to Chris Erskine, reporting for the Los Angeles Times:

“Hotwire.com says Berlin, Paris, Barcelona and Rome are seeing the their lowest hotel prices on the site in over five years, while airfare in cities like Berlin, Dublin, Helsinki and Valencia has dropped as much as 13%.

Hotwire President Clem Bason sees the drops as a combination of three factors: a hotel room glut after the Summer Games, the weakening euro and struggling European economy, and the usual autumn slowdown, when the travel industry typically drops prices anyway.”

In order to snag the best deals, Bason recommends cities that may be secondary on travelers’ minds but are “still wonderful”. He recommends travelers consider Berlin, Budapest, Geneva and Prague.

Other European destinations to consider are Athens, Seville, Rome, Porto, Valencia and Venice. Nightly hotel rates in these cities have dropped from 10 to 20 percent. Another trip to consider should be a European cruise. According to Bason, cruises are the “single best value in European travel right now.”

Here are two additional tips to keep your travel costs down:

Booking Hotel Stays. Make sure to take the time to research hotels and bed and breakfast prices online before booking your room including these web sites:

• Budgetplaces.com
• Hotwire.com
• Hotels.com
• Priceline.com
• Travelocity.com
• LuxuryLink.com

Landing Cheap Airfare. Here are some tactics to use to land the best cheap airfare deal:

• Book travel on Tuesday afternoons three months out if possible
• Use Bing Travel and Airfarewatchdog to set fare alerts
• Use airfare comparison sites like Kayak and FareCompare.com
• Be flexible on traveling dates –Tuesdays, Wednesday and Saturdays are generally the cheapest
• Compare fees charged on checked bags and seat selection

What tips do you have for getting the best deal on traveling to Europe?

The post Autumn European Travel Tips appeared first on TEQlease Capital.

The five deals Smart Money recommends consumers should track are:

• Consumer electronics. Over the past 12 months TV prices have dropped substantially and that’s not expected to reverse as manufacturers launch the latest in consumer electronics in January and February.
• Text-message plans. Take a look at your test messaging plan and determine whether you still need it especially in light of applications that let you message for free. Check out Smart Money’s article “How to Save $500 on Your Cellphone This Year” for more cellphone saving ideas.
• European Travel. US travelers may be able to save money traveling to Europe for the first time in years due in large part to the European debt crisis. Keep an eye on fairs with the Bing.com price predictor.
• Wine. If you enjoy a nice bottle of wine, 2012 should also usher in better deals on your favorite vino. As the boutique wineries bounce back you can search for good deals on wine at sites such as Invino.com, Lot18.com and Gilt Taste.
• Interest Rates. All signs still point to low interest rates at least for the first half of the year. You can track interest rates at sites DepositAccounts.com and Bankrate.com.

Once you are ready to shop don’t forget to:

• Go online to compare prices and complete purchases.
• Look for special smart phone apps from your favorite retailers for more product deals.
• Get on your favorite retailers’ e-mail lists for special offers.
• Follow your favorite brands on Twitter and Facebook pages for even more specials.

The post 2012 Promises Good Deals for Consumers appeared first on TEQlease Capital.