Searching for Last-Minute Labor Day Plans? Try These Travel Tools.

28.08.2023 - 09:31 / nytimes.com / Clint Henderson

With Labor Day weekend only days away, this hot and crowded summer is finally coming to an end — or at least, its unofficial end. But pulling off one last summer getaway, even last minute and over a holiday weekend, is still possible.

It’s important to set expectations. This may not be your cheapest vacation, nor should you count on visiting a bucket-list destination. But if you’re flexible with your itinerary, plenty of fun — and a bargain or two — can be had.

Here’s how to go about planning a down-to-the-wire trip, focusing on the apps and websites you’ll need.

All good travel sites provide a common search functionality from the get-go, with fields for destination, desired origin, dates of travel and number of travelers. A few very good ones have dedicated functions, and offer specific deals, for last-minute travel.

Tools like Google Flights,Skyscanner and Fareness (available only by app) allow you to search for flights from your home airport without selecting a specific destination — “Anywhere” or “Everywhere” is either a default or an option in the “To” field. Kayak also has an Explore feature: On its website, type in the departure airport, leave the arrival field at the default of “Anywhere” and then type in your specific dates. After you click Search, a map appears of possible destinations and their costs. Click on a city — say, Richmond, Va. — and flight prices, reasons to visit and other information, including public transportation advice, appear. On the app, the map appears automatically, based on the home airport set in your profile defaults.

Fareness also has an advanced date search, with flexible or fixed date choices, length of stay, day-of-the-week departure preferences and other options ($4.99 a month).

Meanwhile, Orbitz has a last-minute section, with specific searches for hotels, flights, cars, packages and things to do.

Clint Henderson, managing editor of the Points Guy, a travel website that covers airline and vacation deals, suggested investigating packages offered by major airlines, such as United Vacations and American Airlines Vacations. A recent search on American showed flight-and-hotel combinations from New York’s Kennedy International Airport to Chicago
O’Hare, for a four-night stay in a four-star Loop hotel, starting at $760 per person. (Yes, you need to connect in Cincinnati, but look at that price!)

This is also a great time to consider using those credit card points or miles, Mr. Henderson said.

“Using points or miles last-minute on an expensive cash vacation is a great way to get extra value out of them,” he said.

If you found a flight but aren’t purchasing a package, you’ll most likely need a place to stay. HotelTonight is a great resource for discount hotel rooms, with