Whether you’re staying in the Pacific Northwest, cruising or flying abroad, there’s only one word to describe the upcoming summer travel season: busy. It may even be the busiest summer in recent memory.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have an expensive, stress-filled vacation. There are travel deals on the horizon as summer gets underway. And you can find pockets of sanity here and there.
“Booking trends and patterns look favorable for a busy summer in Seattle,” said Tammy Blount-Canavan, CEO of Visit Seattle.
Seattle is hosting some major events that will attract more visitors. They include MLB All-Star Week and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) monthlong conference. Many Seattle-area hotels are fully booked, and cruise lines are sailing to Alaska with no empty berths, she said.
“Travel in the Pacific Northwest is bustling with activity,” agrees Juriana Spierenburg, who manages the citizenM Seattle hotel in South Lake Union. “The pent-up demand for travel, coupled with the region’s popularity as a tourist destination, point to a busy summer.”
But not in the entire Pacific Northwest, and not all season. This year, there’s a big push to get out of town during the first half of the summer — and yes, prices will be sky-high. Heading into August and September, however, demand will taper off and prices could fall. You might want to plan your perfect vacation accordingly, experts said.
What to expect if you’re traveling anywhere this summer
No two ways about it: Travel will be pricey this summer.
- The cost of an international airline ticket from the U.S. is at a five-year high, according to Hopper, a smartphone travel app. Airfares to Europe average over $1,100 per ticket, and a flight to Asia will cost you around $1,800 per ticket.
- Domestic fares will be slightly cheaper, with tickets averaging $306, a 6% increase from 2019. Fares will peak around the Fourth of July holiday and will fall as summer progresses.
- Hotel rates are up, too. The average hotel rate is $237 per night, up 11% from a year ago. Where’s everyone staying? New York City, Tokyo and Los Angeles are the most-searched destinations for flights from Seattle this summer, according to Amadeus, a travel technology company.
- The Alaska cruise season, with many cruises leaving from Seattle, may see up to 1.56 million passengers coming to the Last Frontier, a new record. The previous record, 1.3 million, was reached in 2019, according to CLIA Alaska.
Experts say you can avoid much of the chaos with a few smart strategies. Port of Seattle representatives said timing is everything. The summer travel season at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport will be close to pre-pandemic levels, according to a Port news release. The busiest time is early morning, when more than one-third of passengers use the airport. If you have a flight before 10 a.m., be prepared for “very busy” conditions.
Tanner Callais, who publishes the cruise site Cruzely.com, said the biggest mistake locals make when they cruise from Seattle is parking their car at the port. Parking rates are some of the most expensive in the country, around $30 per day. Callais advised taking mass transit or ride-sharing to the port to avoid the high parking charges.
For people staying in town, Visit Seattle suggested arriving early for activities, allowing for more driving time in case of increased traffic or catching the Link light rail.
Here’s the outlook for Seattle staycations
These national trends are reflected regionally, too. The start of summer will be expensive and busy. The latter part, who knows?
At Seattle Ballooning, a hot air balloon company that specializes in tours of Mt. Rainier, bookings are up slightly more than 50% from last summer. Chief Pilot Eliav Cohen said good weather and strong demand have pushed demand to record levels and what he predicted could be the company’s “busiest summer ever.”
Bookings are actually down from last summer at Chehalem Ridge Bed and Breakfast, a five-bedroom bed-and-breakfast in Oregon’s wine country.
“I believe the uncertainty in our economy has made people reluctant to purchase airfare with enough lead time for it to be cheap, leaving more availability in lodging properties such as ours,” said innkeeper Kristin Fintel.
Stephen Fofanoff, general manager of the Domaine Madeleine boutique hotel in Port Angeles, Washington, noticed a similar trend.
“The Olympic Peninsula is seeing a lot more availability than usual, particularly around the Sequim and Port Angeles areas for this summer,” he said. “So there’s still time to find the perfect place to stay for always-sold-out summer festivals and events like the Sequim Lavender Festival and the Olympic Discovery Trail Marathon.”
So while summer travel is busier than it has been in years, there are still opportunities to take a vacation — and you don’t have to overpay. Prices could drop as temperatures rise in the Pacific Northwest.
Essential travel advice for this summer
If you haven’t planned your summer vacation yet, you’re probably better off waiting until the mad rush is over in late July. Then plan a trip for late summer, preferably the first two weeks of September, when prices plummet. But experts said there’s a little more to organizing a successful vacation.
Be a contrarian
One of the best pieces of travel advice is to zig when everyone else zags. So this summer, instead of instinctively flying to your destination, why not stay closer to the ground?
Matt Berna, managing director of the Americas for tour operator Intrepid Travel, recommended accessing your chosen summer destination by train or car, since the skies are expected to be clogged this season. And unlike the herds of travelers trying to go far, the rewards will go to the contrarians who stay close.
“Few areas of the United States are as diversely beautiful as the Pacific Northwest,” Berna said.
That’s advice you’ll hear often, not just from travel experts but also frequent travelers.
“There is literally nowhere better in the world during summer than the Pacific Northwest,” said Gilad Berenstein, a technology entrepreneur who lives in Seattle. “It provides beautiful cool mornings for hiking and other types of activities and perfect blue skies and hot weather in the afternoons for swimming and all the other wonderful water sports. The options are endless.”
Plan ahead if you’re traveling during a busy time
Alyssa Johnson, a travel agent who is sending many of her clients to Seattle to catch a cruise, said she’s telling people not to wait until the last minute to make their travel plans.
“Plan ahead for any attractions you want to see — especially busy places like the Space Needle,” she said. “Downtown Seattle is already very busy and I anticipate it only growing more and more so as we get further into the summer months. Pre-purchasing tickets is a must to avoid long waits at the entrance.”
If you plan to use the Washington State ferry system, travel adviser Beth Schulberg is warning her clients that they must plan ahead.
“If you want to use a car to drive onto one of the ferries that operate out of Anacortes to an island — particularly to San Juan Island, Orcas Island or Lopez Island — you must make a reservation to guarantee access,” she said.
The Washington State Ferries have made an uneven recovery since the pandemic, with numerous cancellations on Memorial Day weekend. Make sure you stay flexible with your travel plans.
Wait for it
If you have to get out of town, wait until after wildfire season, which typically runs from late August until early fall. That’s the advice of Seattle travel expert Jessica Schmit, who publishes the Uprooted Traveler site. She intends to stay local this summer with road trips to southern British Columbia and Bend, Oregon.
“I tell travelers to avoid wildfire season so they can truly enjoy the spectacular landscape here without all of the smoke,” she said.
And this year, there’s another bonus: The longer you wait, the more affordable your trip might become. So that flight to a faraway summer vacation destination may be in your budget if you’re patient.
