Travel before or after the holidays to save a buck by Peter Greenberg

Do you have flexibility with your travel dates and want to save a lot of money? Here’s a little secret that most people don’t know.

Twice a year, the travel industry experiences a deep lull that some call the “dead week.” It’s the week immediately following Thanksgiving, and the week starting the Tuesday after New Year’s, when planes and hotel rooms are empty. You could call it a worldwide discount festival.

And this year, the economic meltdown has resulted in a buyer’s market at times when discounts formerly weren’t available. The dead-week savings that start immediately after Thanksgiving are now stretching all the way into mid-December, and after New Year’s Day through the entire month of January.

Why is this happening? Although holiday airfares are generally lower this year compared to last year, traveling during peak periods is always going to cost more than at less popular times.

Among the busiest air travel days of the year are the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after. (When you factor in car travel, Thanksgiving Day itself is also one of the busiest.) This year, Christmas and New Year’s Day both fall on a Friday, which means that planes will be packed that weekend.

To add insult to injury, most major airlines, including American, US Airways, Delta and United, have added a $10 surcharge on most flights for travel on Nov. 29 (the Sunday after Thanksgiving) and Jan. 2 and 3 (the weekend after New Year’s Day).

If penny-pinching is high on your agenda, be a contrarian traveler and use your vacation time when everyone else is staying home. Here are just a few examples of the travel deals you should be on the lookout for.

Where the deals are

Is a warm-weather getaway on your agenda? An ocean-view cabin on Norwegian Cruise Line’s four-day cruise from Miami to the Bahamas is about $60 cheaper per night when you depart on Nov. 30 rather than Nov. 23, and $220 less than the cruise that departs on Dec. 21.

On Carnival, an inside cabin on a four-day cruise from Los Angeles to Baja, Mexico, that travels over Thanksgiving (Nov. 23-27) is actually $100 more expensive than the one that departs the following week — $299 per person, compared to $199. The same type of cabin on a four-day Bahamas cruise from Orlando is $429 per person just before Christmas, jumps up to $559 between Christmas and New Year’s — and then on January 3, drops down to $309.

New York City has deals, too. Marrakech Hotel on the Upper West Side is dropping its rates by 20 percent, with rooms starting at $119/night from Nov. 29 through Dec. 2, and $99/night from Jan. 4 through Feb. 28. Guests also receive two tickets to Top of the Rock Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center, a value of $42. A minimum two-night stay is required. (Use rate code “Deal1.”)

Also, don’t forget that while many people take advantage of the week between Christmas and New Year’s to travel, you can usually find better deals by waiting a week. Occidental Grand Xcaret in Mexico costs a minimum average of $402/night for travel between that peak week of December 28 and January 3; if you can hold off and travel between Jan. 4 and 10, you’ll pay an average of $305/night.

Even ski resorts know when to roll out the added-value packages during the winter. Jackson Hole Resort in Wyoming is offering “kids ski and stay free” starting Jan. 3. Adults who book travel with a 12-and-under child get a free flight on American Airlines, a lift ticket and free accommodations. The restrictions require weekday travel (arrive in Jackson Sunday-Wednesday, and return Tuesday-Friday). This particular deal extends through Feb. 12, meaning that in today’s economy, “dead week” actually means “dead weeks.”

Have you traveled during “dead week,” and if so, what was your experience like? Share your thoughts in the comments section.