Consumer Reports

Travelers are bombarded with offers, deals and price fluctuations on a day-to-day basis, so to help them navigate the maze and save money, Consumer Reports' experts came up with some helpful tips to cut costs and lock in the best rates.

A Consumer Reports reporter found a roundtrip ticket from Philadelphia to Venice on Alitalia for $247 which seemed like a steal until discovering, just before booking, that taxes ballooned the price to $767. Hidden fees, fine print, and blackout dates can make locking in a low price as tricky as a soft landing in turbulence.

If you plan to travel throughout the New Year, here are five tips to help get the rock bottom rate before take-off. The full list of tips can be found at www.ConsumerReports.org or in the February issue of the magazine which hit newsstands January 3rd.

Check fares early. Most airline and travel sites make it convenient to set up alerts to track fares. Take advantage of the alerts and start searching for flights three and a half months prior to booking domestic flights and five and a half months before booking international flights. That's when the market begins to sort itself out and lower fares begin to appear. Read more