Booking Ahead for July 2009
 

Does anyone out there have an opinion as to whether there is a big need to book a lot of things in advance for a trip to New York, Washington and Boston in advance. It's just that a our dollar is so bad against the US Dollar at the moment I don't want to jump the gun and waste too much money. One specific thing is West Side Story, which I can get $90 tickets for at the moment. Any input would be great. Thanks.

You can get those tickets now for July? Really? Where?

Most things I think of -- such as hotels --don't have to be paid for, and can be canceled and rebooked if a better price (or currency rate) comes along.

You really have to have a more definite itinerary for us to advise. Everything turns on your dates and days of week at your destinations. Generally speaking, for heavily visited cities, you'll do much better booking ahead, as rates tend to go up as your dates approach. Business travel and tourism is significantly off this year, though. Even so, I book almost as soon as I know I'm going for the best rates at the most appealing properties.

Best bet is to shop like the dickens and book the best thing you can find that you can cancel. Then, keep shopping if you like and/or consider using Hotwire or Priceline.

Take a look at TravelZoo and keep checking. There have been some amazing bargains this year, though perhaps not yet for July.

Washington, D.C. hotel prices usually drop over the week-end, when the folks there on business leave.

Thanks for all this, I've had a look at travelzoo and found some great bargains.

Right now, tourism in NYC is down and so are hotel prices. What no one can say is that they will or will not go back up this summer. That's why I'd book a hotel now. As for West Side Story, you really need to buy those tickets last week, so if you can find anything at all for $90 jump on them or you won't be seeing West Side Story in July. Everything else can wait, but the hotels and popular Broadway shows are the real issue for you. You can always make a hotel reservation directly with a hotel if you find a good price (as long as it can be cancelled without a penalty) just for back-up and hope that the dollar goes down in value, which is currently happening.

I would buy West Side Story tix now and not wait. I'd book a cancelable hotel and keep an eye out for more sales. Otherwise, I don't think anything else in NYC has to be bought now.

I was serious asking about where you found the discount tickets for West Side Story in July. I don't know of any discounts. Or did you just mean "cheap seats" in balcony for that? If so fine, but Doug has it right. Even those may already be impossible to get for July at full price. Hurry if you want to see it at all.

Thanks for the advice, I got the seats through Ticketmaster, they are cheap seats, but they are seats... I'm getting very excited now.