LIers taking to roads, skies as summer travel heats up

After two summers of cocooning close to home, many Long Islanders are being drawn out of staycation mode by increasing confidence in the economy, a perception of good but temporary travel deals, and the need to get away and replenish.

This Memorial Day weekend alone, travel in the Mid-Atlantic region that includes New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania was expected to be up by 8 percent over last year, according to the AAA's annual travel forecast report. Gurney's Inn in Montauk, not fully booked this time last year, sold out for the Memorial Day weekend by the middle of the month, said a spokeswoman. And at Austin Travel in Melville, sales are up by more than 30 percent, much of it for summer bookings, said Roz Resnick, vice president of leisure travel.

Long Islanders are searching for and taking advantage of the best deals.

"We feel we've weathered the worst of the economy and things do look like they're on the upswing. We feel more comfortable spending money," said Shea Lerner, 40, of Plainview. He upgraded his family's annual Las Vegas summer trip to a penthouse suite, adding about $2,000 to their eight-night stay. "This may be the last time to take advantage of such deals for a while," he said.

Overall, summer travelers can expect good prices at hotels and on Amtrak, but will pay more for airline tickets and car rentals.

Room and board

U.S. hotel room rates are expected to fall again this summer, according to Smith Travel Research Hendersonville, Tenn., but occupancy is expected to rise. As more travelers dust off their suitcases, increasing demand will allow hotels to raise rates, though likely not until 2011, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report.

That means "hoteliers will be looking to get people into rooms," and in many cases "they'll throw a perk or a bonus in if you just ask," said Taylor Cole of Hotels.com.

If you forgo peak-season travel, you can also save money. That's what Tom Dougherty of Huntington Station did. He, his wife and three sons will spend 10 days in the Turks and Caicos Islands. They will pay about $5,000 for a two-bedroom suite, half off the high-season price.

If you're bound for Europe you'll face rising hotel rates, according to the Trivago Hotel Price Index, but also a declining euro as Europe deals with a credit crisis.

In March, Barbara Mehlman, more hopeful about the economy than last year - when she spent an extended weekend in Vermont - booked a 10-day trip to Rome and Perugia, prepaying for lodgings. Had she booked accommodations now, she would have benefitted from the falling euro, but that rate should still serve her well during her travels.

Now that she's in a traveling mood, Mehlman, 67, a school librarian from Great Neck, is planning her 2011 trip, to Botswana.

Up, up and away

Those traveling by air will have to plan early, expect higher fares than last summer and, if they're looking for a deal, be flexible about departure dates and destinations, industry experts said.

"In this historical context, it's not as painful as it could be, but it will certainly be a shock to the system for people seeing $400 and $600 for Vegas when they paid under $200 last year," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of Farecompare.com, an airline ticket shopping website.

Pent-up demand, volcanic ash wreaking havoc and recession service cutbacks mean domestic flights will be packed, experts said. Passengers flying U.S. airlines worldwide this summer are expected to rise 1 percent, said the Air Transport Association of America. On top of that, jet fuel costs are higher than last season and airlines still are struggling to make a profit.

One result: Big airlines have added surcharges between $10 and $30 for peak travel days or just about every day between June 10 and Aug. 22 except for July 4, Farecompare.com said.

Prices for summer fares in general are about 20 percent higher than last season, when they were at decade lows, Seaney said. But they could be double or triple for certain nonstop routes - something Audrey Capozzi, 68, of Bellport, discovered. She opted for a $500 one-stop ticket to St. Louis, Mo., over the Memorial Day weekend instead of a $1,200 nonstop fare.

Still, there are ways to find good prices for air travel. Airlines and travel sites offer services that notify consumers of promotions or price alerts through e-mail and Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Behind the wheel

Travelers can expect car rental rates to be about the same as last summer - in other words, relatively high, said Neil Abrams, a veteran consultant to the auto rental industry who is based in Purchase. It's a simple matter of supply and demand, he said. The rental companies responded to the recession by reducing their car purchases - the industry is buying 40 percent fewer cars than in 2005, he noted. So, fleets are smaller, even as an improving economy motivates more Americans to travel. "Rental cars will be in demand," Abrams said.

Riding the rails

Expect Amtrak stations and trains to be busy this summer. The railroad is on its way to a record year for passenger traffic and recently announced a new timetable that it said includes more trains and "improved" schedules.

President and chief executive Joseph Boardman said Amtrak is adding capacity because of "record ridership" in recent months - 13.6 million from October through March.

In the Northeast Corridor, the railroad said it restored checked baggage service on the Cardinal, between New York and Chicago, thanks to restoration of its baggage car, which had been removed in 2003 due to equipment shortages.

The railroad runs about 300 trains a day.

Special promotions this summer are on its website at amtrak.com. They include fares of under $20 on the Auto Train from Washington to Orlando and discounts of up to 25 percent for 14-day advance purchase of tickets from New York to Washington and five other Northeast destinations.

Cesar Garcia, 35, and his wife will be sticking closer to home in North Babylon, planning short driving trips or taking advantage of Amtrak's fares to Boston or Rhode Island. Last year, too, they took the staycation route, but "as new parents, my goal this year is to show him [son Ryan] around water parks on Long Island and possibly New Jersey for Great Adventure," he said.

With Keiko Morris

and Tom Incantalupo

Have fun, take precautions

People on vacation often let their guard down, so to avoid having your holiday marred by theft, follow this advice from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

• Clean out your wallet and leave at home any unnecessary credit cards or other documents with personal information. Make copies of the credit cards and documents you do carry with you.

• Do take two credit cards, just in case one becomes inactivated or damaged.

• Alert your card issuer of your travel plans if it provides enhanced fraud protection and disables an account when unusual transactions are detected.

• Stick with ATMs at banks or credit unions in well-lit areas.

• Resist sharing your travel plans on social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter. It's simply a digital way to alert criminals that you'll be away from home.

- Patricia Kitchen