AccuWeather spoke with Expedia travel expert, Melaine Fish, who shares some attractive destinations for fall traveling as well as fun ideas to enjoy the changing season.
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00:00 It is meteorological fall.
00:01 An astronomical fall is right around the corner.
00:05 It has caught us.
00:06 - And for many, it's the favorite time of the year,
00:07 including me, for different reasons.
00:10 - Different reasons.
00:11 - Mine is football.
00:12 I stick my head out now and then.
00:14 But for you, you're a travel buff.
00:16 - I am a travel buff. - You're going everywhere.
00:17 - I love fall travel.
00:18 - You know how many bucket list locations
00:21 you told me about that before you die,
00:22 you need to have this?
00:23 There's a thousand of them.
00:25 - I just have a lot of things I really wanna do.
00:26 And for those of us, you know, like me, like Bernie,
00:30 who love fall, the smell of pumpkin spice in the air.
00:34 - So so for me.
00:35 - It's delightful.
00:36 Vacation fun does not have to end with summer.
00:39 Don't forget that.
00:40 - No, and joining us live from Austin.
00:42 (laughing)
00:43 Well, I'm sure she's in air conditioning right now.
00:46 (laughing)
00:48 To talk about fall travel ideas
00:50 is Expedia travel expert, Melanie Fish.
00:53 Melanie, thanks for joining us again.
00:54 Again, it was like five minutes ago.
00:56 We were talking about Labor Day.
00:58 - Yeah, it really was.
00:59 But now here comes fall.
01:00 What are some good destinations for people?
01:03 - See, it's funny that you talk about pumpkin spice
01:06 and sweaters and fall foliage
01:07 when you're talking about fall travel,
01:10 but it really does run the gamut.
01:12 Fall travel means going to the beach.
01:15 I mean, after all, in a lot of places,
01:17 the temperature has dropped like 1%
01:19 from last week to this week,
01:21 but those private vacation home prices
01:23 have dropped 20% or more
01:25 because Labor Day has passed,
01:27 the busy summer season has passed.
01:29 We have those fall foliage trips.
01:31 And then a lot of people put off their European vacations
01:35 because they were waiting for that heat
01:37 and the crowds to dissipate.
01:38 So I'm seeing a lot of travel still happening to Europe.
01:42 Put me in that crowd.
01:43 I'm heading to Italy in a couple of weeks.
01:45 - Well, lucky for you.
01:46 - I'm actually heading to Ireland later this month.
01:48 So I'm so excited.
01:49 I'm right there with you, Melanie.
01:50 - Maybe you guys could meet in the middle.
01:51 - Yeah, we'll go find a country in between.
01:54 - Love it.
01:55 What about the viewing for fall foliage though?
01:58 Should folks think about driving instead of flying
02:00 to catch a few beautiful views along the way?
02:04 - Well, I love that idea
02:05 if you're somewhere close to that gorgeous fall color,
02:10 but I live in Texas, so that's kind of a hype.
02:12 So I'm looking at flights, you can drive.
02:15 And so when I'm thinking about where to recommend
02:18 to see some really beautiful fall foliage,
02:20 I don't want to recommend the obvious,
02:21 like head to New England, duh, we know that.
02:25 I'm looking at other places that have those gorgeous colors.
02:29 And then I'm looking at that list overlapped
02:32 with where I'm seeing average flight routes dip like 20%.
02:37 And that means my recommendation
02:39 for fall foliage viewing is Colorado.
02:43 I'm seeing some great affordable airfares.
02:45 The leaves are beautiful, fly into Denver,
02:47 grab a car, drive through the mountains.
02:49 I think that's your best bet.
02:50 It is truly shoulder season in Colorado.
02:54 So that window after the busy summer vacation season
02:57 and before ski season starts.
02:59 So not only are flights at a really good price,
03:01 but you can get some great accommodations at a good price.
03:04 - Love that, okay.
03:06 As we look at those places
03:08 that maybe are priced a little bit better like Colorado,
03:10 are there summer destinations that might be better
03:13 for that discount during the fall?
03:14 You had mentioned Colorado.
03:16 I mean, the beaches as well, it sounds like.
03:19 - Well, searches are up for flights
03:21 across the board in the Expedia app.
03:23 So people are traveling.
03:25 It's really a grab bag of the places
03:27 where I'm seeing those dropping airfares.
03:30 So we have Juneau, Alaska.
03:32 We have Chicago, which I love for a weekend getaway,
03:36 either late summer or fall.
03:38 But then we have Oslo for an international destination
03:41 where there are some great fares.
03:43 Tokyo, Asia has just been booming
03:46 throughout the summer and beyond.
03:47 And then Florence, Italy, I mentioned Italy.
03:50 That's a good spot for the fall.
03:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]