It's Not Too Early to Plan Your Summer Vacation, AAA Travel Says

AURORA, Ill., Feb. 26, 2004 -- It's hard to think of summer when the temperature still hovers near freezing, but it's not too early to plan a summer vacation, AAA Travel says.

Space is tight for many destinations in Europe. "If you're thinking of traveling overseas, stop thinking and start planning," said Alexandra Petropoulos, Director of Travel. In recent years, people have been hesitant to travel far from home, but some tours and cruises in Europe are already sold out for 2004. This is a big change from 2003 when some Mediterranean cruises were canceled because there were not enough passengers.

  Petropoulos offered four tips for planning a summer vacation:
  1. Plan early for a family vacation. Schedules quickly fill up with
     activities so set aside a week or two now before the summer slips away.
  2. Summer cruise ships have limited capacity, especially in the Caribbean.
     Some ships head to Alaska from May until September so there are not as
     many ships available to service the Caribbean.
  3. Plan early for a trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando. It's always a
     top destination for families and rooms fill up quickly.
  4. Many families travel to the Riviera Maya in Mexico during the summer
     and tours and hotel rooms fill up quickly, especially at the beginning
     of June or end of August.

For more information about travel visit www.aaa.com or your local AAA branch office.

AAA Chicago offers automotive, travel, insurance and financial services. It is part of The Auto Club Group (ACG), the largest affiliation of AAA clubs in the Midwest, with 4.1 million members in eight states. ACG clubs belong to the national AAA federation, a not-for-profit organization, with more than 46 million members in the United States and Canada.