Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - We're at the midpoint of summer vacation travel, which has bounced back in a big way from the pandemic, but is shifting again as we move into August.
"What happens in August is that places like Orlando, the Outer Banks and Myrtle Beach get really popular with people in Western New York because schools in the south starting heading back in mid August," said Elizabeth Carey at the Triple A of Western and Central New York.
"Space starts to open up and there cheaper prices at some of the theme parks. There are often better deals around the Outer Banks and along the East Coast."
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In addition, Carey said a lot of road trips are planned in the coming weeks, out west, to national parks.
Some people are visiting or calling the Triple A offices asking where they can still go in the final weeks of summer.
"There's still availability no matter where you want to go," added Carey. "I took a road trip to Ocean City, Maryland this summer, and I think we saw license plates from every state. East coast beaches were just filled with travelers."
Staycations are also very popular for the second half of summer. "People are trying to mix in the Erie County Fair with a trip to the Finger Lakes, for example. People want to go to Niagara Falls and Chautauqua, and also go to
the Finger Lakes, Thousand Islands and Adirondacks. They're asking about wine tours, brewery tours, and things like that."
This is a big year for international destinations, but a passport backlog is keeping many people from booking or making those trips.
"We were saying that you need to plan 3 months ahead. Now were saying that you need 6 months, to apply for a passport," said Carey, "because it's taking even longer than 3 months in some cases."
It's not just passport applications. The renewal process with the State Department is also taking extended periods of time.
The State Department is receiving a surge of applications, about 430-thousand each week. Turnaround time is approximately 13 weeks.
"My daughter just turned 16," noted Carey. "She went from a child passport to an adult passport." We applied for that in June and I haven't heard a word."
When should someone start the renewal process, if, let's say, they're in the 9th year of their passport?
The earlier the better, said Carey. "If your passport is expiring in six months, many destinations don't consider it valid anymore. You have to make sure that you're following the rules for your specific destination."