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 Sometimes you just have to get away. If your wanderlust gets the better of you and the traveler inside is itching to hit the road, there are several Web sites equipped to help -- and fast. Whether it be a weekend getaway or a full-blown vacation, the following Web sites are a few of a growing number that are wholly or in part dedicated to helping you plan a last-minute trip.
There's no doubt you'll score a great trip at a good price -- as long as you keep an open mind and stay flexible -- the cardinal rules of traveling last-minute on the cheap. Check out these five Web sites when the travel bug bites.
If you have a last-minute travel tip of your own, be sure to sound off in our poll. And don't forget to email all the details (and photos!) from your most recent travels, whether they be of the last-minute variety or not. Your trip report will be published on IndependentTraveler.com and featured in our newsletter in the coming months.
 Site59 recently unveiled a feature that allows passengers from different cities to travel together. Most Web sites only offer vacation packages that are valid from one city, but thanks to Site59 if you live in New York it is much easier to coordinate a trip to Las Vegas with your old college roommate who lives in Boston.
We gave the Web site's "Meet Me In" feature a try with these cities and came up with a flight and hotel package of $588 (for two travelers) including taxes and fees leaving in one week. Travelers can search flight results to coordinate arrival times. The "Meet Me In" feature is user-friendly and for a limited time, you can save $75 if you book before November 8. Enter MeetMeIn as the promo code.
 American Airlines has an area of its Web site devoted to travelers looking for last-minute weekend getaway packages. The packages can be purchased anywhere from 14 days in advance to just hours prior to departure. The packages require a Saturday night stay, and customers can travel from the Thursday prior to the Tuesday following in order to get the most out of their getaway.
Travelers have the option of booking a flight and rental car, flight and hotel (plus optional car rental) or hotel and car rental. At press time, packages for travel included a three-night Miami package for $279 per person including flight, hotel, taxes and fees. The site allows customers to upgrade their hotel choices (for a clearly stated price) and choose from a variety of flight departure times.
 LastMinuteTravel.com specializes in low prices on air, hotel, car rentals and vacation packages. The trouble is, the site is difficult to navigate and on several test cases (particularly for hotel bookings), the actual price was higher (varying from a few dollars to quite a few dollars) than the initial offer. However, results for a search for a flight to Denver yielded a price $30 less than the initial offer.
For travel this weekend, a four-star hotel in New York City is offered for $229 per night -- and the price held true when we went to book the room. Other, lesser quality hotels are offered from $57 per night.
 If you have a specific destination in mind, your best bet is to focus on a Web site that deals with one region specifically. CheapCaribbean.com has a last-minute area on its Web site that offers low-cost packages set to expire quickly. However, though you can't hem and haw about whether or not to go, you will often have plenty of time to plan -- some packages can be booked for travel several months out.
At press time, a seven-night package to Grand Bahama Island that includes round-trip airfare and hotel is available for $499 in December but has to be booked by August 11. If you can't wait that long to get away, you can leave this Saturday for a seven-night vacation to Barbados for $699 including round-trip air from several departure cities.
 If you know you want to get away but aren't sure where to go, look to a Web site that will let you search by your particular interests. American Express Travel has a last-minute deals section for travel the next two upcoming weekends. After you select your departure city, select an area of interest. Food & Wine predictably yielded results in the wine country of Northern California, but also offered less obvious options such as Baton Rouge, Charleston, Mexico City and Kansas City. A search for "Sun and Beach" vacations offered up results not only all over Florida but also in Corpus Christi, Belize, Panama City and Hilton Head Island.
 11thHourVacations.com is another site that offers customers the option to search by interest, but the real standout feature of this site is the "Weekly Specials" page. The page is user-friendly and lists specials by destination and departure city. A range of options are available from all-inclusive Caribbean packages, cruises, Disney vacations and getaways to Europe.
If you are flexible about your dates and amenities, you can to save up to 30 percent on your vacation rental by searching for last minute vacation rental deals. In the most popular vacation destinations, vacation renal home supply outweighs demand. One good resource is DestinationVillas.com, which offers weekly last-minute deals alerts by e-mail, tailored to your specific destination.
Related Links:
Vacation, Hotel, Airfare Bargains
Discount Airlines
Car Rental Bargains
Rental Car Hidden Costs
Hotels: Get the Best Rate
-- written by Genevieve S. Brown
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