For travelers like myself, who typically book trips months in advance, the idea of waiting until three days before departure to snap up an 11th-hour deal is positively unnerving.

On a recent Monday, to find out what could be pulled together at the last minute, I scoured the Internet for a three-night package leaving Atlanta for San Juan, Puerto Rico, on the coming Thursday.

Photo illustration by RICHARD WATKINS/AJC (ENLARGE)
EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR
LAST-MINUTE TRAVEL Last-minute travel: Flexibility is the key  Know where to click when vacation bug bites  Experts say: Register for e-mail alerts, try alternative destinations  She who hesitates is out an additional $400  Food fests, fun with marine life just a short hop away  Hit the road for music, mirth, mischief

This down-to-the-wire search produced the trip I wanted — a nonstop flight and a historic and highly rated hotel in Old San Juan — but the cost was a budget-buster. The price was steeper than if I had booked a week earlier. Or if I had been willing to choose another destination or stay at a less expensive hotel.

Yet there's something to be said for spontaneity: To get the urge to go — whether for a quick getaway or to visit friends or family — and then just do it.

Now and then, it can be exciting to live on the edge, to roll the dice, and maybe, just maybe, have a whim turn into a dream vacation or at least a memorable long-weekend escape.

Lots of people are doing it these days. The Travel Industry Association of America reports that 64 percent of leisure travelers, or 83.1 million U.S. adults, planned at least one of their trips within two weeks of departure. Twenty-five percent said they began planning their most recent last-minute trip one to two days in advance while 34 percent gave themselves three to seven days. And most stayed away no more than four days.

The Internet has opened up a world of possibilities, providing a marketplace for unsold flights, cruises, hotel rooms and vacation packages.

With the proliferation within the past decade of sites devoted to last-minute travel and the free e-mail alerts they offer to subscribers, it's obvious that however small, there's a market for foot-draggers who plan trips within a 14-day window. Site59 sells packages up to three hours before the jet taxis away from the gate.

Interestingly, however, the TIA reports only one in five last-minute travelers used the Internet to make reservations.

Expedia.com leisure travel expert Kari Swartz acknowledges that last-minute travel appeals to only "a small subset of travelers." Yet, consumer demand was great enough to convince Expedia to add an online store to feature its inventory of last-minute opportunities.

Expedia's annual Vacation Deprivation Survey reveals that, on average, American workers fail to take three of their earned vacation days. Swartz says the last-minute travel trend is in line with the survey findings.

"It's part of the culture of people who are taking shorter, more frequent getaways, trying to maximize their off time," she says.

The survey showed that 38 percent of Americans will take one weeklong trip and spread the remaining days throughout the year, and many of those turn out to be spur-of-the-moment trips.

Last-minute is relative. Some may book a day or two before travel; others, two weeks. But Sue Bruns of Greenville, S.C.-based 11th Hour Vacations says most visitors to the 11thhour.com Web site aren't truly waiting until the clock strikes midnight. They tend to book and travel within 45 days, down from 90 days in 1995 when the site was launched.

Bruns, vice president of the vacation travel division, warns against procrastination, no matter how far in advance you start looking for bargains.

"When you find a deal you like, buy it," she says. "What's here today most likely won't be here tomorrow."

That's because the deals offered at the last minute are based on excess inventory, the equivalent of what retail stores call overstock.

As I discovered during my search, the key to getting the best deals is flexibility. The chance of snagging a fabulous bargain increases if you're open to a variety of destinations and if you give yourself some wiggle room on when you travel. Also, you may have to settle for a flight that makes one or more connections. If you launch your search with a surprise-me attitude, you could find yourself jetting off to an Arizona spa or a Caribbean hideaway at an unbelievable price — as much as 70 percent off, if you believe the last-minute Web site pitches.

You can also save yourself the search and contact a travel agent. After multiple online searches, I called AAA Norcross World Travel on the Monday I booked my San Juan trip with LastMinuteTravel.com.

Within 15 minutes, general manager Don Furlong, who runs the agency with his wife, Doris, quoted me a price of $1,169 per person, double occupancy for three nights at the same hotel I'd booked, El Convento, and direct Delta flights. That price was only $71 more than the $1,098 for the online deal I spent hours and hours to find.

Bottom line: If you're a hands-on travel planner and don't mind — or actually enjoy — doing the research yourself, you may do better online. But a travel agent can do the work for you and provide guidance that could prove invaluable.

Furlong says agents have an inside track because often the best deals are from tour operators holding allotments of rooms and bulk seats on airlines.

"The other thing a good travel agent can do is, if something is not available, they can suggest something that maybe is even better than your first choice," he adds.

Furlong acknowledges that "Atlanta probably has more last-minute booking people than any other city. That's always been a trend in Atlanta, but since Sept. 11 [2001], a lot more people are booking further out."

He warns that with the recent upturn in the travel industry, waiting to book in hopes of saving money can be risky.

"This isn't a good year to be talking about last-minute because so much is sold out," he says.

Still, it's quite possible to get out of town on short notice. With a little determination, you could be jetting off this weekend.