As the summer winds down and temperatures cool off, the deals for travel are just heating up.

If you’ve got some vacation time to use up before the end of the year, or have plans to travel next year, now is the time to take a look at airfares, according to industry experts.

Airlines will allow you to book up to 341 days before a trip, and low fares can already be found for March and April 2012 — months that are notoriously slow in the travel business. Meanwhile, you can find rock-bottom prices for travel after Thanksgiving but before Dec. 10. If you can avoid weekend flights, you’ll find even better rates hundreds of dollars lower than if you flew during the holiday hot times.

Getting the skinny on just how low you can book and when is the best time is easily done using several websites. At Travelocity.com, enter your starting point and destination, then click the “Flexible dates” to find what days offer the lowest rates.

International trips can be booked using Itasoftware. Go to their website at https://matrix1.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch or use their mobile application OnTheFly available for Apple devices to shop for airfares for any itinerary in the world.

Not sure where you want to go or when? There are several websites to help you ascertain a destination based on price and availability.

Head to Kayak.com or Sidestep.com to view a world map showing you all the latest pricing from a plethora of airlines with the trip starting from your hometown. Enter a time frame to reduce the search further.

If you’re interested in using combined airfare and hotel sites such as Priceline.com, find out what’s reasonable at biddingfortravel.com. You’ll hear from other travelers what places they’ve gone and for what price to help you budget your dream vacation.

For more savings tips and freebies visit the Here’s the Deal blog online at journal-news.com/go/bargains.