Staycations are, like, so last summer, according to the Annual Summer Travel Survey by our sister site Kayak.com. Of the 4,100 people in this year’s survey, an impressive 95 percent said they plan to travel this summer. And while travelers remain concious of the economy, more than 41 percent of respondants said the recession would not affect their summer travel plans in any way.

Why the enthusiam for travel this summer? For one thing, lower airfares and frequent fare sales are making it more affordable to fly in ‘09, while an abundance of travel deals are taking some of the burden off lodging at resorts and hotels.

For summer trips, major U.S. cities and European countries are among the most popular destinations, while domestic beaches and the Caribbean are close runners up.

Even though they plan to travel this summeer, travelers say they are embracing all the cost-saving strategies they can find. To help travelers stay on top of extra fees and find the best deals available, Kayak has launched new tools that include a baggage fee calculator to instantly add additional fees and update airfare prices on its search results page, a hotel rate calendar that shows the average daily rate over the last two months for any of its 197,000+ hotels and an option to select the airports you want searched when you look for airfare.

Along with its own travel tools, Kayak offered up the following tips and reminders for recession-proofing your summer 2009 vacation:

- Try a cruise if you’re looking for a serious bargain

- The Caribbean offers many deals during summer months

- Visiting Europe is much cheaper this summer now that fuel surcharges are gone and the dollar is strengthening against the Euro and British Pound

For more ways to save, try Kayak.com tools such as Kayak Flexible Search, Weekend Search, Buzz Calendar, Airfare History charts and Fare Alert tracker.

Keep reading the TravelPost.com Insider’s deals section for more ways to save on your summer 2009 travel….

For travelers during the down economy, it’s becoming more important than ever to research hotels carefully before booking. Who knows, you might find out that your hotel has halted a partial renovation to drum up extra cash, a trend the New York Times reports is growing among hoteliers.

And when that happens, one floor can make all the difference in your stay. Take the Hotel Vertigo in San Francisco, for example. Formerly the York Hotel (as TravelPosters’ uploaded photos reveal), the property offers the smartly renovated rooms shown above on its fourth floor, while the third floor remains unchanged. Yes, rates for yet-to-be renovated rooms are apparently lower, but many travelers don’t mind shelling out a few extra bucks for a better room.

So how’s a traveler to know what to expect? Our two favorite methods:

- Reading hotel reviews before you book

- Calling the hotel directly to ask whether the hotel is undergoing renovations or has temporarily closed any facilities

Keep reading the TravelPost Insider for more recent travel news….

The National Parks Traveler blog reports this week that there are some special spring lodging deals afoot in Sequoia and Olympic National Parks, as well as the Lake Powell National Recreation Area.

They range from $109 and $149 rooms available for a handful of April and May dates at Sequoia’s Wuksachi Lodge to an Earth Day vacation promo at Olympic’s Lake Quinault Lodge that treats guests to a reduced rate of $109 in exchange for volunteer help cleaning up the surrounding rain forest. You’ll want to check the lodge’s web site for details on that. And there are yet more deals to be had at the Kalaloch Lodge and Lake Powell Resort.

You’ll find all the details on the National Parks Traveler blog, as well as on each lodge’s individual web site.

Continue reading for more travel and hotel deals….

Travelers, you’ve got until April 3 to pay $75 a night at The Jane Hotel in Manhattan’s West Village. On that day, rates at the New York micro-hotel – where rooms are about the size of a closet and feature free w-fi and 350-thread-count sheets – jump up to $99 per night.

Touted as a budget-friendly option for travelers willing to sacrifice ensuite bathrooms and square footage, The Jane mimics the college dorm experience with public bathrooms on each floor, but ups the ante with such in-room amenities as DVD players, 23-inch flat screen TVs and iPod docking stations.

Even with the rate increase early next month, the hotel’s under-$100 nightly rate is sure to be an attractive one for many visitors to the Big Apple and is reportedly already a hit with youg international travelers and business travelers looking to save.

If visiting the impressively eco-minded and kid-friendly California Academy of Sciences (the living roof is pictured here) during your next San Francisco trip is a must-do (as it seems to be for every man, woman and child to hit the city since its re-opening in Golden Gate Park last fall), here are 5 essential things you’ll want to know before you go:

1. Purchase tickets in advance. When you buy tickets online before you go, you’ll be able to skip the line at the ticket window and proceed directly to the front door.

2. Prepare for crowds. On a recent Sunday afternoon visit, the place was so crowded that it was difficult to get an unobstructed view of the exhibit tanks in the Steinhart Aquarium or make it to the front of the crowd oohing and ahhing over the creatures in the hands-on tidepool. On weekends, expect waits of up to an hour to enter the four-level living Rainforest and plan on tickets for Planetarium shows selling out before noon.

3. Take public transportation, if possible. There are underground parking garages, but they fill up fast (they serve all visitors to Golden Gate Park, not just those heading to the Academy) and there’s often a slow line of traffic waiting to get in. Buses that stop a short walk from the venue include the #5-Fulton and #21-Hayes, as well as the N-Judah streetcar. If you do drive, consider parking near Ninth & Irving in the Inner Sunset neighborhood (a short walk away and also a great place to stop before or after the visit for food, drinks or shopping).

4. Visit on free admission days. If you can stand the crowds that descend here on free days, you’ll save yourself the hefty ticket price ($14.95 for kids, $24.95 for adults). Admission is free on every third Wednesday of the month, as well as on special neighborhood free days on weekends throughout the year for San Francisco residents.

5. Request Planetarium tickets when you arrive. Tickets for the popular Planetarium shows (every hour on the half-hour) are free with general admission, but they are only available on a first-come, first-served basis and can easily run out in the morning for afternoon shows. If you’d like to see a show during your visit, head to the kiosk at the Planetarium entrance as soon as you arrive to up your chances of scoring seats for your preferred showtime.

[Photo: Marlith]

Hotels around the country jumping on the tax-free stay bandwagon with promotions offering to cover those pesky additional costs:

The New York Helmsley: We hear that this famed Manhattan hotel is running a promotion on April 15 that knocks all taxes off the room rates – which would mean a savings of $39 on a city king room from what we can tell from the online reservation system. The deal isn’t listed on the hotel web site, so be sure to call the hotel directly and inquire about the tax-free promo if you’re interested.

Kimpton Hotels: The boutique hotel chain is offering to pay guests’ room tax for overnight stays and tax on meals purchased at its restaurants during April. Book the Sweet Tax Relief Package, and you’ll receive overnight accommodations, late-checkout when available, a grab bag of candy along with the tax break.

Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino: This Lemoore, Calif. hotel and casino is enticing guests a series of prizes and contests every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday night from March 23 to April 15 with its Tachi Tax Relief promo.

Joie de Vivre Hotels: Through April 15, the California boutique hotel group will pay guests’ occupancy taxes, which can be as high as 14 percent of the room rate. The offer is good at any of JDV’s 30 properties. For details, check out the press release.

- We hear that the Rabbit Hill Inn (pictured) in Vermont is offering one getaway each month to guests who have been laid off for six months or more.

- No wonder Hawaiian tourism officials are so peeved at SNL. The island destination is reportedly struggling to attract tourists. The latest bad news? Hawaii hotels are battling the biggest drop in hotel rates in 16 years.

- One man finds out that a lifetime travel pass from American Airlines really only means about 20 years.

- A Yale student hit US Airways with a $1 million lawsuit over a missing Xbox 360 game console. Hey, a kid’s gotta have his games.

- Thanks to a worsening economy, Delta plans to reduce international capacity by an additional 10 percent on top of a 6-8 percent system-wide downsizing taking place this year.

- Heading to South America? Get a lesson in how not to drink psychedelic ayahuasca tea from a Gadling writer.

- Campgrounds are officially open now that spring has sprung in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

- Perhaps realizing that teens just about anywhere will be teens when given the chance, France is thinking about raising its legal drinking age to 18.

- NileGuide gives us the lowdown on the best travel sandals. We’ll second their plea that you not wear them with socks.

- Hilary Clinton chose the King David Hotel (pictured) during her visit to Israel.

- Now’s the time to get in on the next Geo-Tourism Challenge from National Geographic and Ashoka Changemakers.

- Somalia might not be the best place to go on a cruise right now. Just sayin’.

- Remember that humiliating video of a woman losing it at the airport? Cathay Pacific feels bad and has apologized for leaking the video to the Internets, thereby drawing yet more attention to the incident.

- Looking for a bargain destination this year? SmarterTravel lists its picks for The Top Five Bargain Destinations for Spring 2009.

- Some idiot in Seattle is distracting incoming planes with a laser pointer.

- Brr. It’s cold. Good thing the Travel Gear Blog has a roundup of the best down sleeping bags.

- Gadling reports that Ryanair will not install coin-operated toilets on its planes, after all. Instead, passengers will need a credit card to do their business.

- Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively reportedly made an appearance at NYC’s Hotel on Rivington this week.

- And last but not least, Daylight Savings begins this weekend.

[Photo: yosefsilver.com via Flickr]

Visit: Hollywood Cemetery. It may sound slightly morbid, but trust us on this one. Not only does a stroll through this landscaped, park-like landmark offer must-see views of the James River beyond, it is rife with nuggets of American history. Its 135 acres are home to the final resting places of two U.S. presidents, six governors, two Supreme Court justices and thousands of soldiers.

See: Maymont (pictured). A classic destination for anyone who visits Virginia’s capital, this 100-acre property houses opulent themed gardens, a children’s farm where kids can feed and touch the resident chickens and goats, outdoor wildlife exhibuts, a roving band of peacocks and an 1893 mansion open for daily tours.

Eat: Millie’s Diner. Laid back, yet serving food that’s constantly racking up accolades from both locals and visiting foodies, this downtown mainstay keeps things fresh with a menu that changes every three weeks.

Drink: Legend Brewing. Visit on Saturday at 1 p.m. for a free tour of the local alemaker’s on-site brewer or go anytime for pints in the pub or on the deck overlooking the James River.

Buy: Virginia peanuts. Smugly enjoy your superior stash on the ride home.

[Photo: jimbrickett via Flickr]

Okay, we admit that, at this point, you’ve really only got about 12 hours to take advantage of the 24 Hour promo from Spirit Airlines. It ends tonight at midnight EST. Until then, you can enter the promo code 24HOURS when you book a roundtrip flight via the airline’s web site and pay $24 less than you would had you booked through the airline’s reservation center.

When you get down to reading the fine print, you’ll discover that the promotion is actually less of a great deal and more a sign of the times. What do we mean by that? Well, the $24 discount is only available for online bookings and already includes the $10 you’d save on a roundtrip flight for booking online (you could also look at the higher prices the airline charges for phone bookings as extra fees). So you’re really only saving $14 for the roundtrip flight, $7 each way. And when it comes down to it, $7 isn’t really worth jumping up and down about.

But what is interesting here is the promo code itself. Traditionally used by retail shopping sites, promo codes are fast becoming integral parts of the online travel marketplace – not to mention the latest way for travelers to shave dollars off the cost of their next trip. Keep an eye out for more of these from both low-cost and major carriers. Your best bet for finding out about them in a timely fashion (other than reading your favorite travel blogs, of course)? Signing up for newsletters,  friending travel companies on Facebook and following them on Twitter.