TRAVEL DIGEST || Dates to avoid

Dates to avoid

By now, most savvy air travelers know that the best time to book a flight is about six to eight weeks before the departure date. But flying on certain days is going to cost more, no matter when you book. Rick Seaney, chief executive of the website Farecompare.com, has analyzed airfare data to calculate which dates to avoid in 2016 if you want to save money:

March 17: Airfares peak on this date as traveler’s head out for Spring Break.

May 17: Airlines increase fares on this date for travelers flying for summer vacations.

June 10: Airfares jump again on this date as demand grows for summer travel.

July 31: After this date, weekday fares for summer travel will begin to drop.

Aug. 22: After this date, summer airfares will begin to decline.

Nov. 23 and 27: For travelers flying for Thanksgiving, avoid the high fares on these days.

Geography quiz

Q. The Great Dismal Swamp is a marshy area that stretches from Virginia south into what other state?

A. North Carolina. The Great Dismal Swamp is the largest intact remnant of a vast habitat that once covered more than 1 million acres of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.

Ice cave visits

BAYFIELD, Wis.

The National Park Service says it’s less likely the extraordinary ice cave formations that have drawn tens of thousands of people to the Apostle Island National Lakeshore will be accessible this year.

Warmer weather has, so far, created unsafe ice conditions at Wisconsin’s Lake Superior shore.

During the winter of 2014, more than 138,000 people visited the lakeshore caves and the majestic ice formations. It was the first time in five years that the caves were accessible.

Combined dispatches