How many times have you been driving home from work on a Friday and thought, "I wish I was going somewhere this weekend." Well, there is no reason to sigh and reach for the TV remote when you get home; you really could be headed out of town for a couple of days, courtesy of a last minute travel deal.

As it turns out, there are many people just like you who realize at the last moment that getting away sounds great, and travel companies, especially the online ones, have jumped in to fill that need. They offer a multitude of last minute travel deals that could have you on a sunny beach, frozen drink in hand, for a fraction of the cost of a weeklong excursion.

These last minute travel deals are especially appealing if you do not have a specific place you want to visit; as long as you are open to destinations you may not have chosen if you were planning an actual vacation, you can snap up two or three day packages to both domestic and international locations. You can save even more by taking the whole package instead of picking up all portions of your trip individually.

There is also the option of checking directly with airlines to see if they have any last minute travel deals available. There are so many instances in which a flight was not as booked as the airline anticipated so they offer dirt cheap fares to anyone willing to take the seats; after all, some money is better than no money for the airlines. It can take a bit of checking, but some of the larger carriers will also offer packages that include hotels and/or entertainment packages in their last minute travel deal.

Now, if surfing the web for a last minute travel deal sounds like more effort than you are willing to put forth, and you are wondering whether there is an even easier way to locate a good buy, you should know that many of those web sites have a feature that allows you to register your email address to receive information on upcoming specials and offers. This way, a last minute travel deal can find you instead of the other way around.

Thus, a last minute travel deal can be just the ticket to spending a couple of days in a different place, trying new things, as opposed to lounging on the couch with the remote in hand. With a few hundred dollars and an adventurous spirit, you can be in the air and on your way out of town in no time at all.