whens best time to book a holiday?

glenandemm

hi guys me and my family havent been away since 2009 to florida, we did 3 yrs in a row costing 6k a time but this was just before the recession, times have been hard since and weve not been anywhere but this year we're determined to go somewhere for a week or two like spain etc but wondered is it worth waiting to last minute as were not bothered about where we go as long as its got a pool for kids and some sunshine! or i notice a lot of people seem to book around this time of year, are there bargains to be had or should i just wait?

Gloomendoom

If you decide to wait, keep an eye on this site...

http://www.holidaypirates.com/

delwynshd

The sales are on now

Youll get free child places with the tour operators if you book early

Del

zagfles

delwynshd wrote: »

The sales are on now

Youll get free child places with the tour operators if you book early

Del

Watch out for the usual con trick with "free" child places where you pay underoccupancy charges instead.

Eg book an apartment which sleeps 3 (2 adults and a child), and even though there's 3 of you in an apartment for 3, they claim you're "underoccupying" as you're only paying for 2 !!

(At least that used to happen the last time I looked into booking a package which was probably 5+ years ago - they may have cleaned up their act now ).

richardw

Perhaps cost up a cheap family holiday now to Salou with Ryanair to Reus and staying at good value accommodation just as a guide.

It could be better than waiting for something last minute that may never show up and be disappointed.

Moto2

Last minute deals are only going to exist if the TA get their sums wrong or some random event - like a heatwave at home - tempers demand.
The exact opposite is true too, if TAs get their sums wrong the other way round or we have very poor weather at home, supply could easily outstrip demand.
Eg events in Egypt helped push demand up for Christmas holidays to the Canaries cumulating in very little late availability and high prices.

zagfles

richardw wrote: »

Perhaps cost up a cheap family holiday now to Salou with Ryanair to Reus and staying at good value accommodation just as a guide.

It could be better than waiting for something last minute that may never show up and be disappointed.

Yes, if you're looking at going in the school holidays you're unlikely to get a decent priced package even last minute, but you could get a good deal if you DIY, you can get good value flights in August and good value accomodation particularly in the second half of Aug as a lot of the European schools have gone back then.

emma-uk

I've been looking at school holidays and finding package holidays are coming in cheaper than DIY! There are some great deals around at the moment!

stephb34

Price something up now and see how much it is, then decide if its a good price and what you want then book it, if your not sure or its too expensive then wait. The more requirements and restrictions you have the earlier you should book. Free child places generally only work out cheaper if you only have 1 child to 2 adults. You may get a bargain later in the year if trouble occurs somewhere ie like whats happened in Egypt or Tunisia but do you want to go to a place where they've had trouble. Unfortunately there's more questions than answers.

zagfles

emma-uk wrote: »

I've been looking at school holidays and finding package holidays are coming in cheaper than DIY! There are some great deals around at the moment!

Could you give a few examples please.

lea2012

There's some great deals with Ryanair at the minute. I know they aren't everyones favourites but as long as you play by their rules I have never ever had a problem with them yet.
I was looking at the MSE flightchecker yesterday and found flights to Majorca, Malaga, Faro and Alicante for under £150 yesterday. These were from Manchester and Liverpool for 7 nights and left between 24th July (when my little one finishes school)- 27th July. I didn't look at any hotels as we're not in a position to book yet but you can usually find some decent apartments for good prices if you look around.
But as others have said it's worth checking package prices as well just in case..