Book flights now or wait? How much baggage?

nextyeartina

We've not been away for nearly 10 years. We've had a tough few years & I want to surprise the kids with a week away. I've managed to book an apartment in Spain for a week in July. Do I book the flights now or hold out for a better deal? Ryanair are the best at the minute via Opodo. The other thing I'm not sure about is luggage. There will be 5 of us. Will I get away with hand luggage or will I have to book luggage on? If so, how much do I book? No idea . Thanks in advance


Tina x

PeacefulWaters

Do I book the flights now or hold out for a better deal?

Book flights now, for sure. It's highly unlikely that they'll get cheaper. Quite the opposite.

The golden rule is not to check the fare after you've paid!

Will I get away with hand luggage or will I have to book luggage on? If so, how much do I book?

Personal call.

I could certainly travel light with a 10kg allowance. Mrs PW couldn't. We'd take one suitcase between us for a two week holiday in the sun and another one for the kids.

If it's a sun bed only holiday you could almost certainly pack light into 5 x 10kg hand luggage bags. Things like sun cream (usually cheaper on offer in the UK), shampoos and shoes are often heaviest. You could travel in holiday sandals though and buy shampoo locally or share a bottle between five of you. It's Spain, it's July. You don't need coats and jumpers.

Perhaps practice with one 10kg bag for an adult and weigh it. If it works, no hold luggage needed - if you've got bags of the appropriate size.

Do look at their "flex" fares as these include hold luggage of 20kg each. But five cases would probably be overkill. I suspect you'll end up wanting two suitcases in addition to hand luggage.

If you're likely to bring back souvenirs, allow space / weight for the return journey.

Make sure you familiarise yourself around Ryanair's boarding pass rules and bag dimension rules.

via Opodo

Book direct with the airline.

If you don't have travel insurance with a bank account, remember to take a policy out too.

Read up on travel money cards. Metro Bank debit, Halifax Clarity credit and Kalixa prepay card will be better value than buying currency in advance. Most "normal" bank cards are poor value and should be held as an emergency backup only.

SW17

nextyeartina wrote: »

We've not been away for nearly 10 years. We've had a tough few years & I want to surprise the kids with a week away. I've managed to book an apartment in Spain for a week in July. Do I book the flights now or hold out for a better deal? Ryanair are the best at the minute via Opodo. The other thing I'm not sure about is luggage. There will be 5 of us. Will I get away with hand luggage or will I have to book luggage on? If so, how much do I book? No idea . Thanks in advance


Tina x

Luggage needs depend on a lot of things, e.g. If your kids are 3 teenage girls, packing light might be a challenge. Shoes are the enemy of travelling light. In the past with Ryanair, I've booked 2x 20kg and 2 x 15kg allowances for 2 adults and 2 under 10s, including toys/some beach stuff etc, and that was more than enough for 2 weeks (I travel very light myself, but not with family in tow...). You might get away with hand luggage if everyone is very disciplined and kids not too young, but unless money very tight, don't cut it too fine and be stressed about something like luggage.

Regarding booking, PeacefulWaters is right, book directly with. Ryanair. Nobody can sell Ryanair flights cheaper than Ryanair, almost certain Opodo either haven't included all charges, or didn't show the latest fare.

Get it booked now if you're ok with the price and don't look again to see if prices fell, sounds like you deserve the holiday and that includes minimising all pre-trip stress...

richardw

You've booked the apartment, so the flights need to fit with the apt arrival and departure days, so best to book the flights now. Book direct with the airline, use skyscanner to check if there are other airlines flights, then the airlines websites to check final prices.

With luggage, does the apt have a washing machine? How do you feel about doing laundry half way through the holiday. It'll be warm so it should dry very quickly.

Voyager2002

Do NOT use Opodo, nor E-Dreams (same company). They have so many bad reviews that if you want a stress-free holiday you should steer well clear of them. Simply use Sky-scanner to find affordable flights and then book direct with the airline. Note that flights on some airlines (but not Ryanair) may be cheaper through a reputable agent, but if you don't have the time and energy to read reviews and identify reliable agents then just book directly with the airline.

bagand96

The points been made multiple times already, but just to enforce it even more.... Do not touch Opodo or eDreams with a barge pole. They might quote cheaper but they almost certainly will have a hidden charge. They will also become a nightmare to deal with if anything changes.

Book direct with the airline then the only dealing is with you and them. Keeps it simple and it's very unlikely an agent can beat the airline direct anyhow.