Last minute deals - a myth?

Milky_Mocha

I keep hearing that the later you book your holiday the cheaper its likely to be and yet I get the opposite result during my searches. I've mainly been using expedia.co.uk as I've found them cheaper than lastminute.com or all the other sites I've tried. If you consistently get better deals when booking last minute could you please recommend which service you use?

I'm after a 3 or 4 night stay in a European city in a 4-star hotel. The cheaper the better! Budget is around £300 for 2 people sharing. Preferred time is June but am happy to change this for a cracking deal. I've found Milan to be more affordable than Rome. Not interested in Spain at the moment as I've already been and would like to try elsewhere.

Thanks for any suggestions.

saveapenny

Well for those sort of holidays it's not always cheaper to bok last minute, It mainly works out cheaper for charter airlines. Budget and schedule often work out more expensive the closer you are to departure.
I will run a search on ufly4less and tell you the rough prices for flights with budget airlines from london and manchester

Milky_Mocha

saveapenny wrote:

Well for those sort of holidays it's not always cheaper to bok last minute, It mainly works out cheaper for charter airlines. Budget and schedule often work out more expensive the closer you are to departure.
I will run a search on ufly4less and tell you the rough prices for flights with budget airlines from london and manchester

Thanks for that info. I was really wondering what I'm doing wrong. Don't bother with manchester. London and Kent would be fine.

Lucie_2

I agree with saveapenny - package holidays are often cheaper at the last minute, but for "independent" travel, you will more likely get better deals by booking early.

I am going to France/Spain for a few days in July & booked the flight / hotels / car hire just after Christmas. If I were going on a package holiday for a week in July I wouldn't have even started looking yet!

budgetflyer

Ok using this sites flightchecker.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/flightchecker/

I found the following
From London to Milan easily done in June for £2.99 (or less) +taxes EW
The flightchecker isnt 100% up to date so checking Ryanairs site , Fri 3 June to Mon 6th ,prices had changed but could still be flying away for £40 each Return

Alpharooms and Travelante have 4 star "Nasco" plus other 4 stars for under £120 for room for 3 nights. Drop to 3 star and were talking Astoria for under £60. Thats a tenner each per night!
I found all these with
http://www.hotelscomparison.com

There you go. Milan 3 nights in June ,4 star hotel ,over a weekend for £100 each. Easy

saveapenny

There are loads of bargains still to be had for the Med in June here is just a few


Web fare 0.99 GBP
Tue, 07 Jun 05
Flight 4152 06:30 Depart London Luton (LTN)
09:30 Arrive Milan Bergamo (BGY)
Coming Back
Web fare 5.99 GBP
Sat, 11 Jun 05
Flight 4153 19:25 Depart Milan Bergamo (BGY)
20:25 Arrive London Luton (LTN)

£30.85 PP

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Web fare 0.99 GBP

Wed, 15 Jun 05
Flight 3564 19:30 Depart London Luton (LTN)
22:25 Arrive Venice Treviso (TSF)

Coming Back
Web fare 0.99 GBP

Mon, 20 Jun 05
Flight 3565 22:50 Depart Venice Treviso (TSF)
23:50 Arrive London Luton (LTN)

£27.76 PP

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How about somthing different
Web fare 14.99 GBP
Mon, 06 Jun 05
Flight 232 06:25 Depart London Stansted (STN)
09:40 Arrive Alghero Sardinia (AHO)
Coming Back
Web fare 5.99 GBP
Thu, 09 Jun 05
Flight 233 20:40 Depart Alghero Sardinia (AHO)
22:10 Arrive London Stansted (STN)
£43.97 pp

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Differnet area of Italy?
Web fare 1.49 GBP
Mon, 20 Jun 05
Flight 4976 16:20 Depart London Stansted (STN)
20:10 Arrive Brindisi (BDS)
Coming Back
Web fare 9.99 GBP
Fri, 24 Jun 05
Flight 4977 20:35 Depart Brindisi (BDS)
22:25 Arrive London Stansted (STN)
£34.29
ALL THE ABOVE WITH RYAN AIR

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Again somthing differnet
Sunday 12 June
London Stansted to Copenhagen
flight 3561; dep. 07:00; arr. 09:50 £17.99
(per person)
Thursday 16 June
Copenhagen to London Stansted
flight 3568; dep. 21:30; arr. 22:20 £11.38
(per person)
£47.87 pp EASYJET

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Another Venice option

Web fare 0.99 GBP
Wed, 15 Jun 05
Flight 798 19:20 Depart London Stansted (STN)
22:15 Arrive Venice Treviso (TSF)
Coming Back
Web fare 0.99 GBP
Mon, 20 Jun 05
Flight 799 22:40 Depart Venice Treviso (TSF)
23:45 Arrive London Stansted (STN)
£27.86pp RYAN AIR

ALL THE PRICE ARE INCLUDING TAX

Milky_Mocha

Good gosh! There's definitely room for me to improve my search skills. Thanks for the suggestions, MSE'ers. I really appreciate your input.