booking a solo holiday

musicdavid

I’m planning to book a 4 night holiday just for myself in a week or so (around Easter). I don’t mind where, but my budget is 'as low as possible' so I'm thinking Greece or the Canary Islands as it will be fairly warm (I do want to get away from the UK).

My main concern is how to go about getting the best deal.

My initial thought was to book a package. However, on Ice Lolly the prices state 'based on two people sharing'. Does this mean the actual cost is double??!

From reading previous posts, I’m getting the impression that it would be best to try and book the flight and hotel separately. If so, which companies/websites can people recommend? What general approach should I take to booking such a trip and save money?

Kernow666

easy to book a solo trip I do it all the time


flights go through Ryanair or Easyjet ( only use official sites )


check out for accommodation


booking.com
hotels.com


lots of the hotels you can book and cancel for free if you find a better deal elsewhere

musicdavid

Thanks.

What about when to book? Is last minute as possible the way to go?

comeandgo

I'd say book when the prices suit you. Look at skyscanner for cheap flights and then go direct to the airlines web pages and book direct. I use booking.com all the time and sometimes book a hotel that I know I can cancel at no charge and if one comes up cheaper, book it and cancel your original one.

musicdavid

comeandgo wrote: »

I'd say book when the prices suit you. Look at skyscanner for cheap flights and then go direct to the airlines web pages and book direct. I use booking.com all the time and sometimes book a hotel that I know I can cancel at no charge and if one comes up cheaper, book it and cancel your original one.

In your experience, do costs drop substantially nearer the day you're thinking of flying/ booking room? And if there's, say, a week to go would there be much difference as each day goes by?

The closer I leave it, the less chance I have of getting a hotel in the place I'm flying to, I guess.

comeandgo

I've never been able to get really cheap deals, flights I find definitely book ahead and Tuesday flights are on average cheaper than other days. Some hotels will have up to 30% off at odd times, just keep looking on the booking.com web pages or you could go direct to the hotel and see if they can give you a better price.

Alan_Bowen

If you are travelling at a peak time, and it seems you are, book sooner rather than later. In the old days the charter operators did sell seats off cheaply at the last moment but with the low cost carriers such as easyjet, the fares go up not down. With only 2 weeks to go, and everyone going to Spain and the Canary Islands this year, bargains may be hard to come by. Check that you can find accommodation you like and then book the flights now if you really have to travel over the Easter holidays

tomtontom

You're going to struggle to get a really good deal over the school holidays, prices are even higher than normal this year. I'd start looking now, and look at both packages (will be limited options for just four nights) and booking separately.

rachhh

Thomas Cook and Thomson websites are surprisingly good for solo travellers!
You can also select 'Everywhere' as the destination then sort by cheapest.
I've just booked a week in Gran Canaria, 4* in June - £370 for my flight, hotel and transfer with Thomson.

Alan_Bowen

For those in the know, June is always good value due to exam season in schools and Universities. This year is even worse for the travel industry as no one wants to travel during the European Championships until England are kicked out and we have something special happening on June 23rd..

However the prices for Easter, Half Term and the Summer are very high already. There will be no last minute bargains to Spain or Portugal this year, last minute holidays will be to Turkey.........

Doshwaster

I would avoid traditional package holiday companies for solo trips as their business model is based on couple and families but you can get some good deals on flight+hotel type bookings through the likes of Expedia, Alpharooms etc. I've had some excellent value trips through British Airways City Breaks.

However, I would think twice about going away for Easter as it will be peak prices and everywhere will be crowded. I did look at going away myself but the prices were just silly. Better to wait a few weeks until the schools are back and then you'll get something for less than half the price.