Best time to book a holiday?

elsmandino

Hi there.

I am a pretty laidback (ahem - disorganised) person and have always tended to book holidays quite a short time beforehand.

Over the last few years, I have realised that (sadly) life does not work like that anymore and that I need to be more organised with things like holidays, especially.

As a very general rule, how long in advance should I start looking for a holiday?  In particular, all-inclusive package holidays?

I know that looking too late is an issue but you can also book too early, as the market gauges demand and thus also get a bad deal.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

eskbanker

I think that, as the technology and algorithms become more sophisticated, it's harder to predict optimum times to jump in, as if it was too predictable then everyone would try doing so, which would eventually be self-defeating!

If you have a specific holiday in mind, i.e. knowing dates, destination, flights, provider, etc, then perhaps worth sharing to see if anyone can offer thoughts relevant to your particular requirement, as it'll probably vary a lot rather than being something that can be generalised....

TELLIT01

There is no 'best' time.  You may get a bargain if you try to book close to the departure date, but you may find nothing available for the places and dates you want.  If you are totally flexible on location then late booking is more likely to find you a saving.  If you have set dates, or a tight window, for travelling I think it's better, certainly safer, to book when you see something you fancy.  Just don't check prices after you have booked.

IvanOpinion

There are 3 distinct times that I have heard various people suggest in the past.

• 13 months in advance - if you want your choice of destination, hotel, flights etc.
• 2-3 months in advance. This is when final payment is due, so some will cancel because they can't go or no longer want to go. There will be limited choice.
• last minute. This is when some tour operators and hotels will try to get anything they can for unsold spaces. You have to be willing to take what is available, so it may not be your preferred resort or hotel. You may also struggle to get a flight from your preferred airport.

Travel agents may offer discounts on bookings made near a public holiday, christmas, black friday etc.. Plus keep an eye on the cashback sites which may have additional cashback at certain times of the year.

If you keep looking at a holiday or flight then some people claim that the cost can go up, so they suggest clearing browser caches and cookies before looking - I have never experienced this myself.

Personally I would suggest just keep watching the prices and then buy when it is at a level you are comfortable with. I would also suggest always have a plan-B in case your preferred hotel sells out (one of the best hotels we found happened to be our plan-B, not the one we originally picked).

elsmandino

Thanks very much for all that - really helpful.

I had also heard about cookies increasing costs and always search for holidays in incognito mode.

If booking 13 months in advance is possible, I suppose I see no reason why I should not try that.  I have never booked anything that far in advance but I suppose I should get used to it.

I was thinking of going a bit further afield this year (I tend to stay in Europe) and was thinking of giving Cancun a try in August 2025, so will start looking in early July of this year.

I have to admit that all this booking in advance does seem to take the joy out of a lot things.  I used to love the days of going to see a comedian with just a week's notice or taking a random long train journey by turning up on the day - seems you have to do this weeks, months or even years in advance just to avoid paying a very heavy penalty.

NoodleDoodleMan

The "best" time to book a holiday is when you are happy with the price quoted IMO.

There is no magic formula for predicting rising/falling prices, in my experience they generally rise the longer you wait, sometimes modestly, other times not so.

We have a favourite adult only hotel in Spain and I look at booking about 6 months (ish) in advance - this year the price went up a fair bit from the time I made the reservation moving onwards into 2024, we ended getting a 10 nights package for a few quid more than the equivalent 7 nights if I had held off.

There are a limited number of seats on flights and hotel accommodation - so delaying can reduce options the longer you wait out.

There can be decent bargains late on - but maybe not the range of choice you seek.

Neil49

The other option is to consider at what time of the year many people start to book their holidays - I'm thinking just after Christmas and early in the New Year when the travel companies swamp us with advertising.

Based on that, when are people less inclined to book and to that I would say October, November and early December. I would certainly start looking for deals around this time. You can be pretty sure that the January promotions have inflated prices and flights will get booked up pretty quickly. 

twopenny

You can sign up to airlines for sales rather than deals.

You can get seats or go for the full flight/transfers/hotel. This gives you a selection which narrows down choice which can be a good thing.

I've done last minute with TUI which was about 10weeks before leaving - or 6. That works well for me as a last minuter.

If you are solo then last minute is often a reasonable choice for coach or flight as there's often one or two left.

N3chifor

For all-inclusive package holidays, the sweet spot is usually 6-12 months in advance for the best deals and availability. You can look here at Special offers, they have quite affordable prices.

TELLIT01

The son of a friend booked on Tuesday and travelled on the Saturday.  He got a great deal.  If you are flexible on where you go and time of flight there will be plenty of very late deals available.

DullGreyGuy

elsmandino said:

I am a pretty laidback (ahem - disorganised) person and have always tended to book holidays quite a short time beforehand.

Over the last few years, I have realised that (sadly) life does not work like that anymore and that I need to be more organised with things like holidays, especially.

As a very general rule, how long in advance should I start looking for a holiday?  In particular, all-inclusive package holidays?

I know that looking too late is an issue but you can also book too early, as the market gauges demand and thus also get a bad deal.

Price is based on supply and demand including both "now" and their forecast. Some things have a fixed quantity prebought so will get sold off cheaper later if bookings are low whereas others are not pre bought so prices can go in either direction as time goes on. 

If you want to stay at a particular hotel or in a particular class of cabin on a cruise etc then you're probably better off buying early. If you are highly flexible then last minute can grab you a bargain that for some reason has undersold... you may wonder why its undersold but thats another matter. Your flex may have to include not going at all as prices can spike right at the end.

Last package we bought, long time ago as we dont like AI or other restrictions generally, started at £1,200pp, peaked at £1,500, drifted down to £900 (8 places left), we bought at £850 (6 places left), went down to £800 (4 places left), then back up to £1,100 (1 places left) and then was sold out.