What's considered the optimum time to book a package holiday ?

[Vespa]

As stated in the question how early would you book to get a good value package holiday, which company gives best value in your experience ?

With high holiday prices nowadays I'm considering my options.

Thanks

 

[westv]

If you want a specific hotel I would book it as soon as you know you want to go.
If you don't care where you go or with whom then waiting might pay off.

 

[Ken X]

Not that I would recommend it, a colleague of mine is a fisherman.

His holiday strategy is to keep an eye on the weather and if, on a Friday morning, the next week is looking rubbish, he pops into the travel agent and books something departing on the Saturday. He reckons he gets some cracking deals but does end up in some interesting places.

 

[BigDog]

If I were to guess I'd say just after Christmas.

 

[thejuggler]

There's is never a time when there aren't last minute options and bargains. Some resorts close down completely for winter and booking at the beginning for their season opening, usually around Easter, or later (around this time of year) can be good value.

If you are constrained by dates, location or hotel, booking early is the best way of ensuring you get what you want.

As regards brands for European trips we have never been disappointed with Jet2. Large number of destinations, decent flight times to most destinations and holidays for most budgets.

In the early 2000s we had a few long haul trips to India and Far East and the cheapest time was just before Christmas. Late November returning first or second week of December.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I assume you mean a European package holiday, not anything more exotic.

I think the sweet spot tends to be around January/February/March if you are fairly specific about where and when you want to go. My experience is that early bookers pay a premium and late bookers clearly have a reduced selection- hotels may be sold out or may only have the most expensive tier of rooms available for sale. But if you don't care where you go and you're flexible on times (e.g. you can go midweek to midweek) then there are late deals to be had.

I find the best value is with Jet2. This isn't just about their pricing either; their airport service knocks spots off the service anyone else offers and they generally have on-site reps in resort. They also tend to fly to most of their destinations daily so you can save some money by, for instance, going for 6 nights but taking an early flight out and a late flight back, which gives you the thick end of 7 days in resort.

EasyJet Holidays can be competitive on price but you don't get the same service, either at the airport or in the resort.

Living in the Isle of Man we have the added difficulty of getting on and off the island. So, although they don't offer the keenest prices and don't offer much service in the resort, I actually find that British Airways Holidays is a very good compromise for my needs, as BA offer through tickets from the island. This transfers the risk of misconnection from me to them and saves the hassle of going the night before and getting a hotel in Manchester or Liverpool at both ends of the holiday. And I get the Avios.

For long haul I used to like Virgin Holidays but they've retrenched and now really only offer holidays which are flown by Virgin Atlantic; unless you're going to the US or Jamaica they're pretty useless now. I've had good experiences with Kuoni but it's fair to say you pay for it; I've never personally used Trailfinders but I know many who have and they're always spoken fondly of. But again, service costs.

 

[route101]

Not that I would recommend it, a colleague of mine is a fisherman.

His holiday strategy is to keep an eye on the weather and if, on a Friday morning, the next week is looking rubbish, he pops into the travel agent and books something departing on the Saturday. He reckons he gets some cracking deals but does end up in some interesting places.

That's how I operate for some of my day trips and 1 night trips particularly in the winter.

 

[Snow1964]

Depends on type of holiday.

If you are going with family, and are restricted to certain dates, or want specific location then book as early as possible.

If don't care what nobody else wanted and it's still unsold, then can be some brilliant last minute deals days before.

Some of the best deals won't be advertised because they don't want everyone knowing, to preserve image. Many companies also close internet booking portal about week before departure (try searching for this month, the next few days often return nothing). But call their reservation centre and ask specifically if anything in next few days. Also don't forget to check something like Southampton cruise port schedule for 2-7 days time, then ring cruise line to see if anything remaining.

 

[pitdiver]

I have just booked 2 weeks in Gran Canaria for Sept 2025 flying from East Midlands. Must agree with what others have said re Jet2 have always found their service exceptionally good not only at EMA but at the airports abroad. Their special assistance is superb.
I booked early so we could get near the near the front of the cabin as my wife is a wheelchair user. Although she has little difficulty in walking up the aisle she has to take it very slowly.