How to book a holiday at the last minute
Do you always end up sitting next to someone on a flight who has paid considerably less for their holiday than you? Sickening, isn't it? There are bargains to be had, especially if you're prepared to book late, but you have to know where and when to find them. Here's our guide to booking a holiday at the last minute.
Be flexible
You'll find the best deals if you're prepared to be flexible about where and when you go. Often the best deals are available less than a week before departure when operators slash prices of any unsold holidays, so have your bags packed and ready to go at the last minute.
The top bargains are usually to popular destinations like mainland Spain and the Spanish islands, where tour operators are likely to have the most unsold capacity. For example, this week Teletext was advertising 7-night three-star self-catering packages to Benidorm on the Costa del Sol from just £160pp, including flights, departing on Boxing Day.
Avoid school holidays
Prices go up by at least 30% during school holidays when there are very few last minute deals around so it makes sense not to travel then if you can avoid it. Just shifting your holiday by one or two days could make a big difference in price. Some of the best bargains at this time of year are for travel on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
Shop around
You can find some great late deals online – lastminute.com, teletext.co.uk and travelrepublic.co.uk are good places to start – but it's always best to shop around and include high street travel agencies in your hunt. It's worth asking them for a discount, especially if you are buying one of their own holidays.
Though it is usually cheaper to book your flights and accommodation separately, this isn't always the case and there are some cheap packages available at the last minute so it's worth looking at all your options.
Don't delay booking flights
If you're planning to travel with one of the budget airlines, like easyJet or Ryanair, you'll need to book early as their fares usually go up closer to departure, but you can still wait to book your accommodation at the last minute. If you're planning to fly with one of the full-service airlines, like British Airways, you might get a cheaper seat if you wait till close to departure to book, but it's a gamble. Some airline websites will tell you how many seats are left on a particular flight so you can put off booking until they start filling up. Or try a flight wholesaler like Trailfinders, airlinenetwork or cheaplights for last-minute fares.
Cruise on the cheap
You can pick up a cruise of a lifetime for a fraction of the full price if you've got your taffeta and tux packed and ready to go at a moment's notice. Discount cruise website cruisedirect was advertising a 14-night Princess Cruise to the Caribbean and Brazil for less than £2,000 this week, including return flights to Florida. The only catch? The flights departed on Friday. No worries, there's still time to bag a cabin on an Ocean Village 14-night Christmas cruise, leaving on December 24, which cruisedirect is advertising for £1,172pp.
Last minute ski
It makes sense to wait till the last minute to book a ski holiday, that way you can go to wherever has the best snow. For the rest of this winter, the cheapest weeks are likely to be January 10, February 28 and March 21. Try ifyouski.com and igluski.com for deals.
For family ski holidays, try Esprit ,which have some great deals if you can travel during term time and you're prepared to wait till a week or two before departure to book.
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